From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

William didn't rush to Hagrid's side immediately; his first stop was to investigate the bloodstains at the castle gate, but the house-elves had already cleaned them up—though William wanted to curse, he couldn't bring himself to complain.

Even professional police officers in the Sherlock Holmes stories can accidentally destroy important crime scenes, let alone complete novices like them—besides, even if traces are left, William wouldn't be able to understand them.

"I'm neither a criminal investigation major nor a die-hard detective fan, so it's really asking too much of me to investigate cases at Hogwarts."

'Don't panic, you won't understand the marks anyway—even if it really is a weasel, it's just a waste of effort. Investigating will put your mind at ease, especially since it concerns a significant matter involving your leg or some other organ. It's a win-win situation.'

Comforting himself in this way, William began to find joy in his misery, making use of the little talent he had cultivated in his spare time watching Detective Conan—a talent that even Detective Zero couldn't unlock.

"The motive was rooster blood."

"The time of the crime, from last night to this morning—damn it, I forgot to ask Hagrid when that rooster died!"

William, who lacked even the most discerning detective skills, realized the moment he calmed down that he had missed an important clue.

"Don't rush, William. Calm down. Acting on impulse leads to problems, just like what you just did. Thinking things through too seriously only makes things worse."

Taking a deep breath, he pulled a piece of chocolate from his pocket.

William slowly ate the chocolate, then took out paper and pen from his bag and found an empty classroom where there were no classes to sit down.

“Very good, record it with paper and pen.”

[Motive: To obtain rooster blood]

[Time of the crime: To be determined (requires further verification; Mr. Filch, the house-elves, and Hagrid are all worth questioning)]

[Method of the crime: Killing the rooster by biting it and taking its blood.]

'Very good, now let's move on to the next step.'

[Guess 1: The other party enters and exits the castle through the foyer or main gate. (Easily ruled out, this is the first question asked.)]

Speculation 2: The other party entered and exited the castle through a secret passage, bringing blood into the castle. (This could be inquired about with the oil painting.)

Third, the opponent's magic was so advanced that they unlocked Filch's lock (impossible, scratch that).

The other party may be completely invisible throughout the entire process.

...

William's mind became increasingly confused as he wrote, and he even lost track of the formatting.

'Damn this gloomy day.'

He muttered something, then stuffed another piece of chocolate into his hand.

'Be serious, your life is in your own hands!'

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, William continued writing on the paper.

The other party seems very familiar with the castle, to the point of being able to enter and leave freely; it's suspected that...

'We shouldn't focus all our attention on them—those kids don't necessarily need to be investigated. There are too many of them in solitary confinement. If this is just an experiment, most of them could be a help to me.'

After crossing out the line above, William started scribbling and drawing on the paper again.

He only suddenly realized what was happening when someone tried to push open the classroom door and pulled out his wand.

'Damn it, I was so focused on investigating these things that I let my guard down!'

“Oh—Professor William, it’s me, Lockhart.”

The man revealed his signature smile and teeth—and it must be said, his teeth were truly beautiful, the kind of perfect teeth that a dentist would want to immediately remove and display as a specimen for everyone to see.

"Professor Lockhart, are you going to use this room for classes?"

"Oh, no, no, Professor William, I came here specifically to see you."

Lockhart's smile grew even brighter, making William a little uneasy. There is a sequence to learning, and everyone has their own expertise. Perhaps Lockhart is even better than Dumbledore at dealing with curses. Has he already discovered a way to lift a curse, such as shifting the burden of the curse onto someone else?

'What am I thinking? Damn gloomy day!'

William made himself another piece of chocolate, and the warm feeling rose from his stomach, dispelling all his discomfort.

"Professor Lockhart, would you like some?"

"Thank you, but no thanks. Chocolate isn't good for your teeth, and I don't usually eat it." Lockhart hesitated for a moment, then declined William's chocolate, before letting his smile widen.

"Well, Professor William, how should I put it, you know my club, right?"

A club? What does that have to do with the attack? Does someone think Lockhart is too complacent and wants to teach him a lesson?

They should have splashed paint or dog blood on it—that rooster was innocent!

'Wait, a rooster—there's no such thing as splashing dog's blood in Britain. Rooster blood to ward off evil? Is there such a legend? Should we write that down?'

"Professor William?"

"Oh, I'm listening. I was just thinking that Professor Lockhart's club must be very lively."

“That’s great. Reservations are still being accepted – so some children have to come on the weekend, and even then, the weekend isn’t enough. In fact, I’d like to have a dinner party on the weekend so they can have a wonderful evening where they can speak freely.”

“A brilliant idea, Professor Lockhart.”

William was completely bewildered and could only agree.

"Yes, that's right, but we're having a little problem right now. The kids, well, they have to stay in jail over the weekend—so I was thinking, could we set aside one night so they can have a nice, relaxing evening?"

Now I understand—this great adventurer didn't care about the rooster's death at all; he was pleading for those unfortunate fellows!

'Did those rascals give Professor Lockhart some kind of love potion? How dare Professor Lockhart even ask such a question?'

The idea crossed his mind, but William did not reject it outright.

“Oh, Professor Lockhart, that’s a good idea, but I’m afraid I can’t agree to it—you know, students hate unfairness.”

"That's right, that's correct."

"Although I would love to agree, I'm afraid Professor McGonagall and the other three deans will not agree to this idea. In that case, the students will be divided into two groups. How about this: if the four deans agree, I certainly won't have any objections—otherwise, it would be too pitiful for those children who would have to be put in solitary confinement."

"But what about the dean—"

“Professor Lockhart, I believe in you, and your students believe in you too.”

William patted Professor Lockhart on the shoulder with a look that said, "I have high hopes for you." Professor Lockhart had taken a long time to write the book, but was his final exam only a written test and an interview?

With a smile and anticipation, William left the empty classroom, carrying a long string of papers he had written down.

After Professor Lockhart's speech, the cloudy day didn't seem so depressing anymore.

-

"Let me tell you, Professor William was walking around the castle when he ate a piece of chocolate and rushed into an empty classroom. We wondered what he was doing—but then we secretly peeked in, and guess what he was doing?"

"Who knows?"

"Studying magic?"

"Reading?"

"reply?"

In the Gryffindor common room, a group of students were listening to the man in the middle boasting.

After numerous negative answers were received, the boy in the center slowly and deliberately announced the answer: "You would never guess—that professor was the one who set the exam!"

hiss

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

"Walking around and suddenly an exam paper starts appearing? Impossible!"

"I saw it with my own eyes—when Lockhart arrived, Professor William was still writing and drawing. Would writing a letter make such a commotion?"

"However, is it really feasible to persuade Professor Lockhart to apply for the cancellation of a day's confinement?"

"Of course, don't forget that club—"

The speaker seemed to suddenly remember something and abruptly shut up.

What happened to the club?

"It's alright, we wouldn't have found such a good way to avoid confinement without the club."

"cut"

People around him made disdainful noises, and just then, someone rushed in in a panic.

"Professor, the professor is here!"

The break room erupted into chaos—the professor's arrival was hardly a good thing for these students.

"Pack your things, find the chairs, the cushions, the cushions! Hurry up!"

"Candy! Clothes!"

The group issued orders that even they themselves couldn't understand the logic of; at this moment, everyone was a commander—some things that the prefect could approve of, but the professor absolutely could not.

"It's not Professor McGonagall, it's Professor William!"

In the chaos, the messenger delivered the most crucial intelligence.

The chaotic lounge suddenly came to a stop. The students who had been carrying things with their wands put them down and then turned their wands around.

"Ok?"

It's just one word, but the meaning is very clear.

"Professor William asked me to call people. He said there was a good thing that could exempt us from a week of confinement, and if we were late, it would be gone."

"Then what are we waiting for!"

The lounge erupted in cheers once again.

Chapter 114 Deception Begins with Students

When a group of Gryffindors excitedly ran to the door of the common room, William was a little taken aback by their enthusiasm.

'This is so realistic! I know your daily life is definitely different from being in solitary confinement, but isn't this a bit too exaggerated?'

If the students who did mischief in Filch's office were as swift as rabbits, then they were about as fast as sloths when they were locked up in the classroom. But now, William saw a group of monkeys who had been locked up for seven or eight days, running around having a great time.

What he didn't know was that at Hogwarts, solitary confinement was common, and even postponing it was unusual. As for canceling solitary confinement altogether—such a wonderful thing was almost only heard of in legends.

Especially after William gave a test to a group of students last time, his confinement was naturally considered one of the most painful confinement sessions among the Hogwarts students—avoiding a week of confinement was no small matter.