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Chapter 149: Even the Dark Lord Isn't This Ruthless, Right?
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
It was infuriating.
But a mistake was a mistake, and his lack of knowledge was no one else's fault. After quietly adding the study of memory magic to his agenda, William ignored Snape's taunts.
They were just a few words, not even on par with the daily greetings between Azkaban prisoners. It was nothing!
William didn't even think of comforting himself by imagining Professor Snape being bitten by a dog or beaten by a student in the future—a mistake was a mistake. He would study diligently and not make the same mistake twice; he just needed to broaden his scope of magic. Being petty wouldn't help him survive.
Besides, the professors present didn't care about this either. Ultimately, William was a young professor; even if he made a mistake due to inexperience, he could still be forgiven.
"The diadem’s influence?" Dumbledore mused as the bandages holding him to the chair came undone easily.
"Professor Kettleburn, please describe again what it felt like to wear the diadem.”
"Wonderful! It felt like all the things I'd forgotten over the years suddenly came back to me. My mind was even much sharper than when I was young; I even instantly had two or three brilliant ideas—" The old professor chuckled as he moved his remaining hand and half-leg, without a hint of complaint. "I never had so many ideas even when I was young.”
"Please, you must not implement them,” Professor McGonagall said with a serious expression, not joking in the slightest. "You are close to retirement. If you insist on conducting any unauthorized experiments, then the play scheduled for Halloween will have to be canceled.”
A play? Hadn't it been said that all forms of plays were strictly forbidden after an incident in the Hogwarts Great Hall? William couldn't help but gasp. What kind of promise had the old professor made to get Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall to approve a play for Halloween?
"Don't worry, Minerva,” the professor waved his hand dismissively. "I clearly remember what I promised. Before retirement, I won't be thinking about cultivating new species on school grounds. Those interesting ideas can be left for the next professor. Consider them exam questions I've left for my successor.”
"That would be excellent,” Professor McGonagall's eyes were full of distrust, but the old professor ignored her. He hopped over to William's side on his wooden leg in a couple of quick steps. He placed his sole arm on William's shoulder.
"Little William, come, let's take a look together at what kind of twisted memory caused you to make that mistake—" the old professor said kindly, beginning to search through the memory fragments in the basin.
All sorts of memories, after being processed by Professor Snape using magic, played out at slightly faster or slower speeds. It was easy to get dizzy if one wasn't careful, but this didn't faze the original owner of the memories. "Tsk tsk, I went through all my past memories in such a short time? What a marvelous creation.”
"Little William, look here,” the old professor said as he pulled out his wand. With a light tap, the memory fragment expanded dozens of times, becoming a barely visible image. "I have to say, that diadem is truly remarkable; it makes searching for memories so easy.”
The professor mumbled as he pointed at the figures in the image, introducing them to William. "Look here, Minerva and Albus are still young. Albus wasn't the Headmaster yet. The Headmaster was that one—see, Armando. He was the one who banned plays from being performed again back then, but now that ban has been successfully lifted, hasn't it!”
"Ahem, ahem,” a rather obvious cough came from above. Only then did William notice that the top of the Headmaster's Office was lined with portraits.
"Professor Kettleburn,” a portrait that looked exactly like the person the old professor had just introduced stared at the Pensieve. "Why don't you tell them why we canceled the play back then?”
The old professor uncharacteristically blushed. "Hmph, I can't be bothered to argue with you, Armando. Little William, look here.”
The old professor tapped a memory in the image. It showed Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall again, along with a group of new students. "Here, right here, is a memory from before Armando's dismissal. Something terrible happened in the castle back then; those Slytherins—”
"Professor Kettleburn!”
Dumbledore, who had been silent for a long time, spoke with a suddenly serious tone, which made the old professor quickly withdraw the memory image.
"Alright, calm down, Albus,” the old professor's tone uncharacteristically softened a bit, as if his sore spot had been hit.
"Don't worry, little William. I have another Pensieve over there. Later, I'll show you the dog that bit Snape.”
...
William felt Professor Snape's face twist slightly—but this was unavoidable. Everyone in the school knew Snape favored the students of his own House, but the old professor, being from Hufflepuff, had little affection for Slytherin to begin with, let alone a professor like Snape who showed excessive favoritism towards Slytherin students.
"Albus, have you found any problems now?” the old professor asked, as if nothing was amiss.
"I'm afraid we have trouble—" Dumbledore's face was filled with a curious expression that seemed out of place on him. "I don't know who cast the magic on it, but the combination of spells is more intricate than I imagined. In my examination, it didn't activate the alluring power it had before, but I have no doubt of its existence.”
"Could it be that Professor Kettleburn is too powerful, causing it to not dare exert control, fearing it might damage itself?”
William boldly put forward his guess—if he was wrong, he was wrong. When it came to ancient artifacts, even knowing which guesses were incorrect was valuable knowledge. Apart from the group assembled in the Headmaster's Office, any discussion about Ravenclaw's Diadem elsewhere was merely speculation about whether it was made of gold or silver.
"Unlikely,” Dumbledore easily dismissed William's guess. "Although I still haven't figured out how those spells are hidden, from my examination, I doubt even I could withstand them.”
"Even you couldn't withstand them?” William was a little incredulous. "Even the deceased Dark Lord wouldn't possess such magical power, would he?”
"Thank you for your trust, Professor William, but regarding achievements in Dark Magic, I'm afraid—" Dumbledore said modestly, but then trailed off. "William, do you remember what Helena Ravenclaw said when she gave you the diadem?”
"Of course I remember, Professor. She once gave the diadem to Tom. Now that the diadem has returned, she intends to give it to me—that should be it, Professor.”
"Minerva, please help me look up the student enrollment lists from the past hundred years,” Dumbledore quickly instructed. "Professor Kettleburn, please use the Pensieve to help recall that past event. Yes, the time when Horace was still here, when we had class together.”
"Oh, and Professor William, I apologize. I originally wanted to have a proper chat with you, but now a few of us old fellows are going to deal with some past matters,” Dumbledore said with a gentle smile, and then took out a bundle of tied feathers from his drawer.
"Fawkes has been shedding terribly—approving prize money requires approval from the Board of Governors, but I think you'll like these more than Galleons.”
PS: The update speed is a mystery—with such a slow writing speed, how will I ever repay the mountain of debt I've accumulated?
(end of chapter)
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
It was infuriating.
But a mistake was a mistake, and his lack of knowledge was no one else's fault. After quietly adding the study of memory magic to his agenda, William ignored Snape's taunts.
They were just a few words, not even on par with the daily greetings between Azkaban prisoners. It was nothing!
William didn't even think of comforting himself by imagining Professor Snape being bitten by a dog or beaten by a student in the future—a mistake was a mistake. He would study diligently and not make the same mistake twice; he just needed to broaden his scope of magic. Being petty wouldn't help him survive.
Besides, the professors present didn't care about this either. Ultimately, William was a young professor; even if he made a mistake due to inexperience, he could still be forgiven.
"The diadem’s influence?" Dumbledore mused as the bandages holding him to the chair came undone easily.
"Professor Kettleburn, please describe again what it felt like to wear the diadem.”
"Wonderful! It felt like all the things I'd forgotten over the years suddenly came back to me. My mind was even much sharper than when I was young; I even instantly had two or three brilliant ideas—" The old professor chuckled as he moved his remaining hand and half-leg, without a hint of complaint. "I never had so many ideas even when I was young.”
"Please, you must not implement them,” Professor McGonagall said with a serious expression, not joking in the slightest. "You are close to retirement. If you insist on conducting any unauthorized experiments, then the play scheduled for Halloween will have to be canceled.”
A play? Hadn't it been said that all forms of plays were strictly forbidden after an incident in the Hogwarts Great Hall? William couldn't help but gasp. What kind of promise had the old professor made to get Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall to approve a play for Halloween?
"Don't worry, Minerva,” the professor waved his hand dismissively. "I clearly remember what I promised. Before retirement, I won't be thinking about cultivating new species on school grounds. Those interesting ideas can be left for the next professor. Consider them exam questions I've left for my successor.”
"That would be excellent,” Professor McGonagall's eyes were full of distrust, but the old professor ignored her. He hopped over to William's side on his wooden leg in a couple of quick steps. He placed his sole arm on William's shoulder.
"Little William, come, let's take a look together at what kind of twisted memory caused you to make that mistake—" the old professor said kindly, beginning to search through the memory fragments in the basin.
All sorts of memories, after being processed by Professor Snape using magic, played out at slightly faster or slower speeds. It was easy to get dizzy if one wasn't careful, but this didn't faze the original owner of the memories. "Tsk tsk, I went through all my past memories in such a short time? What a marvelous creation.”
"Little William, look here,” the old professor said as he pulled out his wand. With a light tap, the memory fragment expanded dozens of times, becoming a barely visible image. "I have to say, that diadem is truly remarkable; it makes searching for memories so easy.”
The professor mumbled as he pointed at the figures in the image, introducing them to William. "Look here, Minerva and Albus are still young. Albus wasn't the Headmaster yet. The Headmaster was that one—see, Armando. He was the one who banned plays from being performed again back then, but now that ban has been successfully lifted, hasn't it!”
"Ahem, ahem,” a rather obvious cough came from above. Only then did William notice that the top of the Headmaster's Office was lined with portraits.
"Professor Kettleburn,” a portrait that looked exactly like the person the old professor had just introduced stared at the Pensieve. "Why don't you tell them why we canceled the play back then?”
The old professor uncharacteristically blushed. "Hmph, I can't be bothered to argue with you, Armando. Little William, look here.”
The old professor tapped a memory in the image. It showed Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall again, along with a group of new students. "Here, right here, is a memory from before Armando's dismissal. Something terrible happened in the castle back then; those Slytherins—”
"Professor Kettleburn!”
Dumbledore, who had been silent for a long time, spoke with a suddenly serious tone, which made the old professor quickly withdraw the memory image.
"Alright, calm down, Albus,” the old professor's tone uncharacteristically softened a bit, as if his sore spot had been hit.
"Don't worry, little William. I have another Pensieve over there. Later, I'll show you the dog that bit Snape.”
...
William felt Professor Snape's face twist slightly—but this was unavoidable. Everyone in the school knew Snape favored the students of his own House, but the old professor, being from Hufflepuff, had little affection for Slytherin to begin with, let alone a professor like Snape who showed excessive favoritism towards Slytherin students.
"Albus, have you found any problems now?” the old professor asked, as if nothing was amiss.
"I'm afraid we have trouble—" Dumbledore's face was filled with a curious expression that seemed out of place on him. "I don't know who cast the magic on it, but the combination of spells is more intricate than I imagined. In my examination, it didn't activate the alluring power it had before, but I have no doubt of its existence.”
"Could it be that Professor Kettleburn is too powerful, causing it to not dare exert control, fearing it might damage itself?”
William boldly put forward his guess—if he was wrong, he was wrong. When it came to ancient artifacts, even knowing which guesses were incorrect was valuable knowledge. Apart from the group assembled in the Headmaster's Office, any discussion about Ravenclaw's Diadem elsewhere was merely speculation about whether it was made of gold or silver.
"Unlikely,” Dumbledore easily dismissed William's guess. "Although I still haven't figured out how those spells are hidden, from my examination, I doubt even I could withstand them.”
"Even you couldn't withstand them?” William was a little incredulous. "Even the deceased Dark Lord wouldn't possess such magical power, would he?”
"Thank you for your trust, Professor William, but regarding achievements in Dark Magic, I'm afraid—" Dumbledore said modestly, but then trailed off. "William, do you remember what Helena Ravenclaw said when she gave you the diadem?”
"Of course I remember, Professor. She once gave the diadem to Tom. Now that the diadem has returned, she intends to give it to me—that should be it, Professor.”
"Minerva, please help me look up the student enrollment lists from the past hundred years,” Dumbledore quickly instructed. "Professor Kettleburn, please use the Pensieve to help recall that past event. Yes, the time when Horace was still here, when we had class together.”
"Oh, and Professor William, I apologize. I originally wanted to have a proper chat with you, but now a few of us old fellows are going to deal with some past matters,” Dumbledore said with a gentle smile, and then took out a bundle of tied feathers from his drawer.
"Fawkes has been shedding terribly—approving prize money requires approval from the Board of Governors, but I think you'll like these more than Galleons.”
PS: The update speed is a mystery—with such a slow writing speed, how will I ever repay the mountain of debt I've accumulated?
(end of chapter)
