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Chapter 133: The Diary?
July 14, 2022 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
"Third week at Hogwarts. Saturday, sunny. Today was an absolute disaster."
After writing this in his diary, William thought for a moment, then flipped back to the first page. On the title page, he wrote a sentence in heavy, bold letters.
[No matter when, no matter where, always maintain the utmost vigilance against the Weasleys.]
After confirming the ink was dry, William took out his wand and cast a spell on the sentence in his diary, making it difficult to erase or wear away.
Having finished this, he let out a long sigh. Nibbling on a small piece of chocolate, he turned the diary back to the previous page.
"This must be the first time I've woken up so early at Hogwarts.
Logically, I should be feeling carefree today. The Rooster Incident that has been troubling me for some time is now in the hands of Professor McGonagall, and she has already spoken with the students. Yet, I still feel a bit uneasy.
How should I put this... I keep feeling like things are developing into something out of the Cthulhu Mythos. The way those roosters died was just too strange. Theoretically, one shouldn't need to go to such great lengths to cover up the killing of two chickens. It's as unbelievable as tearing down a house just to catch a rat.
But after the lead from the ghost went cold, I really can't find any other leads."
William paused his writing here and drew a smiley face in the diary—but it didn't seem to help.
"There's still more to that matter, but it's clearly not something I can predict right now. Hagrid and Adams have bought over thirty more roosters. It looks like they'll be eating very happily."
After a moment's hesitation, William added another sentence.
"I don't know if I should advise them against buying more. Perhaps more roosters will only make it easier for the little culprit to obtain ingredients. But if Hagrid has no roosters, will the perpetrator really stop?"
"Mr. Filch was a bit angry today. Although Professor McGonagall interviewed many students, the fact that no one took responsibility for the incident has made him quite unhappy."
"'I'll catch that troublemaker.'—that's what he said huffily before he left. I don't know what Mr. Filch plans to do, but for my own selfish reasons, I didn't try to dissuade him. I hope the student who killed the chickens gets caught soon."
"Of course, I feel I'm also partly responsible. Part of Mr. Filch's unhappiness stems from the fact that I'm planning to hold a feast for the students who misbehaved."
Writing this, William couldn't help but unwrap another piece of chocolate.
Then, he began to even out his breathing.
Inhale—exhale. After taking long, deep breaths for a good while, he finally wrote the next line in his diary.
"I admit, I haven't attended many feasts, but I doubt there has ever been a feast more agonizing than today's."
"Adams dragged Singeade along to help me prepare for a whole half-day: the office expanded with magic, the flowers brought to bloom by accelerated growth spells, the words formed by fire transfiguration, the decorations arranged by the house-elves—"
At this point, William simply put down his quill.
'I was so foolish—on the first day of school, I saw just how mischievous these children can be. How did I ever find the courage to leave my own office?'
He couldn't help but cover his face—the whole thing was just too humiliating. He simply couldn't bring himself to write about it in his diary.
---
Two hours earlier.
"Professor William?"
In the middle of the lively party, William suddenly heard the voice of Mr. Filch, who had just opened the door and entered.
William hesitated for a moment before following Filch out. The door to the inner room had been magically reinforced to the point that even he could barely open it. And although no other professors were invited to the outer room to let the students have more fun, it was unlikely anything could happen in such a short absence.
'They're all in detention, after all. Nothing should go wrong.'
With this thought in mind, William followed Filch out of his office. He felt a bit guilty, after all, since letting a group of students in detention attend a party must seem quite outrageous to Filch.
"Mr. Filch, is there something important?"
He asked the question first, out of guilt.
"There is one thing I still don't quite understand—Professor, you haven't found the perpetrator yet, have you?"
"Not yet, and for now, there are no leads."
Although it was a bit shameful to admit, William truthfully reported the results of his investigation.
This result obviously didn't please Filch—especially since he had just witnessed a group of misbehaving children having the time of their lives at a feast.
"So, Professor, will those students really be able to find anything out through their investigation?"
Such a question was likely the strongest doubt the caretaker could voice to a professor.
"Of course, of course," William earnestly assured Filch, even though he himself only considered this a backup plan. "Killing the chickens and not even taking the bodies—without a doubt, the perpetrator intended to collect the chicken blood. That blood won't just vanish into thin air. There's a high probability it's being used for some evil ritual, perhaps to draw a magic array or write runes."
"Those things have to be drawn somewhere secluded. Places like secret passages or secret classrooms are all possibilities. The castle is too large; without the help of those children, no one could search it all."
"That makes sense, Professor. If they're willing to help, the secret corners of the castle probably can't escape a search."
William's explanation barely managed to persuade the caretaker, making him stop dwelling on the party that had so displeased him.
"Then, what can I do, Professor?"
"You've done more than enough, Mr. Filch. Things aren't that bad. It's likely just a student who saw some strange ritual somewhere and decided to imitate it."
William began to advise him against it. It wasn't that he distrusted the caretaker, but rather that he felt this incident wasn't so simple, and it wouldn't be good for the caretaker to get involved.
'It's not that I look down on you, Mr. Filch, it's just... I can't even see a way for you to draw your wand smoothly. Although you've hidden your wand well, a wizard who can't draw their wand quickly has pretty poor combat power...'
This wasn't just some wild guess from William. Among the wizards he had encountered so far, those who could draw their wands in an instant all possessed considerable combat power.
For instance, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick all kept their wands in places that allowed for a very smooth draw. William had never actually seen Dumbledore's wand—but Dumbledore could easily take him down with wandless magic alone.
Then there was Professor Lockhart—William felt his wand placement was the most aggressive and concealed of all. Apart from it being inconvenient to transition into a defensive posture for a protective charm after spellcasting, it had no other flaws.
Compared to these professors, William felt it was better for someone like Mr. Filch, who couldn't even keep his wand in an easily accessible place, to stay out of it. He already regretted getting the students involved; having this stubborn caretaker join in would be of no help at all.
And to put it bluntly—judging by strength alone, William believed that the student he had called in for help could easily defeat Filch in a 1v1.
(end of chapter)
July 14, 2022 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
"Third week at Hogwarts. Saturday, sunny. Today was an absolute disaster."
After writing this in his diary, William thought for a moment, then flipped back to the first page. On the title page, he wrote a sentence in heavy, bold letters.
[No matter when, no matter where, always maintain the utmost vigilance against the Weasleys.]
After confirming the ink was dry, William took out his wand and cast a spell on the sentence in his diary, making it difficult to erase or wear away.
Having finished this, he let out a long sigh. Nibbling on a small piece of chocolate, he turned the diary back to the previous page.
"This must be the first time I've woken up so early at Hogwarts.
Logically, I should be feeling carefree today. The Rooster Incident that has been troubling me for some time is now in the hands of Professor McGonagall, and she has already spoken with the students. Yet, I still feel a bit uneasy.
How should I put this... I keep feeling like things are developing into something out of the Cthulhu Mythos. The way those roosters died was just too strange. Theoretically, one shouldn't need to go to such great lengths to cover up the killing of two chickens. It's as unbelievable as tearing down a house just to catch a rat.
But after the lead from the ghost went cold, I really can't find any other leads."
William paused his writing here and drew a smiley face in the diary—but it didn't seem to help.
"There's still more to that matter, but it's clearly not something I can predict right now. Hagrid and Adams have bought over thirty more roosters. It looks like they'll be eating very happily."
After a moment's hesitation, William added another sentence.
"I don't know if I should advise them against buying more. Perhaps more roosters will only make it easier for the little culprit to obtain ingredients. But if Hagrid has no roosters, will the perpetrator really stop?"
"Mr. Filch was a bit angry today. Although Professor McGonagall interviewed many students, the fact that no one took responsibility for the incident has made him quite unhappy."
"'I'll catch that troublemaker.'—that's what he said huffily before he left. I don't know what Mr. Filch plans to do, but for my own selfish reasons, I didn't try to dissuade him. I hope the student who killed the chickens gets caught soon."
"Of course, I feel I'm also partly responsible. Part of Mr. Filch's unhappiness stems from the fact that I'm planning to hold a feast for the students who misbehaved."
Writing this, William couldn't help but unwrap another piece of chocolate.
Then, he began to even out his breathing.
Inhale—exhale. After taking long, deep breaths for a good while, he finally wrote the next line in his diary.
"I admit, I haven't attended many feasts, but I doubt there has ever been a feast more agonizing than today's."
"Adams dragged Singeade along to help me prepare for a whole half-day: the office expanded with magic, the flowers brought to bloom by accelerated growth spells, the words formed by fire transfiguration, the decorations arranged by the house-elves—"
At this point, William simply put down his quill.
'I was so foolish—on the first day of school, I saw just how mischievous these children can be. How did I ever find the courage to leave my own office?'
He couldn't help but cover his face—the whole thing was just too humiliating. He simply couldn't bring himself to write about it in his diary.
---
Two hours earlier.
"Professor William?"
In the middle of the lively party, William suddenly heard the voice of Mr. Filch, who had just opened the door and entered.
William hesitated for a moment before following Filch out. The door to the inner room had been magically reinforced to the point that even he could barely open it. And although no other professors were invited to the outer room to let the students have more fun, it was unlikely anything could happen in such a short absence.
'They're all in detention, after all. Nothing should go wrong.'
With this thought in mind, William followed Filch out of his office. He felt a bit guilty, after all, since letting a group of students in detention attend a party must seem quite outrageous to Filch.
"Mr. Filch, is there something important?"
He asked the question first, out of guilt.
"There is one thing I still don't quite understand—Professor, you haven't found the perpetrator yet, have you?"
"Not yet, and for now, there are no leads."
Although it was a bit shameful to admit, William truthfully reported the results of his investigation.
This result obviously didn't please Filch—especially since he had just witnessed a group of misbehaving children having the time of their lives at a feast.
"So, Professor, will those students really be able to find anything out through their investigation?"
Such a question was likely the strongest doubt the caretaker could voice to a professor.
"Of course, of course," William earnestly assured Filch, even though he himself only considered this a backup plan. "Killing the chickens and not even taking the bodies—without a doubt, the perpetrator intended to collect the chicken blood. That blood won't just vanish into thin air. There's a high probability it's being used for some evil ritual, perhaps to draw a magic array or write runes."
"Those things have to be drawn somewhere secluded. Places like secret passages or secret classrooms are all possibilities. The castle is too large; without the help of those children, no one could search it all."
"That makes sense, Professor. If they're willing to help, the secret corners of the castle probably can't escape a search."
William's explanation barely managed to persuade the caretaker, making him stop dwelling on the party that had so displeased him.
"Then, what can I do, Professor?"
"You've done more than enough, Mr. Filch. Things aren't that bad. It's likely just a student who saw some strange ritual somewhere and decided to imitate it."
William began to advise him against it. It wasn't that he distrusted the caretaker, but rather that he felt this incident wasn't so simple, and it wouldn't be good for the caretaker to get involved.
'It's not that I look down on you, Mr. Filch, it's just... I can't even see a way for you to draw your wand smoothly. Although you've hidden your wand well, a wizard who can't draw their wand quickly has pretty poor combat power...'
This wasn't just some wild guess from William. Among the wizards he had encountered so far, those who could draw their wands in an instant all possessed considerable combat power.
For instance, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick all kept their wands in places that allowed for a very smooth draw. William had never actually seen Dumbledore's wand—but Dumbledore could easily take him down with wandless magic alone.
Then there was Professor Lockhart—William felt his wand placement was the most aggressive and concealed of all. Apart from it being inconvenient to transition into a defensive posture for a protective charm after spellcasting, it had no other flaws.
Compared to these professors, William felt it was better for someone like Mr. Filch, who couldn't even keep his wand in an easily accessible place, to stay out of it. He already regretted getting the students involved; having this stubborn caretaker join in would be of no help at all.
And to put it bluntly—judging by strength alone, William believed that the student he had called in for help could easily defeat Filch in a 1v1.
(end of chapter)
