The Return to Hogwarts

"I'll keep an eye on Peter Pettigrew's matter—"

Chapter 338 Future Plans

2023-06-20

Amosta slowly walked down the stairs along the path she had come from, her mind still preoccupied with the Malfoy family. The couple didn't have a good reputation in the wizarding world. After their former master stepped down, Lucius spent a large sum of money to evade legal punishment, a fact that was no secret among the upper echelons of the wizarding world.

They are staunch supporters of the pure-blood supremacy theory, and one can imagine what choices they would make if their former masters were to 'return in triumph'.

Unfortunately, that notebook will create an unhealable rift between the master and servant.

Lucius Malfoy was a smart man; he probably realized that the notebook was not simple. His contact with him was an attempt to leave Draco a way out, after all, Voldemort was quite adept at eliminating any threat.

Amosta doesn't mind showing some goodwill to the Malfoy family; he also needs to plant a seed among the Death Eaters.

Reaching the second floor, Amosta glanced at the sign on the wall that read 'Biological Damage Department' before turning and walking into the corridor.

The atmosphere here was much more somber. Most of the wards were filled with cries of pain, and therapists in green coats hurried back and forth, each with an anxious expression on their face.

Amosta's gaze swept over the cards framed in copper hanging by the door. When he reached the back of the corridor, he found a sign that read "Danger." Remus Lupin Ward: Severe Bites - Attending Physician: Hiberkrat Smesik; Trainee Therapist: Augustus Pai.

Amosta had assumed there would be Aurors guarding the room, but in reality, Remus was the only one there.

Compared to Draco's ward, this was much more normal. There were three beds in the small room, but in reality, only Remus Lupin slept in the innermost bed by the window. The other two were empty, with a neatly folded woman's nightgown on the headboard of the middle bed.

Remus was covered in blood-stained bandages from head to toe, with only his eyes showing as he stared at the Daily Prophet on his lap, making him look like a newly unearthed mummy.

Good morning, Amosta—

Remus was swinging his arm like he was swinging a stick, and he sounded relaxed.

"I was just thinking yesterday about when you'd have time to come and see me. After all, you're very popular right now."

“I personally don’t want to cause a commotion wherever I go, so I have to put on a different persona when I need to appear in public.”

Amosta smiled and strode over to Remus's bedside. He noticed a half-eaten fruit basket on the bedside table.

"Oh!"

Amosta raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“I just came down from Draco’s hospital room and realized that I should probably buy two bouquets of flowers. No wonder Draco’s mother didn’t look too good when she saw me.”

"I don't think it's because you forgot to bring flowers—"

Remus chuckled.

A few jokes eased the faint melancholy in the room. Amosta didn't sit down, but stood in front of Remus's bedside and greeted him.

"So—how are you feeling, Remus?"

“It couldn’t get any worse, could it?” Remus shrugged, but this overly 'bold' movement aggravated his wounds, causing the bandages clinging to his cheeks to wrinkle.

“I’m already a werewolf, I can’t transform again—the only problem is that the concentration of wolfsbane in my wounds is too high, affecting their healing. I now need to take a small dose of wolfsbane every day to control the wolfsbane in my body, which makes me always lethargic and listless. The healer at St. Mungo’s told me that this condition may continue for some time—”

"This is terrible--"

Amosta frowned slightly and scratched his head in distress.

"What about the Defense Against the Dark Arts class? The children at school are waiting for you to recover."

"Amosta--"

The gauze covered Remus's expression, but Amosta was certain that Remus was giving a helpless, bitter smile.

"You and I both know that it's impossible for me to go back to teaching at that school, isn't it?"

"Don't mind it, it was just a joke--"

Amosta chuckled.

Indeed, it's impossible for Remus to return to teach at Hogwarts; everyone understands that. The main reason he offered Dumbledore the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was to help capture Sirius Black. But now that Sirius Black has been proven innocent and Peter has been brought under control, it's time for him to retire gracefully.

Admittedly, being a professor at Hogwarts is a job that can provide him with a respectable life. However, Remus knows that he cannot do it for long. His own danger cannot be ignored, and if one day the parents of young wizards find out about his identity, it will certainly bring great controversy to Hogwarts and Dumbledore.

Even Amosta will be implicated by him.

Just imagine, the Hogwarts Head of Student Safety Office, Merlin First Class Medalist, Wizengamot Attendant Wizard, Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Magic, and hero who wiped out the Greyback werewolf gang, actually ignored the werewolves around him. What would the wizarding world think if this got out?

Not to mention, the reality is that he can't leave St. Mungo anytime soon.

"That's a good thing, Remus—"

It was clear that Remus was inevitably a little disappointed, so Amosta said calmly,

"At least you're safe now. Think about Gilderoy Lockhart; his fate was much worse than yours."

Remus paused for a moment, then realized what he meant.

"You mean, the rumor that Voldemort cursed the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's position isn't true?"

Amosta nodded.

“A very powerful curse, not easy to defend against.” He noticed Remus’s confusion and added, “Last year I used a method to transfer the negative effects of the curse away.”

Remus nodded, his gloom dissipating somewhat. However, he suddenly remembered that Amosta had advised him to apply to the professor for this course last summer, but it wasn't like this at all. Sure enough, he still harbored resentment towards Dumbledore for revealing his identity as the Golden Viper, and was therefore trying to take this opportunity to get back at him.

Remus's lips twitched. He seemed to have told Amostella, "You're a good person." Indeed, compared to Golden Viper, he was still too naive.

Amosta could roughly guess what Remus was thinking from his strange look, but he was thick-skinned and didn't show the slightest bit of embarrassment at being caught in his prank.

"Speaking of which, what are your plans for life after you recover?"

This is a distressing and real problem.

Sirius Black is about to be exonerated, Peter will never be able to escape those Dementors for the rest of his life, Harry's safety will no longer be a problem, everything seems perfect, however, his life must go on.

Lymus had been thinking for days while lying in bed, but he still couldn't come up with any ideas. The fact that Greyback and his gang had been wiped out wouldn't erase people's prejudice against those unfortunate souls who didn't become werewolves willingly. Under the sunlight, the magical world still wouldn't have fertile ground for werewolves to survive.

"I have indeed considered this issue."

Remus remained relatively calm. After all, his living environment had been like this for over a decade. The past six months at Hogwarts had felt like a vacation to him, and now that the vacation was over, he had to return to the harsh realities of life.

"I plan to move in with Sirius for a while after I'm discharged from the hospital. I'll try to find a job that accepts werewolves--"

Despite saying that, Remus had no expectations whatsoever, and he sighed as he spoke.

"If no one hires me, I'll just have to go back to my old life, back to the underworld, continuing to trade herbs and potion ingredients. At least the Ministry of Magic has weak control there, and I won't need to go through a bunch of permits—"

Chapter 339 Wandering the Martial World, Trust Comes First

2023-06-20

To be honest, given the dire straits Remus has faced, it's easy to understand why so many werewolves were willing to follow Greyback in committing evil deeds.

Even in the entrance hall of the Ministry of Magic, there is a fountain with a discriminatory style, which shows just how serious the discrimination and oppression of the wizarding community against the half-beasts and intelligent magical creatures in the magical world is.

Many wizards who were accidentally bitten and turned into werewolves initially adhered to their moral principles. However, the bloody reality constantly assaulted their minds and tormented their nerves. Over time, they eventually broke down.

Not everyone has the unwavering conviction that Remus possesses.

"how?"

Amosta and Remus fell silent. Just then, the door to the ward creaked open, and a cheerful voice came from the doorway.

Did I interrupt my colleagues' reunion?

Tonks, with her bright pink hair and radiant smile, pushed open the door and entered. She seemed completely unsurprised by Amosta's appearance, carefully carrying a plate piled high with toasted bread slices, sausages, and pies.

Amosta immediately knew whose pajamas were on the headboard of the middle hospital bed; he had just thought they belonged to a recently discharged patient. He watched as Tonks walked past him and naturally sat on the edge of Remus's bed, his mouth agape in surprise.

Tonks seemed quite adept at this tactic. Completely ignoring her old classmate and rising star Amosta standing to the side, she placed the tray on the bedside table and then put a pillow behind Remus to make him sit up straighter.

"Having bandages on can be quite nice sometimes, it saves you the trouble of tying a napkin—"

Tonks said cheerfully,

"Today's pie has a unique flavor, Remus, it's lentil-filled, would you like to try it?"

"Ahem-"

At this moment, Remus was extremely grateful that his face was covered with layers of bandages; otherwise, he would not have known what Amostella's 'I don't understand, but I am shocked' expression would have caused him to react.

“I’m not that hungry, Nifa, uh, Tonks. You know, I’ve been lying in bed and haven’t been moving much.”

"Okay, then two slices of grilled sausage, please."

"I can't help but say," Tonks said cheerfully, pointing her wand, which had slipped from her sleeve, at the plate. The sizzling sausages, now grilled and greasy, were neatly stacked into a pile of sausage slices. She picked up two slices with her fingers and stuffed them into Remus's mouth without a word.

"actually--"

Amosta's ridiculous expression vanished, and he suddenly said...

"I came in a hurry this morning and didn't have breakfast."

"Turn left from the waiting room on the first floor, go through that red wooden door, and walk fifty feet forward to the restaurant. Amosta, you just donated a large sum of gold to St. Mungo's. I'm sure they'll give you some food once you make your name known."

No, thank you, I'm already full of anger.

Seeing Amosta's sullen expression, Tonks chuckled.

"Just kidding, Amosta—here's some bread."

Although the bread smelled delicious, Amosta found it tasteless. He had felt a little guilty towards Remus, even though he had used the opportunity to make Remus step down from his position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He had watched Remus get seriously injured, but the current situation made all his guilt disappear.