"Creak—"
With a soft sound, the wooden door to William's staff quarters swung open.
Carrying the suitcase that was still shaking restlessly, William stepped inside. The room was small, and the air carried the dusty smell of long neglect.
He didn't bother setting the suitcase down. Instead, he drew his wand.
"Whirlwind Scour."
An invisible current swept through every corner of the room. Dust gathered as if pulled by a vacuum, then vanished completely.
Next, William tapped the surrounding walls. Under the effects of the Extension Charm, the cramped single dormitory expanded outward. The ceiling rose, the walls retreated, and within moments the room transformed into a spacious and luxurious suite.
After rubbing the silver ring on his finger, sets of elegant mahogany furniture, soft Persian carpets, and a massive four-poster bed appeared out of thin air and settled neatly into place.
Satisfied with the transformation, William finally noticed the suitcase at his feet shaking more violently than ever.
"Alright, alright. You can come out now."
He unlocked the case, and a brightly colored creature burst out immediately.
It was the only suitcase he had brought. Although the alchemical ring on his finger had considerable storage space, it still couldn't hold living creatures.
The moment Otto emerged, all three heads sprang into action. The left head excitedly rubbed against the carpet, the middle head lifted high to inspect the unfamiliar room, and the right head hissed angrily at the fireplace, clearly complaining about the cramped journey.
Leaving Otto to explore, William turned and headed for the nearby Alchemy Professor's office.
When he pushed the door open, he found the room packed with equipment left by previous professors. Some looked centuries old. Crucibles were caked with grime, and the glass bottles on the shelves held shriveled, powerless herbs and animal parts.
"Looks like this place needs a thorough cleanup."
He decided to convert the office into his personal alchemy laboratory, leaving the Defence Against the Dark Arts office for daily administrative work and meeting students.
After a busy round of cleaning, William unceremoniously threw the rusted distillers, corroded scales, and expired materials into the rubbish. Then he retrieved a brand-new set of high-precision alchemical equipment and a full cabinet of fresh ingredients from his ring.
Under the glow of magical lamps, the laboratory gleamed. William clapped his hands and prepared to head to the next office.
The moment he stepped into the corridor, he nearly collided with someone.
"Huff… huff… Professor Shafiq."
Filch leaned against the wall, panting. His wrinkled face was flushed with excitement.
"All the statues… huff… I've finished placing them."
"All of them?" William asked in surprise.
The corridors of Hogwarts were enormous. Even energetic students would be exhausted after running through them, let alone hanging statues one by one.
"Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick helped me," Filch explained eagerly. "That monitoring book… when will it be ready?"
"Don't worry. I just need to finish calibrating it. You'll have it before bedtime."
William nodded, then suddenly remembered something. He pulled out a bulging green cloth bag and handed it to Filch.
"If you don't mind, I have another small favor to ask."
Filch opened the bag. Inside were lifelike Bowtruckle models and another monitoring book with a bark-textured cover.
"These will work just like the statues," William explained. "But stone statues would stand out in the Forbidden Forest. Bowtruckles blend in better."
He handed Filch a parchment map marked with red dots along the forest's edge.
"These are paths students often sneak through. Give this to Rubeus Hagrid and have him hang them in the trees. Our monitoring network needs to cover the castle exterior too."
Filch hesitated. His relationship with Hagrid was… strained. But the thought of the monitoring book he would soon receive made him grit his teeth.
"No problem, Professor. I'll get it done."
He hurried away, looking strangely motivated.
William stroked his chin thoughtfully. It seemed the monitoring system was even more appealing to Filch than expected.
"All about interests." William muttered.
He then summoned the system panel.
[The host has improved Hogwarts' security system. Hogwarts Construction Level increased. Reward: 200 points.]
William smiled, but quickly calmed himself.
There was something else he wanted to test.
What if he increased the coverage density?
He immediately took out spare statues and began experimenting. The spacing went from twenty meters to fifteen.
[Security precision improved. Reward: 20 points.]
His eyes lit up.
Ten meters.
[Security precision improved. Reward: 30 points.]
Five meters. The corridor walls became crowded with statues.
No response.
He tried three meters. One meter. Even placing two statues side by side.
Silence.
"Looks like ten meters is the system's limit… Any denser is considered redundant."
With a sigh, he put the extra statues away. He hadn't found an infinite-points exploit—but he'd still farmed a respectable haul.
"Shouldn't be too greedy."
With a flick of his wand, the extra statues vanished, leaving a final configuration of one statue every ten meters.