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Chapter 70: Recognition from a Colleague
It was unclear whether William had missed the Weasley brothers' accomplices when he caught them, if other students had overheard the two complaining, or if there had been some seventh-year students in the shop at the time. In any case, by Wednesday evening, nearly every student in the school knew that the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had way too much time on his hands.
That's right, "has way too much time on his hands"—this was the unanimous assessment of the new professor from the entire student body.
A professor responsible for teaching the three senior years—fifth, sixth, and seventh—running off-campus to drag back a couple of fourth-year students. Besides having too much time on his hands, how else could one describe such actions?
That was off-campus, not on school grounds!
"Congratulations, William. In less than a week on the job, you've earned the title of 'Most Unpopular Professor'—though honestly, I think it's a bit late."
Adams's gloating voice had been ringing out ever since dinner began.
"Indeed. I think you should have achieved that on the day you failed every single student. It's actually a bit late now. Wasn't the last person to become this unpopular this quickly Professor Snape? Perhaps you two will have something in common—oh, that's right, Professor Snape has looked down on the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for more than a year or two now."
The Alchemy Professor, having returned to Hogwarts, seemed to have been liberated from his silence. He spoke quickly and at length, in a manner that could choke a person to death in minutes.
"Tch~"
William rolled his eyes at the two gloating colleagues, his tone completely devoid of the panic one would expect from being targeted as unpopular by the students—after all, he hadn't received a single Negative Emotions chest yet.
He actually wished the students would label him an unpopular professor, just as they said. Imagine how many chests he could farm from that!
Unfortunately, that hadn't happened.
"It was just punishing two students for skipping class—perfectly normal for any professor. The only reason it's a big deal is because I caught them off-campus. Honestly, if I hadn't punished them, a bunch of students would probably think it was unfair. No one will object to the punishment."
"As for failing them, all the exam papers were made up of past exam questions. The students will only think they didn't study well enough and will put in more effort. They can't possibly blame me for it. At most, they were just surprised that everyone failed—it can't be helped, their foundation is just a bit weak."
William shifted the blame with a perfectly straight face, but as he spoke, he couldn't help but start laughing.
The other two, who had been listening intently, finally realized something was amiss. They wanted to say something, but in the end, they couldn't hold back their laughter either. The trio's irrepressible chuckles immediately alerted Professor McGonagall, who was sitting at the other end of the table. Her sharp gaze swept over, preventing the laughter from starting a chain reaction.
However, it wasn't long before Professor Kettleburn, the old Magical Creatures professor and possibly the only person on the school grounds who wasn't afraid of Professor McGonagall, hobbled over on his crutch. The clunking sound was quite distinct, but the old professor wore the expression of a mischievous child pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
"So, did something interesting happen?"
He propped his head up with his remaining arm and asked in a deliberately lowered voice.
"We were discussing the two students who were caught this afternoon, the ones who snuck off to the Hog's Head Inn."
Adams responded to the old professor's question almost instantly.
"The Hog's Head Inn, now that's a good place! I've bought a whole bunch of young magical creatures from there. I dare say, the goods in Knockturn Alley might be comprehensive, but when it comes to surprises, nowhere beats the Hog's Head Inn!"
Was this approval from a senior?
William looked at Professor Kettleburn's one and a half remaining limbs and couldn't help but agree with the old professor.
Although he knew next to nothing about magical creatures beyond their use as potion ingredients, he was aware that creatures capable of inflicting wounds that couldn't be healed, similar to Dark Magic injuries, were invariably powerful and rare. Any magical creature that could cause wounds that magic couldn't mend had either been wiped out by squads of Hit-Wizards and Aurors, or only existed in protected reserves. Finding one was incredibly difficult.
Seeing the impressed looks on their faces, the old professor couldn't contain his smile.
"Let me tell you youngsters, the Hog's Head Inn will just swindle your money, but Knockturn Alley is downright deadly. A lot of those blokes are contract swindlers. While they wouldn't dare move against a Hogwarts professor, even one nasty run-in with them is a real nuisance."
"Diagon Alley is legitimate, sure, but they don't dare sell anything even slightly out of line. The Ministry of Magic keeps a tight watch on that place. If you want to buy any exclusive goods, you have to hit up a few of the famous alleys—"
"For instance, the second-hand book dealer in the most remote corner of Diagon Alley has some things you youngsters might like—"
"Ahem!"
A cough from Professor McGonagall's direction cut off Kettleburn, whose voice had been steadily rising.
The latter made a face before turning his head, his expression suddenly serious. "Oh, Minerva, I just remembered I haven't fed my animals yet. Hagrid is a wonderful lad, but I still need to go and check on how the little tykes are eating."
"Of course, please go ahead, Professor Kettleburn."
Professor McGonagall's face was completely serious, as if nothing had just happened.
"I feel like I've learned something weird."
William ate a piece of his lamb chop with a straight face and added in a low voice.
"Me too. Professor Kettleburn seems to know everything; he can jump into any conversation. I bet even Professor Dumbledore couldn't do that. It's hard to imagine Professor Dumbledore coming over to seriously discuss contraband with us."
"How is that even possible? Dumbledore and... illegal? How can you even connect those two words?"
"Exactly, he's Dumbledore, after all. By the way, William, how did you punish those two students this afternoon?"
"Copying a month's worth of History of Magic. I couldn't very well have them scrubbing bedpans, could I?"
"History of Magic?"
The two looked at each other, then turned to William and burst out laughing.
What's so funny about History of Magic? Have these two gone mad?
[You have earned recognition from a Magical Creature. Received Treasure Chest x1]
[You have earned recognition from a Magical Creature. Received Treasure Chest x1]
The system prompts appeared one after another. If William wasn't mistaken, they must have come from these two before him.
"History of Magic... you've really outdone yourself. I wonder if Professor Binns will mind you doing his job for him," Adams said with a look of feigned admiration.
"I doubt he would. Ever since I came to Hogwarts, even back when I was a student, Professor Binns hasn't cared about anything. He pays more attention to the timetable, though."
"Don't be too outstanding, or I'm afraid you'll have to take on the role of History of Magic professor as well. It's currently the only subject in the school without a second professor. Though, I don't think those two students will enjoy your History of Magic course, no matter what you do."
Adams offered his advice earnestly, but he couldn't hold back that last sentence.
And so, Professor McGonagall looked over again.
PS: There will be another chapter tomorrow before sunset (It can't be any later this time, right?).
(end of chapter)
It was unclear whether William had missed the Weasley brothers' accomplices when he caught them, if other students had overheard the two complaining, or if there had been some seventh-year students in the shop at the time. In any case, by Wednesday evening, nearly every student in the school knew that the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had way too much time on his hands.
That's right, "has way too much time on his hands"—this was the unanimous assessment of the new professor from the entire student body.
A professor responsible for teaching the three senior years—fifth, sixth, and seventh—running off-campus to drag back a couple of fourth-year students. Besides having too much time on his hands, how else could one describe such actions?
That was off-campus, not on school grounds!
"Congratulations, William. In less than a week on the job, you've earned the title of 'Most Unpopular Professor'—though honestly, I think it's a bit late."
Adams's gloating voice had been ringing out ever since dinner began.
"Indeed. I think you should have achieved that on the day you failed every single student. It's actually a bit late now. Wasn't the last person to become this unpopular this quickly Professor Snape? Perhaps you two will have something in common—oh, that's right, Professor Snape has looked down on the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for more than a year or two now."
The Alchemy Professor, having returned to Hogwarts, seemed to have been liberated from his silence. He spoke quickly and at length, in a manner that could choke a person to death in minutes.
"Tch~"
William rolled his eyes at the two gloating colleagues, his tone completely devoid of the panic one would expect from being targeted as unpopular by the students—after all, he hadn't received a single Negative Emotions chest yet.
He actually wished the students would label him an unpopular professor, just as they said. Imagine how many chests he could farm from that!
Unfortunately, that hadn't happened.
"It was just punishing two students for skipping class—perfectly normal for any professor. The only reason it's a big deal is because I caught them off-campus. Honestly, if I hadn't punished them, a bunch of students would probably think it was unfair. No one will object to the punishment."
"As for failing them, all the exam papers were made up of past exam questions. The students will only think they didn't study well enough and will put in more effort. They can't possibly blame me for it. At most, they were just surprised that everyone failed—it can't be helped, their foundation is just a bit weak."
William shifted the blame with a perfectly straight face, but as he spoke, he couldn't help but start laughing.
The other two, who had been listening intently, finally realized something was amiss. They wanted to say something, but in the end, they couldn't hold back their laughter either. The trio's irrepressible chuckles immediately alerted Professor McGonagall, who was sitting at the other end of the table. Her sharp gaze swept over, preventing the laughter from starting a chain reaction.
However, it wasn't long before Professor Kettleburn, the old Magical Creatures professor and possibly the only person on the school grounds who wasn't afraid of Professor McGonagall, hobbled over on his crutch. The clunking sound was quite distinct, but the old professor wore the expression of a mischievous child pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
"So, did something interesting happen?"
He propped his head up with his remaining arm and asked in a deliberately lowered voice.
"We were discussing the two students who were caught this afternoon, the ones who snuck off to the Hog's Head Inn."
Adams responded to the old professor's question almost instantly.
"The Hog's Head Inn, now that's a good place! I've bought a whole bunch of young magical creatures from there. I dare say, the goods in Knockturn Alley might be comprehensive, but when it comes to surprises, nowhere beats the Hog's Head Inn!"
Was this approval from a senior?
William looked at Professor Kettleburn's one and a half remaining limbs and couldn't help but agree with the old professor.
Although he knew next to nothing about magical creatures beyond their use as potion ingredients, he was aware that creatures capable of inflicting wounds that couldn't be healed, similar to Dark Magic injuries, were invariably powerful and rare. Any magical creature that could cause wounds that magic couldn't mend had either been wiped out by squads of Hit-Wizards and Aurors, or only existed in protected reserves. Finding one was incredibly difficult.
Seeing the impressed looks on their faces, the old professor couldn't contain his smile.
"Let me tell you youngsters, the Hog's Head Inn will just swindle your money, but Knockturn Alley is downright deadly. A lot of those blokes are contract swindlers. While they wouldn't dare move against a Hogwarts professor, even one nasty run-in with them is a real nuisance."
"Diagon Alley is legitimate, sure, but they don't dare sell anything even slightly out of line. The Ministry of Magic keeps a tight watch on that place. If you want to buy any exclusive goods, you have to hit up a few of the famous alleys—"
"For instance, the second-hand book dealer in the most remote corner of Diagon Alley has some things you youngsters might like—"
"Ahem!"
A cough from Professor McGonagall's direction cut off Kettleburn, whose voice had been steadily rising.
The latter made a face before turning his head, his expression suddenly serious. "Oh, Minerva, I just remembered I haven't fed my animals yet. Hagrid is a wonderful lad, but I still need to go and check on how the little tykes are eating."
"Of course, please go ahead, Professor Kettleburn."
Professor McGonagall's face was completely serious, as if nothing had just happened.
"I feel like I've learned something weird."
William ate a piece of his lamb chop with a straight face and added in a low voice.
"Me too. Professor Kettleburn seems to know everything; he can jump into any conversation. I bet even Professor Dumbledore couldn't do that. It's hard to imagine Professor Dumbledore coming over to seriously discuss contraband with us."
"How is that even possible? Dumbledore and... illegal? How can you even connect those two words?"
"Exactly, he's Dumbledore, after all. By the way, William, how did you punish those two students this afternoon?"
"Copying a month's worth of History of Magic. I couldn't very well have them scrubbing bedpans, could I?"
"History of Magic?"
The two looked at each other, then turned to William and burst out laughing.
What's so funny about History of Magic? Have these two gone mad?
[You have earned recognition from a Magical Creature. Received Treasure Chest x1]
[You have earned recognition from a Magical Creature. Received Treasure Chest x1]
The system prompts appeared one after another. If William wasn't mistaken, they must have come from these two before him.
"History of Magic... you've really outdone yourself. I wonder if Professor Binns will mind you doing his job for him," Adams said with a look of feigned admiration.
"I doubt he would. Ever since I came to Hogwarts, even back when I was a student, Professor Binns hasn't cared about anything. He pays more attention to the timetable, though."
"Don't be too outstanding, or I'm afraid you'll have to take on the role of History of Magic professor as well. It's currently the only subject in the school without a second professor. Though, I don't think those two students will enjoy your History of Magic course, no matter what you do."
Adams offered his advice earnestly, but he couldn't hold back that last sentence.
And so, Professor McGonagall looked over again.
PS: There will be another chapter tomorrow before sunset (It can't be any later this time, right?).
(end of chapter)
