"That, that, that..."
Harry stared, trying to glean something from William's face, but ultimately failed. "Alright, Senior, but you must take us with you. At the very least, we can testify for you that the despicable Helbo is real—"
"I'm full."
William snapped his fingers, cutting off Harry's next words. Looking into the boy's green eyes, William's tone remained gentle, but for some reason, Harry heard a chill in the flat voice, "Don't think too much about it. Your most important task now is... bringing the Goblet of Fire back to Gryffindor House."
As he spoke, he glanced at the other Champions, "The same goes for you. This matter doesn't concern you."
After saying these two sentences, William stood up and left, waving at Malfoy not far away, "Your detention," and Malfoy quickly followed along at his words.
"...What does he mean, Senior?"
The Hufflepuff table fell into silence. Finally, Cedric blinked in confusion and instinctively looked at the others.
"It seems like he really has a plan but doesn't want us to know?"
Fleur wrinkled her beautiful nose, pondering, "Hmm... I think we should stop asking. Although I know you're worried about him, maybe he doesn't need us to testify. Moreover..."
"Moreover what?" Cedric frowned.
"Moreover, our words alone hold no weight. The despicable Helbo won't be convinced just by us three talking—plus, we're just a bunch of underage little wizards, and I don't think the Ministry of Magic will listen to a few of us, especially given that your Minister appears dead set on taking down... Mr. Richard."
Daniel Stephens picked up where Fleur left off, chewing on a sandwich while snapping his fingers to indicate that she had captured the essence of it.
Then she continued, "So, rather than worrying about this, we should focus on the last task after the Ministry of Magic changes—speaking of which, has anyone been to see the maze on the edge of the Forbidden Forest?"
"...Are you asking your 'enemies' this question?" Daniel teased.
"Ahem, the enemy of my enemy is my friend—friend, want to check it out together after eating?"
Fleur nudged the other's shoulder. Her calculation was simple—since they all had Cedric as an enemy, they were friends (clearly an oversight).
"Bang!"
"Who shot?!?"
Justin Finchley, the Muggle-born little wizard, jerked his head up, instinctively looking toward the source of the noise, only to see Harry suddenly slap the table and stand up. The boy didn't say anything, just subconsciously rubbed his now reddening hand from hitting too hard—
Then, the boy hurriedly left the Great Hall, leaving everyone with a "decisive" silhouette.
"...What's he going to do?"
After a moment, everyone at the table came back to their senses, instinctively glancing at each other.
"I don't know."
Neville bit his fork anxiously, while Ron and Ginny had already chased after Harry.
"Leave it; the two of them can satisfy all of Harry's emotional needs—"
Hermione held back Neville, who also wanted to follow with a fork in his mouth. "Let's not add to the mess... whatever that mess may be."
"Hermione, why do I feel like... there's more to your words?"
Cedric narrowed his eyes suspiciously, scrutinizing Hermione.
"Of course—not."
Hermione also narrowed her eyes, showing a very "sincere" smile—she had to admit William was right; after getting over the initial pangs of guilt, being the Riddler was indeed getting more fun.
…
"Where are you going?"
Ron caught up with Harry, who had just stepped onto the spiral staircase, with a piece of bread still in his mouth. Ginny had gone off in another direction, but Ron was luckier, "Hey, I think Fleur has a point, Harry. If Senior William doesn't plan to tell you, you might as well not add to the mess—"
"I'm not adding to the mess! Ron!"
At the last word, Harry suddenly raised his voice, prompting Ron to nod repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, you're not—so, what are you going to do now? Catch up and ask him clearly? Do you know where he's taken Malfoy?"
"I don't know, but I wasn't planning to find Senior." Harry shook his head and continued climbing the stairs.
"Then what are you going to do now?" Ron asked, a bit confused.
"Find another person who knows the truth."
Harry squinted, speaking with conviction—
"...Honestly, I don't know what plan he has either. I'm busy lately, Harry."
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom, Lupin looked a little troubled, gazing at the panting kids in front of him. He sat behind his desk, gently rubbing his brow, "Besides preparing your lessons every day, I have many other things to handle, and...well, there are always a few days each month when I'm not quite available—"
"But, the senior clearly tells you everything—" Harry was relentless.
"No, that's not entirely true, although William and I are indeed good friends—"
Lupin shook his head, correcting Harry's statement, "But everyone has their own secrets... besides, digging too deep isn't a good habit."
"But the senior is in great danger right now..."
"Danger in what way?"
"That Fudge fellow, isn't he planning to lock the senior in Azkaban?"
"... Well, that might actually be a blessing for him, right?" Lupin couldn't help but murmur softly upon hearing Harry's words.
"What?"
Harry didn't hear clearly, and asked confusedly.
"Ahem, what I mean is, you're overthinking, Harry. Just because you're being tried by the Wizengamot doesn't mean you'll be sent to Azkaban—rest assured, William definitely has his own plan." Lupin coughed twice, glossing over his mutterings, and quickly erased the imagined scenario of "no one returns from Azkaban" from his mind—
"But—"
"There's no need for 'but.' By the way, has Sirius communicated with you recently? He hasn't replied to my messages."
Unfortunately, Lupin's attempt to change the topic was a total failure. At this moment, in Harry's heart, William was someone even more important than his godfather Sirius. The boy couldn't quite understand his own emotions, worry? Fear? Or anger at William intentionally hiding things?
The boy himself didn't know.
He had promised not to hide anything from him—the boy remained silent, just staring at Lupin, eyes full of discontent.
"..."
Lupin sighed and decided to write to Sirius soon, telling him that your most "beloved" godson has become someone else's now.
"Then, Professor Lupin, you're going to the Wizengamot tomorrow, right?"
Suddenly, Ron, who had been silent and with his head down, spoke up, his words were shocking. Harry immediately blinked meaningfully, clearly understanding Ron's implication.
"..."
Lupin somewhat irritably scratched his beard, then looked back at the two, "No, I'm not going." Lupin decided to lie if it could get him away from these two clingy kids. But, unfortunately, this was his fourth mistake since getting out of bed—
The first was stepping out with his left leg first; otherwise, he wouldn't have bumped the big toe of his right foot, causing him to miss helping the Ministry of Magic with the final projects alongside other professors. If he had gone, he would not have been caught by these two—
But, Lupin clearly underestimated the two's "determination."
Finally, three hours later.
In the end, Lupin, who agreed to their request, couldn't help but speak when he saw the worry still evident on Harry's face.
"Believe me, Harry. Based on what I know about him, William will definitely have his own plan. The accusations from the Ministry of Magic are considered total nonsense! Your senior will absolutely not surrender to—"
...
"I plead guilty."
On the defendant's bench of the Wizengamot, William nodded calmly, and Harry, sitting not far behind him, suddenly widened his eyes. He and Ron had begged Professor Lupin all afternoon yesterday to bring them here, but they hadn't expected that when the senior had raised his hand it was to argue against the evidence provided by Fudge, but...
It was actually a guilty plea?
Harry subconsciously looked at the trial bench, and he could see Fudge clearly twitching.
"... Mr. Richard, I haven't even read the charges yet."
Fudge was speechless for a moment, then said in a low voice, this isn't how the script was supposed to go.
"Then I plead guilty to that too, do you have an issue?" William stared incredulously, "Why is the Ministry of Magic so troublesome?"
"Of course... not."
Fudge sighed, he instinctively glanced at a stern-faced, expressionless Dumbledore, then secretly sighed again, "In that case, given the defendant wizard William Richard's good attitude in pleading guilty, he'll be sentenced to... um, we need to discuss this."
"There's absolutely no need to discuss!"
Suddenly, Karkaroff stood up from the audience, shouting loudly, "This person must be sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban! My student, Krum is still lying in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries—it's all because of William Richard, this referee's poor supervision! Causing a student, the world's best Seeker! Now he can only sit on the bed and count stars—"
Everyone's gaze turned over; Harry instinctively intended to stand up but someone was quicker.
"Alright, I understand."
Listening to Karkaroff's words, Fudge, standing at the trial bench, nodded knowingly, then pointed at Karkaroff with a finger of delight, "This person disrupted the Wizengamot Court, put him in Azkaban."
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