From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

'What a talent…'

William looked at the short man and couldn't help but admire him—in Azkaban, such unfortunate people would be bullied less.

Firstly, within the hierarchy of minor offenders, those with the strongest fists haven't been harmed by such tactics. Secondly, because these offenders haven't infringed on the interests of others much, they haven't been beaten much before entering the prison, and if they are, they're likely to fight back fiercely and aren't easy to bully.

"Tell me, how is Occlusive surgery considered rubbish?"

William sat there, looking at the prisoner he had never seen before, with a kind smile.

Honestly, he really wanted to know how such a useful spell as Occlumency had become trash.

"Um... there's a saying among Muggles..."

"What does this have to do with Muggles? Speak up!"

Nine Fingers urged them on.

"Yes, yes, Occlumency is a spell used to protect one's memories, but many wizards who have mastered this spell are not very skilled at it, yet they arrogantly believe that they can face most difficulties. They even think that it can improve intelligence and protect all secrets."

'That makes some sense…'

Seeing that William didn't speak, the new 'liar' sped up his speech, "But it's not just memories that betray secrets, but also the wizards themselves—especially when they think they'll have their memories read or be targeted with truth serum, they often overlook other things."

"It's about reading faces or reactions. When they're nervous, they'll reveal a lot."

That's it?

It wasn't a particularly novel theory; William had seen something similar in the translated document.

"Stop with the mystical stuff, just tell me you've been lying. You think you can fool William?"

Before William could even show a look of disappointment, Nine Fingers had already slapped him on the back of the head.

"Yes, it's actually about designing scenarios based on their personalities, using various forms of magic to create situations they don't want to see, and judging from their reactions to determine the information they want to hide!"

As if afraid of another slap, the conman spoke rapidly, "Occlumency can conceal things with magic, but personality can't be protected. With a little investigation, you can find out someone's personality, and then you can deceive them. It's almost always successful!"

Chapter 303, played by Lu Ping

"Thank you for your hard work, Professor William."

After listening to William's report on the current situation of the Death Eaters, Dumbledore smiled and said to William.

"I guess I can also benefit from the school's connections and visit some old acquaintances and friends..."

After tidying up his words, William told Dumbledore about the deception used to obtain true information—although arresting criminals himself seemed interesting, he didn't think he had the acting skills or the ability to find a suitable actor, so he simply left it to the headmaster to deal with.

"cheat?"

Dumbledore looked at William. "So, you're now more inclined to believe that Peter orchestrated a massive hoax twelve years ago?"

“That’s right,” William had stated his position before setting off, “so, of the three options, which one do you prefer?”

"The last one."

William readily agreed to the entire scheme copied from the conman—after all, the other party was a professional, and in subsequent conversations, his previously considered deception plan could be incorporated as needed.

“I think that’s a good idea too.” Dumbledore nodded. “Although he said a lot after talking to Remus, it would be too difficult to find Sirius based on that, given the limited manpower at the school.”

Neither of them mentioned the Ministry of Magic's influence—Fudge was so eager for quick success that he even had to rely on newspaper announcements; if he were to reveal even a little bit of information about Sirius, who knows what kind of trouble would ensue.

“Yes, and he probably wouldn’t believe anyone,” William shook his head—anyone who had been separated from their family of origin and then stabbed in the back by someone they considered their best friend would probably not trust anyone.

Sirius went to Azkaban without offering any explanation, which was probably related to his tragic fate.

"But then again, they were probably the best students in the school at the time. All three of them learned Animagus at the same time..." Dumbledore shook his head, a rare occurrence for him. "James has always been a brave warrior. I never expected him to be so talented in Transfiguration."

William couldn't interrupt about such a reminiscing topic, so he could only wait silently for Dumbledore to finish speaking.

"Remus said that Sirius's Animagus is a dog, a huge black dog—I think it was the one that carried out the attack in Hagrid's class last time, but unfortunately it disappeared without a trace after that..."

"I remember, apart from the main gate, even the most..."

William was initially curious as to why the other party was able to escape Hagrid's search at Hogwarts, but then he suddenly remembered the Marauder's Map—if someone could make that thing, could this school really hold them back?

“Don’t underestimate them. Remus told me those kids turned the school upside down; they probably know it better than Filch…”

Dumbledore smiled and shook his head, lost in his memories once more.

"Dong dong dong."

A knock on the door interrupted Dumbledore's reverie.

"Please come in, Remus."

Lupin walked in.

“Ah, Professor William,” Lupin looked at William, “it’s that club that the students are talking about. I wanted to ask on their behalf if they accept lower-year students as well.”

"The bylaws are still being prepared; they're really well-informed..."

William was just about to make a witty remark when he suddenly realized something terrible—Lupin had recently experienced hell, and now he had opened the gates to another level of hell for Lupin.

According to Hogwarts's office practices, the only reason Lupin was brought in here was because he was chosen as the one to test—or rather, the one to steal Peter Pettigrew's honor.

Besides vying for honor with his supposedly dead friend, he also has to endure the terrible thing that, although the situation has changed, it is still another friend who betrays his friend...

After Dumbledore briefly explained the plan to him, Lupin's face suddenly turned extremely sorrowful...

"Is Peter the murderer? Is Blake a good person?"

"I'll take all the glory and then use that to provoke Peter?"

"No...I can't, Headmaster..."

Lupin panicked instantly, and the composure he usually possessed, cultivated through countless trials, vanished without a trace.

“Blake…Peter…why is this happening…”

He was genuinely panicked, even blurting out incoherently, "Let Snape go, Wormtail hates him..."

“Severus won’t do,” Dumbledore said seriously. “I’ve considered it. It’s precisely because of his past hatred that he can accept this and continue to endure it. If our speculation is true, the person he can least accept receiving honors is you.”

Dumbledore didn't explain much, but William immediately understood—of the original four, James was dead, Sirius was imprisoned, and Peter was living a truly rat-like life…

This blood circulation was bearable, but if Lupin, who did nothing, suddenly received all the glory, the glory that everyone envied, it would be far more exciting than anyone else receiving it.

If they were true friends, they would most likely offer their blessings while feeling jealous—but if the speculations about Peter Pettigrew are true, how could he possibly tolerate having orchestrated everything only to have Lupin, his 'friend,' reap the benefits?

Two 'friends,' one murdered and the other imprisoned, ended up becoming stepping stones for each other? What a joke!

“I think you’d also like to know the answer, Remus.”

"I..." Lupin hesitated for a long time, "I don't know, Headmaster, I need time to think..."

“Then it’d better be quick…” Dumbledore nodded kindly. “There are too many suspicious points, and I don’t think you’d want me to directly pin all the blame on Black or Peter… But you should know that Black wants to kill Peter right away… He knows this school too well, and none of us want to see anything more tragic happen…”

Without a doubt, that refers to Sirius successfully killing Peter and then being captured by the Dementors.

Lu Ping took his leave absentmindedly, promising not to contact either party, and left the principal's office with a heavy heart.

"I'm afraid you'll have to suffer again, Professor William."

After Lupin left, Dumbledore shook his head at William and said...

"Because of that scam, you probably won't be able to participate in the initial discovery or the subsequent events."

William's actions are understandable—he got involved a bit too much when he first noticed something was wrong with the mouse, and if he joined in later, the whole thing would seem too coincidental, making it much harder to fool people.

"But I doubt Minerva will agree to a pay raise again..."

Dumbledore shook his head helplessly. "I don't even dare to bring this up with her."

William's salary has been approved by the board of trustees, and he's been away for a year. His current salary is already quite substantial, so it wouldn't be appropriate to bring it up again. However, the fact that he wouldn't even dare to mention it is definitely a joke—Dumbledore's statement implies that there must be something better than Galleons.

Sure enough, just as William was wondering what it would be, a book flew off the shelf and landed in Dumbledore's hand.

"Here is a notebook I used to study dragon blood... or rather, a record of my experiments. I think some of the knowledge in it might be helpful to you."

'You're too modest…'

If William hadn't been maintaining a little bit of composure, he would have wanted to stand up and snatch the thing right now—of course, that's just a joke.

As a semi-amateur Chocolate Frog card collector, William's motivation for collecting cards is quite different from others, but he has a very deep impression of Dumbledore, the card with the highest drop rate.

The first thing mentioned in the description of the Dumbledore card is that Dumbledore discovered twelve uses for the blood of dragons.

That was a great discovery. One aspect related to potions was that when dragon blood was soaked in several special herbs and then added to potions, the stability of the potions could be greatly improved.

After being processed using this method, the shelf life of the potion can be extended by an average of more than a month compared to the previous commonly used methods. Even more importantly, the cost is reduced by almost half.

The other uses were similarly revolutionary, and William remembered them quite clearly.

Chapter 304 William's Diary

【Sunny on September 21nd

A new week has begun, and the sixth graders are as adorable as ever—indeed, students I've personally mentored are the easiest to raise.

They accepted the added training portion easily; perhaps we can add a little more next week…

Nothing else happened... They've gone to prepare the exam papers.

【Sunny on September 22nd

Tuesday is not a friendly day…

In particular, Professor Snape finally heard what the boy named Neville had done a week later…

I feel like he wants to kill someone, honestly...

Just to be on the safe side, I didn't go to the faculty lounge today—not because I was scared, but because why should I take the blame?

Anyway, it's going to be Professor Lupin's time to shine from now on. Let those two have their duel... I've never really studied the original Hogwarts duels...

【October 23rd sunny

Hiding all day yesterday seems to have emboldened Professor Snape…

Professor Lupin, please do something... Isn't Dumbledore planning to implement the plan yet?

The education of the first-year students has not gone astray. Although they are a little unaccustomed to the intensity of the teaching, everyone is trying their best to persevere.

If Dumbledore doesn't put his plan into action soon, perhaps I should consider targeting Professor Snape—how can a professor of self-defense teach students if he's always hiding from others?