Willy did not directly answer whether he was "willing" or "unwilling."
He simply rubbed the teacup in his hand, a nostalgic smile playing at the corners of his mouth, and said softly, "You know, Principal, I spent the happiest and most carefree seven years of my life at Hogwarts. I have always had a special affection for this place."
At this moment, sunlight spilled in through the circular window, illuminating his young and handsome face, making him appear exceptionally sincere.
"Now, to be able to return as a Professor and personally participate in the construction of Hogwarts, contributing my part to this place—I am naturally very happy and deeply honored."
Hearing this, Dumbledore's originally tense shoulders relaxed. He revealed a gratified smile, and a joyful light flickered in his sky-blue eyes.
"So, Willy, your choice is..."
"I am willing." Willy set down his teacup, looked directly into the old Principal's eyes, and said solemnly, "I am willing to simultaneously serve as the Professor 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 biggest—"
"But."
As soon as these two words were uttered, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The smile on Dumbledore's face faded slightly, but he showed no displeasure. He simply picked up a silver spoon and gently stirred the lemon black tea in his cup, which had already begun to settle; the spoon made a crisp 'clink' against the side of the cup.
"Please continue, Willy," he gestured warmly. "I have a feeling that what follows is the main point you wish to make."
Willy leaned back slightly, adjusting to a more comfortable sitting position, his tone becoming even calmer.
"Forgive my bluntness, Dumbledore, but although I love this school deeply, from my perspective as a former student, the management of Hogwarts... still has many loopholes and problems."
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "I'm all ears."
"Take my personal experience as an example." Willy spoke as if recounting someone else's story, counting on his fingers. "During my seven years at Hogwarts, I went on night excursions over three hundred times, leaving footprints in every corner of the Castle. I slipped into the Forbidden Forest dozens of times alone, cast spells in the corridors year-round, and participated in over thirty private duels of various sizes..."
At this point, he paused, glanced at Dumbledore's expression, and continued, "Besides those, there were countless other acts that clearly violated school rules. However, I wonder if you remember how many times I was actually caught?"
Dumbledore did not speak, simply watching him quietly.
Willy held up two fingers.
"Twice."
"Once was in my second year when I had just learned the Disillusionment Charm and got a bit overconfident, only to be caught red-handed by Filch's cat. The other time was due to a conflict where I got into a major fight with Sirius Black in the corridor; the commotion was so loud it alerted a Professor."
"Aside from those two times, I emerged unscathed from the other hundreds of violations."
A brief silence fell over the Headmasters Office. The past Principals on the walls stopped their feigned naps, opening their eyes to curiously observe the young man.
Looking at the silent Dumbledore, Willy opportunely provided an out: "Of course, I understand that it was wartime back then. The external situation was grim, and internal management was relatively loose. It was necessary to give students some space to vent their energy."
"But thinking about it now, breaking school rules is always bad. If even the safety and discipline of students cannot be guaranteed, how can we talk about education?" Willy said seriously. "As someone with experience who knows exactly where the loopholes are, I am willing to help the school enforce the rules to the end and patch up these security risks."
"I think this is also for the good of the children, isn't it?"
"It sounds like..." Dumbledore finally spoke, raising his eyebrows, "you are quite proud of these countless 'glorious' deeds, Willy."
"That was just youthful ignorance," Willy said without changing his expression. "Now that I'm bringing up old matters, surely you can't still put me in detention and dock points from Ravenclaw? I graduated over a decade ago; that wouldn't fit the statute of limitations."
"Of course not." Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "Furthermore, I believe it is a good thing for staff to provide constructive feedback on Castle management. I naturally support it. If you have any ideas, you can communicate with Professor McGonagall."
Step one achieved.
Willy felt a secret joy. With this'Security Management' imperial sword in hand, he would have legitimate reasons in the future to carry out construction in the Castle, install surveillance, and even station magical creatures at the doors.
"Thank you very much for your support, Principal." Willy struck while the iron was hot, tossing out his second topic. "However, there is one more thing."
"During my tenure at the Ministry of Magic, I reviewed internal data from the Wizarding Examinations Authority. The data shows 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 are actually inferior to those of our era, which was war-torn and slightly chaotic."
Willy observed Dumbledore's expression, his tone sincere. "Of course, I fully believe in the teaching standards of the Hogwarts Professors. They are all very excellent Wizards. It's just possible that students and Professors view things from different angles, leading to some discrepancies in educational outcomes."
"As a new Professor, especially since I am shouldering two important courses, I hope to implement some bold reforms in teaching methods."
This time, Dumbledore pondered for a long while.
He was thinking. Although Willy's words were harsh, they were true. In the peaceful post-war era, students had indeed become somewhat slack, and the Hogwarts teaching model had remained almost unchanged for centuries.
"So..." After a moment, Dumbledore looked up, his blue eyes becoming deep. "Willy, what exactly is it that you want to do?"
Willy turned his head and looked out the window.
Through that circular window, one could overlook the entire Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch and the distant Forbidden Forest.
There was much he wanted to do.
For system points, he needed to improve the exam-taking abilities of all students and focus on cultivating those who were top-tier or had special talents.
To redeem those rare skills, he needed to make Hogwarts as solid as a rock, as indestructible as a fortress.
He wanted to demand authority from Dumbledore, to remodel the Castle, and to turn this ancient magic school into a trump card in his hand.
But these plans could not be accomplished overnight.
The Principal's attitude was the most important. He couldn't appear too radical to avoid misunderstanding. At the same time, the cooperation of other Professors and the level of acceptance from the Young Witches and Wizards would all require a gradual approach.
Ultimately, thousands of words converged in Willy's mind, turning into a concise, powerful, yet ambitious answer.
He turned back, meeting Dumbledore's gaze, and said with a smile:
"I just want to make Hogwarts great again."