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chapter 114 part 1
**Chapter 113: William's Misguided Investigation (Lengthy Chapter)**
"Hagrid, Hagrid, are you there?"
Beside Hagrid's Hut, William started shouting before he even got close—he was a man of action. Since there were no classes today, he might as well investigate the matter thoroughly.
Although theoretically, a rooster dying at the school wasn't a big deal, he was currently burdened by a curse, not to mention a professor had died because of this curse last year. This made it impossible for him not to be cautious.
Although theoretically Professor Lockhart, that unlucky fellow, was with him, this didn't reassure William in the slightest. Lockhart was a renowned adventurer, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, while William was a prisoner who had just come out of Azkaban, having even transmigrated directly into a prison.
Compared to that, no matter how confident William was, he didn't believe Professor Lockhart would act as a shield for him. Therefore, he approached the school's sudden incidents with utmost caution.
'If I don't investigate, I can't just rely on others, can I? How foolish would it be to entrust life-or-death matters to someone else?'
William thought this to himself as he shouted from a distance towards the hut.
The path around the hut was a bit messy, and William was truly hesitant to step on it. He had spoken with Professor Kettleburn a few days ago, who had spoken highly of Hagrid, claiming that Hagrid possessed an intuitive gift for caring for magical creatures that most wizards lacked.
This was probably the most terrifying compliment at Hogwarts, considering Professor Kettleburn had lost two and a half limbs because of magical creatures...
Normally, William would have the courage to go through, but with the current situation of a missing rooster, William wasn't at all sure what kind of trap Hagrid might have set. If they could lose their own legs while dealing with magical creatures, how much would they care about other people's legs?
"Hagrid, Hagrid, are you there?"
William shouted loudly again—he didn't believe his secondhand knowledge could bypass a trap set by someone who had lived half their life in the Forbidden Forest.
"Is that William? Why aren't you coming closer?"
"I heard you lost a rooster, and the area around here is messy. I was afraid you'd set a snare."
"There's no snare—" Hagrid's voice rose a bit, but he didn't control it very well.
William immediately felt a thunderclap erupt beside his ear. Although a small breeze swept past, the leaves on the ground clearly floated up and swirled around.
'If there isn't one, there isn't one. Why are you shouting so loudly?'
William used the mental retort to suppress the awkwardness that came from nowhere and quickly walked over.
"Why is the undergrowth around here so messy? I thought you'd set traps."
He waved a greeting, rubbing his slightly aching ear as he approached. Speaking of which, does Hagrid usually keep his voice down?
"I haven't set any. Dumbledore strictly told me when he recommended me as the Gamekeeper that setting traps is forbidden at Hogwarts; it could hurt the children."
Hagrid said, pointing to the surrounding undergrowth. "That was Fang's doing. He probably thought the perpetrator was still around, so he searched through the bushes everywhere this morning."
Searching?
William paused, then quickly walked over and looked around. He had originally hoped to find human or weasel fur or something, but now those areas had been turned upside down. Even Sherlock Holmes would shed tears seeing it, let alone an amateur like him.
He reluctantly rummaged through it, and after finally confirming he didn't have the talent for it, William stood up.
"Hagrid, where's the rooster?"
"Haha, don't worry, it's almost done stewing. I checked it carefully; it's not poisoned. Don't go back to the castle for lunch; I just got my hands on a bottle of something good."
"Stewing?"
"What, you want it roasted? But if it's roasted, there'd be too little meat—I only have one rooster left, and I rely on it to wake me up, so I can't kill it."
William suddenly didn't want to speak. He quickly walked towards the stove and lifted the pot's lid.
Hmm, the rooster had been dismembered quite perfectly.
"How did it die?"
"Its blood was drained. It was probably bitten to death by a fox or something else. Maybe I should buy another one, or I'll only have one rooster left."
...
William exchanged pleasantries with Hagrid for a bit longer, then decisively refused Hagrid's invitation to stay for lunch, returning directly to the castle. Although the victim rooster had been "disposed of" by Hagrid, William's suspicions were confirmed.
This was definitely not done by an animal, but by a person.
'It's a shame Mr. Filch and the house-elves are too diligent; otherwise, the bloodstains at the castle entrance could have been used as evidence.'
William hadn't immediately rushed over to Hagrid. The first place he went to investigate was the bloodstains at the castle entrance, but they had already been thoroughly cleaned by the house-elves. Although William wanted to curse, he couldn't really complain.
Even professional police in the Sherlock Holmes stories could accidentally destroy important crime scenes, let alone complete amateurs like them. Besides, even if the traces had remained, William wouldn't have understood them.
'I'm neither a forensics expert nor a hardcore fan of detective novels; it's asking too much for me to investigate a case at Hogwarts.'
'Don't panic, you wouldn't understand the traces anyway—even if it really was a weasel, it would just be wasted effort. Investigating will put your mind at ease, and since it's a major incident concerning your leg or some other organ, it's not a loss no matter how you look at it.'
Comforting himself this way, William began to find joy in his hardship, trying to activate the meager talent he'd cultivated from watching Conan in his spare time, which wouldn't even rank him as a "detective 0."
"Motive: the rooster's blood."
"Time of incident: last night to this morning—damn it, I forgot to ask Hagrid when the rooster approximately died!"
William, who didn't even possess "detective 0" skills, realized he had missed an important clue the moment he calmed down.
'Don't rush, William, stay calm. Acting on whim leads to problems, just like this. The moment you start thinking seriously, you find flaws.'
Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a piece of chocolate from his pocket.
William slowly ate the chocolate, then took out paper and a pen from his bag, and found an empty classroom to sit down in.
"Good, I'll jot it down on paper."
[Motive: To obtain rooster blood]
[Time of incident: To be determined (requires corroboration from multiple sources; Mr. Filch, the house-elves, and Hagrid are all worth questioning)]
[Method: Killed the rooster by a bite-like method and took the blood.]
'Good, now for the next step.'
[Hypothesis 1: The culprit entered and exited the castle through the Entrance Hall and main door. (Easily ruled out, ask about this first)]
[Hypothesis 2: The culprit entered and exited the castle through a secret passage and brought the blood into the castle. (Can inquire with the portraits.)]
[Hypothesis 3: The culprit's magic was exceptional, and they opened Filch's lock (impossible, cross out).]
There's a possibility the culprit was invisible throughout.
...
The more William thought, the more muddled his mind became. As he wrote, he even lost track of the format.
'Damn this gloomy day.'
He mumbled, then popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth.
'Be serious, your life is in your own hands!'
Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and continued writing on the paper.
[The culprit is likely very familiar with the castle, familiar enough to enter and exit freely. Suspect is...]
'I shouldn't put all my attention on them—those children don't necessarily need to be investigated. Too many of them are serving detention. If this is just a trial run, most of them could become my allies.'
**Chapter 113: William's Misguided Investigation (Lengthy Chapter)**
"Hagrid, Hagrid, are you there?"
Beside Hagrid's Hut, William started shouting before he even got close—he was a man of action. Since there were no classes today, he might as well investigate the matter thoroughly.
Although theoretically, a rooster dying at the school wasn't a big deal, he was currently burdened by a curse, not to mention a professor had died because of this curse last year. This made it impossible for him not to be cautious.
Although theoretically Professor Lockhart, that unlucky fellow, was with him, this didn't reassure William in the slightest. Lockhart was a renowned adventurer, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, while William was a prisoner who had just come out of Azkaban, having even transmigrated directly into a prison.
Compared to that, no matter how confident William was, he didn't believe Professor Lockhart would act as a shield for him. Therefore, he approached the school's sudden incidents with utmost caution.
'If I don't investigate, I can't just rely on others, can I? How foolish would it be to entrust life-or-death matters to someone else?'
William thought this to himself as he shouted from a distance towards the hut.
The path around the hut was a bit messy, and William was truly hesitant to step on it. He had spoken with Professor Kettleburn a few days ago, who had spoken highly of Hagrid, claiming that Hagrid possessed an intuitive gift for caring for magical creatures that most wizards lacked.
This was probably the most terrifying compliment at Hogwarts, considering Professor Kettleburn had lost two and a half limbs because of magical creatures...
Normally, William would have the courage to go through, but with the current situation of a missing rooster, William wasn't at all sure what kind of trap Hagrid might have set. If they could lose their own legs while dealing with magical creatures, how much would they care about other people's legs?
"Hagrid, Hagrid, are you there?"
William shouted loudly again—he didn't believe his secondhand knowledge could bypass a trap set by someone who had lived half their life in the Forbidden Forest.
"Is that William? Why aren't you coming closer?"
"I heard you lost a rooster, and the area around here is messy. I was afraid you'd set a snare."
"There's no snare—" Hagrid's voice rose a bit, but he didn't control it very well.
William immediately felt a thunderclap erupt beside his ear. Although a small breeze swept past, the leaves on the ground clearly floated up and swirled around.
'If there isn't one, there isn't one. Why are you shouting so loudly?'
William used the mental retort to suppress the awkwardness that came from nowhere and quickly walked over.
"Why is the undergrowth around here so messy? I thought you'd set traps."
He waved a greeting, rubbing his slightly aching ear as he approached. Speaking of which, does Hagrid usually keep his voice down?
"I haven't set any. Dumbledore strictly told me when he recommended me as the Gamekeeper that setting traps is forbidden at Hogwarts; it could hurt the children."
Hagrid said, pointing to the surrounding undergrowth. "That was Fang's doing. He probably thought the perpetrator was still around, so he searched through the bushes everywhere this morning."
Searching?
William paused, then quickly walked over and looked around. He had originally hoped to find human or weasel fur or something, but now those areas had been turned upside down. Even Sherlock Holmes would shed tears seeing it, let alone an amateur like him.
He reluctantly rummaged through it, and after finally confirming he didn't have the talent for it, William stood up.
"Hagrid, where's the rooster?"
"Haha, don't worry, it's almost done stewing. I checked it carefully; it's not poisoned. Don't go back to the castle for lunch; I just got my hands on a bottle of something good."
"Stewing?"
"What, you want it roasted? But if it's roasted, there'd be too little meat—I only have one rooster left, and I rely on it to wake me up, so I can't kill it."
William suddenly didn't want to speak. He quickly walked towards the stove and lifted the pot's lid.
Hmm, the rooster had been dismembered quite perfectly.
"How did it die?"
"Its blood was drained. It was probably bitten to death by a fox or something else. Maybe I should buy another one, or I'll only have one rooster left."
...
William exchanged pleasantries with Hagrid for a bit longer, then decisively refused Hagrid's invitation to stay for lunch, returning directly to the castle. Although the victim rooster had been "disposed of" by Hagrid, William's suspicions were confirmed.
This was definitely not done by an animal, but by a person.
'It's a shame Mr. Filch and the house-elves are too diligent; otherwise, the bloodstains at the castle entrance could have been used as evidence.'
William hadn't immediately rushed over to Hagrid. The first place he went to investigate was the bloodstains at the castle entrance, but they had already been thoroughly cleaned by the house-elves. Although William wanted to curse, he couldn't really complain.
Even professional police in the Sherlock Holmes stories could accidentally destroy important crime scenes, let alone complete amateurs like them. Besides, even if the traces had remained, William wouldn't have understood them.
'I'm neither a forensics expert nor a hardcore fan of detective novels; it's asking too much for me to investigate a case at Hogwarts.'
'Don't panic, you wouldn't understand the traces anyway—even if it really was a weasel, it would just be wasted effort. Investigating will put your mind at ease, and since it's a major incident concerning your leg or some other organ, it's not a loss no matter how you look at it.'
Comforting himself this way, William began to find joy in his hardship, trying to activate the meager talent he'd cultivated from watching Conan in his spare time, which wouldn't even rank him as a "detective 0."
"Motive: the rooster's blood."
"Time of incident: last night to this morning—damn it, I forgot to ask Hagrid when the rooster approximately died!"
William, who didn't even possess "detective 0" skills, realized he had missed an important clue the moment he calmed down.
'Don't rush, William, stay calm. Acting on whim leads to problems, just like this. The moment you start thinking seriously, you find flaws.'
Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a piece of chocolate from his pocket.
William slowly ate the chocolate, then took out paper and a pen from his bag, and found an empty classroom to sit down in.
"Good, I'll jot it down on paper."
[Motive: To obtain rooster blood]
[Time of incident: To be determined (requires corroboration from multiple sources; Mr. Filch, the house-elves, and Hagrid are all worth questioning)]
[Method: Killed the rooster by a bite-like method and took the blood.]
'Good, now for the next step.'
[Hypothesis 1: The culprit entered and exited the castle through the Entrance Hall and main door. (Easily ruled out, ask about this first)]
[Hypothesis 2: The culprit entered and exited the castle through a secret passage and brought the blood into the castle. (Can inquire with the portraits.)]
[Hypothesis 3: The culprit's magic was exceptional, and they opened Filch's lock (impossible, cross out).]
There's a possibility the culprit was invisible throughout.
...
The more William thought, the more muddled his mind became. As he wrote, he even lost track of the format.
'Damn this gloomy day.'
He mumbled, then popped another piece of chocolate into his mouth.
'Be serious, your life is in your own hands!'
Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and continued writing on the paper.
[The culprit is likely very familiar with the castle, familiar enough to enter and exit freely. Suspect is...]
'I shouldn't put all my attention on them—those children don't necessarily need to be investigated. Too many of them are serving detention. If this is just a trial run, most of them could become my allies.'
