The Return to Hogwarts

"As far as I know, one of my classmates, Bill Weasley of the Weasley family, once refused an invitation from the Ministry of Magic to become a spellbreaker at Gringotts in Egypt. Albus Dumbledore himself has also repeatedly declined offers to become Minister for Magic. Personally, I prefer a more relaxed and free working environment to the Ministry of Magic."

Ever since emerging from the cave where Voldemort hid the locket, Amostella had had a nagging feeling that Voldemort's return to the wizarding world was probably not far off.

Before that, he needed to make some preparations, and gaining prestige in the magical world and having a certain influence within the department was also part of his plan.

Seeing the fleeting regret in Bones' eyes, Amosta smiled slightly.

"Of course, if the Ministry of Magic needs my help, I would be happy to assist—"

"how could be?"

Inside a ward at the school hospital.

Hermione's eyes welled with tears as she anxiously stamped her feet, clutching the now-dull Time-Turner.

"How could it break? Did it get jostled around in the car? But, oh dear, I've messed up, Harry. The Time-Turner is a strictly controlled item by the Ministry of Magic; every single one is registered. Professor McGonagall told me this when she gave it to me, and warned me to take good care of it, and if it were lost or damaged—"

At this point, Hermione's frail body trembled with fear, and she sobbed softly, unable to utter a single word.

"What will happen, Hermione?"

Harry hadn't read the articles about the Time-Turner, but seeing Hermione's reaction, he roughly knew the seriousness of the matter, so he pressed her for answers.

"Yes—oh—"

Hermione bit her lip, glistening tears streaming down her pale cheeks, and stammered,

"The Ministry of Magic might prosecute me for this. I could be sent to Azkaban, Harry—"

Hermione cried helplessly.

Even though he had considered the consequences as severely as possible, Harry was still startled when he heard what Hermione said.

“You’re kidding, Hermione—” Harry said nervously, “How could it be that serious?”

"Think about what we've done tonight, Harry. Isn't that enough to show you just how powerful the Time-Turner is? To prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, all the laws related to the Time-Turner are the strictest!"

Hermione cried out in despair.

"I can't imagine what my parents' expressions will be when the school notifies them that I've been locked up in the wizarding prison!"

Hermione is going to be locked up in Azkaban. It's absolutely horrible. Harry would rather go back to spar with that old spider named Aragog than have this happen.

Harry's first thought was of Dumbledore.

Using the Time-Turner to find Peter was Professor Dumbledore's idea; he certainly wouldn't stand idly by. But then he thought that if breaking a Time-Turner was truly an unforgivable sin, then Dumbledore would definitely take all the blame upon himself. Harry would rather go to Azkaban himself than involve Dumbledore.

"correct!"

Harry, who was looking worried, suddenly exclaimed.

"We can go find Professor Blaine!"

Under Hermione's puzzled gaze, Harry smiled confidently.

"Professor Blaine is very good at fixing things; he might have a way to repair the time converter!"

Chapter 319 Price

2023-06-09

Fudge and the Ministry of Magic officials left in haste, taking Peter Pettigrew and the seriously injured Sirius Black with them.

When Peter learned that the Ministry of Magic was not going to execute him, but instead planned to send him to Azkaban, the already ravaged Peter collapsed to the ground, weeping with joy.

As long as you're alive, there's always hope.

Dumbledore didn't reveal the Ministry of Magic's intentions to Professors McGonagall and the others. He simply told them that, considering the implications, they had to keep the secret for the time being and not reveal the truth about Sirius's innocence. Of course, he also promised that this period wouldn't be long, and that the truth would be revealed in a week at most.

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, even Harry, who had reacted most strongly, had no choice but to back down, agree to Dumbledore's request, and obediently go back to bed to rest.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night. The Ministry of Magic needs to issue a brief statement before 8 a.m. tomorrow. Even Barty Crouch, who is currently on a trip to Germany, has received a notification from the Ministry that he needs to return home immediately to participate in an emergency meeting.

The Daily Prophet, sensing the danger, dispatched all its reporters. Some were tasked with getting information from the unusually dense and secretive high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic, while others rushed into Hogsmeade, knocking on doors to try and glean more details from the villagers.

At Hogwarts, apart from Professor Flitwick staying behind to help Madam Pomfrey take care of Hagrid and Snape, everyone else gradually left to return to their own dormitories to rest.

Tap-tap--

There was a knock on the door. Amosta, who had been resting on the sofa with her feet on the coffee table and her eyes closed, opened her eyes.

Dumbledore's expression showed no sign of distress. After receiving permission, he walked in with a smile, sat on the sofa, and took a few sips of the hot tea that Amostella had made for him.

"Ah, what a wonderful drink!"

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Although I personally prefer sweet things, I have to admit that this bitter drink isn't so bad, oh, it even has a bit of an energizing effect!"

Amostah chuckled, leaning back on the sofa, the rising steam from his teacup obscuring his expression.

“Remus had a tough time tonight. Back in Hogsmeade, Tonks already sent him to St. Mungo's. Given his condition, I'm afraid you'll have to find a different Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the second semester—”

Dumbledore's expression immediately soured, and he sighed,

“Every summer I have to face this troubling problem, but this year is particularly bad. Amosta, would you be willing to consider taking on the role of professor for this course for a period of time?”

This is a redundant question; Dumbledore knows perfectly well what kind of answer he will receive.

The chat lasted for about twenty minutes. Amosta mentioned Mrs. Burns's little scheme to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore's smiling expression, which didn't seem worried at all, still made Amosta a little strange.

"Aren't you worried that I'll change my mind and take this opportunity to leave Hogwarts for a better job at the Ministry of Magic?"

"Oh, about that--"

Dumbledore smiled without any hesitation.

"Yes, I know you won't choose the Ministry of Magic. How should I put it? I think we're all wizards who are very good at intrigue and trickery, but for various reasons, we don't really like using intrigue and trickery to solve problems. But if we work in the Ministry, it will be very difficult to avoid that—"

At the beginning of the conversation, the atmosphere between the two leading wizards of the time was not very enthusiastic, and the reason is not hard to guess.

Both are powerful wizards with strong personal styles. When dealing with a matter, although they may pursue the same result, their methods may be very different, and conflicts are bound to arise unless one of them chooses to compromise.

Amosta was apprehensive at the beginning of the conversation.

Previously, he was willing to return to Hogwarts because he saw a certain sincerity in Dumbledore's attitude, namely that he would not easily interfere with what he wanted to do or how he did it.

But tonight's events have a wide-ranging impact. Amosta wasn't sure if Dumbledore could 'stay true to his principles,' but it now seems that Dumbledore is determined to keep him at Hogwarts, even at the cost of changing some of his principles.

Once this was confirmed, the awkward atmosphere between the two finally disappeared, and the conversation gradually became more harmonious.

"--The Whomping Willow by the playground, I learned from Harry that it was a secret passage that Filch hadn't discovered. Following that passage, I arrived at the Shrieking Shack. That night, it was freezing cold, and to avoid freezing to death, Sirius left his usual cave and took shelter in the hut from the heavy snow--"

"A strange coincidence—"

Dumbledore nodded in admiration.

"Thanks to this coincidence, you found Sirius, figured out the truth, and stopped us from going down the wrong path."

Speaking of this, Dumbledore sighed again.

"This incident proves once again that I always make mistakes on crucial matters. I don't want to make excuses for myself, Amosta, but I did feel that Sirius's betrayal of the Potters was suspicious back then. However, their deaths blinded me, and I didn't have a proper talk with Sirius. This tragedy could have been avoided, and now, because of Peter, so many people have been hurt, including a young wizard—"

Leaving aside the others, Malfoy was indeed quite unlucky, being controlled by Peter with the Imperius Curse for so long. In a way, this could be considered an oversight by Dumbledore and Amosta.

"About Draco--"

Amosta pondered for a moment.

“I’ll find a chance to talk to Lucius. I can foresee that he’ll probably be furious about what happened to Draco, but I think he’ll keep quiet since I helped him out of a problem.”

Dumbledore shook his head, his face full of guilt. Amosta knew that what Dumbledore cared about was not Lucius Malfoy's revenge in a fit of rage, but Draco himself.

"The result is good, isn't it, Principal? We can't be perfect in every aspect—"

Amosta was touched by Dumbledore's remorseful expression and offered him words of comfort.

"Yes, that's true. Although we paid a price, we've at least corrected the mistakes we made—"

Dumbledore took a deep breath, suppressing his dejection.

"I also have some good news to share with you, Amosta—"

Dumbledore's aged face relaxed, and his eyes regained their brightness.

Do you remember what I've been working so hard for all this time?

"Voldemort's Horcruxes?" Amostella's eyes narrowed slightly. "You found that house-elf—"

"Under an abandoned bridge in London—"

Dumbledore's beard trembled, his tone tinged with relief, "When I found it, the poor little creature was nearly dead, confused and disoriented, but thankfully, I still managed to glean some extremely valuable clues from its memories—"

Amostella had already destroyed two of Voldemort's Horcruxes and could no longer remain uninvolved. Therefore, Dumbledore didn't choose to keep him in suspense and readily stated...

"Like that crown, it's also an item left behind by the founder of Hogwarts, and Tom is fascinated by these things!"

Well--

Amosta's expression subtly changed as he gazed at the engrossed Dumbledore.

"There are two items in total. One belongs to Hufflepuff, a gold cup, while the other is of greater significance to Tom. It is a relic of Salazar Slytherin, an exquisite pendant jewelry box!"

Dumbledore took out his wand and waved it intently in front of him. Wisps of silver mist rose from the tip of the elder wand and gathered in mid-air to form the shapes of a golden cup and a locket.

After doing all this, Dumbledore looked at Amostella, expecting to see a surprised expression on his face, but Amostella's strange expression left him somewhat puzzled.