"By the way, did Professor Lupin really break Voldemort's curse?"
On the train from Hogsmeade to London, several compartments were discussing the same thing — as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, until the banquet ended this afternoon, Professor Lupin hadn't released any news about leaving his position.
This is simply a miracle; most students have become accustomed to the rhythm of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor every year, and now someone is going to continue on for another year?!
This is too scary; could Professor Lupin be...
The Weasley Twins and a group of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff little wizards gathered in a large compartment, boldly speculating, cautiously producing evidence, and finally drawing a conclusion that seemed very "reasonable" — Professor Lupin might well be Voldemort reincarnated, otherwise how to explain the curse not working?
The Dark Lord certainly wouldn't curse himself!
"Bang—"
"Ouch!"
George, who got a knock on his head, covered his head and wailed. William, who came through the door, wasn't partial, giving each of the little wizards a knock. Their "conspiracy" voices were indeed a bit loud; he had been listening next door for a long time, and the more he listened, the more ridiculous it sounded, especially since they had started to suspect him as well—
Is it that my fist isn't hard enough?
"Where did this curse come from? So much free time, huh? Isn't Lupin giving you enough summer homework?"
William grinned, showing a reconciliatory smile, "How about I ask him to add a bit more for you? Not much, twenty seven-inch essays feel just right, surely the new magical creatures you've learned this year aren't few? How about one paper each?"
"Enough, enough!!"
A group of little wizards wailed in unison, attracting the attention of the nearby two compartments.
"Actually, it does seem like it's not quite enough."
Lupin's voice also floated over from another compartment, causing all the little wizards who had poked their heads out to shrink back shamefacedly.
Don't provoke, the summer homework is already enough; Professor Snape doesn't know what went wrong, assigning more homework over the summer than all the previous two years combined, and even "threatening" in class, saying that if he finds anyone who hasn't done their homework, he would put "something nice" in their dinner.
They could already imagine, if Professor Lupin adds more homework, how miserable their summer would be.
In the end, with the "deep and heartfelt" wailing from the Weasley Twins, Lupin did not add more homework. William returned to his seat, hugging Crookshanks, who was sleeping soundly on Hermione's lap, vigorously rubbing its round head.
"Meow?"
Crookshanks, having been petted all over, licked its lips a bit confusedly, then changed to a more comfortable position. A comb had already appeared in William's hand, while Kabuda, squatting on Hermione's shoulder and watching with the girl, looked at the lazy big cat with a face full of envy.
But soon, its small black eyes slightly brightened; since William was handling it, could it then train its smaller followers?
Hmm—
Viable! Absolutely feasible!
Kabuda "hummed" twice, as if it had already envisaged Crookshanks' tears next term, but before it could relish the thought, it was knocked on the head by William, "Focus?!" William said crossly, "I'll check tonight—"
"Squeak squeak!"
Kabuda, with a look of despair, buried its head into Hermione's brown fluffy long hair, like an ostrich.
"Professor Lupin, did Sirius mention his itinerary to you?"
Harry was also in this compartment; Ron and Neville were there too initially, but not everyone could handle being in the same compartment as a professor; just like students naturally feared teachers. After sitting for a while, Ron pulled Neville to find others to hang out with.
Kabuda wanted to sneak out as well, but was swiftly held onto by Hermione, who promptly pinned down its chubby rump.
For this, Kabuda decided to break ties with Hermione, but turned around and was baited by the girl with one Silver Sickle, which turned it into a catch easily with its mouth wide open. William sighed on the side; how did he raise such a worthless Niffler?
At least wait for Hermione to take out some Galleons?!
Phooey!
"No, but he probably won't return anytime soon?"
Upon hearing Harry's question, Lupin looked up, moving his gaze from his book, pondered while pushing his glasses, then shook his head; indeed he didn't have any news of Sirius, though he did hear that the guy was planning to tour Europe perhaps? But Sirius was known to talk big often, so Lupin didn't really believe him much.
For all he knew, Sirius might be traveling the world. Anyway, the guy isn't short on money and isn't afraid of being caught now, behaving like a wild dog off the leash.
"Ah...okay."
Harry sighed; he really didn't want to return to the Dursley family. His uncle already knew he couldn't use magic outside of school; although last year he gave Aunt Marge quite a scare which might last them a while, but that was a year ago—
Sigh.
Snape had assigned a stack of essays almost as tall as his legs, this summer probably would be another tough one...hopefully Sirius can come and get him soon, as he had previously said that by the second month of summer, he wouldn't be suffering at the Dursley's anymore.
"Senior, where do you plan to go for summer break?"
Harry sighed, then looked at William, who was engrossed in petting the cat. Staying in this compartment made him somewhat uncomfortable too, given Lupin and Hermione both looked like studious nerds wanting to read and study diligently. Had it not been for wanting to ask about Sirius, he would've joined Ron and the others in socializing.
"...Me? Going abroad to reclaim lost ground."
William blinked, of course, taking back lost territory was a joke, there's nothing in America to reclaim, but he did need to fetch something. William recalled last night, having finished the Duel Club's final exam, he headed to the Headmaster's Office with the scorebook.
"I remember, we plan to resume the Triwizard Tournament next semester?"
William got straight to the point, glancing at Grindelwald, who was sitting by and sipping tea. He raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. He had no interest in mid-life love stories, so he planned to cut to the chase, "I can recommend a few people for you, ones that'll definitely crush the other two schools—"
"Oh? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely, old man, take a look at this—"
William said as he pushed the scoreboard in his hand over. Looking at the names on it, Dumbledore shook his head, "But unfortunately, the selection of participants is done by the Goblet of Fire, we can't interfere—"
"But the event is hosted at Hogwarts, it's our home turf!"
William frowned, speaking with an air of certainty — this was all for the glory of Hogwarts, absolutely unrelated to his private plan of "setting up a betting pool and extracting Golden Galleons from the pockets of the three school's students!"
"Hey? Are you planning to cheat?"
Grindelwald spoke exaggeratedly loud. Durmstrang was among the competitors, and though he was expelled from there and held little affection for the school, it didn't stop him from butting in.
"Who's cheating? Why are you so quick to make false accusations? That's called playing to our home advantage!" William retorted loudly.
"Shameless." Grindelwald commented with a cheeky grin.
However, in the end, Dumbledore didn't agree with William's proposal that was full of 'initiative'. He shook his head, "The Triwizard Tournament is very challenging, and we're considering putting an age restriction on the participants... in fact, if you're so keen on preserving Hogwarts' honor, why not participate yourself?"
"How can I... wait, am I a student?"
William scratched his head, momentarily bewildered, almost forgetting he wasn't due to graduate next year.
Hiss...
"You see, Albus, I've told you, this kid skips class all the time—"
"Your dumb class, skipping it's no loss!"
"Mind your words, I'm still your professor!"
"I graduated earlier than you, you should call me senior! You high school dropout failure—"
"Hey—"
"Want to fight?"
William rolled up his sleeves, while Grindelwald sat back on his bench, wisely avoiding conflict.
"Forget it, I'm not getting involved personally, it just feels like bullying kids—if there's a professor's tournament, maybe I'd join." William shook his head, after all, even if he joined, winning doesn't even mean much.
Might as well take the opportunity to pet some cats and enjoy life more.
"We'll see when the time comes, but even if you don't come to me, I'll come to find you—"
Dumbledore nodded, having no objection to William not participating. Indeed, this guy shouldn't be allowed to compete; the events they've been planning might just serve as his warm-up, literally like bullying kids.
"What do you want me for?" William leaned back cautiously.
"Because of the Goblet of Fire, it's not in our hands right now—"
"Where is it? At the Great Eagle Museum? That would fit the country…"
"Ahem, it's at Ilvermorny. Their headmaster wanted to borrow the Goblet of Fire for research, to set up a tournament within their own school."
Dumbledore coughed twice, averting the risk of this chapter getting banned due to someone's loose lips.
The Goblet of Fire, as a useful 'voting machine', has magic ensuring its selection is fair.
"So, you want me to take a trip to America?"
"Not just that, I intend to have you invite Ilvermorny to participate in the tournament—"
"... If I'm going, what about you? Off on a honeymoon with old Grin?"
"Ahem, of course not, we plan to visit Brazil, Africa, Asia, take a trip around and see if we can expand the Triwizard Tournament even further."
"Oh, a World Tournament?"
"That's the idea."
"If you really want to travel the world, there's no need to find an excuse, the audience will agree."
"..."
"Not speaking means you agree?"