William was startled by the high-pitched voice of the little girl.
Although he had personally caught Percy on a date, he truly hadn't expected the Weasleys to be so supportive of each other.
"Little girl, you're selling out your own family so hard. Do your family members know about this?"
Not only William, but Professor McGonagall was also startled by the chattering little girl. Her usually calm face twisted slightly, almost uncontrollably.
Logically, he should have said something at that moment, but William was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself from laughing out loud.
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall's emotional control far surpassed William's. She pursed her lips and, with a clearly discernible expression of holding back laughter, said, "Miss Weasley, there's nothing in the school rules about dating, and your brother Percy is almost an adult. The school has no right to punish him for dating someone."
"Huh?"
Disappointment was written all over the little girl's face, like a child whose precious toy had been snatched away—was this child really so attached to her brother?
This sulky expression even moved Professor McGonagall. The professor uncharacteristically showed a gentle expression, reaching out to pat her hair. "Alright, go back, Miss Weasley. Make more friends in the common room. Perhaps you can talk to your other brothers; maybe they'd be very happy about this news."
Professor McGonagall's almost devilish suggestion nearly stunned William—Headmistress, Percy is your prefect. Are you just giving up on him like that?
But even such a terrifying suggestion didn't free Miss Weasley from her disappointment. She clearly pouted, then absentmindedly glanced around as she slowly left the classroom, her entire demeanor filled with protest.
This sulky appearance made William burst into frantic laughter shortly after she turned out of the office.
"Alright, Professor William, what can I do for you?"
Professor McGonagall also had an irrepressible smile on her face, but at least she hadn't forgotten the main business.
"Nothing important, Professor. I was just passing by, heading to Mr. Filch's office, and then I saw Miss Weasley lingering around your office. I was curious and intended to ask what was going on, but I didn't expect it to be this."
William said, smiling, as he explained the situation.
"To complain about this," Professor McGonagall shook her head lightly. "I thought she had some beloved item confiscated by Filch and came here to look for it."
"They search first-years too? She's only a first-year, how could she—"
William casually questioned, and then something popped into his mind—he seemed to have seen that red hair when he was coming out of the Forbidden Forest not long ago.
'At that time, Adams seemed to be questioning if this little girl was going to steal a rooster. Yes, a rooster!'
'She has two Weasley brothers, so she could easily inquire about secret passages, Confundus Charms, and such from them. This pure-blood girl might have already mastered these things!'
"Professor William?"
Professor McGonagall's voice startled William from his thoughts.
"I was distracted, Professor. I'm suspicious of Miss Weasley."
William directly stated his suspicion.
"Miss Weasley?" Professor McGonagall frowned. "She's only a first-year."
She thought for a moment, and her tone changed.
"Let's go check with Mr. Filch. What exactly did he confiscate from Miss Weasley? Even a first-year Gryffindor shouldn't be so foolish as to complain about a relationship."
—
"Miss Weasley was here?"
"Yes, and she admitted it."
Filch proudly replied to William and the others.
"Admitted? Admitted what?"
"Of course, that she killed the rooster, that she is the culprit behind this series of disturbances."
The old caretaker smiled smugly, an expression of 'as expected of me,' clearly delighted that he had found the true culprit with just one search.
Admitted?
What a joke—the incident that had bothered him for a week was solved by a single search?
Professor McGonagall was equally stunned.
"Miss Weasley? She did it?"
"Of course, Professor. That child honestly confessed everything to me and said she was willing to take responsibility for her mistakes, accepting three months of detention and spending all her free time helping Hagrid."
"But she just left Professor McGonagall's office a moment ago and didn't say anything—"
"You scared her, Professor. There are some things she only wants to tell Professor McGonagall. Your presence scared her so much she didn't dare to say anything…"
Filch shook his head proudly. From his appearance, he would probably open a bottle of wine to reward himself soon.
'How was I supposed to know she was planning to turn herself in? Her sneaky demeanor made it seem like she was trying to sneak into Professor McGonagall's office, no problem at all.'
William grimaced speechlessly, spreading his hands.
"Then what's the reason? She couldn't have just wanted to attack and kill a rooster for no reason, could she?"
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that, Professor. I've sworn an oath. Although she made some mistakes, her motive is forgivable."
Mr. Filch had the expression of a worldly-wise scholar who had seen through the vicissitudes of life.
This made William unable to resist secretly pulling out his wand.
"Professor McGonagall?"
William turned his face, giving Professor McGonagall an inquiring look, but as he turned, a Stunning Spell flew out directly, hitting the old caretaker.
Professor McGonagall cast a timely spell, causing the falling caretaker to float in mid-air.
"You're too impulsive, Professor William."
Professor McGonagall said with a slightly scolding tone, while moving the unconscious caretaker to a chair.
'You cooperated quite well too, didn't you…'
William suppressed the urge to retort and quickly walked to the caretaker's side, beginning to inspect him carefully.
Although his magical knowledge was severely skewed, he understood the current situation, as this was one of his preparatory course contents.
After a quick and rough examination, William looked up, puzzled.
"Nothing. It doesn't seem like a Confundus Charm, nor are there any signs of control by spells like the Imperius Curse."
"Are you sure, Professor William?"
Professor McGonagall stared at William, slightly surprised.
"There shouldn't be. I don't know the Imperius Curse, and all the relevant signs I checked are from books—you know, Professor, testing for the Imperius Curse is inherently difficult, relying entirely on experience and subtle clues, otherwise it wouldn't be an Unforgivable Curse. Just in case, you should check too, Professor."
Professor McGonagall hesitated for a moment before taking over—spells like the Imperius Curse were of great importance, and she had to verify it. Every Unforgivable Curse almost meant a sentence that could last a lifetime in Azkaban.
"Indeed, there's nothing."
After a careful examination, Professor McGonagall also looked up, puzzled.
Then both of them stared at Filch simultaneously.
If you weren't under the Imperius Curse, why were you acting so strangely?
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