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Chapter 44: Trivial Matters Before the Start of School
Although Hermione next to him seemed to be trembling under Professor McGonagall's stern gaze, William unfortunately had to tell the rest of the story.
Hiding the matter might sound good, but in practice, it would only lead to bigger trouble.
Underage magic outside of school is strictly monitored. If William didn't report this and frame it as him giving temporary permission for a student to use magic off-campus, a cascade of trouble would follow.
Attacking a Ministry of Magic official was especially serious. Without William vouching for her as a professor, this would be enough to land her in Azkaban for half a year or more—did they really think you could attack a Ministry employee and face no consequences?
William would need to report that record of spellcasting to the school. Then, the school administration would have to communicate with the Ministry of Magic to prove it was off-campus magic permitted by a professor before the record could be cleared. Otherwise, the off-campus spellcasting alone would warrant a major demerit. Combined with attacking a Ministry official, expulsion would be the lightest punishment.
"That's how it happened. With my permission to cast a spell, Miss Granger mistook a Ministry of Magic employee for a suspect and launched an attack on him."
"Very well, I understand, Professor William."
Professor McGonagall's expression became calm, but William felt as if a storm was about to break—*Warning: Lightning Storm Created*.
"Well then, I'll go to the Owlery to send the letter?"
"Thank you for your trouble, Professor William."
As William stepped out of the castle, he couldn't help but look back. Inside the Great Hall, the ghosts who had been floating around, gesticulating and offering all sorts of suggestions, were now hiding quietly in the corners, leaving the entire hall feeling vast and empty.
---
"A flying car?"
The scorching fire greedily devoured the grease dripping from the skewered meat. The occasional wisp of cooking fumes was quickly vented out of the magically modified room. Although it was late summer, the room didn't feel overheated at all, making William, who was waiting for the meat to roast, sigh in admiration at how wonderful magic truly was.
The roasted meat, originally intended to be served with drinks to welcome William to his new post, was now on the bonfire ahead of schedule, as Hagrid, goblet in hand, discussed the events on the train with William.
"Speaking of the flying car, I have one myself. Harry would never guess that he's actually ridden in something similar before."
Hagrid said with a chuckle, raising his goblet and taking a large swig.
*This is against school rules. Could you please take this more seriously?*
The giant clearly didn't take Harry's use of a flying car instead of the train to get to school seriously, even treating it as an amusing story.
However, William himself wasn't too concerned about it either.
Although he didn't know much about the plot, that didn't mean he didn't know about Harry Potter as a person. In the time before arriving at school, he had collected a pile of information on the boy, hoping to find something useful within.
Although it turned out that the information wasn't of much use, he did learn quite a few things about Harry Potter.
If this flying car incident had happened to any other student, it might not have been resolved so easily, but with Harry, it probably wouldn't be a major problem.
Because he had truly saved the world...
Although all the information about him speculated on what had happened back then, every single account affirmed one fact with absolute certainty—Harry Potter had defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and saved the entire British Wizarding World.
Therefore, regardless of the feelings of the students at school, from the perspective of the wider Wizarding World, as long as the boy named Harry Potter didn't blow up Hogwarts, any mistake he made wasn't a big deal.
Factoring in William's few memories and the impression of Harry held by Dumbledore's staunch supporter, Hagrid—Harry Potter himself was good-natured and well-liked by professors and fellow students.
Even an ordinary person with such a reputation could be spared from this incident, because the current Headmaster, Dumbledore, was perhaps the most understanding headmaster in years—this was also part of the information William had gathered.
Without a Seer, one must rely on gathering information to make guesses. After all, you can't just decide to eat a pig with its bristles still on just because the butcher is gone, can you?
Foresight is limited, after all. It's great to have, but even without it, one must still make an effort to face these troubles.
"Oh, by the way, where's Hermione?"
Hagrid asked, slapping his head with a loud thud.
"Her? Probably writing a self-reflection essay for Professor McGonagall—she might even have to wait for Harry and the others to arrive to finish it together."
"Hahaha," Hagrid let out a sound of schadenfreude unique to friends. "Yes, that's right. Back in the day, James and Black—"
Hagrid suddenly stopped laughing, as if he had said some taboo word.
"Black?"
"It's nothing, William. I don't want to talk about that story. It's too heavy, too heavy."
Hagrid shook his head repeatedly, and William had no choice but to drop the subject.
After that, Hagrid's spirits remained low. When evening approached, the two parted ways to prepare for the opening feast.
---
Right up until the welcoming feast, William still hadn't gotten his trunk.
"Professor, we will deliver the trunks to your office, but they are all being moved right now. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to find where your trunk is at the moment, or who is responsible for it."
The house-elf William had stopped explained this, and William found he couldn't bear to force them to find his trunk immediately.
Fortunately, William was wearing a robe. Although it had gotten a bit crumpled due to the minor incidents, it still barely met the dress code.
After using magic to tidy up his robe and confirming there were no stains, William walked out of his empty office.
"Ah, Professor William!"
An eager voice called out from behind William. It was the teeth—er, Professor Lockhart, dressed in aquamarine robes.
"Long time no see, Professor William."
Lockhart casually sidled up, his tone as if he were speaking to an old friend of many years.
"Hello, Professor Lockhart."
"The Opening Ceremony is about to start. I'm actually a little nervous, you know. I imagine you are too—aren't you?"
*I'm not nervous. I am, however, nervous for you.*
As William thought this, he checked the Blessing Card in his inventory. Professor Lockhart's presence had weakened the curse's power—it was as if the two of them were sharing it.
A shared curse couldn't possibly drive a professor out of the school during the Opening Ceremony, so there was nothing to be nervous about.
"I imagine a good number of students will be so surprised their jaws will drop. They certainly never expected that I would come to Hogwarts to become the D—"
"Ahem!"
William coughed pointedly.
"My apologies, Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Lockhart wore a look of feigned apology.
"Alright, my apologies, Professor William. It's getting late. I think we should make our entrance."
William didn't even have time for a retort to form in his mind before Lockhart pulled him away.
(end of chapter)
Although Hermione next to him seemed to be trembling under Professor McGonagall's stern gaze, William unfortunately had to tell the rest of the story.
Hiding the matter might sound good, but in practice, it would only lead to bigger trouble.
Underage magic outside of school is strictly monitored. If William didn't report this and frame it as him giving temporary permission for a student to use magic off-campus, a cascade of trouble would follow.
Attacking a Ministry of Magic official was especially serious. Without William vouching for her as a professor, this would be enough to land her in Azkaban for half a year or more—did they really think you could attack a Ministry employee and face no consequences?
William would need to report that record of spellcasting to the school. Then, the school administration would have to communicate with the Ministry of Magic to prove it was off-campus magic permitted by a professor before the record could be cleared. Otherwise, the off-campus spellcasting alone would warrant a major demerit. Combined with attacking a Ministry official, expulsion would be the lightest punishment.
"That's how it happened. With my permission to cast a spell, Miss Granger mistook a Ministry of Magic employee for a suspect and launched an attack on him."
"Very well, I understand, Professor William."
Professor McGonagall's expression became calm, but William felt as if a storm was about to break—*Warning: Lightning Storm Created*.
"Well then, I'll go to the Owlery to send the letter?"
"Thank you for your trouble, Professor William."
As William stepped out of the castle, he couldn't help but look back. Inside the Great Hall, the ghosts who had been floating around, gesticulating and offering all sorts of suggestions, were now hiding quietly in the corners, leaving the entire hall feeling vast and empty.
---
"A flying car?"
The scorching fire greedily devoured the grease dripping from the skewered meat. The occasional wisp of cooking fumes was quickly vented out of the magically modified room. Although it was late summer, the room didn't feel overheated at all, making William, who was waiting for the meat to roast, sigh in admiration at how wonderful magic truly was.
The roasted meat, originally intended to be served with drinks to welcome William to his new post, was now on the bonfire ahead of schedule, as Hagrid, goblet in hand, discussed the events on the train with William.
"Speaking of the flying car, I have one myself. Harry would never guess that he's actually ridden in something similar before."
Hagrid said with a chuckle, raising his goblet and taking a large swig.
*This is against school rules. Could you please take this more seriously?*
The giant clearly didn't take Harry's use of a flying car instead of the train to get to school seriously, even treating it as an amusing story.
However, William himself wasn't too concerned about it either.
Although he didn't know much about the plot, that didn't mean he didn't know about Harry Potter as a person. In the time before arriving at school, he had collected a pile of information on the boy, hoping to find something useful within.
Although it turned out that the information wasn't of much use, he did learn quite a few things about Harry Potter.
If this flying car incident had happened to any other student, it might not have been resolved so easily, but with Harry, it probably wouldn't be a major problem.
Because he had truly saved the world...
Although all the information about him speculated on what had happened back then, every single account affirmed one fact with absolute certainty—Harry Potter had defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and saved the entire British Wizarding World.
Therefore, regardless of the feelings of the students at school, from the perspective of the wider Wizarding World, as long as the boy named Harry Potter didn't blow up Hogwarts, any mistake he made wasn't a big deal.
Factoring in William's few memories and the impression of Harry held by Dumbledore's staunch supporter, Hagrid—Harry Potter himself was good-natured and well-liked by professors and fellow students.
Even an ordinary person with such a reputation could be spared from this incident, because the current Headmaster, Dumbledore, was perhaps the most understanding headmaster in years—this was also part of the information William had gathered.
Without a Seer, one must rely on gathering information to make guesses. After all, you can't just decide to eat a pig with its bristles still on just because the butcher is gone, can you?
Foresight is limited, after all. It's great to have, but even without it, one must still make an effort to face these troubles.
"Oh, by the way, where's Hermione?"
Hagrid asked, slapping his head with a loud thud.
"Her? Probably writing a self-reflection essay for Professor McGonagall—she might even have to wait for Harry and the others to arrive to finish it together."
"Hahaha," Hagrid let out a sound of schadenfreude unique to friends. "Yes, that's right. Back in the day, James and Black—"
Hagrid suddenly stopped laughing, as if he had said some taboo word.
"Black?"
"It's nothing, William. I don't want to talk about that story. It's too heavy, too heavy."
Hagrid shook his head repeatedly, and William had no choice but to drop the subject.
After that, Hagrid's spirits remained low. When evening approached, the two parted ways to prepare for the opening feast.
---
Right up until the welcoming feast, William still hadn't gotten his trunk.
"Professor, we will deliver the trunks to your office, but they are all being moved right now. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to find where your trunk is at the moment, or who is responsible for it."
The house-elf William had stopped explained this, and William found he couldn't bear to force them to find his trunk immediately.
Fortunately, William was wearing a robe. Although it had gotten a bit crumpled due to the minor incidents, it still barely met the dress code.
After using magic to tidy up his robe and confirming there were no stains, William walked out of his empty office.
"Ah, Professor William!"
An eager voice called out from behind William. It was the teeth—er, Professor Lockhart, dressed in aquamarine robes.
"Long time no see, Professor William."
Lockhart casually sidled up, his tone as if he were speaking to an old friend of many years.
"Hello, Professor Lockhart."
"The Opening Ceremony is about to start. I'm actually a little nervous, you know. I imagine you are too—aren't you?"
*I'm not nervous. I am, however, nervous for you.*
As William thought this, he checked the Blessing Card in his inventory. Professor Lockhart's presence had weakened the curse's power—it was as if the two of them were sharing it.
A shared curse couldn't possibly drive a professor out of the school during the Opening Ceremony, so there was nothing to be nervous about.
"I imagine a good number of students will be so surprised their jaws will drop. They certainly never expected that I would come to Hogwarts to become the D—"
"Ahem!"
William coughed pointedly.
"My apologies, Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Lockhart wore a look of feigned apology.
"Alright, my apologies, Professor William. It's getting late. I think we should make our entrance."
William didn't even have time for a retort to form in his mind before Lockhart pulled him away.
(end of chapter)
