With Dumbledore's return, the previously tense and fearful atmosphere at the school dissipated almost immediately.
The morning he reappeared, he restored the bridge at the entrance that had been destroyed.
Cheers erupted from all the students.
The beast attack on the castle had been utterly terrifying, and many had spent the previous night huddled together in the Great Hall, trembling with fear.
As long as Dumbledore was around, the students felt safe!
In truth, even in the headmaster's absence, the professors had done an excellent job of keeping everyone protected.
The professors coordinated seamlessly, holding the bridge against wave after wave of attackers. Not a single creature managed to breach their defenses.
After an intense night, Professor McGonagall reluctantly sent the enchanted statues back to their places around the castle.
She smacked her lips, savoring the thrill of the experience.
She secretly hoped for another opportunity to "connect" with the magical creatures of the Forbidden Forest, it had been both thrilling and exhilarating!
Of course, those creatures tasted quite good as well. Ever the shrewd budget manager, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall quietly tallied up the savings. This incident had significantly reduced the castle's need to purchase kitchen supplies.
The money saved, naturally, wouldn't go to waste, there was no reason not to spend the taxpayers' (or school governors') funds.
She planned to buy some rare alchemical materials and craft a batch of miniature armored guardians to place in the house common rooms.
They would be similar to the life-sized wizard chess set that had been placed in the fourth-floor corridor the previous year.
That way, if anyone dared to invade the common rooms next term, they would face the guardians' full wrath!
McGonagall couldn't help but smile with glee at the thought.
Professors Sprout and Snape were equally delighted.
Professor Sprout had somehow procured a massive flag with a roaring badger emblazoned on it.
Waving it enthusiastically as she stood atop a pile of defeated Wild Boars, she shouted, "Wand in hand, follow me!"
She was rallying everyone to charge into the Forbidden Forest for a full-scale cleanup, aiming to turn it into a pristine, five-star-rated scenic area.
Her lifelong dream was for magical herbs to grow without being attacked by magical creatures.
Her secondary goal was to transform the Forbidden Forest into a large-scale herb cultivation base.
Meanwhile, Professor Snape was busily organizing the Slytherin students to search for the corpses of magical creatures.
Many of these creatures were valuable magical materials, perfect for potion-making.
This was the true secret to a wizard's wealth.
"Oh, look! A fully intact Chameleon Ghoul carcass... Well done, Malfoy! Its scales are extremely useful. Five points to Slytherin!" Snape exclaimed.
Snape was slyly inflating Slytherin's house points in an attempt to boost their ranking. After all, Slytherin had taken quite a hit recently.
The night before, the likes of Fred and George Weasley had set off fireworks outside the castle, alerting the professors and helping prevent the beast attack. Points absolutely needed to be awarded for that.
Although Snape firmly believed that their wandering in the Forbidden Forest deserved a deduction of one hundred points each, no one else shared his opinion.
On top of that, Potter and the Weasley twins had been "saving the world" in the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore was bound to shamelessly award them additional points.
All the other houses would gain points, except for Slytherin!
There's a particular kind of pain in watching other houses' children rack up points.
If he didn't seize this opportunity to pad Slytherin's score, they'd not only end up in last place but also fall more than a hundred points behind third place. That would be utterly humiliating!
Snape, a man of dignity, simply couldn't allow such a disgrace.
Of course, his blatant favoritism was met with unanimous opposition from the other professors.
McGonagall even threatened to confiscate everything if he didn't stop, forcing Snape to begrudgingly rein himself in.
Rank hath its privileges, after all!
Snape decided he needed a candid conversation with Dumbledore about a promotion and a raise.
He aspired to be deputy headmaster too, or at least a senior assistant position would suffice.
As for Professor Lockhart, he had effectively vanished. Despite a thorough search, no one could find him.
Some students claimed to have seen him sneaking away from the school during the beast attack.
During breakfast in the Great Hall, Dumbledore formally announced Lockhart's dismissal. The students erupted into cheers, and even a few professors couldn't resist joining in.
William sighed. Lockhart was likely the second Quirrell, taken away by Tom Riddle.
What a miserable end!
On the bright side, though, no one was asking William to return the pile of shampoo he had tricked out of Lockhart.
That was some good news, at least.
Lockhart's disappearance meant that Dumbledore would once again be putting up "Help Wanted" ads on lampposts and in the classifieds section of small newspapers.
Who would the next unlucky soul be?
Anyone brave (or foolish) enough to take on the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was either a dark wizard, severely lacking in common sense, or desperately in need of money.
It would be interesting to see which type the new professor would be!
By the afternoon, Hagrid had returned from Azkaban.
He looked gaunt, his face streaked with tears, but his spirits were high, he was finally cleared of a crime that had haunted him for fifty years.
William, Cedric, and Cho went to visit him.
Fang was beside himself with excitement; at long last, he wouldn't have to endure cold dog food or sleep in the cramped pumpkin by the door.
Cho recounted the events of the previous night to Hagrid.
Hagrid was incredulous and muttered, "I can't believe Aragog would do such a thing. He always told me he wouldn't hurt anyone!"
William consoled Hagrid on the surface, but in the back of his mind, he was already drafting a comprehensive plan to exterminate the Acromantulas and restore peace to the Forbidden Forest.
The sheer number of Acromantulas posed a significant problem.
That being said, they were also incredibly valuable: their leg hair could be used to craft wands, their tough exoskeletons and venom were rare potion ingredients, and their silk could be woven with unicorn hair to create luxurious robes.
Even their leg meat was tender, nutritious, and could be supplied to the Hogwarts kitchens on a regular basis.
This was a complete supply chain with vast market potential and staggering profitability!
If William played his cards right, he might even strike a strategic partnership with Professor Snape.
Using the school's (or rather, the governors') funds, Snape could purchase the venom at a high price, and the two of them could secretly split the profits in a 70-30 arrangement.
Selling maps was peanuts compared to the money Acromantulas could bring in!
Being Uncooperative?
William still had the basilisk. If Tom could threaten Aragog, why couldn't he?
As a Far Eastern wizard, Master Lu Shuren, once said: "If the monk can touch it, why can't I?"
In the future, William wouldn't even bother walking in the Forbidden Forest, he'd ride an Acromantula instead!
Hagrid, blissfully unaware of the torment awaiting Aragog, was positively brimming with excitement.
"My record's been cleared! Professor Kettleburn has confirmed he's retiring at the end of this term, so I can apply to teach Care of Magical Creatures!"
He rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"To be honest, I've already thought of a few magical creatures that'll really amaze you!"
William, Cedric, and Cho exchanged uneasy glances.
Cho offered a sincere suggestion, "Hagrid, I think it might be better to start small.
"We're all just young wizards, it wouldn't be suitable to start with anything too dangerous."
"Of course, of course," Hagrid said with a chuckle. "Do you think I'd teach you how to care for dragons right off the bat?
"Even if I wanted to, I don't have a dragon anymore."
"…"
Hagrid pulled out his small, embroidered handkerchief and couldn't help but start sobbing again. He was reminded of his unborn child, a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon.
He sniffled, "My poor Norbert… He lost his mum as soon as he was born. He must be so lonely…"
The trio nodded numbly.
If Norbert were still around… William could have an endless supply of dragon's blood; Cedric would have access to fire dragon heartstrings for wand-making; and Cho could showcase her culinary skills learned at home by cooking up a dragon feast.
From that perspective, it truly was a pity.