The bandages William used to restrain the culprit were easily undone by Dumbledore, and the unconscious Ginny was carried by Mrs. Weasley. A group of redheads soon left William's office noisily.
Although everyone present was curious about the diadem, Dumbledore stared at it in silence, quickly making the atmosphere in the office heavy.
"Severus, what do you think of that memory?"
Dumbledore, who had been observing intently, suddenly asked, breaking the silence in the office.
"I can't see anything wrong with it, Dumbledore. Those memories are too chaotic and too fragmented. No one can make them out."
Professor Snape did not use his usual disdainful tone at this moment—to be precise, Professor Snape's tone was full of curiosity.
"Could you place the diadem with me? Dumbledore, I'm very curious about what kind of modification would cause such a significant transformation in a legendary artifact."
"Don't even think about it!"
Professor Flitwick's usually gentle voice, which was already a bit sharp, was now several times sharper. The amiable old professor glared at Professor Snape, looking as if he was ready for a duel if Snape dared to touch the diadem today.
However, William could completely understand. It was the first time the thousand-year-old house had encountered a relic of Ravenclaw. If Professor Flitwick, as the head of the house, allowed it to be placed on the desk of the Head of Slytherin, he wouldn't need letters from alumni; Professor Flitwick himself would hang himself in his office.
But Dumbledore did not respond to Professor Snape's suggestion. Instead, he gently asked someone William could never have imagined: "Madam Grey, although the notes of successive headmasters have warned their successors not to disturb you casually, today I must presumptuously bother you—is this diadem truly the personal item of Madam Ravenclaw?"
"Do not disturb casually"—could this Madam Grey have been Ravenclaw's maid or something?
"There's such a rule?"
The indifferent ghost lady, who had been nonchalant since entering, finally perked up. She floated towards Dumbledore, staring intently at him.
"Yes, of course," Dumbledore replied with a gentle gaze, "The notes of successive headmasters clearly record this."
"If that's the case, then my answer is—" The proud ghost raised her head, glanced at the diadem, "Yes, that's it. Although I don't know why it's here, without a doubt, this is the diadem I stole back then."
"The diadem I stole!"
This sentence sounded like a thunderclap in William's ears—what did she mean, "the diadem I stole"?
Why are you like Mundungus, not wanting to do anything that involves being a decent person? Is stealing something to be proud of?
This bombshell not only shocked William but everyone present—including Dumbledore.
It was the first time William had seen the white-bearded headmaster's surprised expression; his glasses were a bit crooked, as if he had heard a horror story.
"Madam Grey, you stole the diadem? Madam Ravenclaw's diadem?"
Professor Flitwick's sharp voice once again filled the entire office. Clearly, as the Head of Ravenclaw, it was his first time hearing such a significant piece of gossip about his own house.
This tone, filled with condemnation and complaint, angered the ghost.
"Don't speak to me in that tone," Madam Grey's voice was full of agitation, "That's my mother's diadem; it should have been passed down to me!"
The new gossip was too big, and William was completely stunned.
"Mother?"
Professor Flitwick's voice once again silenced everyone.
"Of course," Madam Grey's voice was a bit stiff—she seemed to realize she had revealed too much, "Of course, my mother, when I was alive, was Helena Ravenclaw."
William couldn't help but look at Professor Flitwick—although he knew Hogwarts had been founded a thousand years ago, with a long history and continuous heritage, it was a bit too much that even Ravenclaw House's ghost was from the time of its founding.
Having been hit by a series of major revelations, he was now incapable of much thought. Anyway, there were plenty of tall people in the room; let them do the thinking.
"I think I understand now," the Headmaster adjusted his slightly crooked glasses, looking at Helena, "So, Madam Grey, where did you hide the diadem before? In the school castle?"
"Of course not, in a forest in Albania, but it clearly didn't do any good," Helena glanced at the diadem on the table and responded huffily, "It's appeared in this castle again."
"So, have you told anyone else its hiding place?"
Even in front of Dumbledore, the ghost still showed a contemptuous expression—"Which generation of students doesn't covet the legendary diadem? They know nothing, yet they try to ask me about the diadem or something…"
The ghost gently shook her head. "That diadem would indeed give them extraordinary wisdom, but those foolish students only think of using the diadem to get good grades…"
This was indeed the kind of foolish thing students often did—William, who had finally managed to digest some of the gossip, could now process information normally.
Ravenclaw's daughter, if she came to the castle after she died, then her proud tone was completely understandable—not because of her noble birth or anything, but because the ancestors of everyone present might have been seen by this ghost in their embarrassing youth, including Dumbledore…
'Hmm, this is a good way to dig for gossip. Maybe there are some valuable spells buried by history, too. I really should go to the Halloween feast that the Fat Friar helped me arrange, even if the rooster incident has been resolved.'
William pondered this, frantically warning himself not to snoop around—'God knows which ghost has seen Dumbledore's or Professor McGonagall's embarrassing moments. If I find out, how will I ever live in this castle!'
"You've been smiling, new imposter professor, what are you smiling about?"
While William was distracted, the ghost named Helena began to shout in exasperation.
"New imposter professor?" Which one—William paused, then scanned the room.
Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Madam Grey—and himself.
Undoubtedly, the new professor was him.
"Me?"
William uttered a questioning sound.
"Who else? You've been smiling from the start! You're mocking me, aren't you?"
She quickly flew in front of William, then pointed a finger at him, "You're mocking me!"
"No, no!"
William shook his head rapidly; he wasn't taking that blame.
"Another lie! You've been lying since the start of term, and you still are!"
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