"That little fellow Flitwick will be green with envy," the old professor chuckled, reaching with his remaining arm for the diadem placed on the Headmaster's desk. "It's his own fault for retiring so early, isn't it?"

Even in this urgent moment, William couldn't help but be amused by Professor Kettleburn's teasing remark.

'Professor Flitwick is already so old, you should at least give him some face…'

"I have to say, the things Hufflepuff left behind are still the best. Look at how broken Ravenclaw's diadem is…" the old professor mumbled, putting the diadem on his head—William noticed Dumbledore had already pulled out his wand, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

"Albus," the old professor's voice rang out.

"Silvanus, how are you feeling?" Dumbledore's tone showed clear tension, something William had never seen before.

"You promised me a raise last year, and I still haven't gotten it!"

'At a time like this, Professor, you still have the mind to talk about that!'

But Dumbledore's expression visibly relaxed. "And what else?"

"Oh, right, I've been teaching for sixty-three years. Don't let Minerva keep complaining about me being put on probation every year!"

"That's wonderful, Silvanus, I'll talk to Minerva," Dumbledore's joy was now unconcealable. "Is there anything else important?"

"Those Weasley brothers stole a salamander from my class today. They kept asking me questions when I was counting, which made me mess up the numbers!"

'Why are you two always involved?'

William, who was speculating about the diadem's effects, was stunned by the words the professor blurted out—if he remembered correctly, even though their detention was reduced by a week, they were still serving it, weren't they?

It wasn't just William who had a headache; Dumbledore's smile also stiffened.

"Minerva was even discussing with me today whether to get them a small trophy or something," Dumbledore unconsciously touched his forehead with the hand not holding his wand, and without turning his head, he said to William, "Professor William, perhaps you could make a trip later and find that salamander…"

"Yes, Professor."

Considering Professor McGonagall's reaction when she heard this news, satisfied that the Weasley brothers had turned over a new leaf, William agreed with unusual promptness.

"That's enough, Silvanus," Dumbledore gripped his wand tightly. "I think you can put it down now."

The old professor reluctantly put down the diadem, his expression relaxed. "It seems I can accept Flitwick's envy now."

"We still need to do a check-up, Silvanus," Dumbledore's expression was relaxed, but his wand was held tightly without loosening. "Professor William, would you mind doing it?"

"Of course," William drew his wand and placed it on the table. "Professor Kettleburn, please, if you really can't control yourself, don't hit me in the face."

The old professor chuckled, offering no response.

William stared at the old professor's wooden hand, performing basic checks with the most stable inspection methods. "No problem, I'm going to use my wand for a check now, Professor."

The spell check still showed no issues.

"No signs of being controlled were found, but it was the same when Mr. Filch checked last time."

"Severus only checked the memories," Dumbledore explained. "Professor Kettleburn, could you first extract your memories using William's wand, please?"

Without any issues, Professor Kettleburn extracted his memories and placed them in the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office.

William unhesitatingly became the memory inspector—if they had problems, no one in the magical world would dare to say their rescue could be more timely than Dumbledore's, but if Dumbledore was afflicted, William felt he wouldn't even be able to escape the school.

—

William tapped the water surface with his wand, and the Pensieve's memories instantly unfolded. Although they were memories from a few minutes ago, looking at them from a different angle was quite novel.

But when the old professor put on the diadem, the originally calm memories instantly became chaotic, and the images were fragmented into countless pieces—which immediately triggered William's alarm.

"Professor Dumbledore! The memories have changed!"

The moment he shouted, countless bandages extended from Professor Kettleburn's chair, firmly restraining him, and a bubble-like membrane immediately rose around the diadem.

"Impossible, Albus, I feel perfectly fine!"

The old professor was tied up quite securely, complaining to the two of them in a displeased tone.

"I've notified Severus and Minerva, they'll be here shortly. Just bear with it for a moment, Professor Kettleburn."

Dumbledore comforted the old professor while instructing William, "Professor William, please check if that diadem has implanted any strange commands."

"I'm afraid I can't, Professor," William replied with a bitter smile. The memories were so fragmented they could be used to wrap dumplings; how could he see anything?

However, soon Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape arrived together, and they immediately noticed Professor Kettleburn tied to the chair.

"Good heavens," Professor McGonagall sighed, "Professor Kettleburn, what are you planning to feed that phoenix this time?"

Professor McGonagall quickly scanned the office. "Nothing seems to be burned—so this time you're trying to make a phoenix hatch a dragon egg again?"

"Or perhaps you've brought some dangerous birds, attempting to breed new species?"

'I think I just heard something incredible.'

William silently swallowed—he almost forgot about the old professor's profession!

Professor of Care of Magical Creatures—William wasn't sure what the professional old professor could raise, but he had heard several versions of the story about amateur Hagrid's dog biting Professor Snape so badly he limped for half a month!

"Ahem, Minerva, those are all in the past," the old professor's expression showed no sign of embarrassment from being tied up. "I called you here this time to prove my innocence. Little William said my memories had problems, but I don't feel like anything is wrong with me."

Professor McGonagall didn't reply, but Professor Snape quickly walked over, standing opposite William with a look of disgust. He stared at the fragmented images, thought for a moment, and then tentatively tapped the images with his wand.

Nothing happened.

Then, several more spells, several attempts—finally, one of the methods worked, and the chaotic fragments finally turned into countless pieces of memory flowing in normal time.

Then William received another disdainful look.

"The memories are accelerated, and hundreds of segments of memory are being processed simultaneously, Dumbledore," Professor Snape explained his discovery in an easily discoverable, effortless tone. "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the influence of that diadem."

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