"... New look? Looks good."
After finishing a day of tutoring, outside the entrance hall, William encountered Lupin, who was using a bandage to support his right arm. William raised his hand and patted Lupin's shoulder from behind, greeting him enthusiastically.
"..."
Having drunk the Bone Regeneration Potion in the morning and still feeling a faint pain in his arm, Lupin rolled his eyes at William in exasperation upon seeing him. Last night, William, fresh out of silent meditation, was quite talkative, while Lupin, who had turned into a werewolf because of the full moon, was in a bad mood. Although the Wolf Poison Potion could suppress the beastliness after the werewolf transformation—
But it's only suppression, not elimination.
Thus, the two "friendly" exchanged a "duel"—
... Not at all friendly.
As a result, Lupin's arm, which had developed a foam-like fracture, only worsened as the fight spiraled out of control. Lupin almost lost his reason, and William had to break his arm, taking advantage of Lupin's pain to perform the Homorphus Charm to end the duel.
In the wizarding world, such injuries are not considered severe; resting for two days after drinking a magic potion should suffice.
The two walked one after another through the candle-lit entrance hall, where the Great Hall was decorated with hundreds of candlelit pumpkin heads, a swarm of real bats flying around, and many orange banners aflame, hovering lazily like colorful horned serpents across the storm-brewing ceiling.
The sweet aroma of pumpkin ignited everyone's appetite. By this time, the little wizards who had gone to Hogsmeade today were back, sitting in groups of three or two in pumpkin carriages sculpted from giant pumpkins, while excited ghosts floated back and forth above the crowd.
So far, the Halloween feast was proceeding smoothly—
Using a table knife to cut the last piece of steak on the plate into smaller pieces, William fed it to Norbert, who was poking its head out from his sleeve. Noticing its unsatisfied look, William hesitated a moment, raising his hand to push the black head back inside...
No way, he couldn't feed it any more. The fact that Norbert's size was reduced does not mean its appetite was. Two-thirds of the meat on the Hufflepuff Long Table had already ended up in its stomach.
Fortunately, William's actions were swift and very discreet. Except for a few bewildered little wizards staring at the empty meat dishes, no one seemed to have noticed this interlude—since realizing that the ancient magic might be controlled by others, William had restored the Poisonous Snake Green Pepper to its full size and released it into the Map Chamber, replacing it with Norbert as his close protection.
But compared to the Basilisk, who would sleep all day and might not open its eyes once every half month, Norbert was somewhat more troublesome to take care of...
Perhaps he should replace the Secret Vault's security with Norbert... No, that's not feasible either. Unlike the Basilisk, which enjoyed hibernating, a fire dragon, especially Norbert, who had just entered adulthood, was not so patient—put plainly, this guy was in its rebellious adolescent dragon phase.
Leaving Norbert alone in the Map Chamber... he feared it would have the place dismantled within three days.
Looking at Norbert, still with its mouth open begging for food, William impatiently grabbed Cedric's wand from his waistband, shoving it straight down Norbert's throat. After coughing up a burst of flame and realizing that acting cutesy was futile, Norbert finally gave up, closing its eyes and resting in the sleeve.
"..."
Looking at his wand, slightly scorched and blackened, Cedric remained silent for a long while.
"You'd better take it out yourself."
Surveying his surroundings briefly, William then extended his hand, pulling a Niffler napping in Astoria's hat and handing it to Cedric—William didn't carry many Golden Galleons on him these days, so Kabuda had been serving as his wallet recently.
Meanwhile, as William dealt with Norbert, this year's Halloween feast was drawing to a close. The Hogwarts ghosts sprang from the walls and tables, forming various formations to perform sliding actions, and Nearly Headless Nick from Gryffindor reenacted his beheading experience once more, much to the performance's success.
Amidst a round of fervent applause, the pleasant evening came to an end. The little wizards began to leave in an orderly fashion, but William did not get up, instead listening to Cedric, who was narrating stories about Hogwarts Halloween myths while enjoying a bowl of mushroom soup—he himself hadn't had enough to eat, having been busy feeding the dragon.
"... Two years ago, that year's Defense Against the Dark Arts Class professor rushed into the Great Hall right before the feast ended, shouting, 'There's a troll in the dungeons!', then just 'plonked' straight down and fainted at the entrance. But we don't even know if there was one; that dungeon isn't on the Hufflepuff Common Room side."
As Cedric mimicked Quirrell's shout, the few remaining little wizards who hadn't left burst into laughter. The reason was simple: it was a spot-on impression.
"And then, last year, oh, you all should know this..."
Cedric glanced around, noting that the youngest among the little wizards listening to his story was in at least the third year. "The Secret Chamber attack happened, with Filch and that Gryffindor boy bedridden for a term—though Dumbledore said the monster in the Secret Chamber was dealt with, none of us saw it."
Cedric instinctively glanced at William; he knew quite well that William had tamed the Basilisk—but how could he mention this at such a time with so many onlookers around?