The Return to Hogwarts

"It was the Ministry of Magic that ordered Tonks to stay behind—"

Remus, finally able to speak, couldn't wait to finish.

“I know the truth about Sirius and Peter, but the department doesn't want to expose it right now. So, they've simply left Tonks to watch over me. Besides, the Greyback incident has put werewolves in the spotlight, and many residents who have been harmed by werewolves have come forward. And I happen to be an uncontrollable werewolf—”

"You haven't hurt anyone, Remus!"

Tonks interrupted Remus's explanation with displeasure.

"The ministry assigned me here to protect you, not to monitor you."

A ray of sunlight streamed through the glass window and fell directly onto Tonks's heart-shaped, fair face. She stared with her dark, bright eyes at Remus, whose gaze was constantly shifting.

“In fact, Remus, I don’t think you should be bothered by your werewolf identity. Not everyone cares about that. To be honest, I think you’re very brave. If I had gone through what you’ve gone through, I’d probably be in Azkaban by now.”

The room fell silent. Tonks seemed to be waiting for Remus to give some kind of response, but Remus suddenly became interested in a sparrow perched on the window, chirping with its neck outstretched, and remained silent.

Seeing this, Tonks sighed slightly and stood up. With a heavy heart, she picked up her plate and walked toward the door with her head down, while Amosta quickly jumped aside to make way for her.

"Oh, right--"

The door was half-open, and Tonks seemed to suddenly realize that there was another old classmate in the room. She turned her head, shrugged, and said...

"I don't know how you managed to sneak in without causing a commotion, Amosta, but there's a guy named Anison outside blocking the first-floor waiting room with a notebook, asking around if anyone has seen Amosta Blaine."

With a click, the door closed, leaving only the two of them in the ward once again.

"Tsk tsk--"

Amosta finally dared to assert his presence; he shook his head and clicked his tongue in admiration.

“You’re doomed, Remus. I know Tonks. She seems quirky but she’s persistent and won’t easily give up on her decisions.”

“I think you’ve misunderstood something, Amosta—”

Remus finally looked away, trying to hide his dejection, but there was an undeniable heaviness in his voice.

"These past few days, it's just been Tonks and me in this ward. To pass the time, I told her about the ridiculous things I did when I was at Hogwarts with Harry's father, Sirius Black, and that traitor Peter, and how I survived afterward. Tonks is a very kind girl; she has compassion for me, that's all."

"Of course that's true—"

Amusta's jewel-like, pale purple eyes held a hint of a smile.

"I didn't say anything, did I?"

Remus gasped, suddenly realizing he had fallen into Amosta's trap again. He feigned composure and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, what is the Ministry of Magic planning to do with Sirius and Peter?"

Remus's topic shifted somewhat abruptly. Amosta knew his inner turmoil, and he genuinely believed that Tonks needed to think things through, so he went along with it.

"--The Greyback affair has boosted the Ministry of Magic's reputation to new heights. In two days, the Ministry will first announce that they have captured the fugitive Sirius Black and are currently interrogating him about how he escaped Azkaban. After that, they will tell the public that they have learned some crucial information from Sirius, which the Ministry is verifying. Finally, they will put Peter out for trial. It will probably take another two weeks."

Remus nodded, putting aside his worries about Sirius. Just as he was about to ask Amosta about Harry's situation, he saw Amosta's hand go into his pocket, fumbling for something. A moment later, a money pouch appeared in Amosta's hand.

"If you're asking me to pay for my treatment, you don't need to, Amosta—"

Remus smiled.

"Tonks told me that the Ministry of Magic has already paid my medical bills."

pat!

Amosta threw the money bag directly onto Remus's lap. Feeling the heavy weight, Remus, who had been crying out in pain, stopped and stared at Amosta in confusion.

"I think you haven't forgotten the contract we signed, have you?"

contract?

Remus paused for a moment, and then something suddenly popped into his mind.

Last summer, he did indeed sign a magical contract with Amos Tower. At the time, they agreed to cooperate in capturing Sirius Black. If successful, he would split the Ministry of Magic's bounty 20/80. So, this is...

“Fudge is a man of his word. He sent me the bounty along with Greyback’s. As you know, Greyback’s portion was donated to Hogwarts and St. Mungo’s, while Sirius’s reward went to both of us, so…”

Remus stared blankly at the money pouch lying on his lap, while Amosta smiled and said...

“Mr. Golden Viper never goes back on his word, Remus, this ten thousand Galleons is yours.”

Chapter 340: Bad Luck

2023-06-21

While the rising star Amosta was busy dealing with a constant stream of invitations to banquets and seminars in the wizarding world, life wasn't so easy for Harry, Hermione, and Ron at school.

Although all three of them claimed that they had fully recovered, Mrs. Pomfrey was stubborn and determined to keep them in the school hospital for observation. Every day, she forced them to drink a lot of strange medicines, and every now and then, she would pry open their eyelids to carefully observe whether there were any unsettling changes in their pupils.

Finally, a week after the werewolf incident, as the weekend arrived again, Harry, eager to be back with his classmates, couldn't wait any longer.

“I swear on my life, Mrs. Pomfrey, none of the three of us have been bitten by a werewolf!”

"That's hard to say!"

Madam Pomfrey deftly grabbed Harry's eyelids, shining the light from her wand into his emerald eyes, and said with obvious displeasure,

"You probably don't have a good idea how many wounds you three had when you were carried back. Of course, there were no bite marks, but research shows that werewolf claws can also cause disease. If we can't completely rule out that possibility, letting you go back would be risky. Imagine going berserk in the common room or classroom. Hiss."

The thought of this possibility sent a shiver down Madam Pomfrey's spine. She released Harry's eyelids, grabbed Hermione who was trying to dodge, and did the same to her eyelids.

"But--"

Ron, who was in line, pointed it out sharply.

“Snape and Hagrid went back a long time ago, didn’t they? I mean, they were seriously injured too. Why did you let them go but leave us here!”

“Oh, you know, Mr. Weasley—”

Madam Pomfrey gently pried open Hermione's other eyelid and said casually,

"Professor Snape is an expert in potions, and most people who are good at potions are also skilled at healing. He is capable of figuring out for himself if there are any bad changes in his body. As for Hagrid, yes, he was indeed bitten by a werewolf, but Dumbledore assured him that his special bloodline would provide him with great resistance to that terrible virus."

"Special bloodline?"

Harry, who was rubbing his eyes, suddenly stopped and stared at Madam Pomfrey, who was beginning to examine Ron.

Does Hagrid have any special bloodline?

"Please don't disturb my work, Mr. Potter."

Mrs. Pomfrey said something in a daze, perhaps because Ron's questioning had upset her, so she treated Ron a little roughly, making him hiss and gasp in pain.

“But, Mrs. Pomfrey—”

Hermione, her eyes red and pitiful, said...

“We’ve already fallen behind by a week, and Professor McGonagall certainly doesn’t want to see us fail every subject on the final exams.”

They ultimately failed to persuade Mrs. Pomfrey to let them leave, but she agreed to ask Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall for permission during lunch.

To prevent any potential danger to the three of them, Mrs. Pomfrey arranged separate rooms for each of them and strictly forbade them from meeting with any of the young wizards outside. Even the three of them were only allowed to gather together during check-ups.

However, because of Harry's Invisibility Cloak, these rules were practically meaningless to them.

Half an hour later, Harry and Ron reunited in Hermione's hospital room. She was studying on the wooden cabinet by her bedside, ignoring Harry and Ron's arrival.

Harry and Ron didn't mind enjoying a relaxing break from their demanding coursework, but being confined to the school hospital for a week without any contact with anyone outside felt no different from being in prison.

"I thought we were going to be praised—"

Ron stared blankly at the cold ceiling, his face utterly lifeless.

"But in the end, the school treated heroes like wizards treated ghouls, locking them up in a small, enclosed space?"

Harry was also dejected. The Daily Prophet had been reporting mainly on Professor Blaine for the past few days, without mentioning Peter or Sirius Black at all.

"Objectively speaking--"

Hermione, without even looking up, scribbled rapidly on the parchment with her quill, and said...

"We didn't really make any difference that night, did we?"

"Are you crazy?!"

Ron puffed out his cheeks in surprise, and even Harry stared at Hermione in bewilderment, both of them thinking she was a little out of her mind because she couldn't attend class.

“Think about it—” Hermione said calmly.

"We didn't save Sirius. It was Hagrid, Professor Remus, Professor Snape, and those centaurs who repelled Greyback. Of course, we captured Peter, but you have to understand that this can't be told to anyone. After all, we didn't do it the proper way. I mean, we used the Time-Turner."

Harry and Ron looked at each other, and for a moment, they really couldn't refute Hermione's point of view.

"but--"

After a while, Ron finally came up with a good reason, and he frowned as he retorted,

"Hagrid, Professor Lupin, and Snape—they all entered the Forbidden Forest because of us, didn't they? If we hadn't broken the rules, Sirius would definitely have died in Ban Peter's scheme."

Harry nodded in agreement, but then he remembered that the reason the three of them ran into the Forbidden Forest that night was because they accidentally found Scabbers at the door of the common room. However, when they went back in time using the Time-Turner, according to the Marauder's Map, Scabbers should have been lingering on the edge of the Forbidden Forest at that point in time. In other words, the 'Scabbers' who seduced them was probably a fake.

Ron didn't go on the time travel with him and Hermione, so he didn't know the details, but with Hermione's sharp mind, she would definitely realize that something was wrong.

Hermione sighed but didn't say anything more; she was still worried about the time-tamper.

Professor Blaine had taken the broken time-twister from her, saying he would fix it for her, but he hasn't returned to school in the past week.

"what is that?"