Soon, Fred and George, who had been tossed out by the age line with their faces covered in long white beards, were thrown out.
The people in the entrance hall burst into laughter.
Even Fred and George couldn't help but laugh when they got up and saw each other's white beards.
"I warned you."
A deep, amused voice sounded. Everyone turned their heads and saw Dumbledore, wearing a new set of green robes, walking out of the hall.
The old man looked at Fred and George, his beard looking just as splendid as theirs. "Well, I suggest you pay a visit to Ms. Pomfrey. She is already attending to Miss Fawcett and Mr. Summers, who also decided to give themselves a bit of an age increase—
"However, I must say, their beards are nowhere near as magnificent as yours.
"And William, come with me for a bit."
The old man looked gently at William, who paused in surprise but then followed him away from the crowd.
"What's the matter?"
As they walked out the door, breathing in the fresh morning air of the Scottish Highlands, William couldn't wait to ask.
"About your intention to stay on as a teacher."
The two began strolling in the garden outside the entrance hall. There weren't many little wizards around, after all, it was nearing November, and the cold wind blowing from the north was not gentle. But William could still see those students from Koldovstoretz, each of them bare-chested, doing their morning exercises—
A group of young witches from Hogwarts gathered not far away, blushing and chattering excitedly.
It must be said, those from Siberia indeed know how to withstand the cold.
However, upon hearing Dumbledore mention teaching, the drowsy William suddenly became interested.
"Got an idea? Who are you planning to kick out this time? To be honest, I'm quite good at Potions—"
"…Do you have such a big opinion about Severus?"
Dumbledore turned his head with some helplessness, looking at the excited William, who was suggesting removing Snape from the position of Head of Slytherin House, and said somewhat helplessly, "Even if Severus really doesn't want to be the Head anymore, it wouldn't be your turn, you're not even a Slytherin student—not even twice."
"Mainly, the living conditions are so bad, it's cold and damp, I'm afraid if I stayed long I'd get arthritis, otherwise I would have wanted to enter Slytherin House back then."
William sighed sincerely, of course, not that he despised Hufflepuff; just compared to the rowdy ones in Slytherin, the little badgers of Hufflepuff were too mild. Discussing what to eat for dinner together was indeed warm, but it still lacked a feeling—
If he had entered Slytherin at the time, he would probably have "unified" that House shortly after enrolling.
"And even if Snape doesn't plan to step down, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout aren't that young either. As it happens, I'm quite accomplished in Charms and Herbology—actually, Transfiguration isn't impossible either. Did I ever tell you that I've mastered the Animagus transformation?"
"Minerva told me… Alright, don't think about it, I haven't planned on changing the Heads of Houses for the next few years."
"Then what do you mean? Planning to train me for a few years? Aren't you afraid I'll come back 'Voldemort style'?"
"..."
Dumbledore was speechless. William's words were filled with a sense of threat, as if implying that if he wasn't allowed to teach at the school, he'd become the new Dark Lord and incite the second Wizarding World war—
"You're not that kind of person."
After a long pause, Dumbledore said helplessly. He knew well that although this former senior always had a reputation for being ruthless, he was indeed a genuinely good person. The theories they admired were different, and perhaps Gellert would have more in common with William, but Dumbledore had always respected this senior who lived only in legends—
After all, he truly resolved the issue of the Ashwinder faction that once endangered the entire safety of the Scottish wizards.
Only, after spending these two years together, the idol filter had almost completely shattered.
"…So, what do you plan to do about it?"
William didn't deny it. He indeed wasn't the type to randomly kill out of whimsy. Excessive strength leads to addiction, eventually being controlled by power beyond control. Voldemort was a perfect example—
If William lacked even the minimal self-control, he might have already "devoured" the Secret Vault beneath the Map Chamber capable of sinking all of Tokyo a hundred years ago.
Instead of becoming a "Guardian."
"I just want to know one reason, William."
Dumbledore did not directly answer William's question. The two had already walked to a corner invisible to others. The old man turned around, light flicking in his pale blue eyes.
"What?"
"Why do you keep trying to stay at the school?"
"Because..."
"The reasons you've given before have been repeated several times, but they're definitely not the real reason. There must be another reason."
Dumbledore shook his head, as if he had guessed the clichéd reason William was about to give. His expression was very serious, "I've been to the place you mentioned, and I'm also at a loss about how to enter the Map Chamber. You said yourself, in the past hundred years, only one person has touched the door of the Secret Chamber..."
"..."
Now it was William's turn to be speechless. Indeed, he had done a very good job of keeping the Map Chamber a secret, so well that in nearly a hundred years, it seemed only Lily Evans had sensed its existence, but even she didn't enter it—
This also meant he had no reason to stay in Hogwarts Castle.
The saying "better safe than sorry" was a lie. William was very confident in his security measures, especially after he reinforced them recently, with over a dozen Rune Stone Statues powered by Ancient Magic and a Basilisk in its prime... Even if Voldemort really came, he'd have no way out.
Don't say Parseltongue can command the Basilisk; William had already trained away the debuff of Poisonous Snake Green Pepper some time ago.
Faced with Dumbledore's eyes that seemed to see through everything, William's playful expression gradually faded. He looked at his true thoughts, then shook his head and spoke in a low voice, "But where could I go? Where can I go?"
He had traveled through time; even a hundred years ago, he was just a rootless duckweed—
Even if he returned to that country from his memories, it was ultimately not his home. It just seemed similar, with no familiar people, no friends, family, or anything familiar—
"... I understand."
A look of understanding appeared in Dumbledore's eyes. Immersed in his emotions, William noticed it, though he didn't know what the old man understood; he seemed to have understood something.
What Dumbledore was thinking was actually quite simple. In his eyes, William was someone who had traveled a century because of an event. Although he didn't know if William had friends or family still living when he "left," looking at him now, it seemed he probably did.
Having crossed such a long stretch of time, everything familiar had vanished with time—Dumbledore suddenly thought, if he had traveled a hundred years, the sense of loneliness would be so overwhelming that it suffocated the old man.
"I'll help you stay here, senior."
Dumbledore's tone was solemn and very earnest, "Until you find that 'way home'."
"..."
"... So, really, there's no way for Snape to step aside?"
After a moment of silence, William asked a little unwillingly again.
"..."
Dumbledore turned and walked away.
...
At five-thirty in the afternoon, the sky was starting to darken. Looking at the purplish clouds outside the window, the little wizards crowded in Hagrid's Hut felt they should return to the castle for the All Hallows' Eve feast—of course, more importantly, to attend the school champion announcement ceremony.
"Are those students from Uagadou?"
Hermione pointed to a group of little wizards walking outside the window. Although they had just together welcomed several other schools' students outside the main hall yesterday, to be honest, this was the third time these "ascetic monks" had left their little fortress since arriving at Hogwarts—
Their presence was so low that they almost forgot about the earliest arriving school.
In contrast were the Ilvermorny students, who were also already at the castle since the start of the term. These little wizards integrated with the Hogwarts students very quickly, especially on weekends when everyone dressed out of uniform in the streets of Hogsmeade, making it impossible to tell which school they belonged to.
"And those big guys from Koldovstoretz—"
Harry pointed to the other side of the window, where a line of figures was also visible. "Big guys" was a fitting term since those people were more astonishingly large, especially their lead teacher, a Siberian giant who was only two heads shorter than Hagrid.
They had seen them in brown furs, from behind, truly resembling a brown bear.
"The students from the Magic Institute are coming down, riding on brooms—"
Neville pointed to the sky. The crowd looked up to see a group of little wizards in pale golden robes riding brooms from a giant white egg floating in the sky, even higher than Ravenclaw Tower—
And by the lake, it was the same; a line of green cauliflower had just emerged from the Kelpie's mouth, with the leading Old Cauliflower enthusiastically greeting Karkaroff, who had just disembarked from the boat. But the latter seemed preoccupied, clearly not interested in small talk.
"Alright, we should head to the Great Hall!"
Hagrid loudly startled the little wizards leaning at the window, then opened the door and went out. Harry and the others exchanged a glance, then watched him head towards the Beauxbatons Carriage parked not far from the hut. They saw the neatly dressed Hagrid standing by the door, extending his hand to help out a woman as large as he was—
"He's going to the castle with her!" Hermione's eyes widened, "I thought he was waiting for us!"