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chapter 177 part 2
"Alright, professors who did not participate in the experiment may leave. The remaining professors can prepare to extract your memories. I apologize, but we have no better way."
The professors filed out, leaving behind the group William recognized as having participated in the experiment.
——
"Excuse me, Dumbledore, is it possible to have only you or Professor Snape view them?"
One of the remaining professors asked hesitantly.
Before Dumbledore could respond, William quickly answered, "Of course, Professor. To be honest, I'm not very confident. If there were a real problem, I probably wouldn't be able to find anything unusual anyway. This isn't my area of research, after all."
He knew his place. If a veteran professor and Head of House like Snape looked, the other professors could at least stomach it. But if he, a new professor, looked through their memories, how could he possibly get along at the school afterward?
As a professor who planned to stay at Hogwarts until the Dark Lord was dealt with, William valued his relationships with his colleagues.
He wouldn't like it either if he were in their shoes. *A newcomer wants to see my memories? Dream on.*
"Very well," Dumbledore agreed after a moment's thought. He then looked at William. "Professor William, would you care to take a walk with me?"
"Of course, Professor."
The two of them soon left Professor McGonagall's office and began to walk down the corridor.
"Professor William," Dumbledore said, walking casually, "what are your thoughts on today's events?"
"It must be a side effect of the Diadem. We never noticed, but it must have planted a suggestion or something back then—"
William thought of the Hypnotizing Spell—how a person could be controlled by a keyword or a specific situation.
After all, the Imperius Curse from Dark Magic could easily achieve this. If an expert developed a variant, it was theoretically possible for the control effect to lie dormant.
"Just as you initially suspected?"
Dumbledore said with a smile, "Honestly, it would be quite difficult to track the locations of so many professors. You must know, this was a rare, sunny weekend. There were hardly any professors even in the Staff Room."
"Yes, the timing was too perfect. The upperclassmen were at Hogsmeade, and the professors were on their weekend holiday. Otherwise, with the Weasley brothers' skill level, they would have been caught soon after taking down Filch. It wouldn't have dragged on for so long."
"So, just as you first guessed, it's alive?"
Dumbledore ambled along slowly.
"Yes. It lay dormant, waiting to strike all at once, almost like something out of a novel. Is the Sorting Hat that clever?"
William marveled. The timing of this control was just too precise. It was truly worthy of being an artifact left by Ravenclaw.
"The Sorting Hat wouldn't be happy to hear that. It has always considered itself the cleverest hat in the world. Perhaps I should let it spend some time with the Diadem?"
Dumbledore joked, but quickly dismissed the idea himself. "That's not a good idea, Professor William. You ought to talk me out of it. It still needs to sort the new students next year. If the new students lose their memories, that would be my responsibility."
The dry joke gave William pause.
The Diadem versus the Sorting Hat—what a surreal scene would that be?
"I believe you've already figured it out, Professor William. I used you to pressure the other professors a little."
"Yes, but if I really had to look, I think I would have had to avoid the Staff Room for the foreseeable future."
William replied with a smile, "It had to be investigated. Just the Weasley brothers alone were able to take down Filch. If it had been someone else launching a sneak attack, I can't even imagine the consequences."
Setting others aside, just consider Percy Weasley, whom William himself had recommended. First in the Sixth Year, with magical power approaching that of an adult wizard. If he lost control and started attacking those around him, the outcome would be unimaginable. Percy was a Prefect. If he had taken down the other Prefects with him first, the school would have descended directly into chaos… With the students running wild, the professors alone would not have been able to control them.
"Mm, it's good that you understand, Professor William. Care for some candy?"
"Of course."
William felt like he needed a peppermint to calm his nerves. Although the incident was over, Filch being hung from the castle wall alone had been enough to give him a good scare.
"Alright then, I'll have a honey candy," Dumbledore said, holding out his hand and smiling at William.
William looked at Dumbledore, then at himself, and only then realized Dumbledore was pointing at his bag.
"Well then, I'll leave the Weasley brothers and Miss Granger to you, Professor William."
Having gotten his candy, Dumbledore waved with a smile. "I must go find Minerva to discuss how to handle today's events. You know how The Daily Prophet always likes to find big news—"
——
"Professor?"
The Weasley brothers were floating in mid-air, only their mouths able to move. Across from them, Hermione Granger was similarly wrapped in bandages, levitating beside them.
"Yes, I'm here. What is it?"
William sucked on a peppermint, his tone relaxed.
"They've already investigated. It really wasn't us. We even captured Ginny—"
"Mm, that's right. That's why your detention was canceled, wasn't it—" William said, ascending the stairs while using his wand to keep the three of them balanced. "See? Even though you lost your memories, the subsequent detention was waived, no?"
"That makes sense, Professor. But why are we still tied up?"
"Hospital observation, children," William replied. "And after you're discharged, there's still detention waiting for you. From the looks of it, at least two months, one of which will be spent scrubbing toilets. But whether more will be added, and how much, I can't say for sure. After all, you even attacked Mr. Filch, which is a serious breach of the rules."
"Wicked!"
The two brothers exchanged a smile, which greatly annoyed William, who was laboriously walking. *Do these two rascals really not take this seriously?*
"What about Hermione? What did she do wrong?" the two asked with a grin, completely unconcerned about being tied up. They clearly thought this was the price for attacking Filch.
"Her?"
William glanced at the quiet girl in the air. Although he had already heard the story, saying it out loud now still made him involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air. "She hung half the girls in her year on top of the toilets. We still haven't managed to calm that group of children down…"
(end of chapter)
"Alright, professors who did not participate in the experiment may leave. The remaining professors can prepare to extract your memories. I apologize, but we have no better way."
The professors filed out, leaving behind the group William recognized as having participated in the experiment.
——
"Excuse me, Dumbledore, is it possible to have only you or Professor Snape view them?"
One of the remaining professors asked hesitantly.
Before Dumbledore could respond, William quickly answered, "Of course, Professor. To be honest, I'm not very confident. If there were a real problem, I probably wouldn't be able to find anything unusual anyway. This isn't my area of research, after all."
He knew his place. If a veteran professor and Head of House like Snape looked, the other professors could at least stomach it. But if he, a new professor, looked through their memories, how could he possibly get along at the school afterward?
As a professor who planned to stay at Hogwarts until the Dark Lord was dealt with, William valued his relationships with his colleagues.
He wouldn't like it either if he were in their shoes. *A newcomer wants to see my memories? Dream on.*
"Very well," Dumbledore agreed after a moment's thought. He then looked at William. "Professor William, would you care to take a walk with me?"
"Of course, Professor."
The two of them soon left Professor McGonagall's office and began to walk down the corridor.
"Professor William," Dumbledore said, walking casually, "what are your thoughts on today's events?"
"It must be a side effect of the Diadem. We never noticed, but it must have planted a suggestion or something back then—"
William thought of the Hypnotizing Spell—how a person could be controlled by a keyword or a specific situation.
After all, the Imperius Curse from Dark Magic could easily achieve this. If an expert developed a variant, it was theoretically possible for the control effect to lie dormant.
"Just as you initially suspected?"
Dumbledore said with a smile, "Honestly, it would be quite difficult to track the locations of so many professors. You must know, this was a rare, sunny weekend. There were hardly any professors even in the Staff Room."
"Yes, the timing was too perfect. The upperclassmen were at Hogsmeade, and the professors were on their weekend holiday. Otherwise, with the Weasley brothers' skill level, they would have been caught soon after taking down Filch. It wouldn't have dragged on for so long."
"So, just as you first guessed, it's alive?"
Dumbledore ambled along slowly.
"Yes. It lay dormant, waiting to strike all at once, almost like something out of a novel. Is the Sorting Hat that clever?"
William marveled. The timing of this control was just too precise. It was truly worthy of being an artifact left by Ravenclaw.
"The Sorting Hat wouldn't be happy to hear that. It has always considered itself the cleverest hat in the world. Perhaps I should let it spend some time with the Diadem?"
Dumbledore joked, but quickly dismissed the idea himself. "That's not a good idea, Professor William. You ought to talk me out of it. It still needs to sort the new students next year. If the new students lose their memories, that would be my responsibility."
The dry joke gave William pause.
The Diadem versus the Sorting Hat—what a surreal scene would that be?
"I believe you've already figured it out, Professor William. I used you to pressure the other professors a little."
"Yes, but if I really had to look, I think I would have had to avoid the Staff Room for the foreseeable future."
William replied with a smile, "It had to be investigated. Just the Weasley brothers alone were able to take down Filch. If it had been someone else launching a sneak attack, I can't even imagine the consequences."
Setting others aside, just consider Percy Weasley, whom William himself had recommended. First in the Sixth Year, with magical power approaching that of an adult wizard. If he lost control and started attacking those around him, the outcome would be unimaginable. Percy was a Prefect. If he had taken down the other Prefects with him first, the school would have descended directly into chaos… With the students running wild, the professors alone would not have been able to control them.
"Mm, it's good that you understand, Professor William. Care for some candy?"
"Of course."
William felt like he needed a peppermint to calm his nerves. Although the incident was over, Filch being hung from the castle wall alone had been enough to give him a good scare.
"Alright then, I'll have a honey candy," Dumbledore said, holding out his hand and smiling at William.
William looked at Dumbledore, then at himself, and only then realized Dumbledore was pointing at his bag.
"Well then, I'll leave the Weasley brothers and Miss Granger to you, Professor William."
Having gotten his candy, Dumbledore waved with a smile. "I must go find Minerva to discuss how to handle today's events. You know how The Daily Prophet always likes to find big news—"
——
"Professor?"
The Weasley brothers were floating in mid-air, only their mouths able to move. Across from them, Hermione Granger was similarly wrapped in bandages, levitating beside them.
"Yes, I'm here. What is it?"
William sucked on a peppermint, his tone relaxed.
"They've already investigated. It really wasn't us. We even captured Ginny—"
"Mm, that's right. That's why your detention was canceled, wasn't it—" William said, ascending the stairs while using his wand to keep the three of them balanced. "See? Even though you lost your memories, the subsequent detention was waived, no?"
"That makes sense, Professor. But why are we still tied up?"
"Hospital observation, children," William replied. "And after you're discharged, there's still detention waiting for you. From the looks of it, at least two months, one of which will be spent scrubbing toilets. But whether more will be added, and how much, I can't say for sure. After all, you even attacked Mr. Filch, which is a serious breach of the rules."
"Wicked!"
The two brothers exchanged a smile, which greatly annoyed William, who was laboriously walking. *Do these two rascals really not take this seriously?*
"What about Hermione? What did she do wrong?" the two asked with a grin, completely unconcerned about being tied up. They clearly thought this was the price for attacking Filch.
"Her?"
William glanced at the quiet girl in the air. Although he had already heard the story, saying it out loud now still made him involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air. "She hung half the girls in her year on top of the toilets. We still haven't managed to calm that group of children down…"
(end of chapter)
