"Boo hoo hoo..."
"Alright, I know you feel wronged, but didn't you also send that guy to the Hospital Wing? It's just a few duels... don't cry anymore."
While William used magic to clean up the mess Harry left in the arena, he comforted the Kakarong in his arms—yes, it was that Hungarian Horntail that had been slapped a few times. At that time, that lunatic from Koldovstoretz had used some magic on it, hitting it straight on the mouth, leaving it skewed.
"Wuuu wuuu wuuu!!"
Kakarong only felt that its pride was hurt—after all, how could just a few duels inflict such damage on a Fire Dragon!
It waved its claws, its golden eyes full of grievance.
"What's wrong with it?"
Hermione popped her head over William's shoulder, the girl standing on tiptoe, half-leaning on William's back, curiously looking at the Little Fire Dragon in his arms.
"You saw it, got slapped twice, and now its pride is hurt."
William sighed, his wand still active—Professor Snape really was a good person, the Sectumsempra he invented worked much better than ordinary Diffindo, those miscellaneous vines were quickly cut into pieces by him. "What are you doing here?"
Having cleaned up most of it, William finally straightened up and looked at Hermione, who had squatted to the side to "play" with the dirt.
"To see the success of my research."
Hermione picked up a root of the Devil's Snares, "These are the Devil's Snares that Neville hastened to maturity. I used a Magic Rune similar to Reverse Growth to return them to their original form, but this state isn't very stable, so as soon as they hit the ground—or experience any great shock or impact, they immediately grow large—"
As the girl spoke, she raised her head, "and become like this... Well, actually I didn't expect the power to be this great."
Hermione stuck out her tongue.
"Alright, you guys helped Hogwarts' Champion cheat, and now you dare to show off to me, the Referee! What do you say to that?!!!"
William raised both hands, aimed at Hermione's head, and then did the "Double Peak Ear Strike" (just kidding), pinching the girl's cheeks as he spoke fiercely.
"Mmph mmph mmph—"
Hermione wanted to speak, but with those hands rubbing her cheeks wilfully, it was clear they had no intention of letting her talk, so the annoyed girl could only jump up and knock William's head.
"Okay, not bad, I suppose you pass—"
William laughed and released the girl, bending down to pick up a piece of the root, pointing at the blue pattern on it, "But, there are still quite a few flaws, much like in your final exams, where 'toughness' and 'fire resistance' Magic Runes could clearly be..."
And so, the two began an impromptu public lesson.
...
"...We received orders from thirteen countries, and with this level of supply, the production capacity of three Muggle factories has completely exceeded. So, my current idea is to expand the business, some Pure-Blood Clans have already begun inquiring if they can purchase individually.
"Sir, these folks are really loaded, might as well make some profit from them—"
On the night that the first event of the Eight-Team Tournament ended, William received a letter from Mundungus, detailing the viewership of the Eight-Team Tournament and explaining many Wizards' reactions—William nodded, things didn't fall below his expectations, in fact, far exceeded them.
The reason is simple: while the Magic Realm's transportation seems convenient, the majority of long-distance or cross-country travel methods are controlled by the Ministry of Magic.
Thus, if a famous star in the Magic Realm were to hold a concert, their fans would need to travel arduous distances from various places, using assorted Portkeys to reach the destination. And as everyone knows, the experience of Portkeys is far from pleasant.
—But what if now, there was no need for such long journeys to be able to do this from home?
A blue ocean! Absolutely a blue ocean!
William rubbed his chin and began drafting a reply, naturally agreeing to the expansion of the business model, as the reputation had already spread quite a lot. Next, they needed to rake in the money aggressively!!
Of course, he also had some fresh ideas, like launching a satellite to connect to magical networks worldwide, so live broadcasts would no longer have delays—hmm, in a few days, he could bring this idea to old man Greg. Surely, this great inventor would definitely be utilized like the SSR card he is.
After tidying everything up, William changed into Pajamas, sat on the lounge chair on the balcony, and looked up at the fake Starry Sky above, he gently sighed—
The busy days have finally come to an end, and from now until the next event, he should be able to leisurely conduct some research...
"Beep beep beep—"
"?"
I just said I could rest for a while!
Looking at the buzzing alarm above his head, William couldn't help but twitch his eye. He stood up, his body enveloped in a layer of black robe, and then his figure disappeared from the Room of Requirement—he wanted to see which inconsiderate creature it was again—
...
...
Hogwarts Castle, in an unknown location.
Three cloaked figures, whose faces were completely obscured, lined up one after another, moving slowly through a somewhat narrow tunnel. The leader, clad in black, held a magic wand, and the dimly flickering pale white orb of light barely illuminated most of the tunnel.
"Is the path ahead blocked?"
Noticing the increasingly crowded stone walls around them, the figure at the back spoke up. His voice was excessively hoarse and unpleasant, almost inhuman.
So, the leader stopped, lightly pointed the wand forward, and the pale white light shot straight out, reaching beyond the group's sight. Then, the man withdrew the wand, and the pale white orb of light reignited.
"...No."
After these words, there was no further conversation among them, leaving only disorganized breathing and footsteps echoing in the passage.
It was unclear how much time had passed, perhaps as long as a day, when the man with a dry mouth pulled the magic wand farther away.
He resolved never to accept such work again. The man thought to himself that he would rather dig up mummies in the Pyramid of Khufu than infiltrate this kind of dark, damp place, where bugs occasionally landed on his face... Lowering his head, he glanced at the "map" in his hand under the faint glow of his wand.
Rather than a map, it was more like a simple sketch. At the center was a stereotypical castle, beneath which lay an underground tunnel skirting the whole of the Black Lake. Their target was the eighth floor of the castle, where there was a "Room of Requirement" they needed to find—a crown, after which the four of them—
Wait, something seemed off.
The man blinked and took the wand farther away again, then noticed the four shadows flickering on the wall, goosebumps ran wildly up his spine, and sweated beads trickled into his eyes, forcing him to blink. Since closing his eyes, he prayed in his heart that it was all just a mistake—
Then, he opened his eyes again, and seeing only two shadows on the wall, he silently breathed a sigh of relief. Right, of course, where was the fourth one…
"Wait!"
"What's wrong?"
The companion following behind the man stopped, noticing the terrified expression under his hood and suppressing a smile. "Why did you stop?"
"Blair! Where did he go?"
The man gulped, turned his companion around, and pointed at the empty space behind them.
"What Blair?"
The companion blinked, seeming somewhat confused.
"Blair! The one who came with us—the pale pig!"
The man's voice finally grew loud, his eyes wide with fear, seemingly unable to comprehend his companion's questioning tone.
"What pale... Weren't there just the two of us?"
The confusion on the companion's face deepened, his expression was so genuine that even the man began to question if he had really remembered incorrectly.
"If there's nothing wrong, let's keep moving."
The companion impatiently nudged the man's back. "It's hot here, let's hurry up, get things done and go home!"
"No, there is something wrong—"
Just as the man was about to be swayed, he suddenly realized something: the person who had just spoken to him, asking if the passage ahead was blocked, wasn't this companion! Realizing this, the man's hair stood on end. He took a deep breath and pointed his magic wand directly at the companion's face—
"Who are you?!"
"Hee hee hee hee hee hee..."
Unexpectedly, the latter no longer concealed it but slightly lowered his head, making it impossible for the man to see his expression. At the same time, a creepy, strange laugh rang through the air, "Seems like you found out?" The "companion" spoke, and the man saw the somewhat distorted face under the hood.
"You..."
"Boom—"
The ominous sound made the man's face change drastically. He looked up, discovering the surrounding stone walls suddenly trembling, and the previously narrow walls began to slowly separate.
Is this place collapsing?!
"Since you discovered it, remember, never extinguish this beam of light."
The man heard the whispers of his companion by his ear, and when he turned his head again, there was no one in the light cast by the Lumos Charm. The man's face instantly turned pale. Ignoring any task, he bolted the moment he heard the continued rumbling around him—
The journey he had traversed seemingly for days and nights now felt much shorter, and he soon saw the entrance to the secret passage.
He emerged from the loosened stones and looked at the newly rising sun in the east. His panic slightly calmed, looking at the cold, white glowing orb in the sky. The man shook his head. He turned to look at the entrance, only to find a large pit. The fragmented stones had already filled the passage inside solidly.
The man caught his breath, grateful for surviving the ordeal, but without pausing, he quickly oriented himself and headed out of the Forbidden Forest—
He remembered that a group of centaurs lived in this forest; being caught by them wouldn't end well.