As the Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum advanced steadily, the senior students' modification of the alchemical golems was also proceeding in full swing.
Facing heavy N.E.W.T. coursework, these students seemed to have found an outlet in the alchemical golems; all sorts of whimsical, and even somewhat bizarre, functions began to manifest in them.
Some Hufflepuff students added automatic fertilizing and watering functions to their golems, Ravenclaw students attempted to make their golems copy essays for them, while the Slytherins were more keen on installing offensive magical circuits in concealed spots on theirs.
One evening, there was a knock on the door of William's office.
It was Charlie Weasley who entered. Unlike his usual cheerful self, Charlie looked somewhat awkward at that moment; after hemming and hawing for a while, he finally explained the reason for his visit.
"Professor Shafiq..." Charlie scratched his iconic red hair, his voice sounding a bit weak. "Um... my alchemical golem... was confiscated by Filch."
"Professor, do you think... is it possible... for you to have a word with Filch for me?" He organized his words, hinting tactfully. "After all, I'll still need to use it in the upcoming Alchemy classes..."
William put down his quill, raised his head, and frowned slightly. "Why? Did you control the golem to cast spells and attack students in the castle corridors?"
"It wasn't exactly me controlling it..."
Charlie sighed and, with a look of helplessness, recounted the sequence of events.
It turned out that just this afternoon, while he was attending Care of Magical Creatures class at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, his two dear brothers—Fred and George—had secretly "borrowed" his alchemical golem.
After performing some illegal modifications on the golem, the twins filled the cavity inside its body with Dungbombs bought from Zonko's Joke Shop and adjusted the firing mechanism.
According to Charlie, the modified golem was extremely precise; not only did it fire rapidly, but it also hit exactly where it was aimed.
Subsequently, the twins found an opportunity to control the golem and cornered Percy at the end of the third-floor corridor.
Facing the dark firing port and the Dungbombs, Percy, in his anger, had prepared to draw his wand for self-defense, but after the school rule forbidding magic in the corridors flashed through his mind, he helplessly lowered his wand.
Just as he was shielding his face with his robes and attempting to verbally warn and deter the twins, Filch arrived on the scene instantly, as if he had popped out of the ground, and caught them red-handed.
"And then?" William asked.
Charlie gave a bitter smile. "Originally, Filch wanted to give Fred and George detention for casting magic in the corridors and throwing Dungbombs, but they argued back quite indignantly."
"They claimed they weren't even holding wands, so how could they be 'casting magic'? Furthermore, the Dungbombs were fired by the golem, not thrown by hand, so they argued it was an 'accidental mechanical failure of an alchemical product.'"
"Their words made Filch furious, but he seemed unable to find a specific school rule to refute them in the moment. In the end, to vent his anger, Filch forcibly confiscated the golem."
Upon hearing this, William frowned slightly. "Did you tell Filch that the golem is a teaching aid for Alchemy class and belongs to me?"
"Fred and George said so right then and there." Charlie spread his hands helplessly. "I also rushed over to explain, but Filch was in a rage and wouldn't listen to a word; he just treated the golem as contraband and locked it in his office."
William felt a headache coming on and couldn't help rubbing his temples.
He had issued a batch of alchemical golems for modification to both groups, yet the sixth years were fine, working dutifully on their projects.
Conversely, this group of graduating seventh years—following Tonks blowing up the common room—had now produced a second incident.
"Alright, I understand."
William stood up and straightened his robes. "I will help you get it back this time, but Mr. Weasley, if you fail to look after your golem again and let someone else take it to cause trouble, you can go ask Professor McGonagall for help yourself next time."
"Also, I will be mentioning this incident in class tomorrow as a cautionary tale."
Charlie hurriedly agreed and followed William out of the office.
Meanwhile, outside the caretaker's office on the first floor.
Fred and George were leaning against the wall in a furtive manner, whispering to each other.
"I think our logic is impeccable, George," said Fred, crossing his arms. "When we first enrolled, we read the school rules carefully from beginning to end. It clearly states 'No magic spells in the corridors,' but it doesn't say 'No using alchemical golems in the corridors.'"
"Exactly, Fred," George nodded in agreement. "And the alchemical golem is a teaching aid issued by the Professor; it isn't on the list of forbidden items—at least, not yet."
"Therefore, the conclusion is: until Dumbledore amends the school rules, Filch has no right to confiscate our personal property... er, I mean, Charlie's personal property."
Just as they had prepared their arguments and were about to go in and reason with Filch to get the golem back, they saw two people coming down the stairs.
William walked in front with a blank expression, while Charlie followed meekly behind him.
"Good evening, Professor Shafiq!" the twins greeted in unison.
William glanced at them, nodded significantly, and didn't say a word before leading Charlie to knock on the door and enter the caretaker's office.
Five minutes later.
The office door opened again, and the twins watched as William and Charlie walked out.
Behind Charlie, the somewhat clumsy-looking alchemical golem followed with heavy steps; a faint smell of Dungbombs still lingered around its "mouth."
"Professor Shafiq lives up to his reputation; reliable as always."
Just then, a voice filled with admiration suddenly came from behind the two.
The twins turned around to see Percy standing not far away.
His hair was wet, and he emitted the scent of shower gel, appearing to have just taken a bath in the washroom.
"Oh, come off it, Percy," Fred rolled his eyes. "You're only saying that because Professor Shafiq called you the 'most excellent student in the year' during private tutoring, not because of this specific incident."
"Exactly," George immediately chimed in, mimicking Percy's pompous tone. "'Oh, Mother, Professor Shafiq chose me as the class representative! He even said I'm the most excellent student in the year!'"
"How many times did he say that to us in the common room back then? Nine times? Or was it ten?"
Percy's ears turned slightly red, but he merely harrumphed and puffed out his chest. "Well, Professor Shafiq wasn't wrong; that was a recognition of my abilities."
Then, keeping a straight face, he scolded them, "And you two, don't do this sort of thing again and cause trouble for Charlie and the Professor..."
With that, Percy clutched his books and walked away with his head held high.
For once, the twins didn't bicker with Percy or continue mocking him, because after cooling down, they both simultaneously thought of something very strange.
When they were the only ones left in the corridor, Fred suddenly lowered his voice:
"George, don't you think something's not quite right?"
"Something is very wrong, Fred." George stopped smiling and frowned. "Before we made our move, we clearly saw Filch carry Mrs. Norris into his office and shut the door from the other end of the corridor. That was when we brought the golem out."
"Exactly," Fred continued. "From the time we took the golem to the end of the corridor, to cornering Percy, and then to Filch suddenly appearing to catch us... the whole thing took less than five minutes."
Their eyes met.
Hogwarts was huge, and Filch couldn't Apparate.
"Even if he came out to patrol immediately after entering his office, given his usual speed, he couldn't have patrolled all the way to the end of the third-floor corridor that quickly, could he?"
"Unless..." George narrowed his eyes.
"Unless he has X-ray vision, or someone secretly told him where we were." A glint of suspicion flashed in Fred's eyes.
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Will do bonus chapter for every 100 power stones!