From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

On the way, William earnestly tried to persuade the old professor.

He couldn't directly refuse the professor—when he first entered the school, it was this professor who personally introduced him, the newcomer, to the other professors, which allowed William to integrate into the professors' circle.

After that, Professor Kettleburn invited him to join the professors' games several times, so that he wouldn't be unable to play with others because he wasn't from the school.

To be honest, if there were no problems with the crown, William would have hesitated for a moment before giving it away when the old professor asked for it, let alone the fact that the old professor just wanted to fulfill his childhood dream.

William loved watching Doraemon when he was a child. If such a blue robot cat actually popped out of the drawer, he would probably be much happier than Professor Kettleburn, so he completely understood the old professor's actions.

“Really, Professor Kettleburn, that’s no simple curse. Even a first-year student like Ginny Weasley was able to take down Mr. Filch after wearing it—” William said, supporting the old professor who was so excited his wooden legs were almost unsteady, as he described the terrifying nature of the magic. “Just imagine, what if a professor like you went up there and knocked Dumbledore down?”

"Take down Albus?"

The old professor showed no concern whatsoever; in fact, his eyes lit up, making William feel an urge to slap himself a few times.

So you think taking down Dumbledore and wearing that crown are both things to be celebrated? Double the joy?

While supporting the old professor to prevent him from slipping due to his excitement, William quickly racked his brains for other words of persuasion.

However, they found nothing, and soon a huge and ugly stone monster appeared before them.

"Ha, little William, we've arrived at Dumbledore's office. Let's see what he can say this time!"

The old professor, beaming with pride, shouted at the stone monster, "Chocolate Frog!"

I like this!

As William had this thought, the monster came to life, jumped to the side, and revealed the cracked wall behind it.

As the cracks in the wall widened, a spiral staircase appeared.

"Let's go, William, let's see what excuse Albus has left to avoid me!"

After the old professor helped William onto the escalator, the escalator began to rise automatically, carrying the two of them upwards.

About two or three minutes later, a gleaming oak door appeared in front of them.

The old professor strode forward and grabbed the brass door knocker shaped like a griffin.

"Albus, I'm here again. Look who I've brought!"

The door opened silently, revealing Dumbledore's face, which carried a look of helplessness that William had rarely seen before.

“Professor Kettleburn, I told you, it’s too dangerous. You can’t wear it lightly.”

"Albus, you know I don't care about danger at all—is there anything more dangerous than my job?"

The old professor stretched out his wooden arm. "Is it really true, like little William said, that I can beat you up if I wear this?"

'I didn't harm you, Professor! You can't do this to me!'

But Dumbledore smiled. "Don't even think about it, Professor Kettleburn."

"So what's there to worry about, Albus?" The old professor chuckled. "If a first-year student can wear it, why can't I, a nearly retired old wizard, handle the trouble that even a little girl can manage?"

“But she can’t handle it, Professor Kettleburn.”

“So here I am—there are a lot of Ravenclaw graduates out there, you can’t keep your crown locked away in your office, Albus.” He chuckled and tapped the table with his wooden arm, making a clattering sound. “As for ruining it, Albus, you’ll be the next headmaster to be impeached.”

“I don’t think I’ll be that badly off—” Dumbledore smiled rather easily.

“No way? If the crown were really destroyed, the Ravenclaw students would go crazy. Even if you were Dumbledore, they would kick you out—” The old professor chuckled. “I remember very well how Armando was kicked out.”

“Little William, I remember the crown was yours, wasn’t it?” The old professor turned around, his smile unusually bright. “You’re not thinking those guys at the Ministry of Magic are going to change the headmaster of the school, are you? I think I’m very suitable to wear that crown—I’m an old man who’s about to retire, surely this request won’t be denied?”

“Professor, I think we have time to deal with the crown,” William said carefully, “After all, it’s still at Hogwarts, and I, not the school, have ownership of the crown. Personal property won’t be investigated as severely.”

“You young people,” the old professor said, his face full of exasperation, “don’t forget your background. You think you can resist? Do you believe you’ll have to go back and bury Azkaban alive?”

...

William fell silent after the old professor's words. Although he was still young, if the crown issue really weighed on him, the old story about Azkaban's bail would definitely be brought up again, and it was entirely possible that he would have to go back to study.

"Look, the school can't afford to lose a new professor of dark magic self-defense, can it? And the principal can't afford to lose him either."

The old professor chuckled. "You'll save me if I'm in danger, right, Albus? It would be too embarrassing for me to lose my remaining arm in front of you."

"Don't be so discouraged, William. The school finally has a good professor—besides, this thing is just seductive, not as dangerous as you think."

The old professor looked confident. "Don't make me sound like a martyr. Let me tell you, Albus, if I get killed because of your poor protection, I'll become a ghost and spit in your office every day until you retire!"

"Nobody stop me," the old professor pointed at the two of them with his only remaining arm. "This is a great dream I've had since my first year at Hogwarts!"

Chapter 148 Hmm? That's it?

“That little rascal Flitwick will be insanely jealous,” the old professor chuckled, reaching for the crown placed on the principal’s desk with his remaining arm. “Who told him to retire so early?”

Even in this critical moment, William couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark to Professor Kettleburn.

'Professor Flitwick is so old, can't you at least give him some face...'

“I have to say, the things left behind by Hufflepuff are still the best. Look at how badly Ravenclaw’s crown is broken…” The old professor muttered as he put the crown on his head—William noticed that Dumbledore had already taken out his wand, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

“Albus,” the old professor’s voice rang out.

"Sylvanas, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore's tone was noticeably tense, something William had never seen before.

"You promised me a raise last year, but you haven't given me one yet!"

"What time is it, Professor? How can you still be talking about this!"

But Dumbledore's expression visibly relaxed. "Anything else?"

"Oh, by the way, I've been teaching for sixty-three years. Don't let Minerva keep complaining that I'm being held back for probation every year!"

“That’s wonderful, Sylvanas. I’ll talk to Minerva,” Dumbledore’s delight was barely concealed. “Is there anything else important?”

"Those Weasley brothers stole a salamander from my class today. They asked me questions while I was counting them, which made me mix up the numbers!"

'How come you guys are always around?'

William, who was speculating about the effects of the crown, was stunned by what the professor said—if he remembered correctly, although he had reduced their confinement by a week, the two of them were still in confinement, right?

William wasn't the only one with a headache; Dumbledore's smile also froze for a moment.

“Minerva was just talking to me today about whether we should get them a little trophy or something,” Dumbledore said, his hand not holding his wand unconsciously touching his forehead. Without turning his head, he said to William, “Professor William, could you go and find that fire lizard later…”

"Okay, Professor."

Considering Professor McGonagall's reaction upon hearing the news, a reaction she was quite pleased with that the Weasley brothers had reformed, William agreed with unusual ease.

“That’s enough, Sylvanas,” Dumbledore said, gripping his wand tightly. “I think you can put it down now.”

The old professor reluctantly put down his crown, his expression relaxed. "It seems I can accept Frivi's envy now."

“I need to do another check-up, Sylvanas,” Dumbledore said casually, but his wand remained firmly gripped. “Professor William, could you please do it?”

“Of course,” William pulled out his wand and placed it on the table. “Professor Kettleburn, please, if you really can’t control yourself, don’t hit my face.”

The old professor chuckled but didn't respond.

William stared at the old professor's wooden hand, using the most reliable examination method to complete the basic test. "No problem, I'm going to use the wand to test it now, Professor."

The spell detection still showed no problems.

"No signs of it being controlled have been found, but the same thing happened with Mr. Filch's test last time."

“Severus only examined the memories,” Dumbledore explained. “Professor Kettleburn, may you use William’s wand to extract the memories first?”

Without any problems, Professor Kettleburn retrieved his memories and placed them in the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office.

William readily became the memory tester—if something went wrong with them, no one in the wizarding world dared to say their rescue would be more timely than Dumbledore's, but if Dumbledore were to fall for it, William felt he wouldn't even be able to escape the school.

-

William tapped the water's surface with his wand, and the memories of the Pensieve instantly unfolded. Although they were from the first few minutes, they were still quite fresh from this new perspective.

But when the old professor put on the crown, his previously peaceful memories suddenly went haywire, the images fragmented into countless pieces—which immediately alerted William.

"Professor Dumbledore! Your memory has changed!"

The instant he spoke, countless bandages extended from the chair where Professor Kettleburn was sitting, firmly holding him in place, and a bubble-like membrane immediately rose around his crown.

"Impossible, Albus, I feel everything is fine!"

The old professor was tied up quite securely, and he complained to the two men in a dissatisfied tone.

“I’ve informed Severis and Minerva; they’ll be here soon. Please bear with me, Professor Kettleburn.”

While comforting the old professor, Dumbledore instructed William, "Professor William, please check if any strange instructions have been infused into that crown."

“I’m afraid I can’t do it, Professor,” William said with a wry smile. His memories were so fragmented that they could be used to make dumplings. How could he possibly understand them?

However, Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape arrived quickly and found Professor Kettleburn tied to a chair.

“Good heavens,” Professor McGonagall sighed, “Professor Kettleburn, what are you planning to feed that phoenix this time?”

Professor McGonagall quickly surveyed the office. "Nothing was burned—so you tried to get the phoenix to hatch a dragon egg again?"

"Or have you brought some dangerous birds in an attempt to breed a new species?"

'I think I heard something incredible.'

William silently swallowed – he had almost forgotten the old professor's profession!

William didn't know what kind of animals Professor Hagrid, the professor of the Department of Conservation of Magical Creatures, would raise, but he had heard several versions of the story about how Hagrid's dog, an amateur, had bitten Professor Snape so badly that he was crippled for half a month!

“Ahem, Minerva, that’s all in the past,” the old professor said, his expression showing no sign of embarrassment at being tied up. “I called you here today to prove your innocence. Little William says there’s something wrong with my memory, but I don’t feel like anything’s wrong with me.”

Professor McGonagall didn't reply, but Professor Snape quickly walked over and stood opposite William with a look of disgust. He stared at the image that was shattered into countless pieces for a moment, and then tentatively touched the image with his wand.

Nothing happened.

Then came several more spells and attempts—ultimately, one method worked, and the chaotic fragments finally transformed into countless pieces of memory that flowed through time in a normal manner.

Then William received another disdainful look.

"Memory has been accelerated, and hundreds of memories are being processed at the same time, Dumbledore," Professor Snape introduced his discovery in a tone that made it easy to see. "If I'm not mistaken, it's the effect of that crown."

Even the Dark Lord wasn't this ruthless in Chapter 149, was he?

I'm so angry.

But a mistake is a mistake, and one can't blame others for a lack of knowledge. After quietly putting the study of memory magic on his agenda, William ignored Snape's mockery.