Chapter 187: The Other Party is Fierce, I Must Be Cautious
Although eating scrambled eggs with tomato with a fork seemed rather odd, desperate times called for desperate measures. A fork would have to do.
William speared a small piece of egg and, pretending it was his first time trying it, cautiously placed it in his mouth—
Then, an expression of agony contorted William's features.
Which bastard made sweet scrambled eggs with tomato?
Could a dish like scrambled eggs with tomato possibly be sweet? Was salt such a precious seasoning that the chef couldn't bear to add any?
Fortunately, the twice-cooked pork was still good; the chef hadn't ruined it—although eating twice-cooked pork with bread was in itself a bit of a waste of the dish…
"Mm, very good. The flavor is quite novel."
Looking at the sweet scrambled eggs on the table, William offered insincere praise; after all, the twice-cooked pork was genuinely delicious.
"That's good, Professor," the little one nodded. "The house-elves only let us serve the dishes we make during the holidays when there are fewer people. Normally, they wouldn't let us touch the kitchenware at all."
*If they let you touch the cutlery normally, I suspect the house-elves would think you were trying to take their jobs.*
"It's good enough that you can use it during the holidays. After all, the kitchens are the most important place in Hogwarts. If something went wrong in the kitchens, all the teachers and students in the school would go hungry."
William said with a comforting smile, then naturally started to probe for information.
"But speaking of which, are these all the people staying at school for the holidays? Could there be anyone who doesn't like the communal meals and finds a way to get their own food?"
"I don't think so. Anyway, all the Hufflepuff students staying behind are here. The cookware in the kitchens is magical, much better than what we have. The oldest of them are even three or four hundred years old."
If all the Hufflepuffs were present, then it was highly unlikely any other students were hiding away. A bit more probing tonight, and he would basically have the complete list of students staying at school. Even if someone had gotten through lunch with snacks, they wouldn't continue to fill their stomach with snacks for dinner.
It was just the professors staying behind that he couldn't confirm for the time being. After all, the school's perks were too good. In theory, a professor who didn't want to leave their room could have all their meals delivered by a house-elf.
'Steady on. I'll go to the Staff Room this afternoon. If I run into anyone I know, I can subtly probe for information.'
While telling the children some interesting stories, William stalled for time, waiting for the meal to end—by the time the house-elves cleared all the plates at one o'clock, he had counted thirty-one students spending Christmas at the school.
This number was practically nothing in the castle. Even at the peak of lunch, the entire Great Hall was largely empty.
'The library is even closed. I really don't know what those children are thinking, wanting to stay at school for Christmas…'
With this question in mind, William walked through the corridors, occasionally reminding himself to pay attention to his surroundings and be as careful as ever, lest he give himself away before any plan was even made.
---
"Ah, Professor William!"
The moment he entered the Staff Room, William saw a row of frighteningly bright teeth.
"Professor Lockhart, are you also planning to spend Christmas at school?" William asked with extreme politeness.
"Yes, of course," Lockhart's smile was even more enthusiastic than usual. "You know, Professor William, a whole term of teaching has left me quite exhausted. Hogwarts is quiet enough now for me to relax and, at the same time, prepare for my new book."
"A new book?"
William showed a surprised expression. "You have ideas already, Professor Lockhart? I dare say it will be a masterpiece. I can't wait to read it—if I may be so bold, Professor Lockhart, is there a part for me in it?"
"How could there not be, Hogwarts' Friend to Ghosts!"
Professor Lockhart revealed his trademark smile. "I just hope it won't affect your daily teaching."
"Not at all, Professor Lockhart!" William replied enthusiastically.
...
The two chatted enthusiastically for a long while, as if they had just made a new friend, and almost made excuses to leave at the same time—but William was a bit slow, so he changed his excuse at the last minute to having an appointment with a ghost today.
---
*'There shouldn't be any major problems, right?'*
William reviewed his actions and felt they weren't too deliberate—in the end, he was still a bit intimidated, which was why he had acted overly enthusiastic in front of Lockhart.
*'Hmm, perhaps I should send another letter asking Lockhart how he began his legend. I should probably act a little eager for fame,'* William reconsidered and felt there was no major problem.
*'He is a Great Adventurer, after all. I need to reconsider the plan to infiltrate his private rooms. If this Great Adventurer catches me red-handed in the staff room or Professor Snape's office, that would be a disaster.'*
Considering Lockhart's track record, William felt he should show more respect to this legendary adventurer. Fortunately, thanks to Adams, William was already more polite to this professor who didn't often think before he spoke than the other professors were, so it wouldn't seem like a sudden change.
*'I must be extremely careful. I can't let Professor Lockhart find any loopholes. If the story of my capture gets into a book, I'm afraid I'll become a laughingstock even in Azkaban.'*
---
"That William... he didn't discover anything, did he?"
"What's wrong, our living legend? Are you scared?"
These words appeared in the diary. The tiny, delicate script of "Are you scared?" made Lockhart's anger flare up.
"Ha! Is it your turn to lecture me now?"
He snatched up his quill. "The plan doesn't change. What's so great about chatting with ghosts? Is that supposed to be impressive?"
"To deal with him, one Obliviation Charm from me is all it takes. He won't even have time to react!"
"Is that so? The great—" The diary left a space. "'legend'?"
"Don't forget, you have a history of being taken down head-on, Professor."
"Hmph, that was just a sneak attack," Lockhart snapped the book shut, not even bothering to write anything else. After the last time, he had discovered the diary's shortcomings. It was good for finding loopholes and even helping to improve one's strength, but when it came to so-called plans, the ones he made himself were more reliable.
"Filch falling ill is a good thing—" Lockhart took out his planner and added a note, "Confirm professors staying at school: William."
*'From the looks of it, there's no one to stop my investigation now. Although the library is locked, I can still sneak in. The Locking Charm isn't hard to break—I'll sneak in tonight to look up the information, and then, while Filch is away, I'll start searching for the secret passage.'*
Lockhart carefully laid out his plan on the parchment, preparing to excavate what Slytherin had left behind.
*'I need to consider a student target as well. That's not difficult; I've taught all the lower years—an attack, then foretelling death, but I'll have to create an accident to prevent death so things don't get too serious, allowing the story to develop... I'm such a genius…'*
A sentence appeared in the diary he had closed.
*'A Locking Charm that's not hard to break? Heh…'*
(end of chapter)