From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

William walked toward the lawn, lost in thought.

Just as he was lost in thought, shouts from other professors suddenly came from ahead.

"Professor William! Professor William!"

It's Singed—when he's not in a bar, he's quite active.

"I'm here. I heard you're doing an inspection. I'll see if there's anything I can do to help."

William smiled in that direction.

"You're late. We've finished our inspection and there aren't any major problems. We were about to do a test flight, but we felt that a test flight might not be very interesting, so we're going to play a simple Quidditch game instead."

Professor Kettleburn smiled broadly, but looking at his smile alone, William felt that only the last sentence was the key point.

Sure enough, these professors were out having fun.

But even Mrs. Hooch, who was in charge of these matters, seemed quite excited, and William felt that he had underestimated Quidditch.

Maybe the principal would be very happy to join?

As for Vice Principal Professor McGonagall—William had heard of her; she had previously been a member of the school team.

“Perfect timing. We’re one short to form a team. William, you can join us as a batter. If we’re short on time, we won’t need the Golden Snitch.”

Professor Kettleburn said with a chuckle, as if he were determined to be the referee.

Ah, this...

You might not believe it, but this used to be a skill I used to rely on to make a living, but I haven't touched a broom since...

Chapter 88 William's (Embarrassing) Flight Lesson

"Not good at it?"

When William honestly admitted that he hadn't touched a flying broomstick much, Professor Kettleburn exclaimed in surprise.

William then experienced firsthand what it was like to be the center of attention – the room was filled with professors, all of whom shared a penchant for instructing others.

"Professor William, there's no need to be nervous. The broom is very obedient; you just need to stand in front of it."

“Exactly, exactly, just stretch out your right hand, put it next to the broom, and then shout ‘Get up!’” another professor chimed in enthusiastically.

'Why do you all look like you're just there for the spectacle, like the viewers who frantically give advice during a live stream…'

William was surrounded by a group of professors, enjoying the most luxurious teaching staff in the entire British magical world—if they weren't teaching flight lessons, William felt he could cry tears of happiness.

But now, unable to defy the wrath of the crowd, William had no choice but to obediently listen to the professors pointing fingers at his posture.

"Alright, have you written down all the key points, little William?"

Professor Kettleburn's excited expression gave William the feeling that he was taking the decisive penalty kick himself—it's just a flight of air, no need for that, Professor!

But Professor Kettleburn clearly couldn't hear William's complaints. He happily patted his other arm with his remaining hand, "Ready? Now count down—three, two, one, ready!"

"stand up!"

William suppressed his shame and shouted those words in front of a group of professors.

Then, the broom rolled on the spot and spun half a circle, changing from an "I" to a "one".

...

"Hahahaha!"

The surrounding professors were stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter in unison.

"Hmm, it looks like it's on strike."

William shrugged and then spread his arms wide in an exaggerated manner—at this moment, as long as he didn't feel embarrassed, he wouldn't feel embarrassed.

"Mrs. Hodge, should I now change the broom, or continue trying to get it working?"

Mrs. Hooch was one of the few who didn't laugh—as a flight instructor, she had seen countless freshmen fail.

"Professor William, just keep trying. Very few people succeed on their first try."

It took William about ten minutes to successfully master flying. To be precise, he had barely scratched the surface of the gate, let alone grasped the basics – he was already able to fly two meters off the ground.

-

“Well, it seems Professor William can’t join our game for the time being. Mrs. Hodge, you can be the batter.”

After watching William's efforts for ten minutes, Professor Kettleburn extended a very formal invitation to Mrs. Hodge.

All the professors who decided to participate were lifted to a height of ten meters, and even the onlookers flew to the same height on broomsticks—William had thought the professors would feel embarrassed riding broomsticks, but now it seemed that everyone viewed broomsticks the same way they viewed bicycles.

"Professor William, prepare your wand in case the broom goes out of control and you need to save yourself—but also be careful that the broom doesn't fly out and hurt the students. Two meters is the best height for beginners; if it's too high, you won't be able to handle an out-of-control broom."

Singi gave his earnest instructions, then flew up ten meters into the air with his broom.

……

What? Newbies have no rights?

William watched the crowd taking off into the sky and inwardly grumbled.

Then, he rode his broomstick and tentatively flew straight through the air, accelerating, braking, and turning, having a great time all by himself.

If you don't want to bring it, then so be it; flying is still a lot of fun.

After flying for a while, William got a little dissatisfied with the two meters of air—even standing up on a bus is higher than that, so he started shouting upwards.

"Professor Singed! Professor Singed, roughly what level of training is needed to fly high?"

Singed didn't react in time, but Madam Hodge quickly responded, "You can try it when you can freely control acceleration and turning. Professor William, you know the Head-Soaking Charm, right? Then you can try flying at a slightly higher altitude on the Black Lake. If you really can't control it, you can take a broom and rush into the water. Just be prepared with the Head-Soaking Charm."

As expected of a flight instructor—he came up with a near-perfect training plan almost instantly.

William strongly suspected that the professor had a plan to train students in this way, but ultimately abandoned it because the first-year students could not master the Bubble Head Spell.

However, the Head-Soaking Charm posed little threat to William—many potions emit a smell more terrifying than a durian seed when boiled, so the Head-Soaking Charm has become an essential protective spell for potion making.

-

People who have just learned a new mode of transportation often have an urge to take it with them even to the toilet, and William was no exception. Since the students were all in class, he simply rode his flying broomstick, half-flying and half-suspending, to Black Lake.

This is the largest lake on campus, but since it was during class time, there weren't many students around.

Every year, first-year students row from Black Lake to school. Occasionally, someone falls into the lake and is rescued by creatures in the lake—some say squid, some say octopus, but William heard from Hagrid that it was an octopus.

"Don't let its size fool you, that guy is very docile. Every few years he rescues a new student and also brings along a lot of 'adventurers' who are trying to find treasure at the bottom of Black Lake."

Hagrid emphasized the last sentence when he said this—clearly, he was a student who, like the Weasley brothers, believed there was a secret at the bottom of the Black Lake.

'I didn't even think about coming to Black Lake when I was stargazing on Saturday—what a blunder.'

Looking at the shimmering lake, William couldn't help but criticize himself.

A sky full of stars and a lake of stars, plus magical protection so you don't have to worry about mosquitoes or anything—isn't that more comfortable than catching teenage couples on the lawn?

Despite his complaints, William still clearly remembered why he came here.

'First, cast a head-bathing spell on yourself, just in case something unexpected happens and you don't have time to put it on.'

"The flight altitude can't be too high. If the broom goes out of control, it will still be pulled into the lake, which would inevitably lead to a collision. Flying too high would just be asking for trouble."

"Prepare your attack spells. Entering the lake will make you more susceptible to injury if the surface is too calm. Using barrier spells to disrupt the water will help a lot."

……

Before deciding to undertake a more challenging flight, William hovered his broom over Black Lake while formulating the most comprehensive plan.

If someone accidentally breaks a leg or arm during flight lessons, those fifth-graders who are going crazy over exams will probably laugh themselves to death.

With this determination, William made plans once again.

Chapter 89 The Student Who Skipped Class So Much He Was on the Professor's Head

"Ah!"

William sneezed loudly.

Who's talking about me?

He muttered to himself as he dragged the broom out of the chilly lake water—a levitation spell had allowed him to easily leave the water, avoiding the embarrassment of having to swim through the mud.

Controlling himself to slowly drift towards the lake shore, William held a wand in one hand and a broom in the other, floating about a meter above the Black Lake, looking from a distance as if he were flying through the air—if you didn't look closely.

"To gain prominence in public, one must suffer in private."

William tried to convince himself while ignoring the dripping water from his clothes and broom, feeling incredibly grateful that no professor or student had followed him.

But the water droplets that kept dripping onto the surface of the water attracted the attention of aquatic creatures. A huge bass poked its head out and looked around at the surface of the water—could some small flying insect have accidentally flown into the water?

Just as William sensed a ripple on the water, the man and the fish made eye contact.

Ten minutes later.

On the shore of Black Lake, William comfortably warmed himself by a fire.

'Magic is really convenient. Even though there's practically no fuel, it's so easy to start such a roaring fire.'

Although his robes had been magically cleansed, William still felt much more comfortable warming himself by the fire, perhaps due to psychological factors.

"Speaking of which, it didn't get wet even after being soaked in water. The manufacturing process of the flying broom is really rigorous. I guess it will be able to fly again soon."

As he muttered to himself, William flipped the flying broom over to dry it more evenly.

Turning his head, William looked at the skewered bass and hesitated.

"Should we call Bart over?"

Bart is a house-elf at Hogwarts. Although nominally affiliated with the school, he spends most of his time serving William, which is considered one of the perks the school provides for the professors.

The house-elf could easily reach them from this distance. Although William had cleaned and strung the fish, he didn't even have any salt. Bart could easily bring over the necessary spices—but that would make it impossible to hide the fact that William had fallen into the water.

After all, the flying broomstick wasn't dry yet.

'Wait a minute. Although I deliberately flew my broom too high and went out of control, ending up in the lake, that's obviously hard to explain.'

Because of his pride as a professor, William felt he could let the fish wait a little longer.

-