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**Chapter 134: A Feast Where Everyone Was Happy Except William**
Ultimately, William couldn't refuse the caretaker's intervention without coming across as discriminatory.
The two parted ways unhappily.
—
Having composed himself, William decided to go back and have some more fun with the children.
Today's feast was quite well-prepared; at least, it looked that way to William.
Humming a little tune, William rounded the corridor and headed for his office—he'd been talking with Mr. Filch for so long that the staircases had already shifted.
Before he even reached the office, he could hear the children's loud shouts emanating from inside.
‘They weren't this wild when I was around, were they? I suppose the title of professor really does have a suppressive effect on students.’
He smiled and pushed open the door. Although they were having a blast in his absence, it was still just a feast, and some supervision was necessary.
A crowd had already gathered, probably because some upper-year students had quietly snuck in. William found his view so blocked that he couldn't see what was happening.
"Hey, what's all the commotion inside?"
He tapped a student's shoulder, trying to be friendly.
"The Weasley brothers' prank. It's absolutely spectacular!"
The student he addressed didn't even bother to turn around, replying at top speed.
It was indeed a spectacular scene. The rather small band William had asked Adams to hire had long since finished their set and left, yet the atmosphere was far more joyous than when they were playing.
"I must ask you not to scream!"
Fred's voice rang out from within. "That will enrage them!"
Enrage what?
As William wondered, the surrounding students had already dissolved into laughter for some unknown reason.
But the laughter clearly didn't interrupt the two brothers' performance inside.
"Excellent," George's voice was full of humor. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."
‘Cornish pixies? Why would they catch those? They're ugly and nothing but troublemakers—wait, they didn't actually catch them, did they?’
But the students roared with laughter.
‘What's so funny about pixies? Am I too old to keep up with these youngsters? Or is this some kind of inside joke?’
Fred quickly started speaking from inside with an exaggerated tone.
"They might also be cunning little destroyers, like imps!"
Then, with an exaggerated motion, the cage door was opened—even William, who didn't want to spoil the students' fun, could see it clearly through a gap in the crowd.
‘Releasing pixies!’
As William thought this, his hand moved faster than his mind—pixies, huh?
"Impedimenta!"
A powerful jinx shot out, knocking the flying figures straight down. Although his office had been renovated today, William still didn't like the idea of pixies helping him redecorate.
Even the slyest pixie would be swatted down like a fly by such a powerful jinx—that is, if they really were pixies.
The fireworks, which had been clustered together, broke free from their binding ropes under the effect of William's jinx and began to fly about wildly.
Realizing his mistake, William immediately tried to remedy the situation.
"Aguamenti!"
A jet of water, powerful as a fire hose, shot from his wand toward the fireworks in the sky—fortunately, they hadn't been waterproofed.
Satisfied, William began to redirect his spell, the jet of water turning in mid-air to blast the scattered fireworks.
Theoretically, he should have been instructing the students at the same time, but he didn't have the spare concentration to manage them while maintaining his spell. Fortunately, the students weren't panicking. They seemed to find it all very amusing and started pulling out their wands to attack the fireworks in the air.
"Don't!"
William wanted to shout, but he couldn't—a firework hit by a Stunning Spell exploded in mid-air, showering a group of students with sparks.
"Oh! Fire! I'm on f—*pssshhh*!!!"
Before the student could shout again, William had already directed the jet of water over them. The massive stream drenched the students in that area, soaking them like drowned rats—but the fire was definitely out.
At the same time, most of the candles were also extinguished by William's poorly controlled spell.
After the room lost half its light, it's unknown which student started it, but someone began using Aguamenti to extinguish the surrounding candles.
Before William could react, the office was plunged into darkness—only the fireworks continued to spin and leap through the air without pause.
After that, the situation descended into chaos. Students began attacking the fireworks over other people's heads, and when the sparks fell, they'd use Aguamenti and spray it right in someone else's face.
"Who sprayed water on me?"
"Bastard, who stepped on my foot?"
"Woohoo!"
"Hurrah!!!"
…
A chaotic cacophony of sounds filled the entire room. Worried about accidents, William simply cast an uncontrolled Aguamenti—a massive jet of water under his command began surging towards everyone.
Estimating that he had sprayed everyone at least once, William cast a Sonorus Charm on his throat.
"Everyone stop spellcasting! Crouch where you are and don't move! What just happened will be forgiven, but if anyone casts a spell after this, they can look forward to detention!"
First, he had to calm them down. The proportion of troublemakers in here was too high; if he didn't promise to drop the matter, they might very well band together and escalate the situation. If someone got hurt, things would really get out of hand.
For the next minute, whenever there was movement, William would shoot a jet of water around what he estimated to be chest level in that direction.
This method was exceptionally effective, and the crowd quickly quieted down.
"Next, everyone is forbidden to move from their positions or make any unnecessary noise. Raise your wands and use Lumos—"
Theoretically, lighting all the candles with a wave of his hand would have been the best solution, but William couldn't manage it, so he had to settle for the next best thing.
The numerous points of light from the Lumos charms provided an excellent light source. With everyone crouching, William could clearly see that they were all safe and sound—if anyone was hurt, it was from being blasted by his Aguamenti.
"The group on the far left, stand up and form a line. The rest of you, not a sound!"
William began to direct them. The most important thing now was to get all the students out. This wasn't too much trouble; his authority was sufficient, and he was able to communicate effectively with everyone.
"Second group, get up and head for the door!"
…
Group by group, the students lined up and left, the Weasley brothers prominently among them.
‘I promised not to pursue it,’ he reminded himself. ‘Don't give in to a moment of weakness...’
William shook his head and waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
Afterward, the chattering students outside became several degrees noisier.
It was evident that because of this final grand spectacle, everyone had a great time.
‘Of course, except for me.’
William casually lit a candle and observed the scene by its light—undoubtedly, it was a complete mess.
"My feast!"
P.S. Just recovered from a cold, so I'm a bit out of it.
(end of chapter)
Ultimately, William couldn't refuse the caretaker's intervention without coming across as discriminatory.
The two parted ways unhappily.
—
Having composed himself, William decided to go back and have some more fun with the children.
Today's feast was quite well-prepared; at least, it looked that way to William.
Humming a little tune, William rounded the corridor and headed for his office—he'd been talking with Mr. Filch for so long that the staircases had already shifted.
Before he even reached the office, he could hear the children's loud shouts emanating from inside.
‘They weren't this wild when I was around, were they? I suppose the title of professor really does have a suppressive effect on students.’
He smiled and pushed open the door. Although they were having a blast in his absence, it was still just a feast, and some supervision was necessary.
A crowd had already gathered, probably because some upper-year students had quietly snuck in. William found his view so blocked that he couldn't see what was happening.
"Hey, what's all the commotion inside?"
He tapped a student's shoulder, trying to be friendly.
"The Weasley brothers' prank. It's absolutely spectacular!"
The student he addressed didn't even bother to turn around, replying at top speed.
It was indeed a spectacular scene. The rather small band William had asked Adams to hire had long since finished their set and left, yet the atmosphere was far more joyous than when they were playing.
"I must ask you not to scream!"
Fred's voice rang out from within. "That will enrage them!"
Enrage what?
As William wondered, the surrounding students had already dissolved into laughter for some unknown reason.
But the laughter clearly didn't interrupt the two brothers' performance inside.
"Excellent," George's voice was full of humor. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."
‘Cornish pixies? Why would they catch those? They're ugly and nothing but troublemakers—wait, they didn't actually catch them, did they?’
But the students roared with laughter.
‘What's so funny about pixies? Am I too old to keep up with these youngsters? Or is this some kind of inside joke?’
Fred quickly started speaking from inside with an exaggerated tone.
"They might also be cunning little destroyers, like imps!"
Then, with an exaggerated motion, the cage door was opened—even William, who didn't want to spoil the students' fun, could see it clearly through a gap in the crowd.
‘Releasing pixies!’
As William thought this, his hand moved faster than his mind—pixies, huh?
"Impedimenta!"
A powerful jinx shot out, knocking the flying figures straight down. Although his office had been renovated today, William still didn't like the idea of pixies helping him redecorate.
Even the slyest pixie would be swatted down like a fly by such a powerful jinx—that is, if they really were pixies.
The fireworks, which had been clustered together, broke free from their binding ropes under the effect of William's jinx and began to fly about wildly.
Realizing his mistake, William immediately tried to remedy the situation.
"Aguamenti!"
A jet of water, powerful as a fire hose, shot from his wand toward the fireworks in the sky—fortunately, they hadn't been waterproofed.
Satisfied, William began to redirect his spell, the jet of water turning in mid-air to blast the scattered fireworks.
Theoretically, he should have been instructing the students at the same time, but he didn't have the spare concentration to manage them while maintaining his spell. Fortunately, the students weren't panicking. They seemed to find it all very amusing and started pulling out their wands to attack the fireworks in the air.
"Don't!"
William wanted to shout, but he couldn't—a firework hit by a Stunning Spell exploded in mid-air, showering a group of students with sparks.
"Oh! Fire! I'm on f—*pssshhh*!!!"
Before the student could shout again, William had already directed the jet of water over them. The massive stream drenched the students in that area, soaking them like drowned rats—but the fire was definitely out.
At the same time, most of the candles were also extinguished by William's poorly controlled spell.
After the room lost half its light, it's unknown which student started it, but someone began using Aguamenti to extinguish the surrounding candles.
Before William could react, the office was plunged into darkness—only the fireworks continued to spin and leap through the air without pause.
After that, the situation descended into chaos. Students began attacking the fireworks over other people's heads, and when the sparks fell, they'd use Aguamenti and spray it right in someone else's face.
"Who sprayed water on me?"
"Bastard, who stepped on my foot?"
"Woohoo!"
"Hurrah!!!"
…
A chaotic cacophony of sounds filled the entire room. Worried about accidents, William simply cast an uncontrolled Aguamenti—a massive jet of water under his command began surging towards everyone.
Estimating that he had sprayed everyone at least once, William cast a Sonorus Charm on his throat.
"Everyone stop spellcasting! Crouch where you are and don't move! What just happened will be forgiven, but if anyone casts a spell after this, they can look forward to detention!"
First, he had to calm them down. The proportion of troublemakers in here was too high; if he didn't promise to drop the matter, they might very well band together and escalate the situation. If someone got hurt, things would really get out of hand.
For the next minute, whenever there was movement, William would shoot a jet of water around what he estimated to be chest level in that direction.
This method was exceptionally effective, and the crowd quickly quieted down.
"Next, everyone is forbidden to move from their positions or make any unnecessary noise. Raise your wands and use Lumos—"
Theoretically, lighting all the candles with a wave of his hand would have been the best solution, but William couldn't manage it, so he had to settle for the next best thing.
The numerous points of light from the Lumos charms provided an excellent light source. With everyone crouching, William could clearly see that they were all safe and sound—if anyone was hurt, it was from being blasted by his Aguamenti.
"The group on the far left, stand up and form a line. The rest of you, not a sound!"
William began to direct them. The most important thing now was to get all the students out. This wasn't too much trouble; his authority was sufficient, and he was able to communicate effectively with everyone.
"Second group, get up and head for the door!"
…
Group by group, the students lined up and left, the Weasley brothers prominently among them.
‘I promised not to pursue it,’ he reminded himself. ‘Don't give in to a moment of weakness...’
William shook his head and waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
Afterward, the chattering students outside became several degrees noisier.
It was evident that because of this final grand spectacle, everyone had a great time.
‘Of course, except for me.’
William casually lit a candle and observed the scene by its light—undoubtedly, it was a complete mess.
"My feast!"
P.S. Just recovered from a cold, so I'm a bit out of it.
(end of chapter)
