When Douglas pushed open the door.
He happened to see Professor McGonagall step onto the last stair.
But the first thing Douglas noticed was Peeves, not far behind Professor McGonagall.
"Heh, Peeves, it's been a few years. Did you miss me?"
As he spoke, the wand in Douglas's sleeve slipped unconsciously into his hand.
Peeves shrieked,
"Ghost murder! The ghost killer is back!"
Then he vanished with a bang!
Professor McGonagall looked exasperated. First, she addressed Mr. Filch and the few prefects who had come at the noise:
"I'll handle things here. Get back to your own business!"
Then she turned to Douglas and said:
"Douglas, can't you get along peacefully with Peeves? He's fairly respectful toward the professors...
All right, he's just an excessively mischievous child..."
Douglas chuckled and put his wand away:
"Sorry, Professor. It was purely an instinctive reaction.
You know how much Peeves hates me. Nothing good ever happens when he appears in front of me..."
Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes:
"Douglas, you must realize that you're a professor now..."
The Weasley twins, cowed into a corner by Professor McGonagall's presence, stared at each other in shock.
"Remember what Bill said?"
"There's nothing scary about Peeves!"
"Charlie said something too..."
"Poor Peeves!"
"Peeves's least favorite student is Percy!"
"I thought Peeves was just like us!"
"Above cheap humor, and against pomposity!"
"Tsk, tsk. Looks like Peeves..."
"The enemy of our enemy?"
Inside the office, Harry and Ron instinctively grabbed a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
They ate as they watched the show through the crack in the door.
When they heard the conversation between Professor McGonagall and Professor Holmes, they exchanged shocked looks.
Just as George and Fred were whispering to each other, Professor McGonagall's gaze struck like a Full Body-Bind Curse.
It petrified them both.
Catching a glimpse of Professor McGonagall's sidelong gaze through the crack in the door, Harry and Ron were so frightened that they dropped the beans in their hands too.
They buried their heads in their notebooks.
Professor McGonagall raised her chin and demanded sternly:
"Messrs. Weasley, cheating?
Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
George and Fred looked to Douglas for help.
But Professor McGonagall caught their glances immediately:
"There's no need to look at anyone else. Don't forget, I am the head of Gryffindor."
George and Fred looked miserable:
"Yes, Professor!"
"That's right, Professor."
Professor McGonagall asked angrily:
"Why were you cheating?"
George and Fred pressed themselves tightly against the wall and said quietly in perfect unison:
"Because we're not allowed to cheat in exams!"
This time, not only Professor McGonagall but also Douglas, who was likewise cowed by her presence beside them, was left speechless with anger.
They weren't allowed to cheat in exams, so they cheated on their Defense Against Dark Magic written recitation?
Who were they looking down on?
Douglas felt that Professor McGonagall's roar could be heard throughout the castle:
"Cheating!
And utterly shameless about it!
One hundred points from Gryffindor!"
The moment Professor McGonagall finished speaking, the rubies representing Gryffindor in the House Points hourglasses beside the castle's Entrance Hall emptied out once again.
Had anyone counted carefully at that moment, they would have discovered that Ravenclaw was actually in first place, with Hufflepuff second.
Douglas hurried to intervene:
"Professor, there's no need to go that far. Really."
Professor McGonagall turned to Douglas and said disapprovingly:
"Professor Holmes, I hope you'll remember that you're a professor.
The next time you encounter something like this, deduct House Points outright and punish them severely.
Hogwarts absolutely will not tolerate cheating."
Then she turned back to the Weasley twins:
"Messrs. Weasley, I require you to earn back every point you've lost by the end of this school year.
Hmph! If you haven't earned enough by the end of the year, I shall regretfully inform you.
Next school year, you'll go straight back to third year.
As head of Gryffindor, I believe I have that authority!"
With that, she glanced through the crack in the door at Ron and Harry, who had buried their heads in their notebooks but were still turning their faces to peek.
Then she left without looking back.
Mr. Filch, who had been secretly watching from a distance, heard Professor McGonagall's punishment for the twins.
Excitedly stroking Mrs. Norris, he muttered regretfully:
"I think only the chains and whips in the dungeon could teach those two little brats a lasting lesson..."
Douglas gave the Weasley twins a cold snort:
"Get back to it. If you can't memorize it, you won't be sleeping tonight."
After Douglas went inside, George and Fred looked utterly dejected.
"George, two hundred House Points!"
"Yeah. Losing points is easy for us, but how are we supposed to earn them other than through Quidditch?"
It was not until an hour later that Harry and Ron's detention ended.
When they emerged from the warm office, they saw George and Fred with runny noses,
Trying hard to tuck their hands into their sleeves as they leaned against a corridor pillar and wrote from memory.
Ron pulled a face at the twins, then grabbed Harry excitedly.
He ran toward the Gryffindor Common Room, eager to share what he had seen that evening with the other students.
Early the next morning.
Douglas sent the latest chapter he had written to Slane.
He also wrote asking him to order seven Nimbus 2001s as a gift for Hufflepuff's Quidditch team.
It had to be said that Slane worked fast.
Just as Douglas was making his rounds in the practical classroom.
He saw an excited Hufflepuff student pass through the crowded corridor.
The student went up to Cedric, who was waiting in line, and whispered something.
As he spoke, he pointed at Douglas.
After hearing what the student said, Cedric's eyes grew as round as saucers.
His face was full of disbelief.
Under the other students' bewildered gazes, he called out to Douglas:
"Professor Holmes, this is brilliant!"
Then he ran toward the Hufflepuff Common Room without looking back.
Anyone passing could plainly see that his grin was practically reaching his ears.
Douglas smiled and said nothing.
After a simple lunch at midday.
Douglas took a rare afternoon nap.
After waking from his nap.
He set off alone for Hogsmeade.
Along the way, quite a few older students greeted him.
Some girls even looked at him and giggled as they discussed something.
Walking along the familiar road, Douglas cut a somewhat lonely figure.
Looking at all the familiar sights, Douglas could not help feeling wistful.
Hogsmeade was the only entirely wizarding village in the United Kingdom.
It had been founded by Hengist of Woodcroft.
Hogwarts students in their third year and above could visit on weekends after obtaining permission from their parents or other guardians.
There were many shops and pubs lining its streets.
Back then, Douglas had come here with Bill and Charlie practically every week.
He knew the owners of quite a few shops here.
When the proprietress of Honeydukes saw him, she happily pressed a handful of sweets into his hand:
"Congratulations, Douglas! It's been such a long time. After I heard you'd become a Hogwarts professor.
I said to Ambrosius, should we send you a box of sweets as a present?
He's gone to restock from the storeroom just now, or he'd certainly insist on having a drink with you."
Douglas had once roped Bill and Charlie into making ginger candy, Dragon's Beard Candy, and candied winter melon for a while, with the goal of getting rich together.
They had then left those sweets at Honeydukes to be sold.
In the end, he had sold the recipes for all those sweets directly to the couple who owned Honeydukes for fifty Galleons.
After all, the methods were very simple and easy to copy, so it had already been very decent of the couple to offer fifty Galleons.
Their relationship had therefore always been very good.
Douglas happily accepted the proprietress's gift, then said apologetically:
"Unfortunately, I still have to join Professor McGonagall for afternoon tea.
I'll be sure to have a proper drink with Uncle Flume next time!"
When he passed Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, Douglas hurried past.
He certainly did not want Madam Puddifoot coming out to greet him.
Back then, out of curiosity, he and Bill, who wore his hair long, had once gone to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop for tea.
As a result, that very evening, a rumor had somehow spread among the Hogwarts students that Holmes of Hufflepuff was dating a certain woman with long red hair.
Even though they had later explained everything clearly, and the Slytherin who had spread the rumor had been forced by the two of them to come forward to set the record straight and apologize.
Ever since then, whenever they met Madam Puddifoot, she would still bring it up to tease them.
I'm a professor now.
What if the students heard that rumor? This time, none of them knew Bill.
Nor was there any outstanding Slytherin student willing to take the blame and come forward to clear things up.
Before you continue