Snape didn't know much about William's life after graduation. He only knew that William had gone to work at the Ministry. He had never imagined Dumbledore would investigate William so thoroughly—even down to the private detail that he had spent two years living in the Muggle world.
"It seems you're paying exceptional attention to our new professor," Snape said, quickly masking his surprise with a sneer. "At this rate, you probably even know the colour of his underwear."
Dumbledore didn't appear offended in the slightest.
"I give equal attention to every Hogwarts student, Severus," he replied with a smile. "If you would like, I could recount some of your own colourful school memories."
"As for his life after graduation, that is simply the background check required before hiring such an important member of staff. It is my responsibility to the school and to the students."
Snape stared at him for several seconds. He opened his mouth as if to deliver another cutting remark, but Dumbledore's answer left no opening. The sensation of punching cotton filled his chest with frustration.
Knock, knock.
Before Dumbledore could respond, the door opened and William Shafiq walked in.
He went straight to the desk and placed two alchemical books with intricate covers in front of Dumbledore. They were the copies agreed upon when William proposed installing the full surveillance system—one set for the Headmaster.
Snape, already in a foul mood, saw the subject of his anger and immediately bristled.
"What are you doing here?" he snapped.
To Snape's surprise, William didn't argue or even answer. He simply paused, turned his head, and looked Snape up and down.
There was no anger in his eyes, no mockery—only something like pity. The sort of look one gives a stray dog that has just been kicked and can only bark at strangers to hide its pain.
That silent sympathy drove Snape far closer to rage than any insult could have.
"What kind of look is that?"
The question nearly burst out, but Snape forced it back down with the last of his restraint.
William gave him no chance to explode. He shook his head as if he couldn't bear to watch any longer and walked toward the door.
"Good night, Headmaster."
The door closed softly behind him.
...
Walking down the corridor, William sighed.
"Poor man… He must be losing his mind if he's lashing out at innocent bystanders," he thought. "I wonder what Dumbledore said to break his heart like that."
Though William didn't understand why Snape was so obsessed with the cursed Defence Against the Dark Arts position—previous professors had suffered all manner of miserable fates, watching him cling to it so desperately made Snape seem rather unfortunate.
Apparently, William was more sentimental than he realised.
---
Night deepened. In the staff quarters, the fire in the fireplace had nearly burned out. Otto lay coiled on the rug, his three heads rising and falling in soft hissing snores.
William leaned back against a velvet pillow and summoned the system panel.
[Current Points: 600]
These were the points earned from installing the surveillance systems around the castle and Forbidden Forest.
"Let's see what I can buy…"
He opened the glowing shop section.
At first, William had assumed he already knew most magic. What could the shop possibly offer? If the system had appeared earlier, he might have saved years of effort.
But after browsing the catalogue, his confidence quickly turned to surprise.
His eyes landed on a spell priced at 1500 points:
[Sectumsempra]
[Description: A powerful Dark spell invented by the Half-Blood Prince. Extremely covert, especially when cast silently. The wounds it inflicts cannot be healed by ordinary magic and require a specific counter-curse.]
"Impressive," William murmured.
Expensive but invaluable in combat. More importantly, this was Snape's personal invention. No matter how talented William was, he could never learn an original spell straight from someone else's mind.
Next to it sat Fiendfyre, priced at 2000 points.
Not worth it, in his opinion. He would rather learn it himself.
William wasn't unfamiliar with Dark Magic.
He had mastered the three Unforgivable Curses long ago, which was why they weren't listed in the shop. During his school years, Dark Magic had been far less restricted. Many students experimented with it, especially in Slytherin.
He had stopped once he realised how damaging it was to body and mind.
Continuing down the list:
[Legilimency – 2000 points]
Useful. He had tried learning it, but practice was troublesome.
[Parseltongue – 3000 points]
The mark of Slytherin. There was a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets… and it might also help him talk to Otto.
[Unsupported Flight – 2800 points]
Rare and impressive. Not very practical though.
At the very bottom sat a golden item:
[Dark Magic Purification – 30,000 points]
[Removes all negative effects and corruption caused by Dark Magic on the caster's soul and mind.]
William laughed bitterly. At this rate, he would have to work at Hogwarts until his beard grew longer than Dumbledore's to afford it.
"Ambition is dangerous," he muttered.
With 600 points, he could only afford:
[Humanoid Language Pack (Goblins, Merfolk, Trolls) – 200 points]
[Magical Creature Language Pack (Dragons, Unicorns, Phoenixes) – 500 points]
"…Why would I buy these?"
He wasn't planning to rob Gringotts or negotiate with goblins. And the rest seemed even less necessary.
"Better to save."
He closed the panel.
Lying on the bed, hands behind his head, he stared at the ceiling and considered his next move.
Castle infrastructure was already close to optimal. There was little left to improve for now.
That meant the next focus would be the students.
Fortunately, the new term began in ten days.