From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

William, who had inexplicably gone from being a passerby to becoming a participant, quickly moved along the castle corridors with Dumbledore.

As they approached their destination, William finally realized where they were going—Professor McGonagall's office.

Although he had been here before, he had never walked this road before.

Before Dumbledore could even knock, William heard Professor McGonagall's cold voice coming from the slightly ajar door.

"Why don't you send us a message by owl? I believe you have an owl, right? Even if you do nothing, the professor on the train will rush over to find you immediately!"

Professor, that's going too far. As far as I know, apart from me, who's too afraid to use Apparition remotely and doesn't like Floo powder, no professor has ever chosen to ride the Hogwarts Express.

That thing was given the name "Express" and was supposed to be a bit safer, but it was actually incredibly slow. You'd never see a professor on board before.

But this is clearly not the right thing to say now.

The headmaster was still in front, his face so cold it was practically dripping with water. Even skin takes time to heal—the undisputed number one white wizard, and the real deal, was still angry.

However, even in his anger, Dumbledore still knocked on the office door.

"Please come in."

Professor McGonagall's oppressive voice echoed in the room.

Dumbledore led William and Snape into the room.

It was only then that William noticed there was a fourth person in the office besides Professor McGonagall and the two late students—the little Gryffindor he had just brought over that afternoon was lying on the table, copying something with a quill pen, and showed no sign of stopping even with the three new people in the office.

While William was looking around aimlessly, Professor McGonagall had already given up her seat to Dumbledore.

The two students slumped down almost the instant Dumbledore's gaze fell upon them, and for a moment the entire office fell into complete silence, except for the faint sound of a quill pen scratching across parchment in the corner.

Finally, the principal broke the silence.

"Please explain why you did this."

The voice was deep, but exceptionally clear.

William even suspected that one of the two students was about to burst into tears at any moment.

But no, a little boy's voice rang out.

The words were disjointed and the story even had disjointed timelines, but after listening to most of it, William finally pieced together what had happened when he returned to King's Cross Station.

In short, the two younger students were extremely worried after being unable to get into the station. Somehow, they ended up on a flying car and decided to use it to get to school so as not to miss the opening banquet.

Judging from the ending of the story, the two will most likely spend their opening dinner in Professor McGonagall's office—oh, and their friends too.

Hermione was over there copying the student holiday rules (which William had just seen).

Now the question is—where can I get a flying car?

William thought that would be really cool, much more stable than adding railings to a flying broom.

Just as William was watching the other boy finish copying a piece of parchment and then replace it with a new one, the little boy finally stopped his description.

If William isn't mistaken, this is none other than Harry Potter, whom Hagrid has been talking about for so long.

But this was clearly not a good time to get to know others, and Dumbledore did not comment on this series of events.

In the midst of the endless silence, another little boy couldn't hold back any longer.

"Let's go get something."

The voice was filled with despair.

“What are you saying, Weasley?” Professor McGonagall shouted.

"We've been fired, haven't we?"

The boy named Weasley responded.

“Not today, Mr. Weasley,” Dumbledore said, “but I must make you understand the seriousness of your actions.”

"Therefore, I will write to your family tonight. At the same time, I must warn you that if you continue to behave in this way, I will have no choice but to dismiss you."

'I don't believe it. I know they beat up the professor later!'

While Dumbledore wasn't looking, William went on a wild spree to amuse himself.

Professor Snape didn't sense any malice, but he looked like he was about to have to work overtime the next day on a Friday night. "Professor Dumbledore, these two students have disregarded the laws restricting underage wizards from using magic and have seriously violated the Statute of Secrecy..."

“Let Professor McGonagall decide the punishment for these two students, Severus,” Dumbledore said calmly. “They are her students and it is up to her to take charge.”

"Alright, it's getting late, we should go back to the banquet."

Dumbledore forcibly pulled away a resentful Snape and William, who was eager to see how the story would unfold.

Chapter 49 Am I really that repulsive?

With the excitement over there gone, William had no choice but to let Dumbledore pull him back into the opening banquet.

By this time, the Sorting Ceremony was almost over. The first-year students had all found their places, and the remaining seven or eight students were anxiously waiting for Professor Flitwick to call out their names.

"Little William, what happened?"

As William sat down, a professor with a gray beard lowered his voice and asked.

Even though he tried to lower his voice, the questions he asked still made the professors around him prick up their ears.

Even Dumbledore couldn't help but glance in their direction, but quickly turned away as if nothing had happened—the one who asked the question was Professor Kettleburn.

This old man, who dedicated his life to Hogwarts and never married, spent more time at the school than Dumbledore.

Apart from Professor Binns, who was absent today, he is the professor with the longest tenure and has received the most disciplinary action.

Sensing Dumbledore's gaze, the old boy even made a face at the headmaster, and only spoke up in disappointment after Dumbledore did not respond for a long time.

"Tsk, Albus is getting less and less lovable. Before he became the principal, he was very enthusiastic about participating in the school's drama rehearsals, but he hasn't been involved in drama research since."

As he spoke, he stood up from his chair in a rather comical manner, revealing the old professor's entire appearance.

Only half of each of his two legs remained. Two wooden prosthetic legs and a cane maintained the professor's balance. As for the hand that held the cane, it had also disappeared like the leg. The cane that helped stabilize his body was fixed to his missing left arm with a device.

With a rhythmic tapping sound, his chair was brought to William's side.

"Hey, William, I heard that two students missed their train today and had to use a flying car, is that right?"

Even Dumbledore couldn't do anything about the old professor, so what could William possibly do?

"That's right, the two Gryffindor students, the barrier over there was tampered with, so they ended up taking a car to catch up with the Hogwarts Express."

William tried to reveal as little information as possible—though he knew the truth about the matter would probably spread throughout Hogwarts tonight.

"Great!"

The old professor expressed his admiration, but quickly realized his mistake—professors should not encourage students to take risks.

"I mean, it was really a bit reckless. But it's a pity, I probably won't be able to meet these two students again. I'm retiring next year."

“I hope you keep this in mind, Professor Kettleburn.”

Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly rang out behind them, but William could hear the helplessness in her tone.

"You've been suspended from class for investigation sixty-two times already. Do you know what that means?"

"I've been teaching for sixty-two years?"

William, who was standing nearby, was surprised by the number.

To be precise, this year is still your probationary period, even though you will retire next year.

Professor McGonagall said the above words in a helpless tone.

"Alright, Minerva, I'm just concerned about the students at the school, there's nothing I want to do."

The old professor gave a perfunctory reply.

Professor McGonagall returned to her seat with a sigh, and as she turned around, Professor Kettleburn made a face at her again.

"Tell me, William, is everything sorted out?"

The old professor asked with a cheerful smile, but Dumbledore chose to ignore him.

After being asked to provide more details countless times, the professor, who was more senior than the university president, chuckled and dragged his stool back to his original spot.

Meanwhile, the enthusiastic professors around William had already begun to explain Professor Kettleburn's great achievements at Hogwarts. As they chatted, a group of them started to quietly complain about how rigidly Professor McGonagall had handled this year's grant application report.

While Lockhart was chatting away with the professor next to him, William had already been pulled into a group of young professors and was listening to their advice on where to go on the weekend without getting drunk. Just as he was getting into a good time, he noticed that his students were looking at him in surprise.

“Let me tell you, Professor William, you’d better stay away from Professor Snape. Although Professor Snape is first-rate in both strength and potions, what he dislikes most is the professor of dark magic—defense magic. Ever since I’ve known Professor Snape, he has been trying to persuade Dumbledore to let him take on the role of professor of dark magic—well, I mean defense magic. For more than ten years, he has disliked any professor holding that position.”

[You have gained the approval (dislike) of a magical creature, and have received a treasure chest x1]

It comes so quickly, so accurately?

However, William's feelings were understandable. It was likely that all professors of wizarding self-defense magic had a negative impression of Professor Snape. Professor Snape had just been in a hurry to punish Harry, whom he didn't get along with (this information was provided by a helpful professor). So it was only natural that Professor Snape would dislike William after their conflict.

However, William was having a great time chatting with the professors he had just met, so he didn't have time to choose cards. He had to put the box aside for now and see what kind of cards it contained when he had time.

But soon, a series of prompts stunned him.

[You have gained the approval (dislike) of a magical creature, and have received a treasure chest x1]

[You have gained the approval (dislike) of a magical creature, and have received a treasure chest x1]

You've unlocked an achievement: "If you're not happy, then hit me!"

You have unlocked an achievement: The Beginning of the Villain.

???

what happened?

I only chatted with the other professors for a few minutes. I didn't break the law, I didn't offend anyone, and I didn't make any sarcastic jokes or suggestive remarks. So why am I being disliked by a group of people for no reason?

However, the other professors were engrossed in their conversation, and William was reluctant to give up the opportunity the old professor had given him to integrate into the group, so he could only suppress his curiosity and let the box stay put.

"welcome!"

Dumbledore stood up from his seat, and the conversation at the faculty dining table instantly stopped.

Afterwards, the whispers in the auditorium subsided.

"Welcome to Hogwarts for the new school year! Although everyone is very hungry, I have to give you the most serious warning in just a few minutes before the meal. I hope you will remember this before the delicious food distracts you."

I've noticed that many students have started spreading the word about what happened today, and today's Evening Prophet even published a special report on it.