The Return to Hogwarts

"so--"

Amosta said with a chuckle.

"Did you come here specifically to praise me, Mr. Potter?"

Chapter 221 Professional Repairman

As Harry sat down, he was still clutching the cloth bag containing the Nimbus 2001 remnants tightly. The other two "old hands" in the office had already roughly guessed why Harry had come to visit at this time.

"Minerva came by during the day today and told me about your situation, and casually mentioned your flying broom—"

Surprisingly, Professor Blaine, the head of the office, didn't speak, but stared intently at him. Instead, Professor Lupin rubbed his hands together on the roaring flames of the fireplace and floated over.

"It's clear that she's very worried about the Gryffindor team's future this year."

Harry's face darkened instantly, as did his mood, because Gryffindor was now one step away from elimination after once again succumbing to the Dementors' power.

Harry suddenly wondered if he should apologize to Professor McGonagall, because the broom in his hand was a gift from her when he was a first-year student, and now, because of his weakness, the broom had ended up in pieces.

"Of course"

Seemingly sensing his bad mood, Professor Lupin immediately added, "Millerva is clearly more concerned about you than the match."

"That's true--"

At this moment, Professor Blaine suddenly interjected, "I also got a lecture from Professor McGonagall."

"But what does this have to do with you?"

Harry asked, somewhat surprised.

“Well, Professor McGonagall thinks—”

Amosta scratched his head and grinned as he spoke.

"What she meant was that if I had been at the competition, I might have been able to spot the signs before the Dementors stormed into the campus. Well, that's certainly a lesson learned. I'm planning to discuss with the deans of each college that from now on, any event with a gathering of more than a certain number of teachers and students must be registered with me in advance so that I can set aside time to protect them."

“That is indeed a good idea, Amosta.”

Lupin nodded approvingly.

“Even if nothing else happens, having you there to supervise can prevent conflicts between the junior wizards from different houses. To be honest, this kind of thing happened all the time during my years at Hogwarts.”

Professors Blaine and Lupin discussed the reporting process for a while. Harry was also somewhat interested in the topic, and he listened quietly, showing no displeasure at their neglect.

"So--"

Suddenly, Professor Blaine turned his gaze to himself and said bluntly,

"You came here to ask me to take a look at your broom, right, Potter?"

"Is that so, Professor?"

Harry had been carrying the cloth bag the whole time, even when he sat down. It was so obvious that a wizard like Professor Blaine couldn't possibly miss it. Harry immediately stood up, coughing several times from choking on his own saliva due to his nervousness.

"It's badly damaged. I'm not sure—"

Then, urged on by Professors Blaine and Lupin, Harry hurriedly emptied the scraps from the cloth bag.

"Oh my god--"

Professor Lu Ping let out a small gasp, but his voice betrayed little surprise. He stared at the crumbs on his desk and sighed deeply.

"The Whomping Willow was planted the year I arrived at Hogwarts. At first, many young wizards were curious and tried to touch the trunk. Later, a boy named David Gergean almost lost an eye, and the school forbade us to go near him anymore. To be honest, no broom could withstand it."

It almost killed Ron and me.

Harry felt a pang of sympathy, but then he noticed Professor Blaine stand up from his seat, bend down, and pinch a piece of broom handle residue between his two index fingers to examine it closely. Harry immediately held his breath, his blue eyes shining with anticipation.

A brief silence fell over the office; even the crackling of a match was barely audible.

A short while later, Amosta picked up another piece of debris with her free hand, comparing them and studying the magical corridors inside the broom that were indistinguishable from a normal perspective.

call--

After a long while, Amosta placed the two diamond-shaped wood chips that fit together in front of him, shook out his wand from his sleeve, muttered something, and then, to Harry's delight, a faint glow struggled to flow through the seam between the two wood chips, and they were completely glued together.

"Success!"

Harry exclaimed with exhilaration, as if a tremendous burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Incredible—"

Looking at the two pieces of wood chips that had been pieced together, Lupin also showed a surprised expression.

"You really can repair Harry's broom, Amosta? As far as I know, flying brooms are very sophisticated alchemical tools, especially the Nimbus series, which contains at least a thousand intricate magical corridors—"

"not that simple."

Amosta's brief remark silenced Lupin and froze the surprise on Harry's face.

"Restored to its original state--"

Having a general idea of ​​what was going on, Amosta pointed the tip of his staff at a small pile of sawdust on the table and gave a clear shout.

A hazy stream of air shot out from the tip of the ebony wand, swirling wood chips into the air. Amidst the occasional sparks, the messy wood chips found their place and stuck together. Before long, a complete Nimbus 2000 appeared before everyone!

It worked!

As Harry gazed at the Nimbus 2000, now completely intact and floating in mid-air, enveloped by a faint current of air, he was filled with immense joy.

“Your skill in alchemy is truly astonishing, Amosta.”

Remus Lupin also gasped.

Amosta didn't speak. He reached out and took the halo, his focused gaze following the thumb rubbing against the broom handle, as if he were observing something.

"This is probably the only way—"

A moment later, Amosta said regretfully, noticing Harry's delighted expression, and calmly added,

"Don't be too happy, Harry, I didn't fix your broom."

"But?"

Amosta waved his hand, signaling Harry to be quiet.

"Just as Professor Lupin said, most alchemical tools have very complex internal structures, often involving hundreds of interconnected magical corridors. Although I managed to weld most of the magical pathways inside this broom, due to the lack of broom design blueprints, I still have issues with the damaged areas—"

Lupin nodded knowingly, but Harry was still completely confused.

This is actually why the same spell can have drastically different effects in the hands of different people.

In the magical world, it can be said that more than 99% of wizards know how to use the standard spells they use in daily life, but do not know why. Many wizards only know that magic is magical, but they do not know that magic is not magical without any principles. Like Muggle science, magic also follows a set of strict logical rules.

In other words—

Amosta explained patiently.

"In the future, if you want to ride this broomstick around the lawn for a stroll or chase butterflies, I don't think it'll be a big problem. It might be a little difficult to maneuver, but if you're expecting it to be used in a high-intensity Quidditch match, Harry, I suggest you wear a parachute when you go on the field—"

Chapter 222 Coach, I Want to Learn Guardian Angel

Harry understood. Professor Blaine meant that although his broom looked repaired, it was still severely damaged inside. He could keep it as a souvenir, but it was impossible to use it for Quidditch matches again unless he wanted to suffer.

"Thank you, Professor, this is good enough."

Harry took the Nimbus that he had to retire early, muttering with barely concealed disappointment.

Looking at Harry, whose features were almost identical to James's and who was looking completely lost, Lupin's pale face also showed a hint of gloom. His lips moved, but thinking of his empty wallet, he didn't say anything.

"Well--"

After a moment's hesitation, Amosta turned and walked to the suitcase next to the cot. After opening it and fumbling around for a while, he pulled out a flying broomstick to Harry's astonishment.

As a Quidditch expert, Harry immediately recognized it as a Seven-Star Sweeper. However, the broom looked like it had been through a lot of trouble. The handle was pitted and uneven, and a small patch at the end of the broom was charred black, as if it had been burned.

"Anyway,"

Amosta handed his broom to a somewhat bewildered Harry.

"You lost your beloved broom because of the Dementors, so I'm partly responsible for that. Until you get a new broom, you can use mine for now."

I modified this "Sweeping Seven Stars" broom a bit. It can go 100 mph in under nine seconds and has great endurance, able to cruise at top speed for over two hours. Of course, to achieve these two points, I had to sacrifice the broom's maneuverability at high speeds; in other words, it might not be able to be operated with great precision.

This was an unexpected surprise. Before Harry came here tonight, he never thought he would be able to get a broom to tide him over.

Harry glanced sadly at the Nimbus that could no longer roam the field, then turned his gaze to Professor Blaine's broom.

In the Quidditch world, before the Nimbus series appeared, the Sweep series was undoubtedly the darling of the field. Most Gryffindor players used either the Sweep or the Comet 260. Using this broom in a match wouldn't hold Gryffindor back.

However, Professor Blaine's attitude towards the flying broom is too casual. This broom looks like it has never been maintained. If Wood knew that one of his teammates would treat his playing partner so roughly, he would definitely roar and hang him on the hoop.

“Those Dementors—why, Professor?”

Suddenly, Harry, who had been stroking the broom handle with his palm, looked up. After hesitating between Professor Lupin and Professor Blaine, he finally looked at Professor Blaine, who was sitting behind his desk with his legs crossed.

"Why? Why did they have that effect on me before, on the train, and now it's the same situation again? Could it be—"

“This has nothing to do with weakness, Harry.”