From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

Good grief, what did Professor Snape ever do to you? Can you please find another sheep?

William, who had only seen the movie, was not familiar with Professor Snape, but at this moment he felt a moment of silence for him.

That being said—did this Gryffindor professor even do that?

Thinking of this, William took two steps forward.

Judging from the treasure chest he just drew, he will most likely be ambushed as well.

Upon realizing that the person behind him had no intention of following, William was once again caught in a dilemma.

Chapter 42 Look, I forgot!

Of the three cards, the first card's effect is not so obvious, but the second and third cards have amazing effects.

If it were an ordinary wizard, they would most likely choose the third card, which looks powerful and is a life-or-death situation. But William happens to know the recipe for Felix Felicis – even if the production conditions for Felix Felicis are twice as demanding, its effects are worth the effort.

Even though the card hinted that intentional failure restricted the brewing vessel from being too outrageous, this was still a crucible of Felix Felicis six months later.

Even if he can't replicate the process successfully again, and can't learn the details of the brewing process, it's still a potion more precious than gold. What's more, William can put a meal voucher on it, making the card reusable.

But the third card is strong—unreasonably strong, with no counter.

Even if it's just one strike.

William hadn't even mastered silent spellcasting, let alone staff-less spellcasting.

Moreover, judging from the description, this card is also a card with no limit, meaning it can be used as a trump card at any time.

Compared to the high additional benefits of the second card, this card offers almost no economic benefit, produces no output, and cannot be used to create a relationship chain by purchasing restaurant vouchers. Furthermore, it has the negative effect of instantly defeating an enemy if there's even just one more enemy present.

William thought of a whole bunch of drawbacks, then closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and chose the third card to avoid regret.

Despite its many flaws, it is incredibly powerful.

More importantly, even if William had difficulty learning how to use Felix Felicis, he still had a chance to succeed. But once this trump card that could turn the tide in a desperate situation was missed, it would be too difficult to make up for it.

After making a difficult decision, William's emotions, which had almost caused him to lose control when two students ran after the school bus instead of taking it, also calmed down.

On the bright side, he's not the dean after all. If he gets really angry, consider Professor McGonagall's feelings—wouldn't he hang the two kids upside down in the office for a couple of days?

Thinking about it this way, William felt much more at peace.

He took a deep breath, a deep breath, and the cool breeze near the platform carried away the last bit of anxiety from William.

There is good news. Although the two people did not stand still and wait for the school to handle the situation, they were not far from the school bus, so they have been found.

Considering that he didn't have the means to fly, William decided to use the last resort—go to the school first and give those two brats' dean a headache.

This is one of the advantages of having the school's backing. When things get beyond your control, as long as you report it, someone will naturally help you solve the problem.

There's just one last small problem left.

What to do with the unruly kids in the back?

Considering that the other party might cause trouble on the return trip, he felt that he should deal with the problem first.

William turned his head and looked seriously at the brat he shouldn't know in theory.

"Hello, Miss Gryffindor, we've encountered a small problem."

"Although you haven't seen the letter, I can relay this matter to you here. I hope you can listen patiently to the end."

"Waaah!"

The response was energetic, but William decided to ignore the other person's attempt to get him to speak.

"As far as I know, your two friends, after failing to board the school bus, opted to use a flying car to get to school, but unfortunately, they don't seem to have considered taking you with them."

"Waaah!"

It's probably either that I don't want to stir things up, or that I didn't intend to be with them, but it doesn't matter.

"According to the letter from the Ministry of Magic, they are now closely following the school bus, and we are going to miss it. So, we will use Floo Powder to get to Hogsmeade, the village closest to Hogwarts."

“It’s a long journey, and given your courage to sneak off the train, I have to explain everything to you in advance.”

"You got off the bus to find your friends, but now their location has been confirmed, and even if you conjured up a flying broom, you wouldn't be able to catch up with them."

"If they obediently return to Hogwarts, they can stay at the school and criticize their irrational behavior."

"Furthermore, you don't have a wand. Even if you use magic while you're around, I can explain it away. But if you act alone and use magic, you'll be notified and might even be expelled from school."

"Of course, there's also the most important point: because you left in such a hurry, you probably don't have much cash on you, and even if you did, you probably don't have any means of transportation—"

William suddenly stopped.

He thought of the Knight Bus, which he kept forgetting about.

Compared to Floo Powder, which can easily cause people to get lost, that stuff is much more reliable.

Thinking of this, he stopped explaining and simply extended his wand.

The Gryffindor girl, who had only heard half of the conversation, looked expectantly at the wand—she hadn't been able to speak properly for almost half an hour.

However, the professor's wand did not fall; it remained suspended in mid-air for a full minute.

Then, she saw a huge bus suddenly appear with a bang.

"Excuse me, young lady, I almost forgot after I learned Apparition that you don't need Floo Powder to get to Hogsmeade Village with the Knight Bus."

William said apologetically.

The main reason was that his last ride on the Knight Bus was so unpleasant that he subconsciously ignored this mode of transportation.

Compared to risking using Floo Powder, the Rider Bus is more advantageous for him, at least the students won't get lost halfway.

Although it's highly unlikely, considering the other party's adventurous spirit, he wasn't willing to take the risk—if things accidentally turned into something like the Great Escape from London, he'd be laughed at before even becoming a professor.

"Hogsmeade Village, you two."

Ignoring the murderous glare behind him, William smiled and spoke to the ticket seller.

"This is?"

Ticket seller Sampark looked curiously at the angry student behind William, raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Hogwarts has started, she ran off the train, now we're taking her to school."

"Gryffindor?"

Sampak asked in a tone that was half surprised and half admiring, as if wondering why he hadn't thought of that when he was in school.

"Yes, Gryffindor."

William lamented the damage done to Gryffindor's reputation while cheerfully pointing to the beds in the distance.

"Go sit over there and be good. The Knight Bus is much faster than Hogwarts. We'll be there soon."

'Of course, the ride is also much bumpier.'

William didn't say the second half of the sentence.

After the reluctant Gryffindor boy behind him had moved over, he patted Sampark on the shoulder and asked:

"Long time no see, how have you been?"

"Not bad. How about you? From—where did you come from?"

"That place?"

William feigned surprise.

"Yes, Azkaban."

"Uh, didn't you realize I was bragging?"

"boast?"

"That was just a joke, you didn't take it seriously, did you?"

"Now?"

"Me? A professor at Hogwarts."

William noticed that the other person's eyes clearly conveyed the message, "You're bragging again."

"Hey, I'm a Hogwarts Express train conductor. I just dealt with the student who ran away."

William, suppressing his conscience, lied to him again.

Chapter Forty-Three: Hogwarts (Not) Happy

The Knight Bus was much faster than the Hogwarts Express—I don't know where the Minister of Magic who set up the express train got the audacity to call that slow-moving vehicle an express.

William, with his experience, lay on the bed, ignoring the Gryffindors' uncooperative protests next door.

When a place that should have seats has a bunch of beds, you should obediently lie down and then think about why, instead of sitting there and showing your non-cooperation.

The next moment, the train turned sharply, and all the people lying down held tightly to the posts that secured their beds, except for the person sitting down who fell heavily to the ground with a thud.

"We've arrived at Hogsmeade Village."

Ticket seller Sampak came over with a smile and called out to people.

"So fast?"

William asked in surprise—the last time he rode it, he had spent quite a while in Diagon Alley.

“You guys are lucky. There were no customers stopping the car today, so we jumped over in a few minutes—he jumps a hundred miles at a time.”

"What a great guy."

William exclaimed sincerely, patted Sampark on the shoulder, and glanced at Gryffindor who was struggling to get up despite the pain.

"Let's go. Hagrid told me last time that lower-grade students are not allowed to come to Hogsmeade Village, so this is a preview for you."

"Waaah!"

The lighting inside the bus wasn't very good, and William couldn't understand what was happening. However, the other person angrily strode off the bus, and William waved goodbye to Sampark before quickly getting off as well.

When William arrived at Hogwarts with the students who had been too angry to utter a sound, it was not yet one o'clock in the afternoon.

William knocked on the door, glancing at his watch with an air of patience.