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Chapter 115: There is Only One Truth
In his third week at Hogwarts, William conducted an investigation. The cause of the investigation was the death of a rooster.
But this time, William, who had been sailing smoothly in all aspects since entering Hogwarts, got his first taste of failure. He finally understood why, for a time, detective novels had to include the restriction that the characters couldn't be Chinese.
Like martial arts, magic was a completely external power. Although William had been diligently studying everything about magic since he opened his eyes and found himself in Azkaban, he still couldn't treat magic, which permeated every aspect of life, as part of his daily routine.
It was like the Heavenly Eye System going up against a superpower. What was the point of playing?
"William?"
Adams's face suddenly appeared before William, and he waved a hand in confusion. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking if there's any resurrection magic. We could cast it on that poor rooster, and then we'd find out which bastard did all this."
"Are you alright, William? Never mind that there's no such resurrection magic—even if there were, could you understand what a rooster is saying?"
Adams looked concerned. He suspected William might have drunk the wrong potion; his state was a bit like the aftereffects of mistakenly drinking a poorly brewed Elixir of Joy.
"There isn't?"
Under Adams's astonished gaze, William retorted wildly.
"No. Even the legendary Philosopher's Stone can only grant immortality. As for bringing someone back from the dead, that's the stuff of fairy tales—"
Adams replied cautiously, his hand secretly reaching for his wand. As a Herbology Professor, his knowledge of potions wasn't that deep. If William had really drunk the wrong potion, he would have to knock out this new professor who dared to drink random potions and stuff a bezoar down his throat.
Drinking the wrong potion was no small matter, especially an emotion-altering one like the Elixir of Joy. It was more serious than a Muggle getting drunk or overdosing on illicit substances. A wizard on a rampage was no joke.
'Theoretically, it would be better for Professor Snape or another Potions Professor to handle this, but I can't be sure this bastard William won't end up lying in the Hospital Wing for a few weeks, making it convenient for Professor Snape to substitute his classes.'
Adams thought nervously, looking for an opportunity to draw his wand and cast a Stunning Spell.
"Fairy tales?"
Although William's reaction was a bit unexpected, his dazed state made Adams feel like he had a chance.
"Stupefy!"
To increase the spell's power, Adams didn't even use a nonverbal spell. The instant William seemed lost in thought, he drew his wand and completed the spell.
'I have to say, his way of stowing his wand is quite useful.'
As this thought crossed his mind, a heavy sound of a spell colliding rang out.
Adams didn't even have time to figure out what had happened before he found he could no longer keep his eyelids open. With a "thud," right before William's astonished eyes, his dear friend Adams collapsed to the floor.
"I didn't receive a Negative Emotion Card from Adams. Can the system only generate one-way cards?"
William dispelled the Shield Charm while skillfully disarming Adams of his wand. 'What's with this guy, suddenly using a Stunning Spell on me? Even if you have peculiar tastes, considering your profession, shouldn't you be using black tea?'
After that unintentional roast in his mind, William suddenly paused the hand that was about to help Adams up.
He'd managed to gross himself out… but what was Adams trying to do, casting a spell out of the blue?
"Professor! A professor attacked a professor!"
The portrait William had been questioning finally realized what had happened and began to shout loudly.
"Alright, I know what happened. Please be quiet, madam, or I'll have to ask a house-elf to clean the portrait with a rag."
William threatened irritably. He had just remembered something while talking to Adams and needed to think it through carefully.
The portrait immediately fell silent. Although cleaning portraits was necessary, no one wanted to be cleaned unless their frame was exceptionally dirty.
'Resurrection, fairy tales. Is the truth hidden in a fairy tale, or is Adams just too much of a scrub to have heard of resurrection-type magic? I clearly remember that Dark Lord, or rather, You-Know-Who, being reborn from a large cauldron.'
After thinking for a long while, William came to a conclusion—such a high-level operation as resurrection was likely beyond the grasp of a scrub like Adams. The guy couldn't even win with a sneak attack; it figured that his grades back in the day were just barely enough to get a certificate.
---
"Hey, Adams, you're awake?"
When Adams regained consciousness, he found that his wand was in William's hands across from him.
"You bastard, William, you hit me so hard!"
He decided to play the victim. Was he supposed to admit that he lost even with a sneak attack? There was no way he'd ever admit that!
"Come on, you were the one who made the first move. Speaking of which, why did you attack me?"
"You bastard, I thought you drank the wrong potion!"
William, who had prepared a whole bellyful of excuses, was immediately stunned.
You're the one who drank the wrong potion!
"You're the one who drank the wrong potion! I even suspect you killed that rooster that made you revise your report, and then you deliberately misled my investigation!"
William stated his theory directly, casually tossing Adams's wand back to him.
"Made me revise my report?"
Adams froze for a moment, then slapped his forehead as if he'd just remembered something.
"Right, that rooster! Ginny is still in detention. I was so focused on asking about the chicken that I completely forgot about that!"
He dusted off his robes, then asked William with a serious expression, "William, what happened to the rooster that was killed?"
"I got there too late."
"So fast? Hagrid ate it first thing in the morning?"
"Ate it? Not exactly. It had been prepared by the time I arrived and was stewing in a pot."
"Stewing, that's good. I'll head over now. Are you coming?"
"Coming where?"
Adams's words were so disjointed that William was completely confused.
"To Hagrid's, of course. I'm going to eat some chicken."
You're a grown man, and still so petty…
William waved his hand helplessly. "No need. I'm planning to eat in the Great Hall. Remember to say hello to Hagrid for me."
"Alright, I'll head over then."
Adams was full of enthusiasm. After walking a fair distance, he turned back and waved at William.
"William!"
"Huh? Did you forget something?"
"No. Are you really sure you didn't drink the wrong potion?"
After asking this, Adams scurried away without looking back.
'That guy—'
William shook his head. Although it was a brief interlude, he had already discovered the truth. It was Ginny, whom Adams had just mentioned, that had reminded him.
"Just as I suspected, the culprits are you—the Weasley Brothers!"
(end of chapter)
In his third week at Hogwarts, William conducted an investigation. The cause of the investigation was the death of a rooster.
But this time, William, who had been sailing smoothly in all aspects since entering Hogwarts, got his first taste of failure. He finally understood why, for a time, detective novels had to include the restriction that the characters couldn't be Chinese.
Like martial arts, magic was a completely external power. Although William had been diligently studying everything about magic since he opened his eyes and found himself in Azkaban, he still couldn't treat magic, which permeated every aspect of life, as part of his daily routine.
It was like the Heavenly Eye System going up against a superpower. What was the point of playing?
"William?"
Adams's face suddenly appeared before William, and he waved a hand in confusion. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking if there's any resurrection magic. We could cast it on that poor rooster, and then we'd find out which bastard did all this."
"Are you alright, William? Never mind that there's no such resurrection magic—even if there were, could you understand what a rooster is saying?"
Adams looked concerned. He suspected William might have drunk the wrong potion; his state was a bit like the aftereffects of mistakenly drinking a poorly brewed Elixir of Joy.
"There isn't?"
Under Adams's astonished gaze, William retorted wildly.
"No. Even the legendary Philosopher's Stone can only grant immortality. As for bringing someone back from the dead, that's the stuff of fairy tales—"
Adams replied cautiously, his hand secretly reaching for his wand. As a Herbology Professor, his knowledge of potions wasn't that deep. If William had really drunk the wrong potion, he would have to knock out this new professor who dared to drink random potions and stuff a bezoar down his throat.
Drinking the wrong potion was no small matter, especially an emotion-altering one like the Elixir of Joy. It was more serious than a Muggle getting drunk or overdosing on illicit substances. A wizard on a rampage was no joke.
'Theoretically, it would be better for Professor Snape or another Potions Professor to handle this, but I can't be sure this bastard William won't end up lying in the Hospital Wing for a few weeks, making it convenient for Professor Snape to substitute his classes.'
Adams thought nervously, looking for an opportunity to draw his wand and cast a Stunning Spell.
"Fairy tales?"
Although William's reaction was a bit unexpected, his dazed state made Adams feel like he had a chance.
"Stupefy!"
To increase the spell's power, Adams didn't even use a nonverbal spell. The instant William seemed lost in thought, he drew his wand and completed the spell.
'I have to say, his way of stowing his wand is quite useful.'
As this thought crossed his mind, a heavy sound of a spell colliding rang out.
Adams didn't even have time to figure out what had happened before he found he could no longer keep his eyelids open. With a "thud," right before William's astonished eyes, his dear friend Adams collapsed to the floor.
"I didn't receive a Negative Emotion Card from Adams. Can the system only generate one-way cards?"
William dispelled the Shield Charm while skillfully disarming Adams of his wand. 'What's with this guy, suddenly using a Stunning Spell on me? Even if you have peculiar tastes, considering your profession, shouldn't you be using black tea?'
After that unintentional roast in his mind, William suddenly paused the hand that was about to help Adams up.
He'd managed to gross himself out… but what was Adams trying to do, casting a spell out of the blue?
"Professor! A professor attacked a professor!"
The portrait William had been questioning finally realized what had happened and began to shout loudly.
"Alright, I know what happened. Please be quiet, madam, or I'll have to ask a house-elf to clean the portrait with a rag."
William threatened irritably. He had just remembered something while talking to Adams and needed to think it through carefully.
The portrait immediately fell silent. Although cleaning portraits was necessary, no one wanted to be cleaned unless their frame was exceptionally dirty.
'Resurrection, fairy tales. Is the truth hidden in a fairy tale, or is Adams just too much of a scrub to have heard of resurrection-type magic? I clearly remember that Dark Lord, or rather, You-Know-Who, being reborn from a large cauldron.'
After thinking for a long while, William came to a conclusion—such a high-level operation as resurrection was likely beyond the grasp of a scrub like Adams. The guy couldn't even win with a sneak attack; it figured that his grades back in the day were just barely enough to get a certificate.
---
"Hey, Adams, you're awake?"
When Adams regained consciousness, he found that his wand was in William's hands across from him.
"You bastard, William, you hit me so hard!"
He decided to play the victim. Was he supposed to admit that he lost even with a sneak attack? There was no way he'd ever admit that!
"Come on, you were the one who made the first move. Speaking of which, why did you attack me?"
"You bastard, I thought you drank the wrong potion!"
William, who had prepared a whole bellyful of excuses, was immediately stunned.
You're the one who drank the wrong potion!
"You're the one who drank the wrong potion! I even suspect you killed that rooster that made you revise your report, and then you deliberately misled my investigation!"
William stated his theory directly, casually tossing Adams's wand back to him.
"Made me revise my report?"
Adams froze for a moment, then slapped his forehead as if he'd just remembered something.
"Right, that rooster! Ginny is still in detention. I was so focused on asking about the chicken that I completely forgot about that!"
He dusted off his robes, then asked William with a serious expression, "William, what happened to the rooster that was killed?"
"I got there too late."
"So fast? Hagrid ate it first thing in the morning?"
"Ate it? Not exactly. It had been prepared by the time I arrived and was stewing in a pot."
"Stewing, that's good. I'll head over now. Are you coming?"
"Coming where?"
Adams's words were so disjointed that William was completely confused.
"To Hagrid's, of course. I'm going to eat some chicken."
You're a grown man, and still so petty…
William waved his hand helplessly. "No need. I'm planning to eat in the Great Hall. Remember to say hello to Hagrid for me."
"Alright, I'll head over then."
Adams was full of enthusiasm. After walking a fair distance, he turned back and waved at William.
"William!"
"Huh? Did you forget something?"
"No. Are you really sure you didn't drink the wrong potion?"
After asking this, Adams scurried away without looking back.
'That guy—'
William shook his head. Although it was a brief interlude, he had already discovered the truth. It was Ginny, whom Adams had just mentioned, that had reminded him.
"Just as I suspected, the culprits are you—the Weasley Brothers!"
(end of chapter)
