HP: Professor From Azkaban

Although Hermione beside him appeared to be trembling under Professor McGonagall's imposing presence, William had no choice but to reveal the rest of the situation.

Keeping things hidden might sound appealing, but in practice, it would only lead to bigger troubles.

Underage magic use outside of school was strictly monitored. If William didn't disclose the matter and clarify it as a situation where he temporarily permitted a student to cast spells off-campus, the resulting complications would be unending.

Especially regarding the attack on a Ministry of Magic official. Without William's endorsement as a professor, the incident could easily land someone in Azkaban for over six months; did anyone really think assaulting a Ministry employee would go unpunished?

The spell-casting record had to be reported to the school, after which the school would need to communicate with the Ministry to prove that it was an authorized case of off-campus magic use. Only then could the record be dismissed. Otherwise, the act of unauthorized spellcasting alone would warrant a major demerit. Add attacking a Ministry employee on top of that, and expulsion would be the lightest consequence.

"So, that's the situation. Miss Granger, with my permission to cast spells, mistakenly identified a Ministry official as a suspect and attacked him."

"Understood, Professor William." Professor McGonagall's expression grew calm, but William couldn't shake the feeling that a storm was about to break. Warning: Lightning Storm Created.

"Well then, shall I head to the owlery to send the letter?"

"Thank you, Professor William."

As William stepped out of the castle, he couldn't help but glance back. Inside the Great Hall, where ghosts had been floating around giving unsolicited advice just moments ago, the spirits now quietly retreated into the corners. The entire hall felt eerily empty.

***

"A flying car?"

The scorching flames greedily consumed the fat dripping from the skewered meat, while the occasional whiff of smoke was swiftly vented from the magically modified hut. Despite it being late summer, the room remained comfortably cool, prompting William to marvel once again at how amazing magic truly was.

Originally prepared as snacks to accompany drinks in celebration of William's appointment, the roasted meat had been placed on the fire early. Hagrid, holding a goblet in hand, began chatting with William about the events on the train.

"Speaking of flying cars, I happen to have one myself. Harry wouldn't believe it, but he's already ridden in something similar before."

Hagrid chuckled as he downed a large gulp from his goblet.

That's against the school rules. Could you at least take this seriously?

The giant, however, clearly didn't see Harry's decision to fly a car to school instead of taking the train as a big deal. In fact, he treated it like an amusing anecdote.

William himself wasn't particularly bothered by the incident either.

Though he wasn't deeply familiar with the original plot, that didn't mean he didn't understand Harry Potter as a person. In the time leading up to his arrival at Hogwarts, William had gathered a trove of information about the boy, hoping to find something useful.

While the information turned out to be largely unhelpful, it had given him a good understanding of Harry Potter.

An incident involving a flying car might be a significant issue for other students, but for Harry, it probably wouldn't be a big deal.

After all, this was someone who had literally saved the world.

Although the details of that event were shrouded in speculation, every piece of information confirmed one undeniable fact. Harry Potter had defeated the Dark Lord; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and saved the entire wizarding world of Britain.

So, regardless of how students at school might feel, to the outside wizarding world, as long as a boy named Harry Potter didn't blow up Hogwarts, any mistake he made wouldn't really matter.

Considering William's limited impressions and Hagrid's strong regard for Harry, along with the Headmaster's insights into the boy's temperament, Harry Potter was well-liked by both professors and students.

Even an ordinary person with such a reputation could likely survive this incident unscathed.

This was partly due to Headmaster Dumbledore, who was considered one of the most understanding heads of Hogwarts in recent years; this was information William had gathered. Without a prophet, one could only guess by collecting intelligence. After all, it's impossible to eat a hair-covered pig just because there's no butcher, right?

Prophets, though insightful, are limited. Having them is great, but without them, one must still face such troublesome matters.

"Hey, by the way, where's Hermione?" Hagrid slapped his forehead and asked loudly.

"She? She's probably over at Professor McGonagall's, writing up an apology. Who knows, she might even wait until Harry and the others arrive to do it together."

"Hahaha," Hagrid let out a characteristic laugh, one of those shared between old friends, "Yeah, just like James and Black--"

Suddenly, Hagrid stopped laughing, as though he had uttered some forbidden word.

"Black?"

"Nothing, William. I don't want to tell that story, it's too heavy, too heavy," Hagrid shook his head repeatedly, and William had no choice but to give up on asking further.

Afterward, Hagrid's mood remained low, and by the evening, they parted ways to prepare for the opening ceremony.

***

By the eve of the feast, William still hadn't received his luggage.

"Professor, we'll have the trunks delivered to your office, but right now the trunks are being moved, and for the moment, it's hard to say exactly where yours is or who's in charge of it."

The house-elf William had stopped said that, and he couldn't bear to press them to immediately find his trunk.

Fortunately, William was wearing robes, which, though a bit wrinkled due to those little mishaps, were still acceptable for the ceremony.

He used magic to smooth out the robes, making sure there were no stains, and then left his empty office.

"Ah, Professor William!"

A cheerful shout came from behind him. It was Professor Lockhart, wearing his signature aquamarine robes.

"Long time no see, Professor William." Lockhart approached with the ease of someone speaking to an old friend.

"Hello, Professor Lockhart."

"By the way, the opening ceremony is coming up soon. I'm actually a bit nervous. I bet you are too; aren't you?"

I'm not nervous, but I'm nervous about you. William thought as he glanced at the greeting cards in his cupboard. Thanks to Lockhart's presence, the curse had its power reduced; kind of like they shared the burden.

A shared curse can't just kick a professor out of school at the opening ceremony, so there was really nothing to be nervous about.

"I think a bunch of students will be so shocked their jaws will drop. They certainly didn't expect me to come to Hogwarts and become a--"

"Cough, cough!" William gave an obvious cough.

"Sorry, I mean, the Wizard Self-Defense Professor."

Lockhart put on a faux apologetic expression.

"Alright, sorry, Professor William, it's getting late. I think we should head out."

Before William could even make his sarcastic remark, Lockhart had already pulled him out.

...

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