The Return to Hogwarts

“Minister, I once heard Headmaster Dumbledore say that the Ministry of Magic solemnly assured us that the Dementors would not, without discovering Black's presence, trespass into Hogwarts and disrupt the young wizards' normal studies and lives. But look at this…”

Amosta spread his hands innocently.

"Reality is always much worse than we expect."

"Yeah yeah--"

Under the watchful eyes of several professors, Fudge subconsciously wanted to wipe his forehead, but when he raised his hand, he realized that he was not talking to Dumbledore. So, he awkwardly picked up his glass and took a sip of the redcurrant rum in it to calm himself down.

Oh well, another tough one!

As Fudge put down his cup, he subtly glanced at Amostella's calm, pale purple eyes, thinking to himself, "Those two previous encounters have led Fudge to mistakenly believe that Amostella is a young wizard who is very friendly to the Ministry of Magic!"

The negotiations regarding whether to retain the Dementors were not complicated. Amosta and Professor McGonagall's real demands were simple: to control the number of Dementors and require them to work in shifts. This would effectively prevent the Dementors from becoming too hungry and storming into Hogwarts to wreak havoc.

Fudge readily agreed to this.

The fact that the Dementors sent by the Ministry of Magic caused trouble was only one factor; Amosta and his magical monitoring device also made him feel less anxious.

Just as they were discussing the topic of Dementors, a lot more students came into the room, making the whole bar noisy. Moreover, the kettle on the mantel seemed to be malfunctioning; it was coughing and spewing hot water from its spout, which poured onto the blazing fire, filling the entire bar with smoke.

"Hmm, where is Dumbledore—"

Having discussed the Dementors, the remaining question of great interest is Dumbledore's whereabouts.

"I can't answer that for you,"

Fudge, already a little tipsy, spoke unclearly, mumbling as he said...

"Dumbledore wrote me a letter before he left Hogwarts, telling me that he needed to go out for a while. After hearing this news, I immediately went to him. He couldn't just leave me to deal with all those endless problems at the International Wizarding Federation on my own!"

What Fudge was trying to hide was so intriguing that, apart from the reserved Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Hagrid began trying to find out more. Fudge clearly knew that if he revealed even a little bit here, the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest would probably hear about it by tomorrow evening. So, he just smiled and rambled on, unwilling to say anything.

Amosta didn't join the conversation. At some point, his expression became a bit strange, and he seemed somewhat absent-minded, his gaze not on the people talking, but occasionally glancing in a certain direction outside the door.

It seems necessary to have the Dementors guard the school gate.

A moment ago, he suddenly sensed Harry, whom he had marked, appear in Hogsmeade and enter his marked perception range. He stayed in one place for a few minutes, and then quickly rushed towards him. When he got close to the three brooms, Amosta also sensed two familiar magics traveling with him.

"I'm sorry, everyone—"

As Hagrid was subtly inquiring about the possibility of asking Fudge and officials from the Committee on the Handling of Dangerous Organisms to put in a good word for Buckbeak, Amosta suddenly stood up and interrupted him.

"Ms. Rosmerta's tea leaves are probably not very fresh. Please allow me to leave for a moment—"

With that, he left his seat and strode quickly into the inner room.

Jingle Bell!

Accompanied by the rapid ringing of wind chimes, the bar door was pushed open once again, and two heads quickly peeked in through the crack.

The swirling smoke made the already dimly lit bar even worse, and Harry watched everything around him with great interest while trying his best to avoid bumping into the bustling crowd.

Since they couldn't show their faces in a big way, the three of them chose a secluded spot, which was located between a window and a beautiful Christmas tree, so that few people would notice it.

"It's so lively here!"

Ron went to get the drinks, and Harry sat down next to Hermione, cheerfully saying, "I don't think anyone will notice me, do you think, Hermione?"

"No way, Harry!"

Hermione said sternly and bluntly.

“You’ve already taken a huge risk, and I will never let you take off the invisibility cloak.”

“I don’t intend to, Hermione—”

Harry, his secret exposed, said sullenly, but then his gaze was drawn to the steaming butterbeer on the table of several upperclassmen next to him. Harry had only had this delicious drink once before, on the night last semester when he defeated the Infernals in Professor Blaine's class, when Fred and George got it for everyone.

Two minutes later, Ron returned with three identical butterbeers, but as he passed a certain spot, his hurried steps suddenly faltered, and his smug expression instantly turned to terror.

"What's going on, Ron?"

Harry, who had been staring at him, asked inexplicably.

"The professors are right there, Harry! Hide quickly, and don't give us away!"

Harry's body reacted faster than his mind. Upon hearing Ron's words, his instincts drove him to slide down the bench. Meanwhile, unable to see Harry's movements, Ron stood there dumbly, using his body to block the view that might come from that spot.

"I told you so!"

Hermione lowered her voice and said angrily,

"I have a feeling something might go wrong, and when I do, things are usually pretty much set in stone!"

"Don't make such a fuss, Hermione—"

Once seated, Ron's heart had calmed down, and he said nonchalantly, "They can't see Harry, can they?"

After receiving a hint from Ron, Hermione and Harry finally spotted the Minister for Magic and several professors sitting just a few seats away. The Headmaster of Gryffindor, whom Harry dreaded running into, was also there.

"I can only say you're lucky, Harry."

Hermione took out her wand and whispered "Apparition" at the Christmas tree so that it could better shield Harry's view from under the table.

"You should be glad Professor Blaine isn't here; your invisibility cloak can't fool his wondrous eyes!"

I haven't experienced anything this exciting in a long time!

As Harry was thinking this, a pair of sparkly turquoise high heels came into view. The owner of the shoes, wearing the Minister of Magic's striped cloak that dragged on the ground, giggled and laughed.

"Would you like some more, Minister?"

"Then have some more, darling!"

Fudge, who was a little carried away, couldn't control his voice. "I just got back from Paris, and I have to throw myself into endless work again tomorrow. It's rare for me to have a little free time."

"Big shots are always so busy,"

Ms. Rosmerta said she poured Fudge another full glass of wine.

"Speaking of which, any new developments at the department? I mean, regarding the pursuit of Blake."

Chapter 226 Untitled Chapter

In the Three Broomsticks pub, Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't the only ones eavesdropping on Fudge's conversation with several Hogwarts staff members; a circle of students sitting nearby were also listening.

Some students, whose families had relatives holding important positions in the Ministry of Magic and who already knew about the matter, remained silent. Other young wizards, who had never heard of such things, tried their best to keep quiet, but their open mouths betrayed their true feelings.

Amosta was actually standing right behind Hermione, but he used a little trick to make people unable to see him.

Looking down at the utterly shocked Ron and Hermione, and then at Harry under the table, whose expression gradually shifted from astonishment to silence, and finally, whose emerald eyes shone with deep-seated hatred, he sighed inwardly.

Fate has an astonishing inertia. Even though Amos Tower's appearance changed many things invisibly, many things still continued to proceed according to their original trajectory. Harry eventually learned the truth about the murder of his parents.

After Professor McGonagall and the others finished talking about Black, Amosta thought for a moment, then nimbly dodged one person after another and returned to the back of the bar. Two minutes later, as if nothing had happened, he slowly reappeared in the main hall of the bar.

Amosta glanced out of the corner of his eye at Harry, whose expression subtly changed, and at Hermione and Ron, who froze upon noticing his presence. He smiled and returned to his seat, but instead of sitting down, he placed the bottle containing the Dementors directly into Fudge's lap.

"I'm sorry, everyone, I suddenly remembered that I haven't cleaned the house I rent in the village for a while, and I need to take care of it before Christmas."

Amosta then left the Three Brooms bar.

In just an hour or two, the path between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts was covered with a blanket of snow nearly a foot thick. It wasn't too late yet, and few of the young wizards who had gone to Hogsmeade for the weekend were returning. Amosta walked alone through the snow, quietly pondering how she should "tactfully" comfort Harry if he came to ask her if she knew about his parents' past.

"Everything is normal at the school, Professor Blaine!"

When asked if anything was amiss, Filch, Amossta's loyal subordinate and the Hogwarts Castle caretaker, sniffled and spoke with utmost respect.

Although the ancient castle still looks majestic and magnificent, it has actually fallen into disrepair over the years. The huge amount of money spent on daily teaching has left the funds allocated by the school board stretched thin, leaving little money for castle repairs. As a result, when winter comes, the school corridors are always drafty, and the temperature is not much different from that outside.

Although highly skilled wizards are less sensitive to heat and cold, Amosta, who had just walked in the open air, still felt a bit stiff in his hands and feet. As a result, he cancelled his original plan to go to Remus to ask Harry about his studies.

Amusta snapped his fingers to light the fire in the fireplace, warming his hands as he casually glanced at the monitor screens on the wall.

The cold weather forced the young wizards who loved to wander around back to the lounge. Only in the library were many fifth-grade students preparing for their 'middle school entrance exams'.

On the top floor of the West Tower, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle emerged from the dark owl hut, their expressions somewhat stiff. Amostella silently watched them descend the tower, pass through the armored corridor, and finally enter the Slytherin basement through the passage on the other side of the first-floor hall.

"Has it been so long and they still haven't gotten out of this predicament?"

Amosta muttered something strange to himself. After a moment's hesitation, remembering Professor Snape's warning, Amosta decided to refrain from interfering for the time being.

Things took a bit of a turn for the worse. He had thought that Harry would immediately return to the castle and rush over to ask him if he knew the truth after learning the truth about his parents' deaths at the hands of Black. But Harry didn't do that. He only occasionally observed Harry through the surveillance cameras, and for several days in a row, he always had a sullen face no matter where he went.

Another week has passed, and now there are only two weeks left until the end of the semester. Dumbledore's absence has not dampened the increasingly festive Christmas atmosphere at the school. Professor Flitwick, who teaches Charms, has decorated his classroom with colorful lights that will turn into real fairies, fluttering their wings and flying around the classroom.

For some reason, Hagrid suddenly asked both Professor McGonagall for a few days off.

So, the task of creating a festive atmosphere in the auditorium naturally fell to Amosta—he could be ordered around by Filch, but with little magical skill, he wasn't very good at this kind of work.

With the holidays approaching, the professors wanted to give the students a break before Christmas, so on Friday night, the little ones, with not much homework, ran around the castle.

Or rather, he caused trouble. One moment, a few large dung balls were thrown into the bathroom on a certain floor; the next, a young wizard who had provoked Peeves was locked in armor; or a first-year wizard who was not yet familiar with the moving staircases in the castle accidentally missed a step and broke his arm. In short, Filch's frantic roars echoed throughout the entire Hogwarts castle that night.

To avoid Filch, who would burst into his office every now and then, Amosta ran to the quiet library before the holiday, where there was hardly anyone around. But there, he unexpectedly discovered the three little ones drowning in a huge pile of books.

"This doesn't seem right—"

Amosta clicked his tongue and said...

"If it were just Miss Granger, I wouldn't be too surprised, but the three of you appearing together in the library?"

"It's for Hagrid, Professor Blaine—"