The Return to Hogwarts

Turning around, Amostella leaned against the windowsill and, under the watchful eyes of the Minister of Magic, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Dumbledore, smiled calmly.

“I have no great ideas, Headmaster Dumbledore.”

Everyone in the room thought Amosta's words would take a turn, but to their surprise, he stopped talking and instead picked up the teacup on the fireplace and began to sip it.

"cough--"

Without making a sound, Fudge returned to the sofa. He picked up the teacup on the coffee table and took a sip, but he clearly couldn't appreciate the bitterness that spread across his lips and teeth, and put the cup back with a bit of embarrassment.

Fudge looked at Ms. Burns sitting opposite him, hoping to exchange opinions with her. However, Ms. Burns only frowned slightly, clearly unwilling to comment on Amosta's reminder. So, Fudge had no choice but to turn to Dumbledore for help.

Dumbledore did respond to Fudge's gaze, but as with their usual private exchanges, his probing fell into Dumbledore's deep eyes without causing any ripples.

Fudge understood that, ultimately, he was the one in the most trouble, so he had to solve it himself.

"Ahem-"

Fudge coughed twice, making a loose fist, and said kindly,

“Amosta, perhaps you are not very familiar with the situation in the ministry. Old Barty is not someone who is easily subdued. Your opinion may very well create serious conflict and confrontation within the ministry.”

When Amosta's gaze fell upon him, the veins on Fudge's forehead throbbed, and an overwhelming sense of panic surged through him. Fudge was puzzled as to why he was reacting this way, but after a brief moment of thought, he understood.

This is related to Amosta's killing of nearly a hundred werewolves, including Greyback, tonight.

The Ministry of Magic has no shortage of elite wizards with various special skills, including duelists, but Fudge is certain that even if the entire Auror Office were to send out all its elites, there is no guarantee that they could decisively kill nearly a hundred werewolves.

From the moment Fudge learned the name Amosta Blaine, he knew that this was a young wizard with exceptional skills. However, he never imagined for a second that this young wizard was also a wizard whose methods were so sophisticated that they exceeded the enforcement power of the Ministry of Magic.

The biggest problem is that this young man doesn't look particularly like Dumbledore.

Fudge shifted uncomfortably, pursed his lips as if to say something, but Amosta said with a puzzled look,

“Did I say anything, Minister? Barty Crouch, I think you mean Mr. Barty Crouch of the International Magical Cooperation Department. What does this have to do with him?”

Fudge cautiously kept his mouth shut.

Ms. Burns raised her eyebrows, glancing at the young man she was meeting for the first time with surprise, a sense of amazement welling up inside her.

As one of the few high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic who wielded real power, Ms. Burns welcomed generation after generation of young Hogwarts graduates to work in the Ministry. She had seen many outstanding young people, but none of them had impressed her.

Amelia didn't learn about Amostella after receiving the basilisk from the Ministry of Magic. She had already learned about him through various channels early last year when he entered Hogwarts as an investigator, but she hadn't paid much attention to it.

Later, her niece Susan told her in a letter what Professor Blaine, who also taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, used for practical lessons with the young wizards, and she became more interested in the young man—he was a very courageous and talented young wizard, suitable to be the professor of that course, which was her assessment of Amostra Blaine at the time.

Before tonight, if someone had asked her who in the wizarding world could single-handedly kill dozens of werewolves, Amelia would have thought there was only one answer. Now, there is one more correct answer.

Amosta's words just now proved his keen political wisdom.

A young wizard in his early twenties, possessing courage, talent, wisdom, and awe-inspiring power.

Burns glanced at Dumbledore beside him without making a sound, his feelings becoming complicated.

Actually, the matter wasn't as difficult to resolve as it seemed. It's just that Fudge had gotten himself into a dead end and couldn't get out. Amosta could have stood on the sidelines and watched without paying attention to the Ministry of Magic's predicament, but he was also worried that these difficulties would drive Fudge to extremes and cause him to refuse to acknowledge Sirius's innocence.

"Actually, this matter isn't as difficult to handle as you might think—"

Fudge's performance was consistently disappointing, and Amosta had given up hope on his intelligence. After a moment's thought, having organized her thoughts, Amosta smiled and said...

"Minister Fudge, I don't understand why you seem so anxious. Just an hour ago, the Ministry of Magic wiped out a notorious criminal gang, freeing the public from the fear of werewolves, didn't it?"

Did the Ministry of Magic wipe out the Greyback werewolf gang?

Fudge's expression froze, and he stared at Amosta, stammering,

"But this matter involves the Ministry of Magic, I mean, so many people at Hogsmeade saw it."

Why--

Amosta sighed inwardly. When Voldemort was rampaging, did he kill all the capable people in the Ministry of Magic? How did he end up letting such a dim-witted guy take the lead?

“Yes, the villagers all saw it. I was the one who tried Greyback and his gang of criminals. But how did I find Greyback and his werewolves? It obviously requires intelligence from the Ministry of Magic, doesn't it? Tonight's incident wasn't a sudden event, but a planned operation. That's why the Ministry of Magic was able to react so quickly. Just as the werewolves were about to attack the village, the Minister of Magic, leading by example, arrived at the scene with his trusted elites.”

Can stories really be written like this?!

Fudge, whose face had been pale just moments before, suddenly turned bright red. He gasped for breath and said...

"But Sirius—"

Amosta smiled warmly and spoke patiently.

"By eradicating the notorious werewolf criminal gang, it is foreseeable that the Ministry of Magic will gain a significant boost in prestige among the general public. At that time, we can also inform the magical world that the Aurors, while tracking the Greyback gang, unexpectedly discovered Sirius Black lurking in the Forbidden Forest."

Through interrogation, some unexpected information was revealed: Sirius Black, who was believed to have betrayed the Potters, was actually innocent. The real culprit was Peter Pettigrew. Based on some clues, the Ministry of Magic determined that Peter was also hiding in the Forbidden Forest. In order to capture Peter and avoid alerting the enemy, magic temporarily concealed the fact that Sirius Black was innocent.

Now, Peter, who had been on the run, has also been apprehended and will face legal judgment. Of course, due to the Ministry of Magic's negligence, Sirius Black's wrongful imprisonment is an unavoidable fact, and someone from the Ministry of Magic will be held accountable.

That's the general idea; more details can be added later.

Chapter 318 Invitation

2023-06-09

From the moment Amosta began explaining his ideas, Dumbledore's expression darkened after only a few sentences. He couldn't possibly appreciate such behavior of deceiving the general public with lies and rhetoric. Staring at the young wizard talking eloquently by the window on the other side of the room, Dumbledore once again felt fortunate for his previous decision.

Keeping Amostella at Hogwarts is a good thing for both the wizarding world and for him personally.

Ms. Burns did express some appreciation for Amosta's suggestion.

Although she dedicated half her life to protecting the legitimate rights of ordinary wizards, how could she, living in the Stormlands, not know that there is no absolute right or wrong in the world, and that principles must be compromised when facing many difficulties? Otherwise, it will only cause more ordinary people who are powerless to fight against fate to suffer.

As for Fudge, judging from his excitement, you could tell how much he admired Amosta's method.

"You're a genius, Amosta!"

The moment Amosta finished speaking, Fudge jumped up from the sofa, clenched his fist, and slammed it into his left palm, laughing excitedly.

“That’s right, that’s how we should do it. We should first tell the public that the Ministry of Magic has arrested Greyback, and then bring up Sirius’s matter. The order is very important!”

Coming to his senses, Fudge excitedly began pacing back and forth in the office again, muttering to himself.

"The people will be incredibly grateful that we eliminated Greyback. They won't hold a grudge, and their confidence in the Ministry of Magic will even increase significantly. Sirius Black himself has his flaws, ah, of course, we will still take responsibility. I'll go and persuade Barty the Elder; he'll have nothing to say. It was his stupid thing to do—"

As he spoke, Fudge clicked his tongue in slight dissatisfaction amidst his excitement.

“You should have gone easy on him, Amosta. It would have been much less effective if we had tried Peter Graybuck in public, and we should have minimized the impact of this incident.”

"Feel sorry--"

Amosta crossed his arms and shrugged indifferently.

“You know, Minister, when the werewolves tried to storm Hogsmeade to attack the villagers, they were numerous and emotionally unstable, so I could only use some magic whose power was not easy to control—”

"Understandable--"

Fudge said with a smile, but still took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"That's settled then. I'll go tell Rufus to keep it a secret. Sirius's matter needs to be kept secret for a few more days. Oh, right, Dumbledore, you're coming with me. The faculty and staff at the school need to keep the same story as us. You don't have any objections, do you, Dumbledore?"

“Of course, Cornelius—”

"Dumbledore said calmly, and got up to walk to the door."

"Oh, right!"

The office door opened, and Fudge suddenly turned around, looking at Amosta with a kind smile.

"Your contributions will not go unnoticed, Amosta. Just wait, the Ministry of Magic's gratitude will surprise you."

I'm really looking forward to it!

Amosta nodded and returned the smile.

The office door closed, Fudge took a deep breath, and was about to go upstairs with high spirits. At this moment, the unusually quiet Dumbledore finally made him feel something was wrong, and also amplified a certain unease he had about Amostella.

"Amosta."

Fudge hesitated before speaking.

“Well, how should I put it, Dumbledore, I think the fact that you hired Amostall Blaine to protect the children means you have complete trust in him. He's so young, yet he possesses such powerful magic. You know what I mean, right?”

"If you're worried that Amostella might follow in Voldemort's footsteps—"

As Fudge hissed in relief, Dumbledore strode forward. "I don't think there's much to worry about."

I guess--

After Fudge and Dumbledore left the room, the tense atmosphere in the office immediately eased considerably. Ms. Burns sat gracefully on the sofa, her lips slightly pursed.

"Cornelly is probably considering recruiting you into the Ministry of Magic—"

Amelia Bornes – the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and one of the top five wizards in the Wizengamot Tribunal, is renowned and highly respected in the European magical world. There are even rumors that she is a strong contender to become Minister for Magic after Fudge.

"Then he's probably going to be disappointed--"

Amosta sat in Dumbledore's spot and smiled impassively. He could tell that Fudge might not have a strong desire for him to work for the Ministry of Magic, but the woman in front of him, Ms. Burns, probably had the idea of ​​getting him into the Ministry of Magic and working in the Auror office under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"That's really surprising—"

Ms. Burns was unaware that Amosta had seen through her thoughts. She spoke with a mixture of surprise and regret.

"Many outstanding young wizards graduating from school aspire to work for the Ministry of Magic. If they knew that someone had received a personal invitation from the Minister of Magic but refused to go, they would be furious!"

"Everyone has their own ambitions, Ms. Burns--"

Amosta didn't point it out, but simply continued along with Ms. Burns's lines.