The Return to Hogwarts

"But Amosta Blaine."

Principal Dippet pointed out incisively,

“I don’t deny that this young man is very powerful, Albus. Given time, he may indeed be able to reach the heights you once reached. But you know very well that if he were to take the lead, the wizarding world would be plunged into a brutal war.”

After a long silence, Dumbledore sighed inexplicably.

"It's always been inevitable."

Chapter 324 Good thing

2023-06-13

Eight in the morning.

At this time of day, it would normally be the peak time for young wizards and faculty to go down to the Great Hall for lunch, but yesterday's intense and exciting Quidditch match kept most of the young wizards from all four houses awake, especially Gryffindor, who spent almost the entire night celebrating that their house had retained its qualification to compete for the championship.

The faculty and staff were also exhausted by what happened in the latter half of last night. On this morning of torrential rain, even the usually diligent professors were catching up on sleep in their dormitories.

Mrs. Pomfrey, who had been busy for most of the night, was also resting in her room. Harry, who couldn't sleep, sneaked into Ron's hospital room early in the morning. After seeing a face that looked fairly well, the two little ones knocked on Hermione's door again.

Hermione, however, did not look so well. She leaned against the pillow, her usually fluffy hair even more disheveled than usual, and her eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn't slept all night.

"You are simply unreasonable!"

When Ron saw the large book spread out on Hermione's lap, his cheeks puffed up in surprise. His head was wrapped in layers of bandages.

"After everything that's happened, you still have the mind to read a book?"

Late last night, everyone involved in the duel with the werewolves was notified that Peter had been arrested and Sirius Black was now under the Ministry of Magic's custody. Everyone must keep this a secret until the Wizengamor trial concludes.

But Ron, who hadn't participated in the time travel, didn't know the details of Peter's arrest. When Harry explained it to him at lightning speed, Ron's puffed-up cheeks deflated, but his mouth opened wide.

"I can't believe I got something so interesting wrong. Oh, damn it, you should have woken me up. Time travel. Good heavens, how many wizards get to experience this in their lifetime?"

"interesting?"

Harry gave a forced smile.

“If you saw Hagrid’s spider friends in the Forbidden Forest, Ron, I bet you wouldn’t say that. I would never let a single spider near me in my life.”

Now they all know why, after everything that happened last night, Hermione didn't stay in bed and rest, but instead took advantage of Harry's Invisibility Cloak to make a special trip to the library.

"I can't imagine it!"

Hermione finally reacted; she cupped her face in her hands.

"How would my parents feel if they knew I was going to face prosecution by the Ministry of Magic, or even be imprisoned in a wizarding jail!"

The voice, breaking down, was choked with sobs.

"I've consulted many laws. The Time-Turner is a magical item strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. If I can't provide a reasonable explanation for its damage, the Ministry of Magic will definitely not let me off the hook!"

"But--"

Upon hearing that Hermione might be thrown in jail for messing with the magical hourglass, Ron no longer regretted missing the second half of the wondrous adventure. He exclaimed in astonishment,

“You’re doing this on Dumbledore’s orders, aren’t you? He—I mean, he certainly won’t just stand by and watch!”

"But the problem is—"

Harry had clearly already considered this problem, he said with a sigh.

"Although we received his reminder, we can't bring ourselves to say it out loud, can we? I mean, we probably broke a serious law, but how are you going to tell the Ministry of Magic about this? Of all the uses of the Time-Turner, catching criminals certainly isn't one of them, is it?"

Ron frowned, deep in thought.

"Perhaps I can write a letter to my father. You know he has many acquaintances in the ministry, and maybe he can give us some good advice. Of course, the premise is that this thing called a converter is not particularly valuable."

Just as the three little ones were frowning over the damage to the time converter, a conversation suddenly coming from the school hospital lobby outside made them shut up.

"Just a few minutes, I'm just checking on everyone, Ms. Pomfrey—"

“They are in good condition, Professor Blaine,”

Immediately, Mrs. Pomfrey's annoyed voice rang out.

"All they need right now is to be undisturbed and get some rest, just like I do!"

"It's Professor Blaine!"

Harry jumped up from Hermione's bedside in a flash, excitedly saying,

"Like I said last night, Hermione, Professor Blaine is very good at fixing things. If he can help you out, that would be great!"

Professor Blaine was able to keep Ron's broken wand afloat for a while longer, and he also restored Harry's Nimbus 2000, which had been shattered into pieces by the Whomping Willow, to its original state. Although it could no longer fly, it was still enough to give Quidditch beginners a taste of flight.

“That’s a good idea.” Ron nodded emphatically. “It seems like there’s nothing he can’t do.”

Hermione couldn't care less about her anxiety at this moment. She threw off the covers, jumped off the bed, and rushed to the door to open it.

In the hall, Professor Blaine, who was arguing with Madam Pomfrey about how he had foreseen the commotion before the door even opened, turned to Hermione, who was panting, and gave her a gentle smile.

"You don't look well. Did you have a nightmare?"

To be honest, Harry harbored some resentment towards Professor Blaine, because he had known the truth about his parents' murder long before Christmas, but Blaine hadn't revealed a single word to him. However, he soon forgot Dumbledore's instructions and blurted out everything that had happened in the Forbidden Forest.

Amos listened quietly to the thrilling stories until he finished, then gave Harry an approving smile.

“Well done, all three of you. Especially you, Harry, your parents will be so proud of you. You and Hermione caught that traitor Peter together, which is no less avenging your parents.”

Harry grinned, but then his face darkened with anxiety.

"Professor, Professor Lupin got lost in the Forbidden Forest. Professor Dumbledore told us he would be alright, but we have no idea where he is!"

"Oh, about this--"

Seeing that the three little ones were in relatively stable condition, he straightened his robe and stood up from the stool.

"Don't worry, Professor Lupin is currently receiving treatment at St. Mungo's and his condition is relatively stable. The only problem is that he probably won't be able to teach your Defense Against the Dark Arts class anymore."

However, this is also a good thing for him. If he were to actually finish the second half of the year, I can't guarantee he could be cured of his cough. I mean, something even more serious might happen to him.

Seeing that Professor Blaine intended to leave, Harry said nothing more and gave Hermione his precious time.

"Is that so, Professor—"

Hermione listened carefully to the sounds at the door, and after confirming that no one had suddenly barged in, she turned her head and stroked the dull time-tamper under her pillow. Biting her lip, she handed it to Professor Blaine.

"Professor, this time converter... I don't know why, but it suddenly cracked after last night and stopped working—"

Hermione said, her shoulders twitching.

"I'm afraid I've gotten myself into big trouble. The Ministry of Magic has very strict control over the Time-Turner, and they'll definitely investigate thoroughly to find out what I did with it."

"Can you fix it, Professor Blaine?"

Harry couldn't help but interrupt as he watched Professor Blaine take the converter from Hermione and play with it in front of him.

"I'll find a way to solve this problem."

Professor Blaine gave a strange answer. He didn't tell them whether he had the ability to repair the time converter or not, only that he could solve the problem. In addition, he took the broken time converter with him.

However, with Professor Blaine's assurance, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief, seemingly not at all worried that Blaine might not be able to keep his promise.

"Speaking of which, Professor Lupin is actually a werewolf—"

Ron gasped and shivered.

"This is terrible. Dumbledore always does these unexpected things."

"He's safe, Ron—"

Harry retorted,

"Since all the professors know Professor Lupin's identity, that's enough to prove he's harmless. Like Sirius Black, he's a friend of my parents, and he never intended to harm us—"

"I know--"

Ron muttered,

"But you all saw what a werewolf looks like when he goes berserk. Honestly, I think Professor Blaine is right; leaving is a good thing for everyone."

Chapter 325 Waves

2023-06-13

squeak

Amidst the creaking and twisting of the shaky door hinges, Amosta pushed open the door to another ward.

In the dimly lit room, on a hospital bed by the window, Snape was leaning against the headboard, staring blankly at the world outside, shrouded in a heavy rain. When he heard the door open, he turned his head to look.

When faced with the gaze fixed upon him by those dark, unfathomable eyes, as still as a deep pool, Amosta sighed inwardly.

As the door closed and Amosta walked to the bedside, Snape had already looked away, remaining silent and gazing blankly out the window.

Perhaps due to the humidity, the atmosphere in the room felt slightly stuffy.

Amosta didn't rush to break the silence in the ward, but simply stayed by the side of this man whose heart was frozen, watching the rain.

Perhaps the evil in this world is too intense, and the torrential rain that washes over the world has been falling for a long time without showing any signs of weakness. Moreover, those monotonous splashing sounds are not so healing. After listening to them for a long time, they instead bring a sense of weariness that makes one feel that everything has come to an end.

“When Lucius visited you at Hogwarts last time, I brought Draco to your office. That's when you discovered that Draco was being controlled, right?”