The Return to Hogwarts

Hagrid, whose mind was in a daze due to nervousness, came to his senses. Because of his past experience of being expelled from Hogwarts, he was always particularly nervous about anything that violated the law.

Hagrid swallowed hard and said cautiously,

"Buckbeak is a hippogriff, and it got into some trouble in the Forbidden Forest—oh no, it caused Draco some trouble during class."

"Draco?"

Hagrid's stammering words left Ms. Burns completely bewildered. She frowned and asked, puzzled,

"He's Lucius Malfoy's son. What happened to him?"

Amostella glanced at Hagrid, whose face was flushed red, and then casually said...

"It was a trivial incident. Mr. Malfoy, trying to show off his personality, didn't follow the rules in the Magical Creatures Protection class, which angered a hippogriff named Buckbeak, and as a result, he got a claw wound on his arm."

Noticing Ms. Burns's slightly furrowed brow, Amosta added...

"I recovered that same day; it wasn't a serious injury."

Ms. Burns's furrowed brow relaxed, and after a moment's thought, a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.

"Is Lucius using this as an excuse?"

"The Committee on the Disposal of Dangerous Organisms has filed a formal lawsuit against Buckbeak, and it is highly likely that the innocent little guy will be executed."

Amosta picked up the teacup. The red tea in the cup was crystal clear, and when the surface was still, it looked like a ruby. But Amosta only took a small sip, his expression calm.

"I know this is difficult to handle—"

Ms. Burns remained silent for a moment, while Hagrid's large, bear-like hands clenched tightly, his back drenched in sweat with nervousness.

"As long as—if—if we can let—Little Buck go, I can give up any reward!"

Ms. Burns suddenly stood up from the sofa opposite him. Hagrid thought he had offended her and was about to explain, but Amosta gave him a gesture to calm down.

Ms. Burns strode to the assistant minister's small desk, took a quill from the pen holder, scribbled a few words on the paper, then took out her wand and tapped it. The parchment immediately floated into the air, folded itself into a paper airplane, and whooshed out of the office through the crack in the door.

“I wrote a note to Mokrich, asking him to reassess the seriousness of the matter. I think they probably won’t bother you anymore, Hagrid.”

Ms. Burns returned to the sofa and said kindly.

Is this the end?

Hagrid looked bewildered; this matter had tormented him for over half a year!

"There's one more thing, Amelia—"

While Hagrid was still in a daze, Amosta had already put the matter out of his mind.

"I think you might recall that last summer, a young wizard from Hogwarts applied to the Ministry of Magic for a Time-Turner, which he intended to use for his studies."

After a brief moment of thought, Ms. Burns nodded.

“That’s true. I don’t quite remember the little wizard’s name, but I do remember that it was Minerva who brought the child’s year-end exam results and the professors’ comments to the department to get Cornell’s signature.”

"That time converter is broken."

Amosta pulled out the time converter he had personally broken from his pocket and showed it to Ms. Burns.

"broken?"

This time, Ms. Burns' expression was much more solemn. Time-Turners are strictly controlled magical items, and each one is registered. If one of them breaks down unexpectedly without a legitimate reason, the Ministry of Magic will definitely investigate to the end.

"Yes--"

Amosta nodded.

"The little wizard's name was Hermione Granger—a very bright and hardworking little witch. She couldn't remember exactly how the Time-Turner broke down, but it was probably on the way to escape the werewolves with Harry Potter."

"So, it was Graybuck who broke it?"

Ms. Burns' expression softened.

"Yes, the culprit has been punished."

Amosta remained unfazed, framing someone without batting an eye. If he was indignant, he could ask Graybuck to speak up for him.

"That makes things much easier."

Ms. Burns said,

"Hmm, tell Hermione Granger to write a statement, and have Minerva and you both sign it. After that, I'll give the statement to Connery to sign a disclaimer and return it to the Department of Mysteries. That'll settle things."

Chapter 330 Bah, what bad luck!

2023-06-16

Amelia effortlessly handled the unexpected situation that had been giving Hagrid and Hermione a headache, while also showcasing the full extent of her abilities and the convenience of her power to Amostella.

To be honest, for a brief moment, Amosta really considered whether to get involved with the Ministry of Magic, but he quickly realized that while power is indeed very useful in a stable social order, it is one's own power that truly matters when the social order descends into chaos.

Moreover, once you step into the quagmire of power, it's not so easy to remain untainted, just like Amelia in front of him.

Amelia Bornes has always had a good reputation in the wizarding world and is regarded as an upright wizard. However, even someone like her, in an environment of power struggles, has to find ways to increase her bargaining power if she doesn't want to be kicked out.

"Oh, ho ho, look who this is!"

With one minute to go until eight o'clock, a series of footsteps suddenly came from outside the office door. When Cornelius Fudge, who was leading the way, pushed open his office door and saw Amosta on the sofa, he immediately showed joy and strode over with his arms outstretched.

"Good morning, Minister Fouché, you look great—"

Amosta stood up, gave Fudge a light hug, and said with a smile.

"Yes, because a brilliant young talent helped the Ministry of Magic solve a major problem!"

Connelly winked at Amosta, his expression incredibly friendly. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he slapped his forehead, stepped aside, and introduced the people who had followed him into the office to Amosta.

“Rufus and Dolores, you met them that night, Amosta. These two are Amelia and my right-hand men. Without them, we couldn’t handle this complicated situation!”

Fudge said with a smile.

Amosta noticed a fleeting hint of displeasure in Amelia's eyes, and immediately realized the problem: Fudge was probably just being polite.

Leaving aside Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, whose attitude changed drastically upon their reunion, and who was now sizing him up with a coquettish smile.

Rufus Scrimgeour may not be on Amelia's side. He is the head of the Auror Office, a department under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. However, when Amelia received him, she did not bring this subordinate, who is in charge of the most crucial department of the department. Instead, Rufus followed Fudge around, which could be considered as being sidelined.

Amosta has encountered Rufus three times: the first time was when he sent Rufus to St. Mungo's; the second time was a few nights ago when Rufus threatened to kill him; and the third time is now.

Amosta understood why the Auror office director was so cold towards him.

Judging from Rufus's reaction that night after he used the Fiendfire spell, Rufus was someone who couldn't tolerate any injustice. Moreover, the Aurors had been tracking Greyback for so many years without success, yet they inexplicably fell into his hands. This was practically telling everyone that the Aurors were a bunch of useless trash.

"Ahem, and this one too—"

Fudge's smile was somewhat unnatural, his gaze fixed on the last wizard to enter the office.

"The Director of the International Department of Magical Cooperation, the renowned Barty Crouch, is known to everyone in the British magical world, including you, right, Amos Tower?"

It was full of malice.

From both the order of introductions and the tone of voice, Amosta sensed Fudge's malice towards Barty Crouch.

Barty Crouch, a man in his fifties, was unlike the portly, perpetually eclectic Fudge, who mostly wore a friendly smile. Crouch stood ramrod straight, moved stiffly, and wore a spotless, tailored suit and a perfectly wrinkle-free tie. His short, dark hair was equally impeccably styled, the center parting so straight it looked as if measured with a ruler, and his narrow, toothbrush-shaped mustache appeared to have been trimmed with a sliding ruler as well.

Amosta read indifference, not hostility or disgust, in Crouch's gaze.

That's really interesting.

Now that things have come to this, Barty Crouch couldn't possibly be unaware that the department was preparing to push him to take the blame for Sirius Black, which almost certainly meant that his plans for further promotion had completely fallen through. Normally, Barty Crouch would definitely resent himself, but the expression on his face now could only mean one thing: Fudge hadn't revealed that it was his idea.

As Amosta's mind raced, Barty Crouch stared at him, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

As a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic with a long-standing reputation, Crouch had met countless outstanding young wizards from all walks of life over the years, but each of them seemed more or less at a loss and nervous under his imposing gaze.

Only Amostra Blaine, the Hogwarts Head of Student Safety, who looked to be only in his early twenties, felt no fear when his gaze fell upon those pale purple eyes. Instead, he felt a pang of unease at the sharp glint that flashed in those heterochromatic pupils.

When Connelly first told himself that it was just a young wizard who had killed Graybuck and his large pack of werewolves, he didn't quite believe it, but now he was about 70-80% convinced.

Right now, the person in the worst mood in this room is definitely Barty Crouch.

Twelve years ago, his Death Eater son ruined his hopes of becoming Minister for Magic. After twelve years of diligent work, the wizarding world had gradually forgotten the scandal that happened to him back then. However, unexpectedly, a political achievement from back then has dragged him into the abyss again today.

In the past, Barty Crouch would certainly not have minded exchanging a few pleasantries with this young wizard who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but now, he was in no mood for it at all, so he just gave Amosta a barely perceptible nod with a stern face.

The people in the office right now are all strong contenders for the next Minister of Magic, and since he has already chosen to support Amelia Borns, it is naturally inconvenient to be too friendly with the others. So Amost just gave Old Barty a forced smile and a nod.

The atmosphere in the room was a little awkward, and Fudge seemed somewhat embarrassed. Amelia stepped forward at the opportune moment, smiling as she spoke to Fudge.

“Amosta and I were just talking about what’s going on at school. Connelly, I think the most important thing is for you to convey.”

"Oh, thank you for giving me this honor, Amelia—"

Fudge immediately smiled and told everyone to find seats, then looked kindly at Amosta.

"The Order of Merlin, First Class - We urgently contacted the Medal Evaluation Office under the International Federation of Wizards. It was very difficult, but we still managed to get it done. This is something I mentioned last summer."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

Despite his calm demeanor, Amosta feigned a hint of surprise.

"In addition, after deliberation within the Ministry, it has been decided that you will be invited to serve as the Wizengamot Judge and a senior advisor to the Ministry of Magic. Of course, the bounty on Greyback and his werewolves, plus the bounty originally intended for Sirius Black, will be given to you in total, amounting to 70,000 Galleons!"

This was a real benefit, and Amosta's smile became more genuine.

“We also secured some additional titles for you, Amosta,”