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Chapter 123: The Dazed Student
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
Just as William had feared on his way over, Hagrid paid no mind to the second victimized chicken. William was even convinced that if Adams hadn't brought the news back to the Castle, Hagrid might never have learned of the second chicken's death.
Therefore, aside from learning that the second rooster died in a very similar posture to the first, William got no useful information from Hagrid.
After declining Hagrid's invitation to go shopping with him, William walked on, lost in thought.
‘I should investigate the Weasley Twins—I suspect my initial theory was wrong. They have absolutely no reason to commit the crime a second time.’
—
Unlike last time, when the pair's whereabouts were impossible to trace, William knew very well how active that group of children in detention had been in their spare time these past few days. They were together almost constantly and knew each other's movements well. All William had to do was summon them for questioning under the pretext of caring about their investigation results, and he could easily deduce whether the Weasley Twins had an alibi.
—
"Good afternoon, Mr. Green."
William sat at his desk and greeted the slightly nervous child. Perhaps because this was the first time he had been called to the Office for a reason other than getting into trouble, the boy before him was still a bit tense.
"Good afternoon, Professor."
"I trust you received the note I had someone bring you. I've called you here for no other reason than to ask, how has your recent investigation been going?"
As he spoke, William pushed a dish of candy toward the boy, trying his best to appear amiable and conceal his true purpose.
"We've investigated many Secret Passages and Empty Rooms, and we even discovered a new Secret Passage we didn't know about before—" At this topic, Green's face lit up with excitement. It was clear that the thrill of exploring the corners of the School under the guise of an investigation was exhilarating for them.
"But Professor, we still haven't found anything like what you described, um, a cult sacrifice scene. There are no traces of outsiders in any of those places."
He tried to keep any hint of disappointment out of his voice, but William could pretty much hear the boy's lack of confidence in the investigation. To be honest, it was already impressive that this group of troublemakers had maintained their enthusiasm for a week.
‘My last investigation was too careless. It's a good thing these kids have kept searching; it will allow me to rule out many places in a second sweep. I need to boost their morale—let's hold a feast to reward them.’
Professor McGonagall had approved a large sum of funds for the compilation of the school history, and this money was allocated annually. The expenses for the feast could easily be covered by the public account, just like the funds allocated to Percy. While giving money to a student in detention was certainly out of the question, rewarding them with a feast for their excellent performance would definitely be fine.
‘In any case, investigating supernatural occurrences on the School Grounds is work for the School, so using the same funds poses no problem.’
Having made up his mind, William's smile grew even warmer. "You've investigated so many places and still haven't found anything? That does make things difficult. Are you all still investigating today?"
"Of course, Professor. We've used almost all of our free time."
Green's tone was full of self-praise; he was clearly operating under the assumption that even if he hadn't achieved merit, he had put in the effort.
"Well then, are there any children who have been particularly dedicated? I don't mean to accuse anyone of not working hard—I've heard about your situation these past few days from Mr. Filch. I just want to know if there are any children who haven't taken a break at all. I'm considering giving them an extra reduction in their detention time."
William threw out a carrot. If he asked who was slacking off, he'd surely be fed lies, but when it came to a reward, people wouldn't lie excessively, aside from protecting their close friends.
"That would be the Weasley brothers, of course. They lead the investigation late into the night every day."
Green's answer was immediate and without a hint of hesitation. William had been considering how to subtly steer the conversation if the Weasley Twins weren't mentioned, but now there was no need.
"They're that dedicated?" William feigned surprise, then pushed himself up from the Table. "Thank you, Green. Please inform everyone involved in the investigation that I plan to host a feast on Saturday night to thank you all. Um, detention for that day is canceled. I'll send a notice about the location later. If you don't have other plans after your detention is canceled, I hope you can all come."
"A feast?"
Green was dumbfounded. The frustration from a week of fruitless searching instantly vanished.
"Of course, a simple feast to thank you for your hard work this week. Those who don't attend won't have to serve detention either; I'll permit them to do as they wish."
‘Only a fool wouldn't go!’
The thought immediately flashed through Green's mind. For students like them, they were happy if their Head of House deducted a few fewer points, let alone receiving a reward. How could they possibly miss a feast held specially for them!
Although the Professor's face still held the same smile as before, Green suddenly understood what the other girls meant by ‘Professor William's very good-looking smile’.
‘That smile really is handsome!’
This was the thought that lingered in Green's mind, who had no idea how he even left the Office.
—
‘Excluding the extremely low possibility that these kids are all covering for each other, the Weasley brothers' daily whereabouts can be confirmed. I'll verify it again at the feast tomorrow, and then the previous theory can be overturned.’
William idly doodled on a piece of parchment with his quill, considering where to direct his investigation next.
"And at night, the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room is a Portrait. I could ask if anyone entered or exited after lights-out on Friday night, which would also eliminate any final suspicion on the Weasley brothers. But I'll probably have to discuss that with Professor McGonagall; otherwise, the lady in the Portrait is unlikely to cooperate."
"Also, I need to figure out the plan for the feast. I can't find enough servants on my own. I could ask the House-elves for some ideas on that."
He stood up and ruffled his hair. Things were a tangled mess right now, and he had no idea where to start.
‘Killing a rooster, twice in a row—even if he didn't kill the chicken, wouldn't Hagrid and Adams have eaten that rooster anyway?’
‘I'll go to Professor McGonagall's to submit the application first. I still have to ask the Portrait, and I should check with Mr. Filch again. If I can't find any other leads, I'll have to resort to the brute-force method. I hope it's not all for nothing.’
William sighed, unwrapped a piece of chocolate, then paused, broke off only a small piece, and popped it into his mouth. He had a feeling he'd be going through a lot of chocolate in the near future.
‘I hope this gets resolved quickly. If there isn't a breakthrough soon, I might have to ask Singeade for some of his latest products.’
(end of chapter)
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
Just as William had feared on his way over, Hagrid paid no mind to the second victimized chicken. William was even convinced that if Adams hadn't brought the news back to the Castle, Hagrid might never have learned of the second chicken's death.
Therefore, aside from learning that the second rooster died in a very similar posture to the first, William got no useful information from Hagrid.
After declining Hagrid's invitation to go shopping with him, William walked on, lost in thought.
‘I should investigate the Weasley Twins—I suspect my initial theory was wrong. They have absolutely no reason to commit the crime a second time.’
—
Unlike last time, when the pair's whereabouts were impossible to trace, William knew very well how active that group of children in detention had been in their spare time these past few days. They were together almost constantly and knew each other's movements well. All William had to do was summon them for questioning under the pretext of caring about their investigation results, and he could easily deduce whether the Weasley Twins had an alibi.
—
"Good afternoon, Mr. Green."
William sat at his desk and greeted the slightly nervous child. Perhaps because this was the first time he had been called to the Office for a reason other than getting into trouble, the boy before him was still a bit tense.
"Good afternoon, Professor."
"I trust you received the note I had someone bring you. I've called you here for no other reason than to ask, how has your recent investigation been going?"
As he spoke, William pushed a dish of candy toward the boy, trying his best to appear amiable and conceal his true purpose.
"We've investigated many Secret Passages and Empty Rooms, and we even discovered a new Secret Passage we didn't know about before—" At this topic, Green's face lit up with excitement. It was clear that the thrill of exploring the corners of the School under the guise of an investigation was exhilarating for them.
"But Professor, we still haven't found anything like what you described, um, a cult sacrifice scene. There are no traces of outsiders in any of those places."
He tried to keep any hint of disappointment out of his voice, but William could pretty much hear the boy's lack of confidence in the investigation. To be honest, it was already impressive that this group of troublemakers had maintained their enthusiasm for a week.
‘My last investigation was too careless. It's a good thing these kids have kept searching; it will allow me to rule out many places in a second sweep. I need to boost their morale—let's hold a feast to reward them.’
Professor McGonagall had approved a large sum of funds for the compilation of the school history, and this money was allocated annually. The expenses for the feast could easily be covered by the public account, just like the funds allocated to Percy. While giving money to a student in detention was certainly out of the question, rewarding them with a feast for their excellent performance would definitely be fine.
‘In any case, investigating supernatural occurrences on the School Grounds is work for the School, so using the same funds poses no problem.’
Having made up his mind, William's smile grew even warmer. "You've investigated so many places and still haven't found anything? That does make things difficult. Are you all still investigating today?"
"Of course, Professor. We've used almost all of our free time."
Green's tone was full of self-praise; he was clearly operating under the assumption that even if he hadn't achieved merit, he had put in the effort.
"Well then, are there any children who have been particularly dedicated? I don't mean to accuse anyone of not working hard—I've heard about your situation these past few days from Mr. Filch. I just want to know if there are any children who haven't taken a break at all. I'm considering giving them an extra reduction in their detention time."
William threw out a carrot. If he asked who was slacking off, he'd surely be fed lies, but when it came to a reward, people wouldn't lie excessively, aside from protecting their close friends.
"That would be the Weasley brothers, of course. They lead the investigation late into the night every day."
Green's answer was immediate and without a hint of hesitation. William had been considering how to subtly steer the conversation if the Weasley Twins weren't mentioned, but now there was no need.
"They're that dedicated?" William feigned surprise, then pushed himself up from the Table. "Thank you, Green. Please inform everyone involved in the investigation that I plan to host a feast on Saturday night to thank you all. Um, detention for that day is canceled. I'll send a notice about the location later. If you don't have other plans after your detention is canceled, I hope you can all come."
"A feast?"
Green was dumbfounded. The frustration from a week of fruitless searching instantly vanished.
"Of course, a simple feast to thank you for your hard work this week. Those who don't attend won't have to serve detention either; I'll permit them to do as they wish."
‘Only a fool wouldn't go!’
The thought immediately flashed through Green's mind. For students like them, they were happy if their Head of House deducted a few fewer points, let alone receiving a reward. How could they possibly miss a feast held specially for them!
Although the Professor's face still held the same smile as before, Green suddenly understood what the other girls meant by ‘Professor William's very good-looking smile’.
‘That smile really is handsome!’
This was the thought that lingered in Green's mind, who had no idea how he even left the Office.
—
‘Excluding the extremely low possibility that these kids are all covering for each other, the Weasley brothers' daily whereabouts can be confirmed. I'll verify it again at the feast tomorrow, and then the previous theory can be overturned.’
William idly doodled on a piece of parchment with his quill, considering where to direct his investigation next.
"And at night, the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room is a Portrait. I could ask if anyone entered or exited after lights-out on Friday night, which would also eliminate any final suspicion on the Weasley brothers. But I'll probably have to discuss that with Professor McGonagall; otherwise, the lady in the Portrait is unlikely to cooperate."
"Also, I need to figure out the plan for the feast. I can't find enough servants on my own. I could ask the House-elves for some ideas on that."
He stood up and ruffled his hair. Things were a tangled mess right now, and he had no idea where to start.
‘Killing a rooster, twice in a row—even if he didn't kill the chicken, wouldn't Hagrid and Adams have eaten that rooster anyway?’
‘I'll go to Professor McGonagall's to submit the application first. I still have to ask the Portrait, and I should check with Mr. Filch again. If I can't find any other leads, I'll have to resort to the brute-force method. I hope it's not all for nothing.’
William sighed, unwrapped a piece of chocolate, then paused, broke off only a small piece, and popped it into his mouth. He had a feeling he'd be going through a lot of chocolate in the near future.
‘I hope this gets resolved quickly. If there isn't a breakthrough soon, I might have to ask Singeade for some of his latest products.’
(end of chapter)
