"Morning, Professor, have you eaten?"
William pulled out a chair by the table, the sound of the chair legs scraping against the floor was faint. He leaned back against the chair comfortably, watching the woman on the other side of the table with a relaxed demeanor.
Professor McGonagall sat with her back straight, as she always did with the utmost discipline. Yet, upon closer examination, one could notice her jaw line was too tightly clenched, and her hands resting flat on her lap were slightly pale from the exertion.
There were no shackles on her, and even the Fir Wood Wand simply lay within easy reach on the table, yet she seemed as if she were encased in an invisible bucket of cement, submerged in Tokyo Bay, and even turning her neck appeared to be unusually difficult.
"William."
Her voice carried repressed anger and unabashed confusion, "What exactly happened? Professor Snape said you had him bring me here, and that flask of Magic Potion—if you need to talk, my office door is always open to you, even though you've graduated, after-school tutoring can still proceed as usual—"
William did not answer immediately, instead, he fished a small paper package out of his pocket and pushed it in front of McGonagall, inside were a few delicate-looking Lemon Sherbets, "Want to try? I stole them from Dumbledore's office drawer, they're sweet enough to make you forget your worries temporarily."
"…I have even more worries now, has Albus not cut down on sugar as per doctor's orders?"
McGonagall squinted, and a sharp gleam seemed to flash across those rectangular lenses for a moment.
"…Professor, how resistant are you to Obliviate?"
"?"
"Alright, just kidding."
William awkwardly pulled back the Lemon Sherbets on the table; he was indeed not too adept at dealing with this type of stern teacher—the suppression was purely "bloodline" rather than skill-related, "Just don't tell Old Bee it was me who sold him out when you go to clean up the Headmaster's Office later—"
"This can be discussed later, William."
Hearing William's response, McGonagall seemed to relax somewhat, this statement—obviously, in William's view, her problem wasn't that severe, "So, what exactly happened?" McGonagall had clearly realized something, William was not one to randomly crack bad jokes.
"What happened…"
William sighed softly, the laid-back expression on his face slightly restrained, "Alright, Professor, I can be responsible for every word I'm about to say—you, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, might not be fully yourself anymore—at certain times."
McGonagall's brow furrowed deeply, forming a "川" character, "This…completely absurd! I'm fully aware of what I'm doing, of what I'm thinking—"
"Really?"
William leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on the table, "Then are you aware that last night, you entered my Room of Requirement with a strange man emitting golden light and missing an arm, and injured the House-Elf, Dobby as well?"
Professor McGonagall's brow furrowed even deeper, "Impossible... I never did that, last night after correcting the fifth-year papers I went to rest."
"Seeing is believing." William had anticipated this scene, he snapped his fingers.
Then, the wall on one side of the room rippled like water, and our old actor—the Meditation Basin, emerged from the wall and settled steadily beside the two, the silver-white substance within it began to swirl and ascend like a living thing, then a "model" of a crowded yet well-organized room appeared on the table.
Dobby making tea, the two entering from outside the door, the reattached severed arm—
After about two minutes, the surveillance of this "home invasion" case came to an end.
"Seen it clearly?"
William's voice broke the suffocating silence.
"So... what is it exactly?"
Professor McGonagall's voice was dry and hoarse, she couldn't help but swallow, "When did you know? Does Albus also know about this? Did you all just allow her to control me? —This is a school, the students are still in the castle—" fear emerged in the woman's eyes, obviously she thought of some more serious consequences.
"That's why Professor Snape has been watching over you—rest assured, I've given him enough power to subdue you."
William shook his head, signaling a rather emotional McGonagall to calm down first—
The reason he had the patience to explain to Professor McGonagall, rather than following his usual style of "act first and report later," was naturally because the latter was, in a certain sense, an insider, not to mention, as Dumbledore said, Minerva McGonagall is a good cat… no, a person, "Snape is very responsible, the students are very safe—now, feeling a bit better?"
"...What the hell happened?"
"We've gotten into some new trouble—or you could say it's an old problem bringing about new side missions."
William first set the parameters, in any case tying McGonagall to their ship, "Those new… uh, Black Wizards, they probably fancied your identity, so they used means to turn you into a… to them, convenient 'pass' and 'disguise' for entering and exiting the high-level areas of Hogwarts."
Hearing William's explanation, Professor McGonagall closed her eyes, chest heaving violently, obviously trying hard to calm the emotions that were stirred up again. After quite a while, she opened her eyes again.
"Get rid of him, William."
She said resolutely, word by word, "By any means necessary, even if…will I die then?" The woman's lips trembled, clearly, not everyone could face their life and death as Dumbledore did, McGonagall tugged at the corner of her mouth, revealing a not-so-pleasant curve, "After all, I haven't become the Headmistress yet."
"Fine, just give the word and I'll drag that old man off his throne tomorrow—"
William finally stood up and walked over to the other side of the table, cracking one last joke, the easy-going expression on his face disappeared, replaced by an expression McGonagall seemed to have never seen on him before, an oppressiveness that filled the entire space, even the air seemed to stagnate under it.
"Professor, this is why I brought you here and explained everything."
William drew that familiar Redwood Wand and gently placed the tip against Professor McGonagall's brow, "It might be a bit uncomfortable, bear with it."
Yet in the next moment, an invisible pressure spread out from William, the flickering torchlight on the stone walls seemed to dim because of it, his voice no longer soft as before, but increasingly deep and dignified, each syllable seemed to resonate with magic, as if directly striking the soul of whoever was listening—
"So, have you watched enough? Scum."
He was facing Professor McGonagall, but the dialogue clearly wasn't directed at her, "I'm giving you one chance, and it's the only chance."
"Get out on your own."