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"Alright, in this lesson, we've introduced some of the magical creatures you should take precautions against if you go adventuring, as well as the common spells used to repel them—of course, this isn't a complete list, just the most common ones."
"You should know what to write your essay about now—" William gave the students a lazy smile. "Well, that's all for today's class. See you next week."
The students filed out one after another, still discussing the contents of the lesson as they left the classroom.
For children of their age, the idea of adventure was always something to look forward to. Although they were a little disappointed that the professor hadn't dragged in a dragon, just hearing the stories related to adventure was enough to excite them.
While William admitted he wasn't as worldly and experienced as Professor Lockhart, with legendary adventures worthy of being written into a book, the smugglers in Azkaban often had to sleep in the wilderness at night to avoid the Ministry of Magic's free room and board, so his experiences weren't too far off.
'Speaking of which, being an adventurer is actually a pretty good profession. At the very least, you don't have to worry about an Enforcer coming to find you while you sleep. When they point their wand at you, you can calmly say, you've got the wrong person. The one sleeping by the next bonfire is the smuggler.'
William, who was tidying up his lecture notes, was amused by the joke that suddenly popped into his head. Only then did he notice a student still standing at the classroom doorway.
'Has life been too comfortable, causing my alertness to weaken?'
With this self-doubt, William walked out of the classroom in a few steps, only to find that he was quite familiar with the person standing at the entrance—he had just met them last night.
"Well, Percy, is there something else?"
William wore an expression as if nothing had happened.
"Professor… I… I, last night…"
It was clear that the boy had mustered immense courage to come and turn himself in. He looked like a student who had never broken a rule before.
However, William had heard of this student from other professors. His Head of House, Professor McGonagall, had even specifically introduced him to William.
This boy was considered a top student among the sixth-years. He had demonstrated an admirable aptitude for learning back in his third year and had obtained certificates for twelve subjects in his fifth-year final exams.
This was a remarkable achievement. Since some courses weren't just once a week, the schedules for twelve courses conflicted severely. To obtain twelve certificates, one might even have to apply for special assistance from the Ministry of Magic just to complete the coursework on time.
Watching this Weasley's furtive expression, William suspected that all his rule-breaking abilities had been passed on to his younger brothers.
"Last night? Did something happen, Percy?"
This sentence successfully confused the Weasley who had come to turn himself in. William smiled at him. "The stars were beautiful last night. I didn't notice anything else."
"Yes, Professor."
To William's surprise, it seemed that not giving Percy any punishment was the greatest punishment of all. After William refused to admit he had seen him last night, the boy left, dejected.
'This kid... is he surprisingly one of those sticklers for the rules? The kind who firmly believes that mistakes must be punished, and won't even let himself off the hook?'
William locked the classroom door, thinking as he walked.
—
"William, finished with your class?"
In the Staff Room, Adams was lounging lazily in a rocking chair, exuding an air of being completely wiped out.
William knew why, though—a portion of the herbs in the greenhouse had been harvested, and Adams had pulled an all-nighter with the seventh-year students to finish gathering them. He was simply exhausted.
It couldn't be helped. Professor Sprout was getting on in years and clearly couldn't stay up all night.
"All done. It went pretty well. Although it strayed a bit from the topic, the students seemed to like it. It also served as a good introduction to the subject I had planned. By the way, why are there so few people in the Staff Room today?"
"Quidditch."
Adams spoke sparingly, as if he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes.
"Quidditch?"
"Yes, the first-years' flying lesson is coming up. Madam Hooch needs to inspect the brooms beforehand. The other professors used helping out as an excuse to go over—they're on the lawn just ahead."
Adams, looking utterly drained, rattled off the long sentence quickly, as if he wished William would immediately run to the lawn and join in with the Quidditch.
Understanding that he had probably slept for less than three hours, William smiled and shook his head, then left the Staff Room as Adams had wished.
Mainly, William himself was also very interested in flying broomsticks—though technically speaking, he was caught and sent to Azkaban while on one.
'When it comes to something like flight, even a wizard has to rely on a broom. This is neither scientific nor magical.'
William thought this to himself on his way out of the castle.
But at this moment, he couldn't be bothered with the difference between science and magic. Ever since he arrived in the wizarding world, he had never even touched a flying broomstick himself!
—
The September sun was warm but not scorching. It hadn't rained recently, so the temperature at Hogwarts was perfect for human habitation—not too warm, not too cold, just right.
There were hardly any students outside the castle on a Monday. The neatly trimmed lawn, maintained by House-elves, was a pleasing sight, making one want to lie down and luxuriously waste away a morning.
But William wasn't here to kill time. Compared to a flying broomstick, the lawn held little allure.
'After all, it's flying. If I don't take this opportunity, I'll have to buy a broom myself. Add my procrastination to that, and who knows how long it'll be postponed.'
William's mind wandered as he walked toward the lawn.
Just as he was lost in thought, a shout came from another professor up ahead.
"Professor William! Professor William!"
It was Singeade—when he wasn't in a pub, he was quite energetic.
"I'm here. I heard you were doing inspections, so I came to see if I could help with anything."
William smiled in their direction.
"You're late! We've finished the inspection, no major problems. We were about to do a test flight, but that seemed a bit boring, so we decided to play a simple game of Quidditch."
Professor Kettleburn beamed, but looking at his smile, William felt that only the last sentence was the main point.
As expected, these professors had come out specifically to have fun.
But even Madam Hooch, who was in charge of these matters, looked exhilarated. William felt he might have underestimated Quidditch.
Perhaps even the Headmaster would happily join in if he came out?
As for Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall—William had heard that she used to be on the school team.
"Perfect, we're one person short for our team. You can join too, William. Be a Beater. We're short on time, so we won't use the Golden Snitch."
Professor Kettleburn said with a cheerful laugh, looking every bit like he had already appointed himself the referee.
Ah, this…
You might not believe this, but this used to be my bread and butter. It's just that I haven't touched a broom since I got here…
(end of chapter)
"You should know what to write your essay about now—" William gave the students a lazy smile. "Well, that's all for today's class. See you next week."
The students filed out one after another, still discussing the contents of the lesson as they left the classroom.
For children of their age, the idea of adventure was always something to look forward to. Although they were a little disappointed that the professor hadn't dragged in a dragon, just hearing the stories related to adventure was enough to excite them.
While William admitted he wasn't as worldly and experienced as Professor Lockhart, with legendary adventures worthy of being written into a book, the smugglers in Azkaban often had to sleep in the wilderness at night to avoid the Ministry of Magic's free room and board, so his experiences weren't too far off.
'Speaking of which, being an adventurer is actually a pretty good profession. At the very least, you don't have to worry about an Enforcer coming to find you while you sleep. When they point their wand at you, you can calmly say, you've got the wrong person. The one sleeping by the next bonfire is the smuggler.'
William, who was tidying up his lecture notes, was amused by the joke that suddenly popped into his head. Only then did he notice a student still standing at the classroom doorway.
'Has life been too comfortable, causing my alertness to weaken?'
With this self-doubt, William walked out of the classroom in a few steps, only to find that he was quite familiar with the person standing at the entrance—he had just met them last night.
"Well, Percy, is there something else?"
William wore an expression as if nothing had happened.
"Professor… I… I, last night…"
It was clear that the boy had mustered immense courage to come and turn himself in. He looked like a student who had never broken a rule before.
However, William had heard of this student from other professors. His Head of House, Professor McGonagall, had even specifically introduced him to William.
This boy was considered a top student among the sixth-years. He had demonstrated an admirable aptitude for learning back in his third year and had obtained certificates for twelve subjects in his fifth-year final exams.
This was a remarkable achievement. Since some courses weren't just once a week, the schedules for twelve courses conflicted severely. To obtain twelve certificates, one might even have to apply for special assistance from the Ministry of Magic just to complete the coursework on time.
Watching this Weasley's furtive expression, William suspected that all his rule-breaking abilities had been passed on to his younger brothers.
"Last night? Did something happen, Percy?"
This sentence successfully confused the Weasley who had come to turn himself in. William smiled at him. "The stars were beautiful last night. I didn't notice anything else."
"Yes, Professor."
To William's surprise, it seemed that not giving Percy any punishment was the greatest punishment of all. After William refused to admit he had seen him last night, the boy left, dejected.
'This kid... is he surprisingly one of those sticklers for the rules? The kind who firmly believes that mistakes must be punished, and won't even let himself off the hook?'
William locked the classroom door, thinking as he walked.
—
"William, finished with your class?"
In the Staff Room, Adams was lounging lazily in a rocking chair, exuding an air of being completely wiped out.
William knew why, though—a portion of the herbs in the greenhouse had been harvested, and Adams had pulled an all-nighter with the seventh-year students to finish gathering them. He was simply exhausted.
It couldn't be helped. Professor Sprout was getting on in years and clearly couldn't stay up all night.
"All done. It went pretty well. Although it strayed a bit from the topic, the students seemed to like it. It also served as a good introduction to the subject I had planned. By the way, why are there so few people in the Staff Room today?"
"Quidditch."
Adams spoke sparingly, as if he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes.
"Quidditch?"
"Yes, the first-years' flying lesson is coming up. Madam Hooch needs to inspect the brooms beforehand. The other professors used helping out as an excuse to go over—they're on the lawn just ahead."
Adams, looking utterly drained, rattled off the long sentence quickly, as if he wished William would immediately run to the lawn and join in with the Quidditch.
Understanding that he had probably slept for less than three hours, William smiled and shook his head, then left the Staff Room as Adams had wished.
Mainly, William himself was also very interested in flying broomsticks—though technically speaking, he was caught and sent to Azkaban while on one.
'When it comes to something like flight, even a wizard has to rely on a broom. This is neither scientific nor magical.'
William thought this to himself on his way out of the castle.
But at this moment, he couldn't be bothered with the difference between science and magic. Ever since he arrived in the wizarding world, he had never even touched a flying broomstick himself!
—
The September sun was warm but not scorching. It hadn't rained recently, so the temperature at Hogwarts was perfect for human habitation—not too warm, not too cold, just right.
There were hardly any students outside the castle on a Monday. The neatly trimmed lawn, maintained by House-elves, was a pleasing sight, making one want to lie down and luxuriously waste away a morning.
But William wasn't here to kill time. Compared to a flying broomstick, the lawn held little allure.
'After all, it's flying. If I don't take this opportunity, I'll have to buy a broom myself. Add my procrastination to that, and who knows how long it'll be postponed.'
William's mind wandered as he walked toward the lawn.
Just as he was lost in thought, a shout came from another professor up ahead.
"Professor William! Professor William!"
It was Singeade—when he wasn't in a pub, he was quite energetic.
"I'm here. I heard you were doing inspections, so I came to see if I could help with anything."
William smiled in their direction.
"You're late! We've finished the inspection, no major problems. We were about to do a test flight, but that seemed a bit boring, so we decided to play a simple game of Quidditch."
Professor Kettleburn beamed, but looking at his smile, William felt that only the last sentence was the main point.
As expected, these professors had come out specifically to have fun.
But even Madam Hooch, who was in charge of these matters, looked exhilarated. William felt he might have underestimated Quidditch.
Perhaps even the Headmaster would happily join in if he came out?
As for Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall—William had heard that she used to be on the school team.
"Perfect, we're one person short for our team. You can join too, William. Be a Beater. We're short on time, so we won't use the Golden Snitch."
Professor Kettleburn said with a cheerful laugh, looking every bit like he had already appointed himself the referee.
Ah, this…
You might not believe this, but this used to be my bread and butter. It's just that I haven't touched a broom since I got here…
(end of chapter)
