The Return to Hogwarts

"You are jealous, gentlemen. The noble Black family will live forever, and there will never be a traitor in the noble Black family!"

"Please calm down, everyone. If this continues, I'm afraid Argus will come knocking on my door!"

Dumbledore twitched his silvery-white beard, looking somewhat helpless. For a moment, he even feared that one day he too would be hanging on this wall, facing the daily squabbles of his ancestors, going from helplessness to compromise, and even one day happily joining in.

“I think you understand, Principal Black,”

Having regained his composure, Dumbledore said in a stern tone, "Sirius's sins are unforgivable, aren't they?"

"That's exactly what I was going to tell you!"

Phineas, driven to madness by his colleagues' teasing, forgot to show respect to Dumbledore and shouted angrily.

“You all keep saying that my great-great-grandson has sided with that Dark Lord whose name we can't even mention, betraying the Potters. But you can't produce any concrete evidence, can you? Dumbledore, that child grew up under your nose. You know very well what kind of person he is. You saw how close he was to the Potters. He couldn't possibly have betrayed the Potters. There must be some misunderstanding!”

"joke!"

Unsurprisingly, it was Principal Armando Dippert who delivered the scathing rebuttal.

"Your great-grandson used a curse in broad daylight to send thirteen innocent souls away, one of whom was his closest friend!"

Effective communication has once again ceased, and pointless conflicts have re-emerged.

A dozen former principals crowded around Armando's frame, trying to separate Principals Dippet and Black, but somehow, the attempt to separate them turned into a brawl.

This time, Dumbledore didn't immediately stop him. He frowned and murmured softly.

"Even in that era rife with lies and betrayal, this is perplexing; the truth and the facts of the crime are clear."

"Albus--"

Delis Deventer was the only headmistress who didn't join the portrait-challenge frenzy; she called out Dumbledore's name.

"What are your plans regarding Amosta Blaine?"

Dumbledore's brow unfurrowed, and ignoring the chaos among the portraits, he returned to his seat, resuming his posture of gazing at the dome with his fingers interlaced, lost in deep thought.

Amostella didn't expect the wall of fire to completely stop Albus Dumbledore and his phoenix; he only hoped the spell would buy him a few more seconds.

Over the next five minutes, he barely stayed in one place for more than three seconds, constantly apparating and erasing magical traces. In the end, even with a considerable reserve of magical energy, he was exhausted from this frantic teleportation.

"They really didn't come after me?"

Amosta stood in a jungle he had ventured deep into during his past missions, leaning against a towering tree, slightly out of breath.

"Hmph, so what if they know?" Amosta straightened up, smiling slightly. "A gentleman can be deceived by his principles."

The dazzling starlight cast by the boundless starry sky and the cool air of the primeval forest at night calmed Amostra's slightly agitated heart. After thinking for a moment, he changed into his usual wizard robes and teleported back to Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade appeared and disappeared in the thick fog late at night. Along the commercial street that ran through the center of the village, many shadowy figures moved about indistinctly in the fog. Most of these people were also regulars in the underworld. They came here to trade or post commissions, but they did not want to be exploited by brokers like Foley. Therefore, they hoped to use Albus Dumbledore's name to deter their trading partners from acting recklessly.

Amostah ignored the wizards and strode past the Elegant Wizarding Clothing Store and the Literati House, heading towards the Three Broomsticks Bar.

"Oh my God, oh my God—"

Just as Amosta was about to reach the alleyway where his temporary residence was located, he unexpectedly heard a humming sound coming from the dark alleyway on the other side of the bar. Moreover, the sound sounded somewhat familiar.

After a moment's thought, Amosta walked toward the alley from which the sound came and immediately saw a large, burly figure leaning against a few trash cans, groaning and moaning incessantly.

"Hagrid, how could it be you?!"

Amostella looked surprised. He jogged over, held his breath to cut off the stench, and then bent down to stroke Hagrid's bushy beard.

What makes you drink heavily late at night? And what makes you cry alone?

Chapter 173 Report

Since the frequent mishaps of professors of the Defense Against the Dark Arts course at Hogwarts, and the consensus among young wizards that no wizard could remain in the position for more than a year and then retire safely, it has become almost a tradition at the beginning of each new school year to assess the competence of the newly appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

As is customary, this topic usually remains popular until the end of the first month of school, when a conclusion that is generally accepted will gradually emerge.

But this year was different. Professor Lupin, who had already demonstrated his skills on the Hogwarts Express before classes even started, received widespread praise within a week of classes beginning.

Of course, the least popular Slytherin House remained true to its old ways. They couldn't find anything wrong with Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, so they simply made a fuss about Lupin's simple attire. However, they could only amuse themselves; not many people would have any objections to Professor Lupin because of this.

Right now, the most popular topic among young wizards is whether Professor Remus Lupin or Professor Amosta Blaine is the most 'professional' professor of the last decade.

This is not something that can be explained in a few words; even within Gryffindor, there is considerable controversy surrounding this topic.

"Their professionalism is beyond question."

Fred, one of the Weasley brothers, who had finally had a peaceful night, leaned against the extinguished fireplace and said, "But obviously we appreciate—"

“Professor Amosta Blaine!” the twins said in unison.

Fred and George were proud of their teamwork; they jumped up and bumped elbows with laughter in mid-air.

Harry and Ron, sitting on the sofa, and Hermione, who was leaning on the wooden table studying several subjects at the same time, were not surprised at all. They all knew why Fred and George preferred Professor Blaine. To them, Boggart was obviously not as interesting as the Eight-Eyed Spider.

"Neville and Dean prefer Professor Lupin—"

Ron was carefully feeding the listless Scabbers the potion, but Scabbers seemed to dislike it. It twisted and turned in Ron's hands, trying desperately to escape, and ended up spilling most of the potion from the small bottle onto his wizard's robe.

"At least they can handle the Boggart in the closet, but Professor Blaine..."

Ron suddenly shuddered and said with lingering fear,

"During summer vacation, my parents took us to the pyramids to see the mummies. That night I had a nightmare. I remembered the undead that Professor Blaine brought in. I'll probably never forget that!"

Hermione, who was engrossed in writing at her desk, suddenly smiled, tossing a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at Ron.

"Seriously, Ron, I thought Boggart would turn into an Inferno or a Basilisk when you came on stage, but it turns out your biggest fear is spiders?"

The discussion about this issue went on for about ten minutes. Finally, Harry and Hermione understood why Ron was afraid of spiders. Amidst a burst of cheerful laughter, a disgruntled Ron accidentally poked the bottle of stimulant up Scabbers' nose. After a series of painful screams, Scabbers smacked Ron hard in the mouth, which made Ron even more annoyed. He sulked and looked at Harry.

"It's time for you to share your thoughts, Harry!"

"Well--"

Harry hesitated and didn't speak, but it was all an act.

Hermione preferred Professor Lupin, who taught according to the textbook, while Ron preferred Professor Blaine. This was not surprising, as Professor Blaine had saved almost half of Ron's siblings and had even given him a very beautiful commemorative coin.

How to put it... Harry felt a strange sense of familiarity when facing Professor Lupin.

He didn't know what caused this feeling. Perhaps it was because Professor Lupin had saved his life on the Hogwarts Express, or perhaps it was because of Professor Lupin's gentle nature that people liked. But even so, if he had to choose between Professor Blaine and Professor Lupin, he would undoubtedly choose Professor Blaine.

The reason for making this decision was not only because of Professor Blaine's help to them in the Chamber of Secrets incident last semester, but also because during the summer vacation, he unexpectedly learned about Professor Blaine's background, which made Harry feel that he and Professor Blaine were somewhat connected by fate.

However, he couldn't say this reason aloud; he couldn't reveal Professor Blaine's most important private information without permission, not even to Ron and Hermione.

The next morning, all the young wizards who entered the Great Hall for their meal felt an indescribable sense of oppression. Soon, the young wizards realized that this oppressive feeling was coming from the professors' seats at the very front of the Great Hall.

Apart from Principal Dumbledore and Professor Lupin, who were not on the professors' desks, almost every professor who came down for breakfast had a newspaper in hand. They ignored the wide variety of breakfast items piled up in front of them and focused their attention only on the Daily Prophet.

"Is there anything new that we don't know about?"

Harry and Ron, who arrived late, quickly sensed something was wrong. They lowered their heads and hurried in from the foyer, taking their seats in the empty seats next to Hermione.

The atmosphere in the Great Hall was eerie. Everyone wore a somber expression. The young wizards discussed in small groups, their voices hushed, while the professors whispered their opinions. Only the 'beloved' Potions professor remained expressionless, calmly dealing with the white porridge on the table.

"The Ministry of Magic has found Black."

Hermione said seriously, but seeing the two young wizards' dumbfounded and stiff expressions, she quickly added, "But he got away again. Seamus told us yesterday, oh, he saw it in the Daily Prophet, that a Muggle saw Black nearby—"

Hermione shook the latest edition of the Daily Prophet in her hand.

"Today's paper says that, based on that Muggle's tip-off, the Ministry of Magic's strikers were mobilized in full force and found clues. Last night, the strikers cornered him in front of the Black family's old house and had a fierce battle with him!"

Harry quickly snatched the newspaper from Hermione and started reading it with Ron.

Sirius Black was severely wounded and fled in disarray. The Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic, led by Drax, was bravely wounded in his duel with Sirius Black. The Aurors and Dementors are still in pursuit. We urge all wizarding citizens to remain calm.

"Oh!"

Ron, the son of a high-ranking official, turned his face away with a look of disgust.

"The Daily Prophet is still the same as always; it always gets vague when it comes to important issues!"

"That's not the problem, Ron, take a look at this!"

Hermione carefully took out another copy of The Times and slipped it under the table to Harry, whose expression seemed a little off.

“Besides me, I doubt anyone at school subscribes to a Muggle newspaper,” Hermione said, pointing to a chilling picture on the front page.

"The Daily Prophet didn't publish details of last night's arrests, but Muggle newspapers did, and Muggle governments are claiming a gas explosion occurred. The excuse isn't new, but look at this—"

The huge searchlights illuminated the dark night, revealing shocking cracks in the ground around the deserted, desolate square. The edges of the cracks showed signs of melting and crystallization, with wisps of smoke faintly visible. In the distance, a large section of the road had been blown away, and beside the alley stood a house with its roof ripped off.

“This was all Black’s fault?!” Ron stared at the Muggle newspaper, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets in shock. “But the Daily Prophet says not a single Muggle died!”

"That's what the Muggle newspapers are saying too."

Hermione pointed to a line of text beneath the drawing, then looked at the silent Harry and said solemnly,

"To single-handedly confront most of the Ministry of Magic's elite and cause such widespread destruction—now we finally understand why the Ministry was so terrified of Sirius Black's escape!"

Chapter 174 Omnipresent

“Until Black is caught, Harry, you must stay in the Gryffindor common room every night. You are absolutely not allowed to sneak out of the castle in the middle of the night to find Hagrid, or trespass into the Forbidden Forest!” Hermione said sternly, glaring at Harry.