From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

Anyway, he's just observing the students; he can't take action so early—William won't make a move before he knows the number of students and the number of professors staying on campus.

“Let’s go, poor Professor William can never resist good food,” William said with a genuine smile. “Of course, the students’ invitation is also an important reason.”

He patted the student on the shoulder and decided that if it was really delicious, he would find a way to give Hufflepuff some extra points when school started; if it wasn't delicious, he would give it extra homework when school started.

"Professor, do you have any favorite flavors?"

"Hmm," William thought for a moment, "They're all fine. If I had to say what I particularly like, it would be chocolate?"

“Then you must like desserts,” Robert slammed his fist on his left hand. “There happens to be a student who’s good at baking among those who stay on campus!”

No, you guys stay on campus just to mess up the school kitchen?

But this was clearly not a question a professor who had come to freeload a meal should ask, so he could only give up criticizing and continue the conversation about the taste of the dessert with a smile, "Looks like I'm in for a treat, I'll look forward to it."

"You can rest assured about that, Professor."

Robert patted his chest and assured him.

-

Upon arriving at the restaurant, William immediately realized how wise it had been to accept the student's invitation—no professors were dining there that day!

"There must be professors staying behind. After lunch, once the students have observed the situation sufficiently, I'll go check the faculty lounge; I might spot someone there."

William chatted with the students while counting the number of students staying on campus—luckily, they weren't eating at the long table where the teachers ate today, so he could wait until after lunch to observe them a bit longer.

"Good morning, Professor!"

Good afternoon, Professor!

...

William had just sat down at the table when the nearby Hufflepuff students greeted him. William glanced around and, sure enough, didn't see any fifth-year students.

But that little one over there looks so familiar—a lower-grade student who doesn't go home for Christmas?

But his attention was quickly drawn to the food on the table. It was a dish completely different from the usual elf cooking style. Although it didn't look as appealing, it was still very appetizing.

More importantly, he actually saw a plate of twice-cooked pork and a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes!

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes!

'William, you need to be more reserved!'

'You need to be reserved!'

"This dish is quite strange, what's it called?"

William smiled at the students, pointing to the scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

"I made scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

The little one stepped forward.

A tongue-twisting English name—but it doesn't matter.

"I'll try this fresh dish."

William picked up the fork without hesitation—it was time to eat.

Chapter 187 The opponent is fierce, I need to be careful.

Although it seems strange to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes with a fork, it's a matter of necessity, so a fork will do.

William forked a small piece of egg, pretending it was his first time eating it, and carefully put it into his mouth.

Then, William put on the mask of pain.

Which bastard made sweet tomato and egg stir-fry?

Can a dish like scrambled eggs with tomatoes really taste sweet? Is salt such a precious seasoning that chefs are reluctant to add it?

Thankfully, the twice-cooked pork turned out alright; the chef hadn't ruined it—although eating twice-cooked pork with bread would have been a bit of a waste anyway…

"Hmm, it's very good, the flavor is quite novel."

Looking at the sweet scrambled eggs on the table, William offered a reluctant compliment, after all, the twice-cooked pork was truly delicious.

“That’s good, Professor,” Little Dot nodded. “The elves only allow us to put the dishes we make on the table when there are fewer people during holidays. They won’t let us touch the kitchen utensils at all.”

If you were to touch those cutlery regularly, I reckon the house-elves would think you were trying to steal their jobs.

"It's good enough if we can use it during the holidays. After all, the kitchen is the most important place in Hogwarts. If there's a problem with the kitchen, the whole school will go hungry."

William smiled and offered a word of advice, then naturally began asking about intelligence.

"But then again, are these the only people staying on campus during the holidays? What if some of them don't like the communal meals and find somewhere to eat on their own?"

"Probably not. Anyway, all of us Hufflepuff students who stayed at school are here. The cooking utensils we use are much better than the magical products we have. The oldest ones are even three or four hundred years old."

If Hufflepuff comes out, then there's almost no chance that the other students won't come out—if we find out again in the evening, the list of students staying on campus will be basically out. Even if some people manage to get through lunch by eating snacks, they won't continue to fill their stomachs with snacks for dinner.

It's still uncertain whether professors will stay on campus, since the school's benefits are so good that, theoretically, a professor who doesn't want to go out could simply rely on the elves to deliver meals.

"Take it easy. Go to the faculty lounge this afternoon. If you run into someone you know, you can subtly try to get some information."

William chatted with the children about funny things while dragging out the time until the meal was over—by one o'clock when the elves cleared away all the plates, he counted thirty-one students who were spending Christmas at school.

This number is negligible in the context of the castle; even at the peak of lunchtime, the restaurant is almost empty.

'The library is closed? I really don't know what those kids are thinking, staying on campus for Christmas...'

With these questions in mind, William walked down the corridor, reminding himself from time to time to pay attention to his surroundings and to be careful as always, so as not to give himself away before he had made any plans.

-

"Ah, Professor William!"

The moment William entered the faculty lounge, he saw a row of frighteningly bright teeth.

"Professor Lockhart, are you also planning to spend Christmas on campus?"

William asked very politely

“Yes, of course,” Lockhart’s smile was even warmer than usual. “You know, Professor William, a semester of teaching has exhausted me. Hogwarts is quiet enough right now, so I can relax and prepare for my new book.”

"new book?"

William's face lit up with delight. "You've got an idea so quickly, Professor Lockhart? I dare say this will be a masterpiece, and I can't wait to read it—may I ask, Professor Lockhart, is there a part about me in it?"

"How could there not be? The Friend of the Ghosts of Hogwarts!"

Professor Lockhart flashed his signature smile, "I just hope it won't affect your daily teaching."

"How could that be, Professor Lockhart!"

William responded enthusiastically.

……

The two chatted enthusiastically for a long time, as if they had made new friends, and almost made an excuse to leave together in the end—but William spoke a little too slowly and changed his mind at the last minute, saying that he had an appointment with a ghost today.

-

"There shouldn't be any major problems, right?"

William considered his actions and felt they weren't too deliberate—ultimately, he was a bit of a coward, which was why he acted so eagerly in front of Lockhart.

"Hmm, how about sending another letter to inquire how Lockhart started his legend, subtly hinting at a desire for fame?" William reconsidered, finding no major issues.

"After all, he's a great adventurer. We should reconsider our plan to sneak into the lounge. It would be bad if we were caught red-handed by him in the lounge or Professor Snape's office."

Considering Lockhart's achievements, William felt he should show more respect to this legendary adventurer—fortunately, because of Adams, William was usually much more polite to this professor who didn't think much before he spoke than the other professors, so it wasn't a sudden change.

'I must be extremely careful, extremely careful, and extremely careful not to give Professor Lockhart any loopholes. If my arrest is recorded in the book, it will become a laughing stock in Azkaban.'

-

"That William, he shouldn't have discovered anything, right?"

"What's wrong, our living legend? Are you scared?"

The words that appeared in the diary, those tiny, subtle fears, instantly ignited Lockhart's anger.

"Ha, so now it's your turn to lecture me?"

He grabbed a quill pen. "The plan remains unchanged. What's wrong with chatting with a ghost? Is it something special?"

"To deal with him, one Oblivion Spell will suffice; he won't even have time to react!"

“Really? Great—” A blank space appeared in the diary, “'Legendary'?”

"Don't forget, Professor, you have a history of being knocked down head-on."

"Hmph, he just launched a sneak attack," Lockhart said, closing the book without even bothering to write anything. He had already noticed the shortcomings of the diary after the last incident, and while he could fill in the gaps or even help individuals improve their strength, the so-called plan was still the one he devised himself.

“It’s good that Filch is sick—” Lockhart pulled out his plan and added a note, “William, confirmed to remain as professor.”

'Currently, no one is stopping me from investigating. Although the library is locked, I can still sneak in; the magic that locks it isn't hard to break—I'll secretly investigate the information tonight, and then, while Filch is away from work, I'll start searching for the secret passages.'

Lockhart carefully drew up a plan on the parchment, preparing to excavate what Slytherin had left behind.

'We also need to consider the students' goals. That's not difficult; I've taught it to the lower grades—an attack, then foreshadow death, but we also need to create an accident to prevent death and make things less serious so the story can develop… I'm a genius…'

A sentence appeared in the diary he shared.

'An easy-to-break door-locking spell? Ha…'

Chapter 188 Where has the most basic trust between people gone?

Infiltration is a complex art, and William never underestimates it.

Wearing a dark, grimy night-clothes would likely get you spotted, and wearing a leather jacket would definitely get you caught... There's no way around it, that would be too unprofessional.

Having spent almost a year in Azkaban, William, even without studying diligently, still mastered many infiltration techniques—stuffing a bunch of insects into a jar to create a poisonous insect would definitely work, and it wouldn't be much different for a prisoner.

'I was searching for tips on how others infiltrated enemy lines a while ago, but after failing twice, I ended up using them myself…'

After spending two or three days figuring out the situation of the people on campus, William began to try to formulate the final version of the plan.

'Professor Snape's office is simpler. It's confirmed he hasn't chosen to stay at the university. With few professors remaining, I'll only have to deal with the office lock and the inevitable protective magic.'

"There are more students remaining in the Slytherin common room than I expected, which needs to be handled carefully. However, since there are no upperclassmen present, I think it would be best to organize an activity that allows everyone to participate."