In the office, William launched into a riveting tale of how he'd noticed Tywin's suspicious behavior and then outwitted and outdueled the Death Eater, capturing him in a dramatic showdown.
As William told his story with flair, spittle flying, the professors looked alternately horrified and impressed.
Professor Flitwick wiped his eyes discreetly several times, and Professor McGonagall's face was streaked with tears by the end of it.
Once the other professors left, leaving only Dumbledore and William in the office, William began recounting a different version of the events. This time, he included the "greater purpose" Dumbledore had once spoken of and elaborated on Tywin's deeper motives.
William spoke for a good ten minutes, with Dumbledore listening intently, the room silent as if holding its breath. At certain points, William even drew out pieces of his own memory as proof for Dumbledore to view.
Before long, the silence was interrupted by an urgent knock at the door.
"Come in," said Dumbledore, and William fell silent.
"This is… unbelievable… shocking… to think that the dark wizard who attacked the Ministry was hiding at Hogwarts this whole time! No wonder we could never find him!"
Fudge burst in, moving with hurried, excited steps. He immediately spotted William and grasped his hand in a surprisingly warm gesture.
"Incredible! A first-year wizard, single-handedly capturing the Ministry's most wanted criminal… Something even a team of Aurors couldn't achieve. How did you do it? We haven't seen a case like this in years— you're a real prodigy!"
"A Second Class Order of Merlin, no problem at all! And… perhaps even a First Class, if I can pull some strings!"
William's eyebrows shot up, taken aback by Fudge's generosity.
Fudge continued, "Young man, you're about to become the youngest Order of Merlin recipient in history! Oh, heavens, you're only twelve—this record will hold for years. An extraordinary accomplishment, isn't it, Albus?"
Fudge glanced over at Dumbledore, or rather, it was more of a sidelong look, his eyes never quite leaving the Headmaster.
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, hands crossed as he watched Fudge with an amused expression.
William could see now that Fudge's friendliness and promise of honors were part of an effort to secure Dumbledore's cooperation. Clearly, Fudge had come here to negotiate something with the Headmaster.
"I have just a few more words to exchange with William, Cornelius," Dumbledore said gently, "Would you mind giving us a little more time?"
"Oh, of course!" Fudge replied, pleased, and gave William a conspiratorial wink as he left.
"Any idea what our esteemed Minister might want from me?" Dumbledore asked once Fudge was gone. After two years of time loops, he no longer saw William as just a child.
"Maybe… something to do with Professor Tywin? He doesn't want you to reveal the Time-Turner theft, does he?" William suggested.
Fudge had lied about the situation to both the public and Dumbledore before, playing them all for fools. Now that the truth was out, he likely wanted Dumbledore's help in keeping things under wraps.
If he didn't, he'd probably end up holding the shortest term in Ministry history.
"Quite astute, William." Dumbledore chuckled softly. "But that's just politics for you. It's one reason I declined the role of Minister. I much prefer being Headmaster, because…"
"Because you get to meet brilliant students like me?"
Dumbledore's smile deepened. "Exactly."
William laughed, "Understood, Professor. I won't tell a soul."
Dumbledore shook his head. "Even the smallest secrets can lead to fractures in trust. Over time, even minor rifts can become impassable gulfs. So, while you're free to share the essentials with Miss Cho Chang, Mr. Diggory, and the Weasley twins… you must all promise to keep this a secret."
"Understood, Professor!" William said cheerfully, adding with a grin, "Has anyone ever told you that you're the best Headmaster Hogwarts has ever had?"
Dumbledore turned a bit red, though he hadn't said anything yet.
From the portraits on the wall came an outraged clamor.
"Nonsense! That title belongs to me!"
"What rubbish! I'm the greatest Headmaster!"
"Child, you've only met a handful of us! Just you wait!"
Phineas Black even pulled off his shoe and hurled it at William.
William stuck out his tongue before ducking out of the office.
….
"So you beat up our Professor Tywin in his own office?"
By the Black Lake, Fred looked up and down at William, looking to see if he was missing something.
"Not exactly," William corrected him, "I just managed to knock him out… Well, severely injure him. And he's a Death Eater."
George said; "That's insane! He's a fully grown wizard; looks like that time-loop story of yours was true!"
"It has to be, didn't you see his Transfiguration skills earlier? Not even I can manage that!"
Cedric was examining the Ravenclaw ring with a magnifying glass, while Cho looked on with wide-eyed admiration.
Following Dumbledore's instructions, William had given them a summary of recent events,
Though he'd omitted some of the details. He left out the "greater purpose" and Tywin's criminal history, sticking to the essentials.
"Would this ring put us into a time loop if we wore it?" Fred asked.
"Don't be ridiculous. It only works for Ravenclaw's heir," George replied, though he still gave William an expectant look.
"Try it and see," William said, smiling.
Fred put the ring on his finger, but nothing happened. With a disappointed sigh, he removed it.
George and Cedric tried as well, with the same results.
"Maybe Cho will be the one to activate it," George joked, grinning as he passed the ring to her.
Cho carefully slipped it on, but, just like the others, felt nothing. Disappointed but still curious, they handed the ring back to William.
Fred was the first to break the silence. "I've made up my mind. For the rest of this term, I'm going to search the Gryffindor common room for the Sword of Gryffindor!"
George nodded enthusiastically. "Same."
"Then I'm off to find Hufflepuff's Cup," Cedric said with a grin. "Maybe I'll prove to be the heir of Hufflepuff."
"Guess I'll be hunting down Ravenclaw's diadem, then!" Cho laughed.
Standing together by the lake, William waved his wand, turning some grass into five chairs. They all sat down.
"Oh, right," William said, reaching into his bag. "I managed to crack the Marauder's Map. Turns out the Marauders used a rare spell called the Homonculous Charm."
Two years of study had taught William plenty of spells, and he'd even discussed many of them with Dumbledore. He finally located the spell in an old tome in the Restricted Section.
The Homonculous Charm was a high-level tracking spell, similar to the Taboo, but with a much narrower range.
The Marauders had cast it over Hogwarts, causing the names of any wizard within its range to appear on the map.
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