Harry Potter: Reborn as a Prisoner in Azkaban

"I have a feeling something bad is about to happen."

"Indeed, something mysterious has been disturbed. Hogwarts won't have peaceful days ahead."

After Professor Kettleburn left, Adams looked deeply worried, and Singed shared the same grave expression.

"What are the two of you pretending to be Divination professors for? As far as I know, one of you teaches Herbology, and the other Alchemy. Neither of you has anything to do with Divination, right?"

William sneered at their mysterious expressions and mercilessly mocked them. "I'd bet, even if each of you had a crystal ball, all you'd see inside would be reflections of the things around you."

They had talked about Divination-related issues before. Truly talented Seers were exceedingly rare. If not for the Ministry of Magic allocating a significant annual budget to maintain the subject, it would have long become a sixth-year elective like Alchemy.

So, for the three of them, being completely clueless about Divination was perfectly normal; whether it was numerical Divination, astrological Divination, tea leaf reading, or crystal ball gazing, they were uniformly bad at all of it.

"No, William, this isn't about Divination. It's about you not understanding Professor Kettleburn." For once, Adams refrained from his usual sarcasm and earnestly defended his point.

"The old Professor is a great guy. He gets along well with younger people, has no airs about him, and though he's made some mistakes in the past, isn't he almost retired now?"

"It's precisely because Professor Kettleburn is about to retire that we suspect he's planning something big. I think he wants to make up for the traditions he's destroyed."

"Traditions?"

William froze for a moment, then instantly recalled a famous incident involving that Professor. Years ago, a magical creature used for one of Kettleburn's performances had burned down the Great Hall. Since then, any form of theatrical performance had been strictly banned at Hogwarts.

"Yes, you guessed it. It might be an opera. Professor Kettleburn is retiring. I just saw how excited he was earlier, and I suspect he's planning a grand performance before he leaves." Adams nodded approvingly at William, acknowledging his deduction.

"That can't be true, can it?" William voiced his doubt but didn't believe it himself.

The lively old man was so senior that even Professor McGonagall probably couldn't stop him. Dumbledore might not want to stop him either. None of that was a big deal. But if you threw the attention-seeking Professor Lockhart into the mix, who knew what kind of chaos would ensue?

After today's performance had apparently sparked Professor Kettleburn's desire for opera, William found it hard to believe the professor wouldn't rope Lockhart into collaborating. Normally, he quite enjoyed being a bystander to such drama, but he still had a curse hanging over him!

Last time, when the Great Hall was burned down, resulting in a large number of staff and students being hospitalized, it seemed entirely plausible that this time, the new Professor might end up in the hospital missing a limb or two.

Professor Kettleburn, after all, was someone who had managed to lose two and a half of his own limbs. William had no doubt that if an accident did occur, this professor could easily cost him a leg. Just considering the magical creatures William knew of that could inflict permanent injuries, he couldn't count them all on one hand!

"…"

At Professor Kettleburn's age, it was impossible to expect him to heed anyone's advice. In fact, the old Professor didn't even appear at the dinner table that evening. According to the castle's portraits, he seemed to have become unusually energetic.

Because of this, William began carrying an ample supply of Dittany for healing injuries, along with increasing his usual stock of Bezoars; a universal antidote in Herbology, from one to three.

What else could he do?

When Professor Kettleburn set his plans in motion, not even Professor McGonagall's advice seemed to make a difference. As a newly arrived professor, how could he possibly intervene with a senior colleague?

Besides, his suspicions were just that—suspicions. How could someone be condemned based on mere conjecture? That would be absurd! And even though Adams and the others joked about it with great enthusiasm, when the old Professor needed help, they would surely volunteer enthusiastically. After all, what malicious intent could an old Professor who had dedicated his life to teaching possibly harbor?

***

Contrary to most people's expectations, Professor Lockhart's club turned out to be a huge success. On the very first evening, a long line formed outside his office. While the students didn't forget to ask for autographs after their consultations, this didn't stop Lockhart's already wavering reputation from soaring even higher among the students.

By the second day at the dining table, Professor Lockhart had even begun actively discussing his lessons; something that hadn't happened since his disastrous first class.

"We need to show them the world beyond," Lockhart said. "Focusing on a single spell will only narrow their horizons. I'm sure they're eagerly anticipating today's class. Well then, see you later, Professor William."

With that, Lockhart waved to William and the others before heading off to the classroom.

Showing them the world beyond is fine, Professor Lockhart, but I sincerely hope you won't collaborate with Professor Kettleburn. Your idea of drama involves simply bringing death songs to the table, but if the old Professor truly plans to stage a play, I suspect the curse's effects won't even wait for the premiere. You'd likely have to leave the school during rehearsals.

Of course, that was something he couldn't say out loud. Whether it was the curse affecting the Defense Against the Dark Arts position or the old Professor's history of burning down the Great Hall, these weren't secrets. If William was aware of them, there was no way Hogwarts alumnus Lockhart wouldn't know. Pointing it out wouldn't serve as a warning; it would just offend a bunch of people.

With a sigh, William set down his utensils and stood up from the table.

"Well, I'm off to class. See you later."

"See you later."

***

"Good morning, everyone. It's been a week since we last met. How are you feeling today?"

"Feeling great, Professor, though it's a bit of a shame we can't wear hats," a bold student chimed in, picking up where William left off.

The last time, a group of seventh-year students had taken the lead in wearing hats to Professor Snape's class. After the incident, Professor McGonagall had strictly prohibited her house's students from wearing hats during lessons.

The students collectively broke into mischievous grins. Professor Snape's blatant favoritism towards his own house had made him highly unpopular among the rest of the student body.

"All right, let's leave the hat issue behind us," William declared. "Let's make a gentleman's agreement; you don't wear hats in my class, and I won't deduct points because of hats. Deal?"

He exaggerated a gesture as though sealing a trade, then clapped his hands on the desk.

"Now, let's stop talking about hats. Hmm—aside from attire, another key aspect of internships is transportation. So, let's discuss Apparition."

"Raise your hand if you've passed your Apparition test."

Every hand in the classroom shot up. After all, anyone advanced enough to join this class wasn't likely to be weak in other areas of magic.

"Excellent. While we weren't planning to teach it, it's wonderful that everyone here is already proficient."

"Now, who can tell me the most common problem that occurs with Apparition?"

"Splinching, Professor," a Gryffindor answered immediately while raising their hand.

"No issues with that answer, but it's too easy. No points awarded," William replied.

Disappointed murmurs spread among the students, but William cheerfully ignored them.

"Correct, splinching. It's one of the most common injuries. Today, we're going to talk about how to handle common magical wounds."

For the second lesson of the term, out of concern, William decided to make his first adjustment to the planned curriculum.

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