From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

The previous Azkaban attacks were enough to show how audacious they were, but the intrusion into Fudge's office made him even a little scared.

His minister wasn't in his office today; if he were, the Death Eaters could have easily beheaded or assassinated him...

Thinking of this, the shock brought by the three happy events could not suppress the anger that was rising within him.

"simply--!"

Just as he was about to lose his temper, Fudge suddenly felt someone secretly kicking him.

'What a jerk!'

Just as he was about to turn around and lash out, he suddenly remembered that his assistant had been standing behind him all along.

Two more taps, extremely light.

Fudge paused for a moment before realizing that now was not the time to blame someone or find a scapegoat.

He should reward those who contributed to the riots, and he should thank the person who risked their life to preserve the evidence.

This is absolutely necessary—he has already reprimanded him, so he should also offer words of comfort and reassurance to ensure that the Ministry of Magic is generally on his side, rather than becoming disloyal and straying elsewhere.

Fudge inwardly praised his assistant for reminding him in time, then suddenly changed his tone.

"Although there were no casualties in this incident, we still want to commend and reward the wizards who worked hard to protect the department during this incident."

"Furthermore, to the Aurors and strikers who returned to protect the Ministry of Magic in the shortest possible time during this incident, you deserve our praise—you returned to the Ministry of Magic at top speed and bravely charged through the traps, you are all commendable!"

...

After a lengthy speech, the chaos in the department gradually subsided, and daily work began to resume.

As for Fudge, after considering how to reward his assistant, he returned to his office with a belly full of pent-up anger.

The floor had been thoroughly cleaned, but everything looked empty—the documents that had been dragged on the floor were now mostly covered in the slime splattered from the caterpillars' explosion.

Although they could be restored to their original state after a series of remedial measures, Fudge couldn't control the image of that scene churning in his mind. The Flobber caterpillar's slime had almost enveloped his entire office!

That was really disgusting—he still feels nauseous.

'I wonder what kind of report the Daily Prophet will produce.'

'Damn it, those Death Eaters, those guys!'

He roared and roared in the office to vent his anger, which was being forcibly suppressed.

'It just so happens right before the election, right before the election that I've made such a huge fool of myself!'

'No, I'll ask Dumbledore and see if he has any ideas…'

After being angry for a long time, he finally leaned back in his chair and shook his head weakly.

Let's see what Dumbledore has to say...

-

"Professor William, the principal wants you to come to his office."

"Hmm? Is there something you need?"

"I do not know either."

William had no choice but to think about what Professor McGonagall was going to do while also wondering if there were any flaws in his not-so-clever method.

But ten minutes later, William, who was walking with a slightly distracted expression, left Professor McGonagall's office with an awkward smile.

'These days, students… next time, add the principal's gender!'

He re-entered Dumbledore's office and saw the letter Dumbledore had taken out.

"No way? Are you kidding me..."

William's mouth dropped open—a special investigation? He was right…

However, this matter is rather delicate...

It's really strange that someone would investigate the crimes they committed themselves.

But he couldn't refuse—after happily receiving a grant, William officially became an investigator.

-

"A reply has been received."

Fudge nervously unfolded Dumbledore's letter—he feared being betrayed by Dumbledore at this moment.

Putting himself in others' shoes, he felt there was a slight possibility.

But that's how it is now; if Dumbledore says he's too old-fashioned and refuses to help or even directly criticizes him, things will get really bad.

But since Dumbledore is willing to donate manpower, then so be it.

"Minister, you haven't even looked at the information yet!"

“You don’t understand,” Fudge wagged his index finger and cheerfully explained to his assistant—although the assistant probably understood and was just asking on purpose, he was still very keen to talk about it.

“It wouldn’t matter if Dumbledore sent a professor of divination—we have no shortage of experts, that person would just be an extra.”

"The important thing is that Dumbledore is still supporting me, isn't he?"

He laughed, a very bright laugh.

Chapter 564 An Experiment with Shoes

"That should work, right?"

In a corner of the Forbidden Forest, William carefully observed his surroundings, then laid out the bottles of potions he had prepared beforehand, and placed White Essence aside, his expression unusually tense.

Dumbledore, standing to the side, looked at William, then at the pile of potions, unsure of what expression to make.

Yes, that's right—William pulled Dumbledore out of the picture.

Although dismantling Gringotts first and then the Ministry of Magic was extremely tiring, all things considered, it wasn't William secretly going out to run errands, but rather doing private work for the headmaster. Is it wrong to pull Dumbledore out to help out now?

Heaven have mercy, this time I was risking my life doing all this work—from both a moral and logical standpoint, is it wrong to ask the principal for such a small favor?

But Dumbledore, standing there, clearly didn't think so.

The Ministry of Magic's affairs are still under investigation. William's role as an investigator is more of a side job. The boxes obtained from the Ministry of Magic are still being hacked, the Horcrux research is stalled, and there's intelligence coming back from the new recruits sent to America, as well as intelligence provided by personnel in other regions…

Well, he actually has to admit that this time, he was indeed a little bit emotional...

That's going too far!

He now fully understood Professor Flitwick's feelings—how did Professor William suddenly acquire a Gryffindor relic?

Not only are they Gryffindor relics, but they are also treasures that can bypass the school's restrictions on Apparition!

You see, because of the antiquity and integrity of the protective system, there are some things inside the castle that he can't even know clearly—such as the secret chamber left by Slytherin. In order not to damage the castle's protective system, he can only try to crack the lock left by Parseltongue at the entrance, rather than forcibly dismantling it.

The prohibition of Apparition is also part of the protective system—maintenance by generations over the years has finally made this magic permanent, with only the headmaster of Hogwarts able to temporarily disable the protection in a small area.

This works very well. Although he can't grant others the right to Apparition at will, and can only do it himself, it actually makes the castle safer.

But... this right now...

In short, while this is a good thing, it's not exactly something to be happy about—even though Professor William has proven his reliability countless times.

"I'm all ready. You can start anytime."

"Ok!"

William took a breath and, as if it were the first time he had ever Apparated, carefully aimed at his destination before activating Apparition.

Almost instantly, he vanished from his spot and reappeared in the target area.

When William opened his eyes and saw that he had clearly moved more than ten meters, he breathed a sigh of relief and gave Dumbledore, who was coming up behind him to make sure he was safe, a thumbs up indicating that he felt great.

Then, he carefully performed Apparition a second time, followed by a third time—this time he landed steadily a little over a meter in front of Dumbledore, and nodded with delight.

“Perfect, Professor Dumbledore.”

William stretched his legs. "The enhancement to Apparition outside the castle was already amazing enough, but inside the school it's so smooth that I don't even need to stop!"

He had tested the shoes he had acquired many times outside of school—outside of school, they could effectively reduce some of the consumption and aftereffects of Apparition, that is, alleviate the feeling of being squeezed out.

However, within the school, it's like a complete upgrade, with the amplification effects in all aspects almost doubling!

"It's perfect, it's fantastic—just be careful not to use it in front of students, lest it mislead them."

“Of course, Professor,” William nodded—such a good thing should be hidden away as a trump card to ambush people!

“That’s good,” Dumbledore said, looking at the shoes on William’s feet. “Gryffindor was indeed a remarkable man; the items he left behind are the finest of magical artifacts.”

"Yes, that's right. Although these are only half-finished products, they are still quite remarkable—I examined them carefully for a long time, fearing they might be Horcruxes, but they weren't..."

“It doesn’t matter if we don’t check—I know Tom, he’s a proud man enough.”

Horcruxes can be made from the relics of the four founders, no problem, but absolutely not shoes—lockets, crowns, trophies, etc. are fine, but if they're made into shoes and then someone wears them…

“That’s true. He’s not the kind of person who would just fill a position without real skill. Even his worst Horcrux is his own notebook.” William shook his head. “Besides, I don’t think Peeves would joke around with the Dark Lord and then steal his shoes.”

Furthermore, to put it bluntly, unless the Dark Lord is determined to destroy Hogwarts, it won't be easy for him to defeat Peeves.

Peeves' fighting prowess remains a mystery, but his most notable achievement is that he can single-handedly overpower the entire school's professors and principal, even forcing them to give in...

“Yes, Peeves—it probably hid the shoes made by Gryffindor since the founding of Hogwarts, but you only found them now.”

"Yes, that's why I find it strange too..."

William shook his head. "But considering the Ravenclaw tiara that Miss Helena entrusted to me, it all seems to make sense."

At first, he wasn't too keen on the idea of ​​getting loot from defeating Pikachu—Pikachu isn't some dungeon, so how could you farm loot from it…

But if you think about its origins and its hobbies, it doesn't seem like such a big deal.

"I don't want to talk anymore"—that was Dumbledore's first thought.

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist going out to cause trouble for Peeves—who knows how many things Peeves has been hiding for the past thousand years!

But if Peeves' prank actually succeeds, then the battle against Voldemort will be...

"Well, there's nothing we can do but see who the next lucky one is—it's truly a remarkable magical artifact that utilizes the power of Hogwarts itself."

'Use the power of Hogwarts?'

William suddenly remembered something—the Marauder's Map was still sealed away on his end…