Harry Potter: Reborn as a Prisoner in Azkaban

As a professor, arbitrarily accusing students without evidence was a highly unethical act. Most of the time, students were in a disadvantaged position, unable to resist the malice directed at them.

William understood that well, but he wasn't pinning the blame on the twins without reason.

When it came to capability, every student in the castle, including the infamous pranksters, recognized that no one understood Hogwarts' hidden corners better than the Weasley twins. William had even confirmed this through both Filch and Hagrid.

There was no doubt the twins had the ability to sneak out of the castle, kill a rooster, and then bypass the castle's locks to return safely to their dormitory. By the time morning roll call came, they could emerge, rubbing their eyes like nothing had happened.

As for their psychological resilience?

That was equally undeniable. William had personally read their files and had a clear understanding of their aptitude for mischief. If those two decided to stage a prank by splashing blood at the castle gates to create an air of mystery, William firmly believed they wouldn't slip up like ordinary students and reveal their involvement.

And just now, during his conversation with Adams, William had pieced together the twins' motive.

That's right; Ginny had been put in detention.

She was their little sister. From what William knew, the Weasleys had a bunch of sons, but only one daughter, the youngest. This naturally meant that she was doted on excessively by her brothers. Families with many children often favored the youngest daughter, and though sibling rivalries could happen, in most cases, the family dynamic leaned towards pampering.

It made perfect sense that two prank geniuses, angry about their sister's detention, would take it out on the unfortunate rooster and craft an elaborate prank around it.

Now, the only problem was, William had no evidence.

It seems Filch was right. The best pranksters in this school are indeed the Weasley twins.

A smile spread across William's face, and he felt a weight lift from his chest. He admitted defeat this time.

All that effort, dragging a group of unruly kids around the castle's secret passages to search for suspicious graffiti or other clues, had probably been watched with amusement by the twins the entire time.

Fine, I lost this round. It doesn't matter. I'm not the professor in charge of discipline anyway. Although I have to admit that their prank was cleverly executed, my teaching wasn't affected in the slightest.

Actually, I consider this a win for me as long as there's no dangerous sacrificial ritual or anything like that involved. Still, those two troublemakers… I'll remember this.

William chuckled as he stretched his arms. His sour mood from that morning finally returned to normal.

Hmm, should I call those troublemakers back?

Feeling much better, William suddenly considered this thought but quickly dismissed it.

Let them keep searching. If they manage to catch the twins red-handed, I'll reward them with reduced detention. If not, well, they were tricked by the twins, not me…

For all I know, the twins are probably still laughing at the sight of everyone combing the castle for them. But little do they realize, I'm watching them laugh while laughing at them too.

***

"Achoo! Bloody hell, how many years has it been since anyone walked this passage? It's covered in dust! What are we even looking for?"

In a rarely used secret passage that had been neglected for decades, a group of students searching for clues sneezed incessantly as the swirling dust choked the air around them.

"Search everywhere, especially the more remote spots. The person hiding might be using the dust as a cover. Just restoring the dust alone; I know at least seven or eight ways to do that. What does dust even prove?"

The group of students braved the thick dust and filed into the secret passage, their entrance stirring up even more clouds of debris.

Some of the students who had mastered the Bubble-Head Charm quickly cast it to protect themselves, encasing their heads in the fishbowl-like shield. However, many of the pranksters hadn't learned the spell, so they continued talking while enduring the swirling dust.

"Those of you who haven't mastered the Bubble-Head Charm, get out first. The rest of you, take your time searching."

The twins, who had led the group to this hidden passage, issued commands while their own heads were safely encased in the protective charm.

"Remember the technique, tap the bricks with your wand. The hidden ones will cause your wand's light to flicker and distort. Usually, these bricks are hidden between knee and chest height… Well, adult height, that is."

They patiently repeated the instructions, a method most of the kids in the group already knew, yet no one voiced any objections.

For this group, a collective effort to search for a concealed room was a rare opportunity for teamwork.

'Everyone's taking this so seriously, but I think we're spending more time on this than we would in detention.' Fred sent a meaningful look toward George.

'Yeah, but this is way more fun than detention; And besides, I can't allow anyone at Hogwarts to know more of the castle's secrets than we do. If they do, we'll surpass them!' George's resolve was unwavering.

"Achoo!"

A sudden sneeze broke George's determined expression, leaving him covered in dust and prompting laughter from the surrounding students.

"Too much dust? Even the Bubble-Head Charm didn't hold up?"

George raised his head again with a surprised expression, sending the students into another round of uncontrollable laughter.

***

"Good morning, William."

"Good morning, Adams."

William sat down at the breakfast table with an unusually cheerful demeanor. The day was bright and sunny, and with the mystery that had plagued him half of yesterday finally resolved, his mood was buoyant. He even felt like humming a tune without needing his usual dose of chocolate.

"Hey, what's got you so cheerful today? Did you mess up another potion or something?"

"Shut it. How was your chicken feast yesterday?"

The two wasted no time exchanging jabs.

Yesterday evening, William had encountered a rather dejected-looking Adams. A chicken might have seemed substantial, but to a towering half-giant like Hagrid, it was merely a light lunch. By the time Adams had arrived, the poor bird had already been picked clean.

Literally, there was nothing left, not even bones. While it was generally advised not to feed chicken bones to dogs, Hagrid's dog Fang had apparently polished off the remains without issue, likely due to some magical resistance.

This incident had William and Singed laughing the entire evening, which eventually provoked Adams into retaliating. He accused William of conducting his investigation as if he'd consumed a batch of expired potions; forgetting even crucial spells like the Disillusionment Charm.

After some banter, the two finally reached a truce under the amused scrutiny of the other professors.

William would refrain from mentioning the unfortunate chicken, and Adams would stop mocking William's forgetfulness regarding the Disillusionment Charm.

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