The Return to Hogwarts

Ron pinched his thigh hard, because if he didn't, he probably would have laughed so hard he would have rolled on the ground, while Hermione's shoulders were trembling slightly, and it seemed that she was also having a hard time holding back.

"The Daily Prophet reported this this morning—"

Neville, a few steps away, stood up and flicked the Daily Prophet in his hand.

"The Ministry of Magic has been in his clutches for some time now. The newspapers say they've been interrogating him, probably trying to figure out how he escaped from Azkaban. After all, he was the first to pull it off—"

The gazes from all the houses put a lot of pressure on Harry. He didn't like being stared at like an animal in a zoo, so he quickly walked over to Seamus and the twins who had given him a seat, took the newspaper from Neville's hand and buried himself in it, while Hermione and Ron squeezed to his left and right.

"So, did the newspapers mention how they 'captured' Sirius Black?"

After spending a week at the school hospital, where he had been forced to take various medications every day and had lost his appetite, Ron's appetite returned to normal as soon as he returned to his normal environment. He couldn't wait to stuff his mouth full of pies, and with a feeling of overflowing happiness, he murmured a question.

"--It is said that it was discovered while searching for Greyback in the Forbidden Forest."

Harry's attention was mainly on the picture of Sirius in the center of the newspaper. He had been dressed in prison clothes by the Ministry of Magic again, but the injuries from that night seemed to have almost healed. However, because he had to play along, his much fuller face showed a hint of helplessness.

Fred returned the question to Harry.

“Black is destined to go back to Azkaban, Harry. There’s no need to worry about that anymore. Tell us about your duel with the werewolf. Everyone at school is saying that Malfoy, that good-for-nothing, is finished. They said Greyback bit his mouth. Please, please tell us the truth!”

"almost!"

Ron swallowed the food in his mouth and said with a flushed face that he was about to tell everyone about Malfoy's misfortune, but Hermione kicked his ankle hard under the table, forcing him to shut up.

One after another, Gryffindor students crowded around them. Even the Hufflepuffs next door, and several Ravenclaws across the long table, came over to ask what had happened. Ron initially managed to maintain his moral compass, telling everyone that Professor Lupin, Snape, and Hagrid had rescued them. But five minutes later, he was excitedly telling everyone how he had used a single Object Manipulation Charm to slice off the ears of over a dozen werewolves.

"Can they handle this situation?"

Professor McGonagall, sitting at the faculty table, said with a worried expression,

"Connelly has repeatedly warned against leaking this information beforehand. But that may not be easy, as they are at an age where they love to show off."

"Wow, that's rare!"

On the other side, Snape's thin lips curled into a mocking smile.

"It's rare that we can agree on anything regarding Potter and his empty-headed friend."

“There’s nothing to worry about, Minerva.”

Dumbledore twitched his beard and said with a smile,

"I believe they can keep the secret. By the way, do I need to sign that statement that Amosta asked Miss Granger to provide?"

"Oh, if you'd like, Albus, I think you'd better sign it."

Professor McGonagall, annoyed by Snape's rebuke, said...

Mentioning Amostella, Snape fell silent. After a moment, amidst the now-pleasant sounds of cutlery tapping on plates that had resumed at the table, Snape asked in a muffled voice,

What is he doing now?

"Excuse me, Severus?"

Dumbledore tilted his head and winked playfully. "Who are you asking about?"

Under Snape's cold glance, Dumbledore chuckled.

"If you're asking about Amosta... well, I think he's probably busy dealing with a minor problem right now. I sincerely hope he can be a little more lenient; after all, times have changed, haven't they?"

As dusk settles, a market in East London, filled with restaurants and bars, is already packed with Muggles. These Muggles, dressed in various styles of clothing, wander among the stalls selling Asian barbecue, Latin American kebabs, Mediterranean snacks, and classic British dishes. Most of them are foreigners who have come here because of its reputation.

The Muggles passing by probably couldn't imagine that two very important figures in the wizarding world were right next to them.

On the roadside, in a Chinese-style, retro-decorated tea restaurant, Amosta and Amelia sat facing each other across a wooden table by the window, talking.

Du--

Amosta took a small sip of the bitter tea, then placed the rare British-style purple clay teacup on the wooden table in front of him. The dim indoor light illuminated his face, outlining his gentle smile with a touch of languor.

“Unexpectedly, Amelia—”

Amosta tapped the wooden table with his finger, then pointed to the dimly lit world outside the window.

"As a renowned high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, your understanding of the Muggle world far exceeds my expectations—"

"According to the Muggle government's records, I am a single, middle-aged woman living alone."

Outside of work hours, Amelia sheds her intimidating attire, wearing a light green loose T-shirt and ordinary jeans, looking just like an average Muggle woman.

Amelia looked somewhat melancholy as she watched the various Muggle youths passing by the window.

“You grew up in the Muggle world, Amosta, how do you view them?”

“Awesome--”

Amosta remained silent for a moment, then looked out the window and said softly.

"yes."

Amelia took a deep breath and then exhaled, her voice as bitter as the tea in her cup.

"Not only in London, but also in Muggle societies in Europe, America and Asia—during my years as the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I have visited other countries' Ministries of Magic several times for exchanges, and their situations are basically the same as ours."

Muggle society is developing rapidly, and what they call 'technology' has drastically changed the lives of Muggles. They have accomplished many incredible things that even wizards cannot do. They can communicate across oceans, destroy a nation with a single weapon, and land on the moon.

As for us wizards, our society hasn't fundamentally changed in the last few centuries—many wizards born in the Muggle world are quickly changed by certain stubborn elements of our world after entering the magical realm. They do integrate into the magical world, but they lose the enviable ambition and broad vision of Muggles—”

Amosta lowered his eyes, staring silently at the shimmering tea liquid in the teacup.

The wizarding world needs change, otherwise sooner or later the dignity and confidence of wizards will be crushed under the 'technological iron heel' of Muggles. This is a consensus among some insightful people in the wizarding world, but no one can say for sure where to start.

Chapter 343 Change

2023-06-22

Dumbledore had always hoped that Hogwarts could accommodate more Muggle-born wizards, and that these young wizards, after entering the magical world, could have a subtle but profound influence on the stagnant magical community, bringing about change in a peaceful manner. This was his idea.

But as Amelia said, there are some extremely stubborn and corrosive things hidden in the air of the wizarding world, and most of the Muggle children who want to live in the wizarding world will be assimilated by them.

Amosta knew very well that Dumbledore's idea was doomed to fail because he underestimated the potential of Muggles and the speed at which the Muggle world was progressing.

With his 'God's-eye view,' Amosta knew very well that when the 21st century arrived and Muggle society fully entered the information age, the flexibility of magic would be further compressed. It might not even take a hundred years for wizards to be crushed by Muggles in every aspect.

"--The Law of Wizardry Secrecy, which has been in effect for three hundred years, is a sturdy cage. Everyone thinks that Muggles live in the cage, but the reality is that wizards are imprisoned in the cage, while Muggle society, undisturbed by wizards, unleashes incredible potential--"

Looking at Amelia, who was listening attentively, Amosta said calmly,

“I’ll bet my life on you, Amelia, that there are definitely more than one Muggle government secretly using technology to research weapons that can counter magic. If they ever succeed, have you ever been to a Muggle zoo? That will be our fate.”

Animals in the zoo.

Amelia closed her eyes, imagining the scene Amosta had described, and felt a chill run down her spine.

Amelia was a visionary high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, not one of those mediocre low-level wizards in the magical world. She knew that Amostall was not exaggerating.

"Change is imperative."

Amelia gently rubbed her temples and said wearily.

"Someone tried this before, but it failed."

Amelia's brow furrowed and her expression turned horrified as Amostella spoke in a flat tone.

"you mean"

"Voldemort publicly claimed that he wanted to restore the glory of the pure-blood family, but those who have witnessed the turbulent twenty years and know him know that what he seeks is a completely chaotic magical world and Muggle society. He wants dictatorship, not change."

It's over!

The teacup in front of Amelia was suddenly knocked over, and tea mixed with tea leaves splashed onto the wooden table.

Pale-faced Amelia tried to lift the teacup, but her trembling hands and feet wouldn't obey her commands, and she failed shamefully several times.

Seeing this, the waitress in the cheongsam hurriedly stepped over to tidy up, but after the young man opposite the gray-haired lady glanced at her with a nonchalant look, she was immediately rooted to the spot and unable to move.

"We can handle it ourselves--"

A deep, magnetic voice came from behind her, and the startled woman nodded hurriedly, quickly averting her gaze.

"You actually-"

Amostella tapped the table lightly, and the spilled tea on the table and bluestone floor disappeared quietly. Amelia, finally recovering, didn't reprimand Amostella for openly using magic in front of Muggles. She patted her chest and stared at Amostella in disbelief. However, when she saw the calm face and unfathomable eyes of the young man in front of her, she couldn't finish her question.

Amelia realized that the exceptionally talented young wizard sitting before her would, in the future—no, already was—leave an indelible mark on the history of magic.

This is a wizard as outstanding as Albus; such a wizard would not be frightened by a 'mere' mysterious person.

Amostella didn't care what kind of uproar his use of the word 'Voldemort' had stirred in Amelia's heart. Noticing that her emotions had stabilized slightly, Amostella said calmly,

"I'm referring to Gettler Grindelwald, whom people used to call the Dark Lord. He was a wizard with foresight and a unique vision. He foresaw that if wizards remained immersed in the glory of the pre-medieval era, they would eventually be driven to the brink by Muggles. So, he wanted to launch a revolution while the Muggles were still powerless to resist."

But he failed.

After a brief silence, Amelia said, "Dumbledore stopped him."

"Even if Dumbledore hadn't stopped him, he would have failed because he had gone down the wrong path."

Amosta criticized without reservation,

"The so-called deep-rooted problems are hard to reverse. The wizards' unwillingness to face the rapid development of Muggles is not purely because wizards admire tradition, nor because of their proud self-esteem, but because once the change begins, it will affect the interests of pure-blood wizarding families."

For centuries, these traditional wizarding families have dominated the magical world like towering trees. They control every aspect of ordinary wizards' lives, the Ministry of Magic, public opinion, and even Hogwarts. War is inevitable, but not like Grindelwald's war against the Muggle world.

Amelia brought up this topic to subtly reveal her future governing goals. She believed that the word 'change' was incredibly attractive to a young wizard like Amosta, who possessed extraordinary magical power and was also a Muggle. However, she never expected that she herself would be drawn into Amosta's influence.