From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

Despite the strange thought that crossed his mind, William answered with a smile.

“I’m discussing their reward with these two kids, Professor,” he said with a smile, patting them on the shoulder. “They were key to catching the murderer, and I’m considering asking you for a small bonus specifically for them.”

"bonus?"

Professor McGonagall considered for a moment, "Well, I think there shouldn't be any problem. I'll send Professor Flitwick the bill."

"... "

William said nothing, only looked on with admiration.

"You have gained the approval of a magical creature (?), treasure chest x1."

and then?

William lagged behind the others, waiting for a long time without seeing the treasure chest appear—just as he hurried to catch up, he noticed a disgusted face appear on the door.

It's that Ms. Gray from earlier.

"Don't scare people, it's been half a day!"

William stopped abruptly, and then the other person floated through the door and inside.

'Are ghosts this strange even in broad daylight?'

-

When William returned to his office, he found two unfamiliar people in the room, but judging from the man's fiery red hair, he believed that the other man was another Weasley—albeit one with a somewhat incomplete fiery red hue.

“Ah, Professor William is back—” Dumbledore smiled kindly, but William noticed that one of his hands was firmly holding Professor Flitwick’s, as if afraid that he might lose control and the professor would fall on the crown. “I’m sorry, Professor William, I temporarily set up a Floo Network for your office. Although it’s only one-way, I think it should be very convenient.”

"Of course, I have no objection, Principal."

William was still acting innocent even though he got the benefit—Hogwarts fireplaces cannot be connected to the Floo Network at will; they are mostly one-way. But even one-way connections require approval. The new professor was not qualified, and William had submitted a report but it was not approved.

With the Floo Network open, going to places like Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley will be much easier in the future, but we'll still have to follow the old method to come back.

“That’s wonderful,” Dumbledore said with a smile to the two strangers. “I’ve already informed Professor Snape. Molly, Arthur, if you have no objections, the investigation will begin soon.”

“Of course, Dumbledore, we have no objection,” the red-haired Weasley replied decisively.

As for Ms. Molly, William secretly saw her pinching the Weasley brothers, who had entered before him.

The door was knocked on again soon, and Professor Snape came in carrying a stone basin—William had seen this before, the Pensieve.

'Are they going to search your memory? No wonder they called your parents.'

Professor Snape put down the Pensieve with a cold expression, turned to Dumbledore with a questioning look, and after Dumbledore nodded, quickly walked to Ginny's side.

As his wand lightly tapped Miss Weasley's temple, a thin, transparent thread of uneven thickness, some even broken, was pulled out and quickly transferred into the Pensieve.

“You can begin now, Percy. Take your brothers and leave the classroom.”

Dumbledore nodded to the group of people—the memories were already playing on the Pensieve.

William gathered around the table, joining the others in focusing their attention on the screen.

-

"This is Hogwarts?"

The walls in the scene gradually changed, and then the process repeated on the eighth floor—a magical door suddenly appeared on the wall.

The scene then dimmed and flickered before quickly jumping to the next frame.

The little girl stroked the crown that was now on the chair with her hand, looking fascinated, as if she recognized what the crown was—then she slowly put the crown on her head.

The scene shifted violently again, this time depicting the slaughter of roosters.

Compared to the previous footage, this three-minute clip is much more complete, although it's quite shaky, it's very clear.

Then there's a fleeting image of her writing furiously on parchment.

Then came whispers in the darkness, "Resurrection, resurrection, resurrection..."

...

All the memories were jumbled and disorganized, like disjointed scenes jumping out of a long movie, with an incomplete plot.

"That's all we can do, Dumbledore. Both Miss Ginny and Filch have such terrible memories that these useful ones are just scraps of information from scattered corners."

Professor Snape's expression was stern, but his tone suggested, 'No one could have done it better than me; this is the best possible processing of those memories.'

“Good job, Severus,” Dumbledore said, looking at the screen with a serious expression. “Alright, Arthur, Molly, according to the investigation, Ginny has been controlled, so she won’t be unjustly punished for what happens later, but she probably can’t escape a month of confinement.”

"You can take her to the school hospital now. Mrs. Pomfrey will take good care of her. We can discuss the confinement issue after she recovers."

After giving the couple his instructions, Dumbledore looked at the crown that had appeared countless times in his memory, and a serious expression appeared on his face that William had never seen before.

Chapter 143 Young Runtu and the Badger

Dumbledore easily untied the bandages William had used to restrain the prisoner, and Mrs. Weasley picked up the unconscious Ginny. The bunch of redheads quickly and noisily left William's office.

Although everyone present was filled with curiosity about the crown, Dumbledore stared at it in silence, which quickly made the atmosphere in the office heavy.

"Severus, what do you think of that memory?"

Dumbledore, who had been observing intently, suddenly asked a question, breaking the heavy atmosphere in the office.

“I don’t see the problem, Dumbledore. The memories are too chaotic and too fragmented. No one can identify them.”

Professor Snape, however, did not use his usual disdainful tone at this moment—to be precise, Professor Snape's tone was full of curiosity.

"Could you leave the crown with me, Dumbledore? I'm curious, what kind of transformation could have brought about such a dramatic change to a legendary item?"

"Don't even think about it!"

The voice that Professor Flitwick usually spoke in a calm tone was now several times sharper than usual. The amiable old professor glared at Professor Snape, his expression saying, "If you dare touch this crown, we'll have a duel today."

William could understand perfectly well that this was the first time the house, with its thousand-year history, had encountered a Ravenclaw relic. If Professor Flitwick, as the Head of the House, had placed it on the Slytherin Headmaster's desk, he could have hung himself in his office without needing letters from alumni.

However, Dumbledore did not respond to Professor Snape's suggestion. Instead, he gently asked someone William would never have imagined: "Ms. Grey, although the notes of all the past headmasters have warned their successors not to harass you at will, I must take the liberty of inquiring today—is this crown truly Ms. Ravenclaw's own possession?"

I have no choice but to harass her at will—is this Ms. Grey some kind of Ravenclaw maid from back in the day?

"There's such a rule?"

The ghost lady, who had been nonchalant since entering, finally perked up. She floated toward Dumbledore and stared intently at him.

“Yes, of course,” Dumbledore replied with a gentle look. “This is clearly recorded in the notes of all the headmasters.”

“If that’s the case, then my answer is—” The proud ghost raised its head and glanced at the crown. “Yes, that’s it. Although I don’t know why it’s here, there’s no doubt that this is the crown I stole back then.”

The crown I stole!

These words struck William like a thunderbolt—what do you mean by the crown I stole?

Why are you like that Monton, unwilling to do anything involving humans? Is stealing something honorable?

This bombshell news not only shocked William, but also everyone present—including Dumbledore.

This was the first time William had ever seen the white-bearded headmaster's surprised expression; his glasses were askew, as if he had heard some terrifying story.

"Ms. Grey, you stole the crown? The Ravenclaw lady's crown?"

Professor Flitwick's shrill voice filled the office again; clearly, this was the first time he, as the Dean of Ravenclaw, had come across such a huge scandal concerning his own college.

This tone, filled with condemnation and complaint, enraged the ghost.

“Don’t talk to me like that,” Ms. Gray said, her voice trembling with emotion. “That’s my mother’s crown, and it was meant to be passed down to me!”

The new revelation was so shocking that William was completely dumbfounded.

"Mother?"

Professor Flitwick's voice once again silenced everyone.

“Of course,” Mrs. Grey’s voice was a little stiff—she seemed to realize that she had revealed a lot of things she shouldn’t have said, “of course, my mother, who was called Helena Ravenclaw when I was alive.”

William couldn't help but turn his gaze to Professor Flitwick—although I know that Hogwarts has a thousand-year history and a continuous legacy, it's a bit too much that even the ghosts in your Ravenclaw school are from the time of its founding.

Having been bombarded with a series of shocking revelations, he was no longer capable of thinking clearly. Anyway, there were plenty of tall people in the room, so he decided to let them think it over.

“I think I understand,” the headmaster adjusted his slightly askew glasses and looked at Helena. “So, Ms. Grey, where did you hide the crown before? In the school castle?”

“Of course not, it’s in a forest in Albania, but obviously it’s useless,” Helena replied irritably, glancing at the crown on the table. “It’s back in this castle.”

"So, have you told anyone where it is hiding?"

Even in Dumbledore's presence, the ghost still wore a disdainful expression—"Which generation of students doesn't covet the legendary crown? They know nothing, yet they try to ask me about the crown and such..."

The ghost gently shook his head. "That crown may grant them extraordinary wisdom, but those foolish students only think about using it to get good grades..."

This is a common foolish thing students do—William, who had barely digested some of the gossip, was finally able to receive information normally.

If Ravenclaw's daughter had died and then arrived at the castle, her proud tone would be perfectly understandable—not because of her noble birth or anything like that, but because the ghost might have seen the embarrassing moments of the youths of everyone present, including Dumbledore…

"Hey, that's a good way to get some gossip. Who knows, maybe there are some precious spells buried in history. I really should go to the Halloween party that fat monk arranged for me, even though the rooster incident has been resolved."

William pondered this, frantically warning himself not to pry—'Who knows which ghost has seen Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall's embarrassing moments? If I find out, how will I ever survive in the castle!'

"You've been laughing the whole time, you new, conman professor, what are you laughing at?"

While William was distracted, the ghost named Helena began to shout in a fit of rage.

The new conman professor? Which one? — William paused for a moment, then scanned the entire room.

Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Ms. Grey—and himself.

Without a doubt, the new professor was him.

"I?"

William uttered a questioning sound.

"Who else could it be? You've been laughing from the very beginning! You're mocking me, aren't you?"

She rushed up to William, pointed her finger at him, and said, "You're laughing at me!"

"No, no!"

William shook his head quickly; he wasn't going to take the blame for this.

"It's another lie. You've been lying since the start of the semester, and you're still lying now!"