A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 95 The Tracking Curse

In the office, William recounted how he discovered Tywin's unusual behavior and how he outwitted and outmaneuvered the Death Eaters to capture them alive.

William spoke as if he were telling a story, spittle flying from his mouth, the tale was epic and the battles thrilling... Professor Flitwick even secretly wiped away tears several times, and Professor McGonagall was in tears.

Once the professors had left, leaving only William and Dumbledore in the office, he began to tell a completely different version of events.

This includes the "great goal" that Dumbledore once told William.

William spoke for about ten minutes, and Dumbledore listened intently; the room was completely silent.

During this time, William also extracted some of his memories and showed them to Dumbledore as evidence.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore said, and William shut his mouth.

"Shocking...shocking...who would have thought...the dark wizard who attacked the Ministry of Magic was hiding at Hogwarts?! No wonder we couldn't find him!"

Fudge rushed in, his steps hurried, and he looked extremely excited.

He spotted William immediately and grabbed his hand like a kind elder.

"It's incredible! You're just a first-year wizard, yet you single-handedly captured a wanted criminal who attacked the Ministry of Magic. So many Aurors couldn't do that, how did you manage to do it?"

"This hasn't happened in years! What a genius!"

"The Order of Merlin, Second Class, no problem. First Class, if I can find a way to get it!"

William raised an eyebrow; it seemed Fudge was quite good after all.

Fudge continued to praise, "My child, you will become the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin in the wizarding world."

"Oh my goodness, you're only twelve! This record will stand for many years. It's an amazing achievement, isn't it, Albus?"

Fudge turned his gaze to Dumbledore, or rather, his peripheral vision was always on the headmaster.

Dumbledore smiled and nodded, his arms crossed on his back, seemingly watching Fudge's "performance" intently.

William realized that Fudge's attitude... both being as affectionate as an elder and applying for the Merlin Medal, meant he was trying to play the emotional card and wanted to discuss something with Dumbledore.

"I only have a few more words to say to William, Connelly, could you give me a song's worth of time?"

"Oh, of course." Fudge seemed to be in a good mood, and he even winked at William as he left.

"Guess what our minister wants with me?" After experiencing the time loop, Dumbledore no longer treats William like a child.

"Hmm...it must be about Professor Tywin. He doesn't want you to reveal the Time-Turner?" William said after thinking for a moment.

Fudge had previously deceived the public, treating everyone like trolls, and he had also lied to Dumbledore. Now that the truth was out, he naturally wanted Dumbledore to help him keep it a secret.

Otherwise, he would probably have become the shortest-serving minister in the history of the Ministry of Magic.

"William, you are very clever," Dumbledore said with a smile. "But sometimes politics is like that, which is why I am unwilling to become Minister for Magic. I prefer the position of Headmaster, because..."

"I always seem to encounter students as lovely and intelligent as you."

"I understand, Professor. I won't tell anyone about this."

Dumbledore shook his head and smiled, "I've had close friends too. That kind of concealment can create cracks in a friendship, even if they start out small and insignificant, they can eventually become an abyss that's hard to mend."

So, Miss Cho Chang, Mr. Diggory, and the Weasley brothers are not included, but I ask your good friends... to keep quiet!

"I understand," William said happily. "Professor, has anyone ever told you a saying...?"

"What did you say?"

"You are the best headmaster in the history of Hogwarts."

Dumbledore blushed slightly, but before he could say anything, the headmasters on the wall became furious.

"Pah...that title is mine!"

"Bullshit! I'm the best principal!"

"How many school principals have you met at such a young age?"

Phineas Black even took off his shoes and angrily threw them at William.

William made a face and quickly walked out.

……

……

"So, you killed our beloved Professor Tywin Lannister in the Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

By the Black Lake, Fred scrutinized William, as if trying to see if he was missing something.

"No, I actually just knocked him out... well, at most seriously injured him, and he's a Death Eater."

"That's quite an exaggeration. He's an adult wizard. It seems what you said about time loops is true!" George said.

"It must be true! Didn't you see his amazing shapeshifting ability? I couldn't even do that!"

Cedric held the Ravenclaw ring in his hand, examining it closely with a magnifying glass.

Qiu watched from the side with envious eyes.

Just as Dumbledore had instructed, William briefly recounted what had happened.

However, he didn't tell them everything. He omitted the part about "greater goals" and also skipped over Tywin's crimes, telling the others everything else.

"Will wearing this ring put us into a time loop?" Fred asked.

"Don't be silly, this is a ring that only a Ravenclaw descendant can wear. You're just a Gryffindor..." George said, but he still rubbed his hands together and looked at William expectantly.

"Why don't you give it a try and see?" William laughed.

Fred put it on his index finger first, but there was no reaction, so he easily took it off.

The same goes for George and Cedric.

"Maybe Qiu will succeed."

The group turned their attention to Qiu, who carefully put the bracelet on her wrist, but it had no effect.

After examining the ring for a while, the group returned it to William.

"I've made up my mind," Fred announced solemnly. "For the rest of the time, I will search for the missing sword in the Gryffindor common room!"

George nodded in agreement, seemingly sharing the same thought.

"Then I'll go find the Hufflepuff Cup," Cedric said excitedly. "Maybe I'll become the Hufflepuff's successor."

"I'll have to go find the Ravenclaw crown," Cho joked.

The group stood by the Black Lake. William waved his wand, and the grass transformed into five chairs, which they all sat down.

This transformation was already a piece of cake for William.

"By the way, I've cracked the Marauder's Map." William pulled out the map. "The Marauders used an obscure spell called the 'Tracking Charm'."

During these two years of time loops, William learned a great deal about spells and also had in-depth discussions with Dumbledore about many things.

He finally found the magic the raider had cast in a book in the forbidden zone.

The Tracking Spell is a sophisticated spell similar to the Tracking Spell, but with a less extensive scope.

The raiders cast this spell on Hogwarts, and any wizard who entered the area would have their name automatically displayed on the map.

……

……

(P.S. In the revised version of Rowling's Pottermore, the spell is called Homonculous Charm. I translated it as "Scarring Charm" in English, but after being reminded by a fellow reader, I checked the Harry Potter Wikipedia and confirmed that it is translated as "Tracking Charm". So I will change it to "Tracking Charm".)

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(End of this chapter)