From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

All the students looked up involuntarily, having been having a great time when they suddenly heard this terrible news.

Didn't we used to have no homework?

'Oh right...it's the new professor...'

Hagrid looked at the students, oblivious to their surroundings. "Alright, get out of class is over. Go and prepare for the next class."

The class was more successful than he expected, and he decided to have an extra drink that night.

'That kind of teaching seems to work...and the students' feedback is great...'

-

"Strange, very strange..."

William looked at the file in his hand and fell into deep thought.

According to the records, Sirius Black and James Potter were good friends, and they even broke numerous school rules together.

'But what's the deal with this name?'

He put the record there and stared blankly at the names on it.

Most of Sirius Black's violation records bear James Potter's name, but in a small subset of the records, the number of violators rises to four.

To his surprise, one of the names was very familiar to him: his new colleague, Remus Lupin.

The other one, who also occasionally appears on the confinement list, is Peter Pettigrew.

He recognized the name at the end; the last victim killed by the Death Eater Sirius Black, whose body was obliterated by a single curse.

"How did these four people end up together?"

"Furthermore, why was Lupin able to become a prefect even though he broke the rules and regulations with them repeatedly?"

Of course, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but Lupin has violated the rules quite a few times—and he's quite familiar with some of the victims of those violations.

Snape, Head of Slytherin, Professor of Potions at Hogwarts, and the world's most renowned Potions Master.

'...Every point deducted from Gryffindor is a bitter fruit sown by their ancestors...'

William chuckled to himself—of course, Professor Snape's disciplinary record was also included, and judging from those records, he wasn't exactly a well-behaved student either.

To be precise, if the Dark Lord ever returns, I'll have to keep a close eye on that Dean—

William was taking pictures and copying as he thought.

"He hangs out with die-hard Death Eaters... If he weren't at Hogwarts, right under Dumbledore's nose, I probably would have had to launch a few more sneak attacks on him..."

"But let's leave it at that for now. There are still many things that haven't been found out, so I can't jump to conclusions."

William put away his notebook. "Hagrid should have finished his class by now. I wonder how it went. I'll have to go ask him..."

"There are no classes tomorrow. If Hagrid's first lesson doesn't go well, I'll help him review it. Of course, if it goes well, that would be even better, because then we can easily divide the teaching scope for each grade..."

Although it was a bit of an overreach, given Hagrid's personality—that he could send a third-year student to a magical creature of XXX level—William felt he should pay more attention to him.

Chapter 276 Hagrid, wanna have a drink?

"Hagrid is under the Imperius Curse?"

Upon hearing this news, the vice dean in Professor McGonagall's office gaped in astonishment.

"Are you sure?" she asked William, repeating the question.

The matter was of great importance, and she had to be cautious—Hagrid was the gamekeeper at Hogwarts and also in charge of the school's gates.

If Hagrid were to be afflicted with the Imperius Curse, it would be no laughing matter, as it would mean that someone could enter Hogwarts directly through the main entrance.

"I'm not entirely sure, but based on the three of them's descriptions, Hagrid is acting very strangely today..."

William pointed to the three troublemakers following behind him. "As far as I know, the three of them have a pretty good relationship with Hagrid. If they find something wrong with Hagrid, then he's probably up to no good."

"I see, Professor."

Harry and the others nodded, testifying to William's words—although they hadn't known about the Imperius Curse before, Hagrid looked too much like he was under control.

“This is serious…” Professor McGonagall’s expression turned grave. “I think we need to confirm this immediately before considering whether we need to increase security at the school.”

She waved her wand, and a silver cat flew out, instantly passing through the wall. "Wait a moment, Professor William. Just to be on the safe side, we should also notify our two helpers. I think Professor Flitwick and Professor Lupin would be happy to assist you."

"And what about us, Professor?"

Harry asked cautiously—normally, he would never have dared to say such things in front of Professor McGonagall, but since Hagrid's safety was at stake, he wanted to go and check on him.

"you…"

Professor McGonagall looked at the three students, hesitated for a moment, and was about to send them back to the lounge when William stopped her.

“Let them come with us,” William said seriously. “If Hagrid is really under the Imperius Curse, then Potter will be attacked no matter where he is. It’s safer for him to be with us.”

There's another reason William didn't mention—the only way to keep Harry safe, regardless of which house's students, is to keep him away from them.

“Okay,” Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

This instantly cheered Harry up, because this time he was finally not treated like a child and left aside.

But he soon felt ashamed of it—Hagrid was probably in danger, how could he be so happy?

But before he could recover from his guilt, Professor McGonagall's office was already being rang.

The two professors walked in one after the other, both looking relaxed.

"What happened, Minerva?"

Professor Flitwick asked the question in his characteristically gentle tone; he was always so unhurried.

"There was a minor incident. According to the students, Hagrid seems to have been controlled by a spell like the Imperius Curse."

Professor McGonagall drew her wand. "So, I'm going to go see what's going on."

“I hope it’s a misunderstanding,” Professor Flitwick chuckled, drawing his wand with remarkable grace. “Then what are we waiting for?”

The two deans, having reached their agreement, headed straight for the castle gates. Lupin, lagging behind, silently drew his wand and followed—William knew why without him needing to explain; he had seen the professors' records of Lupin's solitary confinement on the list of prohibited items…

"That's terrible...Professor Lupin..."

William paused for a moment, then looked at the three students. "You follow them. I'll stay at the back and watch."

Although he believed he was unlikely to beat Sirius, it would be a joke to leave the three students at the very back.

-

How can we determine whether Hagrid was actually affected?

On the way to Hagrid's hut, Professor McGonagall asked quietly that although she knew how to use the Imperius Curse, the standard way of identifying it was too complicated. With two other professors in the background, she preferred to hear their opinions.

“That’s difficult, Professor McGonagall,” William said, still without a good solution. “In fact, based on my research, in previous trials, people couldn’t determine who was being controlled and who was acting voluntarily. We could only interrogate them slowly.”

“I think so too,” Lupin chimed in, his voice slightly tense and slow as he spoke, seemingly lost in thought. “But should we probe indirectly, or take Hagrid into custody directly?”

Although doing this might be unfair to Hagrid, it's the only option under the circumstances.

William considered Lupin's suggestion, and it was indeed the optimal solution.

If Hagrid was truly under the Imperius Curse, knocking him unconscious would actually be a form of salvation—as a professor who had been teaching for a year, William knew all too well just how terrifying the Imperius Curse was.

"Direct control?"

Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment, "Let's test the waters first."

“Then I’ll do it,” William nodded—though it sounded a bit pretentious, he didn’t really want to knock Hagrid down directly.

"Professor, is there anything we can do to help?"

Harry and the others suddenly asked, their eyes full of worry.

“You can stay over there,” William shook his head. “Please stay away from the house. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just destroy the house.”

Escaping through the door of a house is the greatest insult to a wand, and Hagrid's house doesn't have any protective spells, so it's easy to destroy.

“Be careful, Professor William. If the house is destroyed or you are inside for more than fifteen minutes, we will rush in immediately.”

Professor Flitwick nodded to William, then began to play with his wand.

"Okay, I'm going in now."

William took a deep breath and then walked toward Hagrid's cabin.

-

"Hagrid!"

William shouted as loudly as ever, but he had some doubts in his heart.

If Hagrid really has some kind of problem, then there's a high chance Sirius is hiding in this cabin.

"William, you're here!"

Hagrid's voice sounded a little flustered, but he quickly crawled out of the house and stood in front of the door.

Good afternoon, Hagrid.

"Yes, today is indeed a very good day."

Hagrid's response was somewhat nonsensical; he rubbed his hands sheepishly, "Today was indeed quite good..."

How did you feel about the first class?

“It’s fantastic,” Hagrid said, beaming. “I think those fluffy things are really cute.”

……

Something's not right.

Hagrid has always liked fierce people, and Pu Rongrong was the worst choice William gave him. Now that he's having fun, how could he possibly be?

"That's good. How about we grab a drink to celebrate?"

"Okay...no, what I mean is...I still have to prepare for the advanced class tomorrow, so..."

He stood firmly in front of the door, without even bothering to invite William.

William could only take a silent breath and then pretend to be nonchalant, "So, it's settled then... shall we have a drink tomorrow?"

"Oh, of course, of course."