"It's a unicorn, you know, that magical creature with a single horn. You've heard of it, right?"
An unknown wizard, slurring his words, raised his glass towards Hagrid.
"Of course, I know--" Hagrid started to respond, but Tom had already struggled to lift a bucket-sized cup over to him. It was Hagrid's special cup.
"After a long day, have a good drink," Tom said, smiling and greeting Hagrid as he placed the cup on the table.
"As long as you know. Cheers to the unicorn!" The unknown wizard hiccupped and raised his glass.
"Cheers!"
A circle of drunkards around them, not entirely clear on the reason, all raised their glasses and drank. Hagrid, swept up in the mood, took a big gulp from his "cup".
"So, what's going on with the unicorn?" Hagrid tried to lower his voice, but it still made William's eardrums buzz.
"Hey, unicorns! Will here was telling us last time that in Muggle legends, they use, uh—hic--" the unknown wizard hiccupped again, "maidens to lure unicorns. Then, when the unicorn falls asleep, they kill it."
"That's ridiculous, just a random rumor," Hagrid said, taking another large swig from his cup.
"I work at Hogwarts. No one understands unicorns better than I do!"
William caught a strong whiff of alcohol. Judging by the amount Hagrid had just drunk, it shouldn't have been this potent. Clearly, this was at least Hagrid's second stop after leaving the Three Broomsticks.
"Give it a rest, Hagrid. Everyone knows you work at Hogwarts, but unicorns, well..." The man speaking next to him glanced at Hagrid's worn-out clothes and shook his head.
Unicorns were practically walking gold mines. If Hagrid really had access to them, he wouldn't look so shabby.
"Believe what you want," Hagrid said proudly, ignoring the man's skepticism. Even drunk, he could keep a secret locked tight in his mouth.
Of course, exceptions could be made for dragons.
By the time the group of drunkards had mostly passed out, William, one of the few still sober, hadn't heard a single piece of gossip about Hogwarts from Hagrid.
***
Back in his room, William couldn't help but scold himself. He should have left as soon as he ran into that drunkard. Wasting time hoping for Hogwarts gossip had been foolish.
Especially with Hagrid. He should have known better. If the groundskeeper were so easy to pry information from, Hogwarts would have its own tabloid by now, and books like 'Secrets of Hogwarts' wouldn't be bestsellers.
A completely fruitless evening.
Having drunk quite a bit himself, William gave up on reading or experimenting with magic. He decided to go to bed early and use the last bit of time before sleep to plan his next steps.
First; housing.
The Leaky Cauldron, being prime real estate, naturally charged high lodging fees. Since he would soon be submitting the new textbooks for the upcoming school year at Hogwarts, it was the perfect time to sort out his living arrangements.
If the school provided accommodations, that would be ideal. If not, William would have to find a reasonably priced and secure place to settle down.
The house would also need to be connected to the Floo Network, otherwise, transportation would be a significant issue; but surely the school had a solution for that.
Second; the textbook issue.
After careful consideration, William decided to continue using last year's textbook. Among all the materials used by previous professors, this set was the simplest and most detailed. Even if students occasionally asked questions beyond the syllabus, William could easily handle them.
Hogwarts' self-defense magic curriculum was a joke anyway, with classes never fully covering the syllabus each year.
William was already working hard to ensure students completed a full year's curriculum, so no one could accuse him of neglecting his duties.
Third; the issue of which year groups he would teach.
When Dumbledore last visited, he mentioned that the school had hired a new, risk-taking professor. Considering the workload, William had no intention of splitting all seven year groups between just the two of them. Ideally, they would divide the work, and he hoped to take on the lower years.
After all, the other professor was likely formally trained, whereas William's knowledge came from a mix of self-study and unconventional methods. Since the fifth and seventh years had major exams, he hoped the new professor would take responsibility for the upper years.
As for William's own plans to develop his skills and leverage any system advantages, that depended heavily on the environment.
From what he knew, Hogwarts housed the largest library in the British wizarding world. While it might not match the private collections of pure-blood families in quality, it would undoubtedly help him improve his abilities. How he would structure his studies would depend on the library's collection.
The system, however, was less reliable. Actively pursuing it might interfere with his plans for skill development. Judging by his current odds of drawing one-time-use cards, relying on the system to enhance his abilities was no better than playing the lottery.
As he pondered these important upcoming matters, the alcohol finally took effect. William gave up on further thinking, closed his eyes, and drifted off into a hazy sleep.
***
When you're engrossed in something, time passes much faster than you expect.
After reading through the textbooks chosen by previous professors and starting to study the one he selected in depth, William was surprised to find that the generous time he thought he had was almost gone.
Hogwarts even sent an owl to remind him to submit his textbook choices so that students could purchase them in advance.
William cheerfully replied that he would visit the Deputy Headmistress's office the next day and inquired whether the other professor would be available to discuss teaching arrangements.
The reply was formal, but William clearly gleaned one message from Professor McGonagall's response; she was ready and waiting for him to discuss the matter.
Even McGonagall's letter came after three owls from the other professor that had apparently annoyed the school staff to the point of taking action.
"..."
Staring at McGonagall's reply, William fell into deep thought.
Was he mistaken in thinking the other professor had been tricked into taking the job? Judging by their enthusiasm, it seemed they were eager to teach at Hogwarts.
Considering the school's approach, William doubted Dumbledore would have hidden the history of injuries sustained by previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. This meant the new professor had willingly taken the job, despite knowing the risks.
What's going on?
William was almost tempted to write and ask if the position's salary was triple or even more compared to other professors; anything less wouldn't justify his new colleague's enthusiasm!