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Chapter 140: Parchment and Diadem
"The culprit has been caught! It's Ginny!"
The shouts from outside the door caught William completely off guard.
He already knew Ginny was the culprit, but he was in the middle of organizing a capture team. How could they suddenly bring her here?
The Prefects didn't look too pleased either—a month into the school year, something major was finally happening. The atmosphere hadn't even been built up yet, and it was already over?
Although William was still a bit curious, the most important thing now was to confirm that Ginny Weasley had been caught. "Please come in."
The eager students filed in. Bringing up the rear were the Weasley brothers, smugly using their wands to levitate an unconscious little girl—her fiery red hair allowed William to immediately confirm her identity.
'If she hasn't taken any Polyjuice Potion, then it's definitely Ginny. A pity I don't have any in stock. Perhaps I should prepare some for next time.'
As he thought this, William summoned long, soft bandages with his wand—it was the best way to bind someone without causing injury.
"Where's her wand?"
"Professor, it's here."
George pulled Ginny's wand from his robes. This slightly improved William's impression of this particular Weasley—setting aside the troublemaking, this level of attentiveness suggested a promising future.
"Put it on that table over there. And the other Weasley, help put this child on my desk."
Percy dazedly drew his wand, but by the time he reached the desk, Ginny had already been carefully placed on it.
"Percy, oh, my apologies—" William nodded apologetically, glancing at the nearly packed office.
'I should have put learning the Undetectable Extension Charm on my schedule sooner,' he thought, before calling out to everyone, "Alright, children, you can disperse. This matter is more or less concluded. Thank you for your participation. I will report this to Professor McGonagall. Please leave now; a first-year student's punishment requires secrecy."
The Prefects obediently left right away. Although the remaining students were reluctant to leave, wanting to see the drama unfold, William still held the threat of detention over them, so they could only depart from the office, looking back every few steps.
After securely tying Ginny to the desk with the bandages, William finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's that?"
He had immediately spotted the diadem in George's hand.
"Something Ginny was carrying," George answered cheerfully. "I'm guessing this is why she had to kill roosters for some strange ritual."
He and Fred were quite curious about what it was, but William's repeated warnings had made them dismiss the thought. A ritual involving blood was clearly more than just a prank, not to mention there was a professor keeping a close eye on the matter.
"Brilliant. I'd love to award some house points to Gryffindor, but I can't do that outside of class time," William said with a smile, praising the two. He then pulled out a chair. "Place it on here. Although it's not doing anything right now, to be safe, it's best I don't touch it. I'm not sure if I'll be controlled if I do."
'Is that a thing?'
The Weasley Twins exchanged a glance, a spark of inspiration visible in each other's eyes.
"Percy, could I trouble you to go find Professor McGonagall? She should be in the Owlery." William turned his head and gave Percy an errand.
"Yes, Professor."
Percy turned and left.
"Professor McGonagall?" the two asked in unison, then realization dawned on them. "Those prefects from earlier... you also gathered them to look for Ginny?"
"Of course. It was Professor McGonagall's instruction."
"But Ginny only killed two chickens!" The twins' faces instantly paled; they had never imagined things would escalate like this.
Although they didn't know what had happened, anything that alarmed Professor McGonagall was no small matter. If they had known Ginny had caused such major trouble, they would never have brought her here so cheerfully.
"Relax, it's not that serious. She attacked Mr. Filch, and it's very likely she was being controlled. I will try to persuade Professor McGonagall to give her a lenient punishment."
William comforted the two brothers in a low voice. Whether she was controlled or not, he would do his best to persuade them not to let the child face expulsion. Having been in Azkaban himself, he knew all too well how many students, after being expelled from Hogwarts, drifted for a while before ending up in that very prison.
But he soon realized his comforting was in vain—after hearing that Ginny had attacked Mr. Filch, the two little rascals wore expressions that said, "That's our sister, alright."
Fine, you win.
William gave up trying to persuade them and began observing the diadem from a distance.
Speaking of which, this thing is way too battered, isn't it?
---
"Professor William, it's me, Minerva McGonagall."
There was a standard knock on the door, followed by Professor McGonagall's voice.
"Please come in, Professor."
More than one person entered—Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Mr. Filch, and the Headmaster, Dumbledore.
Only after they had all entered did William notice Percy trailing behind them, having completely faded into the background.
"Severus informed me that he had discovered some rather fascinating things," Dumbledore said in a relaxed tone, as if Professor Snape were about to publish an ordinary essay. "Then, I ran into Percy in a castle corridor. The boy was frantically running towards the Owlery."
Percy gave an embarrassed smile and continued to be an invisible presence.
But William was now more curious about what fascinating thing could have happened to make Snape choose to inform the Headmaster immediately.
"Professor William, thank you for keeping an eye on this matter from the very beginning," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Severus, would you be so kind as to repeat what you discovered?"
"Of course, Dumbledore."
Upon entering William's office, Professor Snape had been surveying the room with a disparaging gaze, his expression screaming, 'The Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor has fallen so low as to have an office of this caliber.' He finally dropped the disdainful look to respond to the Headmaster.
"Filch's memory has been wiped. The few remaining fragments show that Miss Ginny Weasley—" he said the name with palpable disgust—"took a piece of parchment from among the items Mr. Filch had confiscated."
"Parchment?" William repeated in a low voice. "Wasn't it the diadem?"
"It may have already been destroyed, but that is not the point. The point is that Miss Ginny Weasley used no controlling spells, such as the Imperius Curse. By the power of language alone, she made Mr. Filch abandon any pursuit of her rule-breaking, and did so very naturally—something that even I cannot accomplish."
*Just state your findings. What's with the dramatics...*
William grumbled internally, feeling slighted, and his gaze immediately fixed on the battered diadem. *This piece of junk can boost a wizard's power that much?*
His gaze shifted so abruptly that the others couldn't help but also stare at the battered diadem.
"This? Albus? Could this be...?"
Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with a rare excitement.
"It should be what you are thinking, Minerva."
Dumbledore's voice remained steady, but he had already strode forward, observing it intently from a few paces away.
"That's right. It is... Ravenclaw's Diadem."
(end of chapter)
"The culprit has been caught! It's Ginny!"
The shouts from outside the door caught William completely off guard.
He already knew Ginny was the culprit, but he was in the middle of organizing a capture team. How could they suddenly bring her here?
The Prefects didn't look too pleased either—a month into the school year, something major was finally happening. The atmosphere hadn't even been built up yet, and it was already over?
Although William was still a bit curious, the most important thing now was to confirm that Ginny Weasley had been caught. "Please come in."
The eager students filed in. Bringing up the rear were the Weasley brothers, smugly using their wands to levitate an unconscious little girl—her fiery red hair allowed William to immediately confirm her identity.
'If she hasn't taken any Polyjuice Potion, then it's definitely Ginny. A pity I don't have any in stock. Perhaps I should prepare some for next time.'
As he thought this, William summoned long, soft bandages with his wand—it was the best way to bind someone without causing injury.
"Where's her wand?"
"Professor, it's here."
George pulled Ginny's wand from his robes. This slightly improved William's impression of this particular Weasley—setting aside the troublemaking, this level of attentiveness suggested a promising future.
"Put it on that table over there. And the other Weasley, help put this child on my desk."
Percy dazedly drew his wand, but by the time he reached the desk, Ginny had already been carefully placed on it.
"Percy, oh, my apologies—" William nodded apologetically, glancing at the nearly packed office.
'I should have put learning the Undetectable Extension Charm on my schedule sooner,' he thought, before calling out to everyone, "Alright, children, you can disperse. This matter is more or less concluded. Thank you for your participation. I will report this to Professor McGonagall. Please leave now; a first-year student's punishment requires secrecy."
The Prefects obediently left right away. Although the remaining students were reluctant to leave, wanting to see the drama unfold, William still held the threat of detention over them, so they could only depart from the office, looking back every few steps.
After securely tying Ginny to the desk with the bandages, William finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's that?"
He had immediately spotted the diadem in George's hand.
"Something Ginny was carrying," George answered cheerfully. "I'm guessing this is why she had to kill roosters for some strange ritual."
He and Fred were quite curious about what it was, but William's repeated warnings had made them dismiss the thought. A ritual involving blood was clearly more than just a prank, not to mention there was a professor keeping a close eye on the matter.
"Brilliant. I'd love to award some house points to Gryffindor, but I can't do that outside of class time," William said with a smile, praising the two. He then pulled out a chair. "Place it on here. Although it's not doing anything right now, to be safe, it's best I don't touch it. I'm not sure if I'll be controlled if I do."
'Is that a thing?'
The Weasley Twins exchanged a glance, a spark of inspiration visible in each other's eyes.
"Percy, could I trouble you to go find Professor McGonagall? She should be in the Owlery." William turned his head and gave Percy an errand.
"Yes, Professor."
Percy turned and left.
"Professor McGonagall?" the two asked in unison, then realization dawned on them. "Those prefects from earlier... you also gathered them to look for Ginny?"
"Of course. It was Professor McGonagall's instruction."
"But Ginny only killed two chickens!" The twins' faces instantly paled; they had never imagined things would escalate like this.
Although they didn't know what had happened, anything that alarmed Professor McGonagall was no small matter. If they had known Ginny had caused such major trouble, they would never have brought her here so cheerfully.
"Relax, it's not that serious. She attacked Mr. Filch, and it's very likely she was being controlled. I will try to persuade Professor McGonagall to give her a lenient punishment."
William comforted the two brothers in a low voice. Whether she was controlled or not, he would do his best to persuade them not to let the child face expulsion. Having been in Azkaban himself, he knew all too well how many students, after being expelled from Hogwarts, drifted for a while before ending up in that very prison.
But he soon realized his comforting was in vain—after hearing that Ginny had attacked Mr. Filch, the two little rascals wore expressions that said, "That's our sister, alright."
Fine, you win.
William gave up trying to persuade them and began observing the diadem from a distance.
Speaking of which, this thing is way too battered, isn't it?
---
"Professor William, it's me, Minerva McGonagall."
There was a standard knock on the door, followed by Professor McGonagall's voice.
"Please come in, Professor."
More than one person entered—Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Mr. Filch, and the Headmaster, Dumbledore.
Only after they had all entered did William notice Percy trailing behind them, having completely faded into the background.
"Severus informed me that he had discovered some rather fascinating things," Dumbledore said in a relaxed tone, as if Professor Snape were about to publish an ordinary essay. "Then, I ran into Percy in a castle corridor. The boy was frantically running towards the Owlery."
Percy gave an embarrassed smile and continued to be an invisible presence.
But William was now more curious about what fascinating thing could have happened to make Snape choose to inform the Headmaster immediately.
"Professor William, thank you for keeping an eye on this matter from the very beginning," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Severus, would you be so kind as to repeat what you discovered?"
"Of course, Dumbledore."
Upon entering William's office, Professor Snape had been surveying the room with a disparaging gaze, his expression screaming, 'The Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor has fallen so low as to have an office of this caliber.' He finally dropped the disdainful look to respond to the Headmaster.
"Filch's memory has been wiped. The few remaining fragments show that Miss Ginny Weasley—" he said the name with palpable disgust—"took a piece of parchment from among the items Mr. Filch had confiscated."
"Parchment?" William repeated in a low voice. "Wasn't it the diadem?"
"It may have already been destroyed, but that is not the point. The point is that Miss Ginny Weasley used no controlling spells, such as the Imperius Curse. By the power of language alone, she made Mr. Filch abandon any pursuit of her rule-breaking, and did so very naturally—something that even I cannot accomplish."
*Just state your findings. What's with the dramatics...*
William grumbled internally, feeling slighted, and his gaze immediately fixed on the battered diadem. *This piece of junk can boost a wizard's power that much?*
His gaze shifted so abruptly that the others couldn't help but also stare at the battered diadem.
"This? Albus? Could this be...?"
Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with a rare excitement.
"It should be what you are thinking, Minerva."
Dumbledore's voice remained steady, but he had already strode forward, observing it intently from a few paces away.
"That's right. It is... Ravenclaw's Diadem."
(end of chapter)
