Chapter 186: William the Auditor (Not Really)
Hogwarts has a legacy stretching back a thousand years, and the Four Houses have been separate since the school's founding, a structure that remains unchanged to this day.
Although no one would admit it publicly, William knew one thing with absolute certainty, even without thinking about it—the Four Houses definitely had their own private accounts.
Putting aside everything else, given the antagonistic relationship between Slytherin and Gryffindor, would graduates from either House not specify the use of their donations?
That was obviously impossible. Not to mention donations made directly to a House. This year, William had personally witnessed the Malfoy family's contribution to the Slytherin Quidditch Team, which was definitely not a donation that went through the public account.
Without a doubt, these accounts were in Professor Snape's hands. And considering the sheer volume of irregular entries in the ledgers over so many years, there was no way Professor Snape could carry all of them with him. At most, he might keep the last decade's worth on hand, and even that would be considered extremely cautious.
But William wasn't interested in Slytherin's private stash from the past few years. He wanted to investigate the private accounts of Slytherin House from the time when Professor Slughorn was still teaching at Hogwarts.
'Never mind Pure-blood families; even the emperor of a dynasty has limited funds available at any given time. If money was spent here, there would surely be less over there. If money was used to support the Dark Lord, donations to Slytherin would decrease. That can't be faked.'
'It's just that no matter which Professor is Head of House, they would never hand over such private accounts. If it weren't for the other 'goods' that might be hidden within those private accounts, I wouldn't be crazy enough to touch this stuff.'
Having been at the school for so long, William was well aware of the regulations regarding Detention—theoretically, Filch had the records of every student violation over the years.
But the reason it was "theoretically" was that the School Rules had never been that rigid. Some students were indeed punished for their mistakes, but the punishment was never reported and filed as an official record. At most, the Head of House would make a note of it, and that would be the end of the matter.
This wasn't William insinuating anything about Professor Snape. It was just that when some students were caught by their own Head of House, the Head of House would handle it with a points deduction and Detention, and then not bother reporting it to the School Authority. This situation occurred in every House, it just happened a little more often in Slytherin.
Now that he had discovered the name Tom Riddle and was planning an investigation into the members of the Slug Club organized by Professor Slughorn during those years, William naturally couldn't let those records go.
'If they're not at Hogwarts, they're at Gringotts. They're not illegal accounts, after all—I hope it's not the latter. An intrusion into Gringotts is no easy task.'
William let out a long breath and began to formulate backup plans for potential failure.
'Azkaban really is a terrible place. How long was I even there? I'm already thinking up one criminal scheme after another…'
He muttered to himself as he popped a piece of preserved fruit into his mouth.
...
At noon, William stopped his work. After memorizing the plan he'd formulated, he destroyed it completely before setting off for the Great Hall.
He hadn't had a chance to see the list of students staying for the holiday, so for now, he could only rely on his observations in the Great Hall to guess who was still at school—thanks to Filch, the number of students staying behind wouldn't be too high.
'The plan to infiltrate the Common Room is still incomplete. I don't have any Polyjuice Potion in stock, and getting it from old associates wouldn't be reliable…'
"Hello, Professor."
A passing student's greeting startled William. He had been so engrossed in planning his illegal activities that he had completely let his guard down.
"Hello to you too."
William responded with a smile, not asking any further questions.
Aside from special circumstances, not many people stayed at school for Christmas. It was a rare holiday, and he didn't want to be the bad guy who brought up any unpleasantness.
However, the child perked up. "Professor, there aren't many people around for the Christmas holiday. Why don't you come sit at our House's table?"
William couldn't help but search his memory for information about the student before him. Right, a Hufflepuff student, a Sixth Year. Was his name Robert?
In any case, the year should be correct; Fifth Year students wouldn't be this happy to see him.
Since he still needed to refine his illegal plan, William started to think of an excuse to refuse the student.
"It's a rare holiday, so a group of us secretly used the Kitchen to make a lot of good food!"
Ah, well...
His purpose was to observe the students anyway, and it was too early to act—William wouldn't make a move before figuring out the number of students and professors staying behind.
"Let's go, then. Who can blame poor Professor William for never being able to refuse delicious food," William said with a sincere smile. "Of course, a student's invitation is also an important reason."
He patted the student's shoulder, deciding that if the food was truly good, he would find a way to award some House points to Hufflepuff after the start of school. If it wasn't good, he'd just add some homework.
"Professor, do you have any particular flavors you prefer?"
"Hmm," William thought for a moment. "I'm fine with anything. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be chocolate?"
"Then you'll definitely like the dessert," Robert said, striking his left palm with his fist. "There happens to be someone among the students staying behind who's great at baking!"
Wait, did you guys stay at school just to raid the school kitchens?
But that was clearly not a question a professor who was here to freeload a meal should ask, so he could only abandon the thought and continue the conversation with a smile. "It sounds like I'm in for a treat. I'll look forward to it, then."
"You can definitely count on it, Professor."
Robert patted his chest in assurance.
---
Upon arriving at the Great Hall, William immediately realized how wise his decision to accept the student's invitation had been—not a single professor had come to the Great Hall for lunch today!
'There must be some professors on duty. After the meal, once I've observed the students enough, I'll go check the Staff Room. I might see someone there.'
William chatted with the students while mentally counting those who had stayed behind. Since he wasn't sitting at the long faculty table today, he could drag it out until the meal was over to observe for a while longer.
"Hello, Professor!"
"Good afternoon, Professor!"
...
As soon as William sat down at the table, the nearby Hufflepuff students greeted him. He glanced around and, as expected, saw no Fifth Year students.
But that little one over there looked so familiar—did a lowerclassman not go home for Christmas either?
His attention was soon captured by the food on the table. The dishes were completely different from the usual style of the house-elves. Although their presentation was a bit lacking, they still looked very appetizing.
More importantly, he actually saw a plate of Twice-Cooked Pork and a plate of Scrambled Eggs with Tomato!
Scrambled Eggs with Tomato!
'William, you must remain composed!'
'Be composed!'
"This dish is quite unusual. What's it called?"
William smiled at the students, pointing his finger at the Scrambled Eggs with Tomato.
"Scrambled Eggs with Tomato. I made it."
The little one stood up.
A tongue-twisting English name—but that didn't matter.
"A new dish. I'll give it a try."
William didn't hesitate to pick up his fork—it was time to eat.
(end of chapter)