"Cough, cough..."
William mustered all his strength to cough.
After all, skipping class to visit a bar wasn't the same as sneaking out of the castle for a date. What was he supposed to do after catching them, lecture them about not dating?
Most wizarding families were eager to see the next generation born sooner rather than later. The wizarding birth rate had always been low, and cracking down on early romances wasn't exactly a thing here.
As for sneaking out of the castle, it wasn't a big deal either. William decided he wouldn't play the villain this time and prepared to turn a blind eye.
However, to his surprise, when he finished coughing, the two young people glanced at each other and then looked in the direction of the sound. What were these two fools up to?
When they turned their heads toward William, both of them simultaneously showed expressions of fear.
Surely now they would run, right?
But William had overestimated them. The two exchanged another glance, their faces turning deathly pale. Then they slowly stood up and walked toward William, their movements as hesitant as prisoners being marched to their execution.
"Phew, cough, cough!"
William coughed again, and only then did the girl next to Percy seem to snap out of it. She tugged on Percy's hand, and after a moment of stunned silence, the two of them suddenly looked elated. They exchanged another glance and then bolted away from William as if their lives depended on it.
Watching Percy's bright red hair flash under the starlight, William couldn't help but cover his face. How could these two kids be so clueless? Especially Percy. At least try to act more naturally! Cover your hair, for Merlin's sake! Anyone could recognize you like that!
But at least the grassy field was finally cleared of any bystanders, giving William some long-awaited time to stargaze.
***
The next time William saw Percy Weasley was on the following Monday.
After collecting the essays and magically attaching a series of images to the blackboard, William heard a collective groan of disappointment from the students.
"Professor, is this class just about pictures?"
Clearly, last week's lesson had spoiled them, and now they were hoping for William to produce some new and exciting magical items.
"If not pictures, what do you want, Miss Charlotte?"
William gestured toward the images with an exaggerated expression. "Catch a Thunderbird? Or maybe a dragon? Are you sure it would be me catching them and not the other way around?"
The students burst into laughter. The magical creatures William mentioned were among the rarest and most powerful shown in the pictures. Any wizard with even a basic understanding of magical creatures knew these were far beyond the ability of a single wizard to handle.
"Last week, we learned how to avoid losing your wallet during an outing," William said, his gaze sweeping across the students before landing on the stack of essays he had collected. "And most of you got a good review on how to properly place your wand."
"It seems you've all put a lot of effort into your homework, and that's excellent. Last class, we discussed the four most important things for a wizard; preventing ambushes and harm from other wizards, avoiding injury from magical creatures or herbs, protecting oneself in emergencies, and safeguarding one's property."
"I assume you've all preliminarily accepted these concepts, so today, we'll use these images to introduce the content of this lesson."
"Let's see, how many of you plan to work close to your families after graduation?"
As William expected, only four students raised their hands. To reach the advanced level required to attend this class in such a challenging environment as Hogwarts, most students had a strong sense of adventure.
After all, those who took desk jobs in places like the Ministry of Magic; aside from a few who frequently worked outside the office, didn't even need to learn basic defensive spells.
"Very good. Staying close to your family isn't a bad thing. You don't need to submit homework for this class; But only for this one class," William emphasized the last part firmly.
"For the rest of you, take detailed notes. For next class, write a short reflection on today's lesson. There's no word count requirement. Even one sentence is fine, but it must be meaningful." As William spoke, he tapped his wand on the painting nearest to him. The image immediately floated into the air; this was a spell he had just learned on Sunday.
"Although graduation is still a little way off, it doesn't hurt to learn about this in advance. These are dangerous magical creatures you might encounter in the wild. And this," he said, pointing to the first creature, "is the most terrifying of them all—the Niffler."
This remark earned the students a burst of laughter, as they naturally interpreted his tone as humorous.
"I'm not here to teach you a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. You should already know about the habits and preferences of these little devils. But you must remember, this creature will frantically seize any shiny object it sees; including, but not limited to, coins, buttons, tent pegs, and metal rings on boots."
"You, at the front. What's your name?" William fixed his gaze on the most active-looking student.
"Jack Cook, Professor. I'm from Hufflepuff."
"Very well, Mr. Cook. Would you kindly remove all the metal buttons from your clothing and take a few steps?"
"Buttons?"
"Yes, buttons. You may use magic to secure your clothing in any way you see fit."
Jack cooperatively removed the buttons, then used his wand to conjure a long strip of fabric. Threading it through the buttonholes, he tied his clothes and boots securely. He looked at William with an expression of cooperation, but his eyes carried a hint of defiance.
"Miss Charlotte, Mr. Cook owes you fifty Galleons and is trying to avoid paying you. You've caught him. A Stunning Spell would be a reasonable choice—So, go ahead!" William delivered the line at lightning speed.
The witch named Charlotte, delighted, drew her wand and followed her Professor's instructions.
However, Cook could hear as well. Instinctively, he drew his wand, attempting to dodge while counterattacking. But the makeshift straps conjured earlier clearly weren't very cooperative, especially those on his boots.
Just as his pants were about to slip down, William stepped in, re-securing the straps and dispelling Charlotte's spell.
"All right, game over. The Galleons are off the table. Two points to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw each."
"And that's that. While Nifflers may only steal metal objects, the chaos they cause can be immense. When someone's having bad luck, it tends to snowball. After encountering a Niffler, one often finds themselves facing even bigger trouble. I've heard an amusing story about some wizards who, while sleeping, had all their buttons stolen by a Niffler. When they woke up in the morning, a magical creature; Yes, I can't tell you exactly which one because there are multiple versions of the tale, chased them relentlessly."
"The straps they used as a temporary fix naturally came loose. One of the wizards had to earn the unfortunate nickname of 'Bare-Bottomed One' because pants without buttons make escaping far too difficult. The poor soul had no choice but to use a Severing Charm on his pants with great reluctance and pain."
The students erupted into laughter.
The truth of the matter was a story William had heard about a smuggling crew cornered by Hit Wizards. Their pants had become such a hindrance that one of them ended up fleeing on a broomstick in an embarrassing state for half an hour. Severe frostbite forced them to abandon any search for pants and instead seek medical treatment.
Of course, the Niffler had indeed been the culprit.
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