William did not give a direct "yes" or "no."
Instead, he ran his thumb over the teacup in his hand, a nostalgic smile playing on his lips, and said softly, "You know, Headmaster, I spent the happiest and most carefree seven years of my life at Hogwarts. I have always held a special affection for this place."
At that moment, sunlight spilled in through the circular window, illuminating his young, handsome face and making him appear exceptionally sincere.
"To return now as a professor, to personally participate in the development of Hogwarts and contribute to its future—I am naturally very pleased, and deeply honored."
Hearing this, the tension in Dumbledore's shoulders released. He smiled with gratification, his azure eyes twinkling with delight.
"So, William, your choice is..."
"I accept." William set down his teacup, looked the old Headmaster in the eye, and said solemnly, "I am willing to take on the professorships for both Alchemy and Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Wonderful. I am truly glad to hear your answer." Dumbledore let out a long sigh of relief, as if a great weight had finally been lifted from his heart. "This solves my greatest—"
"But."
The moment that word was spoken, the air seemed to freeze.
The smile on Dumbledore's face faded slightly, though he showed no sign of displeasure. Instead, he picked up a silver spoon and gently stirred the settled lemon tea, the spoon making a crisp clink against the side of the cup.
"Please, continue, William," he gestured gently. "I have a feeling that what follows is the main point you wish to discuss."
William leaned back slightly, settling into a more comfortable position, his tone becoming even calmer.
"With all due respect, Dumbledore, while I love this school deeply, from my perspective as a former student, the management of Hogwarts... still has many loopholes and issues."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Do tell."
"Take my personal experience, for example." William counted on his fingers as if recounting someone else's story. "In my seven years at Hogwarts, I wandered the castle at night over three hundred times, covering every corner of the grounds. I sneaked into the Forbidden Forest alone dozens of times, cast spells in the corridors constantly, and participated in over thirty private duels, both large and small..."
He paused, glanced at Dumbledore's expression, and continued, "Besides those, there were countless other explicit violations of school rules. But, I wonder if you recall, how many times was I actually caught?"
Dumbledore said nothing, merely watching him quietly.
William held up two fingers.
"Twice."
"Once was in my second year when I'd just learned the Disillusionment Charm. I got a bit carried away and was caught red-handed by Filch's cat. The other time was due to a conflict where I got into a brawl with Sirius Black in the corridor; the commotion was so loud it alerted the professors."
"Aside from those two instances, for the remaining hundreds of violations, I got away scot-free."
A brief silence fell over the Headmaster's office. Even the portraits of past Headmasters on the walls stopped feigning sleep, opening their eyes to study this young man with curiosity.
Watching the silent Dumbledore, William offered an out at just the right moment. "Of course, I understand. That was during the war; the situation outside was dire, and the school's internal management was relatively lax. Giving students some space to vent their energy was necessary."
"But looking back now, breaking school rules is never good. If neither the safety nor the discipline of the students can be guaranteed, how can we speak of education?" William's expression turned serious. "As someone with ample experience who knows exactly where the loopholes lie, I am willing to help the school enforce the rules thoroughly and plug these security gaps."
"I believe this is for the children's own good, isn't it?"
"It sounds..." Dumbledore finally spoke, raising his eyebrows, "...as though you are quite proud of these countless 'glorious deeds,' William."
"That was youthful indiscretion," William said without batting an eyelid. "Now that old matters are being brought up, you can't possibly still intend to give me detention and deduct points from Ravenclaw, can you? I graduated over a decade ago; surely the statute of limitations has expired."
"Of course not." Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "Furthermore, I believe it is a good thing for staff to offer constructive suggestions on the management of the castle. I naturally support it. If you have any ideas, you may discuss them with Professor McGonagall."
Step one complete.
William secretly rejoiced. With this "security management" mandate in hand, he would have a legitimate justification for construction within the castle, installing surveillance, or even setting magical beasts as guards in the future.
"Thank you very much for your support, Headmaster." William struck while the iron was hot, broaching the second topic. "However, there is one more thing."
"During my tenure at the Ministry, I reviewed internal data from the Wizarding Examinations Authority. The statistics show that in recent years, the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s scores of Hogwarts students have not only failed to improve but have actually fallen below those of our own war-torn, somewhat chaotic era."
William observed Dumbledore's expression, his tone sincere. "Of course, I have full confidence in the teaching standards of the Hogwarts professors; they are all exceptional wizards. It's simply that perhaps students and professors view problems from different angles, leading to a discrepancy in educational outcomes."
"As a newly appointed professor—especially one shouldering two major subjects—I hope to implement some bold reforms in teaching methods."
This time, Dumbledore pondered for a long while.
He was reflecting; although William's words were harsh, they were the truth. In the peaceful post-war era, students had indeed become somewhat complacent, while Hogwarts' teaching model had remained virtually unchanged for centuries.
"So..." A moment later, Dumbledore looked up, his blue eyes deepening. "William, what is it, exactly, that you wish to do?"
William turned his head to look out the window.
Through that circular pane, he could overlook the entire Hogwarts Quidditch pitch and the Forbidden Forest in the distance.
There was much he wanted to do.
For the System points, he needed to improve the test-taking abilities of all students and focus on cultivating the elite or those with special talents.
To redeem those rare skills, he needed to make Hogwarts impregnable, as unassailable as a fortress.
He needed to secure authority from Dumbledore, to renovate the castle, and to turn this ancient school of magic into a trump card in his hand.
But these plans could not be achieved overnight.
The Headmaster's attitude was paramount; he could not appear too radical, lest he be misunderstood. At the same time, the cooperation of other professors and the acceptance of the young wizards all required a gradual approach.
Finally, a thousand words converged in William's mind, transforming into a concise, powerful, yet ambitious answer.
He turned back, met Dumbledore's gaze, and said with a smile:
"I just want to make Hogwarts great again."