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Chapter 75: He Who Wishes to Wear the Crown Must Bear Its Weight
The definition of formal wear varies completely depending on the social environment.
The list for Hogwarts First Year students clearly stated the required attire for new students—three sets of plain work robes, a pair of protective gloves, a winter cloak, and a plain, pointed hat for day wear.
That’s right, formal wear at Hogwarts included a wizard hat, but on a daily basis, no one made a specific requirement of it.
Especially now, with summer having just ended, very few people were willing to wear the somewhat warm wizard hats.
William was quite familiar with some of the students in formal wear; they were the Seventh Year students who had just been in his class that morning.
As the professor who had just finished teaching them, William clearly remembered what he had said that morning.
*They'll get you for not wearing a hat... they'll get you for wearing a hat...*
He wanted to smack himself right then and there—why on earth did he have to use wearing a hat as an analogy!
Without needing any hints, William deduced the entire sequence of events:
While he was holed up in the library after his class, the Gryffindors, who had returned to their common room between lessons, were indignant about the points they had lost. However, they felt that what William said made sense. After checking their schedules, they saw that their next lesson was Professor Snape's Potions class.
He had been at the school for less than a week and had already heard several stories about Professor Snape favoring his own students. The students from the other Houses had likely held a grudge for a long time. These Seventh Year Gryffindors, on the verge of graduation and having had points deducted by Professor Snape for over six years, were probably riled up by his lecture and, in a moment of hot-headedness, organized a collective protest.
Unfortunately for him, William had provided these students with the perfect material. Protesting with banners would be inappropriate, but who could fault them for protesting by wearing a hat? Especially since their peers had just attended the same class, the meaning behind the hats would spread quickly and be understood by all.
And so, the students from that group who were enrolled in both advanced classes wore their hats to Potions class. They had probably been laughing inwardly for the entire lesson.
After class, the Slytherins who had attended must have told their Head of House—otherwise, Professor Snape wouldn't be looking so grim.
As for why a whole crowd of Gryffindors was now in formal wear, it was likely because the students felt the in-class protest was a great success. After class, they called on their friends to all wear their formal attire to dinner—after all, no one could say anything about dressing a bit more formally.
"You really know how to put your lessons into practice, don't you!"
William looked over at the Gryffindors, a dull ache throbbing at his temples.
He's a professor! If you're protesting with hats today, are you going to release a Niffler in his office tomorrow, and set off fireworks the day after to celebrate?
William had originally used hats merely as a starting point to make the students understand that when bullying occurs, it's not because you've done something wrong, but because the other party is just looking for an excuse to pick on you.
But what the hell was this, a group of students wearing hats to protest against a professor?
He knew Gryffindor students were the most daring and the most likely to cause trouble, and he knew that Seventh Year almost-graduates could be impulsive, but wasn't the combination of the two a bit too potent?
"Eh? William, what are you thinking about? Dinner's started, what's on your mind?"
Adams's voice brought William back to the dining table.
"It's nothing. I was just wondering what Professor Snape will do."
"What else could he do? Last year, his expression was even uglier than this after he got bitten by a dog, and that passed peacefully enough."
"Bitten by a dog?"
William was a little surprised. Snape was a proper professor at the school. Even someone like him who had snuck in was unlikely to face such an embarrassing situation, let alone Professor Snape.
Thinking of this, William couldn't help but open the System and flip to the Card collection he hadn't opened in a long time. The shock from drawing Dumbledore's card last time had been so great that he hadn't paid attention to the specific data of the characters in his collection for a while.
Severus Snape (Hostile): Magic 2, Potions 2, Learning 2, Dark Magic 2…
The ellipsis at the end referred to undeveloped talents, as the Dark Magic 2 talent had just appeared on William's panel.
Looking at this talent alone, there was no way Professor Snape could be bitten by a dog.
"Is it that surprising? It was a three-headed dog. One bite, and Professor Snape was limping for days."
Adams added, seeing William's astonished expression.
"Three heads? A hellhound?"
"I don't know. I think Hagrid was responsible for it. I'm not very interested in Magical Creatures. They're too dangerous. If one accidentally broke into the Greenhouse, it would be a disaster."
Adams shook his head, indicating he didn't know the details either.
"Professor Snape is coming over. Keep your voices down."
Professor Singid quietly reminded the two of them to drop the subject. Not long after his warning, Professor Snape approached, his face ashen.
To William's relief, Professor Snape apparently had no intention of settling scores with him, his colleague. Antagonizing a senior professor in his first week of work would not have been a good sign.
But things didn't calm down as William had expected. Or rather, he had underestimated the Gryffindors' capacity for action.
Although food had just magically appeared on the tables, students at the Gryffindor table began to leave their seats one by one and head towards their common room.
William didn't notice at first, but seven or eight minutes later, when the doors to the Great Hall opened to new arrivals, it was the very same Gryffindors who had left, now wearing their formal attire.
By the time the meal was halfway through, William even noticed some people wearing casual, everyday clothes but with a very out-of-place hat on their heads. This act resulted in half the people at the Gryffindor table wearing hats.
By now, anyone who wasn't blind could see that something was wrong.
"What are they doing? Is it a holiday?"
Singeade, for once, initiated conversation—he still didn't know what had happened.
In fact, the people at the Staff Table knew less than the students did. Students from every House who had been in the class began to frantically explain the morning's lesson to their friends.
Finally, Professor McGonagall, noticing something was amiss, stood up.
"Nymphadora, Conan, you two, come with me."
Professor McGonagall led the two Seventh Year Prefects out of the Great Hall. The Gryffindors, who had been restlessly preparing to leave their seats, immediately settled down.
A short while later, Professor McGonagall returned with the two Prefects. She stared at all the students for a moment, then commanded in a resigned tone, "Everyone, take off your hats."
Professor McGonagall's authority was absolute in that moment, and the students obediently removed their hats.
But it was obvious things wouldn't end there. After a spectacle like this, every student would likely hear the gist of the story within the next few days.
...
[You have been recognized more deeply by a magical creature (Hostile). Treasure Chest x1 obtained.]
At that moment, William wanted to scream about the injustice of it all. He had absolutely no intention of stirring up the students' emotions, but this is how things had turned out!
(end of chapter)
The definition of formal wear varies completely depending on the social environment.
The list for Hogwarts First Year students clearly stated the required attire for new students—three sets of plain work robes, a pair of protective gloves, a winter cloak, and a plain, pointed hat for day wear.
That’s right, formal wear at Hogwarts included a wizard hat, but on a daily basis, no one made a specific requirement of it.
Especially now, with summer having just ended, very few people were willing to wear the somewhat warm wizard hats.
William was quite familiar with some of the students in formal wear; they were the Seventh Year students who had just been in his class that morning.
As the professor who had just finished teaching them, William clearly remembered what he had said that morning.
*They'll get you for not wearing a hat... they'll get you for wearing a hat...*
He wanted to smack himself right then and there—why on earth did he have to use wearing a hat as an analogy!
Without needing any hints, William deduced the entire sequence of events:
While he was holed up in the library after his class, the Gryffindors, who had returned to their common room between lessons, were indignant about the points they had lost. However, they felt that what William said made sense. After checking their schedules, they saw that their next lesson was Professor Snape's Potions class.
He had been at the school for less than a week and had already heard several stories about Professor Snape favoring his own students. The students from the other Houses had likely held a grudge for a long time. These Seventh Year Gryffindors, on the verge of graduation and having had points deducted by Professor Snape for over six years, were probably riled up by his lecture and, in a moment of hot-headedness, organized a collective protest.
Unfortunately for him, William had provided these students with the perfect material. Protesting with banners would be inappropriate, but who could fault them for protesting by wearing a hat? Especially since their peers had just attended the same class, the meaning behind the hats would spread quickly and be understood by all.
And so, the students from that group who were enrolled in both advanced classes wore their hats to Potions class. They had probably been laughing inwardly for the entire lesson.
After class, the Slytherins who had attended must have told their Head of House—otherwise, Professor Snape wouldn't be looking so grim.
As for why a whole crowd of Gryffindors was now in formal wear, it was likely because the students felt the in-class protest was a great success. After class, they called on their friends to all wear their formal attire to dinner—after all, no one could say anything about dressing a bit more formally.
"You really know how to put your lessons into practice, don't you!"
William looked over at the Gryffindors, a dull ache throbbing at his temples.
He's a professor! If you're protesting with hats today, are you going to release a Niffler in his office tomorrow, and set off fireworks the day after to celebrate?
William had originally used hats merely as a starting point to make the students understand that when bullying occurs, it's not because you've done something wrong, but because the other party is just looking for an excuse to pick on you.
But what the hell was this, a group of students wearing hats to protest against a professor?
He knew Gryffindor students were the most daring and the most likely to cause trouble, and he knew that Seventh Year almost-graduates could be impulsive, but wasn't the combination of the two a bit too potent?
"Eh? William, what are you thinking about? Dinner's started, what's on your mind?"
Adams's voice brought William back to the dining table.
"It's nothing. I was just wondering what Professor Snape will do."
"What else could he do? Last year, his expression was even uglier than this after he got bitten by a dog, and that passed peacefully enough."
"Bitten by a dog?"
William was a little surprised. Snape was a proper professor at the school. Even someone like him who had snuck in was unlikely to face such an embarrassing situation, let alone Professor Snape.
Thinking of this, William couldn't help but open the System and flip to the Card collection he hadn't opened in a long time. The shock from drawing Dumbledore's card last time had been so great that he hadn't paid attention to the specific data of the characters in his collection for a while.
Severus Snape (Hostile): Magic 2, Potions 2, Learning 2, Dark Magic 2…
The ellipsis at the end referred to undeveloped talents, as the Dark Magic 2 talent had just appeared on William's panel.
Looking at this talent alone, there was no way Professor Snape could be bitten by a dog.
"Is it that surprising? It was a three-headed dog. One bite, and Professor Snape was limping for days."
Adams added, seeing William's astonished expression.
"Three heads? A hellhound?"
"I don't know. I think Hagrid was responsible for it. I'm not very interested in Magical Creatures. They're too dangerous. If one accidentally broke into the Greenhouse, it would be a disaster."
Adams shook his head, indicating he didn't know the details either.
"Professor Snape is coming over. Keep your voices down."
Professor Singid quietly reminded the two of them to drop the subject. Not long after his warning, Professor Snape approached, his face ashen.
To William's relief, Professor Snape apparently had no intention of settling scores with him, his colleague. Antagonizing a senior professor in his first week of work would not have been a good sign.
But things didn't calm down as William had expected. Or rather, he had underestimated the Gryffindors' capacity for action.
Although food had just magically appeared on the tables, students at the Gryffindor table began to leave their seats one by one and head towards their common room.
William didn't notice at first, but seven or eight minutes later, when the doors to the Great Hall opened to new arrivals, it was the very same Gryffindors who had left, now wearing their formal attire.
By the time the meal was halfway through, William even noticed some people wearing casual, everyday clothes but with a very out-of-place hat on their heads. This act resulted in half the people at the Gryffindor table wearing hats.
By now, anyone who wasn't blind could see that something was wrong.
"What are they doing? Is it a holiday?"
Singeade, for once, initiated conversation—he still didn't know what had happened.
In fact, the people at the Staff Table knew less than the students did. Students from every House who had been in the class began to frantically explain the morning's lesson to their friends.
Finally, Professor McGonagall, noticing something was amiss, stood up.
"Nymphadora, Conan, you two, come with me."
Professor McGonagall led the two Seventh Year Prefects out of the Great Hall. The Gryffindors, who had been restlessly preparing to leave their seats, immediately settled down.
A short while later, Professor McGonagall returned with the two Prefects. She stared at all the students for a moment, then commanded in a resigned tone, "Everyone, take off your hats."
Professor McGonagall's authority was absolute in that moment, and the students obediently removed their hats.
But it was obvious things wouldn't end there. After a spectacle like this, every student would likely hear the gist of the story within the next few days.
...
[You have been recognized more deeply by a magical creature (Hostile). Treasure Chest x1 obtained.]
At that moment, William wanted to scream about the injustice of it all. He had absolutely no intention of stirring up the students' emotions, but this is how things had turned out!
(end of chapter)
