The Return to Hogwarts

Many years passed in Bana's mind, but not a second was wasted before he made up his mind and gave the command in a calm voice.

"Mr. Barna, please leave here first, and we'll take care of the rest!"

Everything that was happening before their eyes proved Mr. Bana's earlier words. The henchman fairies were filled with shock and anger, and Jingo and Ladi charged toward Amosta with sharp, angry cries.

boom!

A silver halo suddenly appeared around Amosta. As soon as it appeared, it expanded violently. The halo had the power to resist all attacks. Jingo and Ladi, who were swept by it, as well as the fairies that rushed up with it, were all heavily knocked away!

Barna glanced at it and immediately decided to leave. However, just as it was about to snap its fingers, golden flames suddenly burst forth from the walls of the room on the top floor. This curtain of fire sealed the room completely, but it did not destroy anything inside.

Bana immediately realized that he probably couldn't leave. He stared at the raging fire, which contained the true power to destroy everything. Unconsciously, his aged face changed slightly. He suddenly realized something and turned to order Jingo's subordinates to stop. However, a fairy, propelled to the ceiling by the Resist Magic Ring, sprang up the moment it landed. It faithfully carried out its duty to kill Amosta Blaine, but—

call out!

Amosta raised his right hand to his chest, and the wand that had appeared in his palm at some unknown time tapped slightly. A stone spear that appeared out of thin air ripped through the void with the speed of thunder. Before the unfortunate goblin could take even half a step, it was pierced through the chest by the stone spear that contained a powerful momentum. It was sent flying dozens of feet before being pinned to the ground!

Chapter 412 Price

2023-08-10

The fairy, pinned to the ground by the stone spear, stared wide-eyed. It couldn't believe it would die so easily. Its desire for life made its body convulse instinctively, but the trickling blood caused its life force to drain away rapidly. Within seconds, the light in its eyes, along with fear and resentment, vanished completely.

There was a moment of silence in the noisy scene, followed by more than thirty goblins shouting angrily and charging towards Amosta from all directions.

The chaotic spells fell like raindrops on a lake, causing ripples to appear around Amosta's magical barrier.

The leader of the fairies, the old goblin Gerson Barna, who was famous even among wizards, shifted his gaze from the battle to stare blankly at the surging fire curtain around the walls, which seemed to work like magic without harming anything.

Amostah's eyes twitched slightly as he scanned his surroundings. The next second, he raised his right hand, which held the wand, and a yellowish-brown orb of light appeared at the tip of the wand.

The moment the sphere of light was created, it shone brightly, and amidst the dazzling brilliance, a continuous stream of stone spears shot out from it!

The blood made the carpet even more vibrant, and amidst the wailing cries, Death laughed wildly, wielding his scythe to revel in the suffering of the dead. The once lavishly decorated room was instantly reduced to rubble.

A goblin was pinned to the wall by the impact of the stone spear. The originally harmless flames completely lost their gentle disguise upon contact with the goblin's body, turning the goblin into a 'human torch' in an instant. Surprisingly, the goblin was quite courageous. The flames burned away the stone spear that pinned it down, and after falling from the wall, it screamed shrilly as it charged towards Amosta, hoping to perish together with this powerful wizard.

Unfortunately, its perseverance was not enough to change anything; it could only leave charred footprints on the crimson floor.

In the end, the goblin fell thirty feet from Amosta's side, leaving not even ashes behind.

Bana's gaze followed the fairy whose name it couldn't even remember, and a subtle change finally appeared on its aged face.

"Can we talk now?"

Amosta lowered his wand, his calm expression revealing disdain and indifference.

In the blink of an eye, almost all the battle-hardened fairy fighters were killed or wounded. Only Jin Ge and La Di managed to dodge the overwhelming wave of stone spears that had struck their vital points. However, one of them had his shoulder blade pinned down, and the other had his leg pierced by a stone spear. Both of them lay on the ground, barely clinging to life, barely breathing.

Bana stared at the irregular, charred burn marks left on the carpet after the goblin, who had just been consumed by the Fiendfire, finally perished. Upon hearing Amostah's voice, his murky eyes suddenly turned fierce, and his knee-length beard trembled with rage.

It stared intently at the young wizard who stood amidst the corpses of his fellow countrymen, yet remained as calm as if he had stepped on a few ants, his breathing erratic.

Wealth and power seemed to meet and clash at this moment, with power emerging victorious and wealth suffering a crushing defeat.

"Half a century ago, right by the window in this office—"

Finally, the leader of the most powerful fairy clan, Gringotts World Bank Chairman Gerson Barna, his voice terribly hoarse, yet still retaining his composure,

"I witnessed such a fire raging in Paris, and even from dozens of miles away, the destructive power it contained filled me with utter despair—"

The old demon closed its eyes, its nearly lifeless body trembling slightly, as if the fear had transcended time and space, still tormenting its soul.

"If it weren't for Master Lemaître and Mr. Scamander, perhaps Paris would be nothing but scorched earth today."

Half a century ago—

Amosta's expression finally softened, revealing a slightly mocking smile.

“I am not Gettler Grindelwald, Mr. Barner—”

Amosta resumed his steps, slowly leaping past Gerson Bana. As he walked, the curtain of fire on the four walls quickly descended. By the time Amosta stood by the French windows, the tense atmosphere, as if the world was about to collapse, had vanished.

Even late at night, Paris remains brightly lit.

Hailing from the Muggle world, the vibrant neon lights, shining through the magical barrier, illuminated Amost's face, dispelling the murderous intent in his eyes.

"There will be no massacre in Paris tonight—"

Paris won't, but who knows what might happen inside this building?

"In the eyes of fairies, everything has a price."

Bana understood Amosta's meaning. After a slight sigh in its heart, it calmly said,

"How many Galleons would I need to pay if I wanted to quell your anger?"

What an interesting fairy!

Without realizing it, a smile crept onto Amosta's lips.

"That depends on what your purpose was in committing such a foolish crime, Mr. Barna—"

Amostella turned and walked toward his desk, waved his wand, and then leaned into the high-backed chair that appeared behind him.

“Mr. Barna, neither of us wants to be the instigator of restarting the war between wizards and fairies, but I can tell you that I am not afraid to start a war, and whether this terrible outcome will occur will depend on whether you are willing to honestly tell the truth about the deal between you and Ludo Bagman.”

"You knew already?"

There is a way to reach a settlement as long as there is a willingness to talk.

Barna breathed a slight sigh of relief. Dragging its blood-stained robe, it returned to its seat, its gaze fixed calmly on the person across the desk. But it was precisely because of this calmness that it could sense the immense confidence emanating from the young wizard across from it, a confidence backed by formidable strength.

"Albus Dumbledore has found a good successor--"

Regardless of the era, the wizarding headquarters has always been a place of outstanding successors. Since ancient times, these exceptional wizards have led wizards to forge ahead. In contrast, their own people, apart from their expanding wealth, have been losing many precious qualities and talents, such as wisdom, strength, and ambition.

Thinking of this, Barna Gerson's aged body became even more hunched.

“I don’t really like your explanation, Mr. Barna—”

Amosta rested his chin on his interlaced fingers and said calmly,

"But that doesn't matter. What I'm more interested in is what kind of business is going on between you and Ludo Bagman and Cuthbert Mokrich, who are having a great time in the casino a few floors down below?"

The glass that Bana handed to Amosta contained a clear, light green liquid. Amosta took a sniff, and a refreshing fruity aroma and a mellow wine fragrance made him look intoxicated. As the wine went down his throat, the spiciness that bloomed on his lips and teeth gave Amosta a taste of white wine.

“One afternoon eight months ago, I was in this office dealing with some matters concerning Gringotts in Egypt when Cuthbert Mocrech suddenly appeared without prior notice and asked to see me. We have a large business in England, and Mocrech works at the British Ministry of Magic, specifically responsible for dealing with us. Many business deals must be reported to the higher-ups at the British Ministry of Magic through him before they can be approved. I have met with him several times for official business, but we have no personal relationship.”

Barna glanced at Amosta Blaine, whose face was as calm as water and whose peculiar eyes were gleaming with a subtle glint of intelligence, and explained,

“Wizards dislike outsiders. You consider it a disgrace to befriend goblins, especially for a high-ranking wizard like Mocrech in the Ministry of Magic, even though that's what he's in charge of.”

A slight, self-deprecating smile tugged at the old witch's bark-like, aged face.

"But that day, Mokrich was very enthusiastic, and I immediately knew he wanted something from me—"

At this point, Barna hesitated. He knew that if what happened next came out, Cuthbert Mokrich and Ludo Bagman would probably be finished. Their most likely fate would be to spend their lives in that terrible wizarding prison. As a result, many of the goblins' businesses in England would also be disrupted.

But if he didn't speak up, Bana knew that Amosta Blaine, who had recently risen to fame but was still not fully understood by the world, would not give up easily. Lies and deception could not fool such a powerful wizard.

“Cuthbert Mokrich introduced me to someone, the Director of the Department of Magical Sports and Magical Activities at the British Ministry of Magic, the famous Ludo Bagman. In fact, Mokrich was actually dragged into this by Ludo Bagman.”

Chapter 413 You Bastard

2023-08-10

"Ludo Bagman's reputation as a wizard isn't great, but I couldn't refuse a meeting request from a high-ranking director of the British Ministry of Magic, through the head of the goblin liaison office, even though I knew it might cause me trouble."

Barna sighed and said,

"Ludo Bagman brought me some inside information: the Department of Magical Sports and the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the British Ministry of Magic are planning to work together to restart the Triwizard Tournament. This has not only received the support of the Ministry, but even Albus Dumbledore is willing to stand by him."

Amosta's eyes flickered slightly. In the latter half of last year, after he returned to Hogwarts, there was a riot when the Ministry of Magic moved into Hogwarts to capture Sirius Black's Dementors. At that time, all the Dementors were detained by him.

When Cornelius Fudge came to discuss this matter with him, he mentioned that the Ministry of Magic was pushing for a major event, which suggests that the Triwizard Tournament was already in the works at that time.

"With the support of both the British Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore, the Triwizard Tournament is very likely to be able to take place. Ludo Bagman also took the opportunity to make his own request. Wizards familiar with the tournament's rules know that the host school will be elected by the International Wizarding Federation. Before that, no one knows which school will host the tournament. But Ludo Bagman, confident that he has inside information, hopes that we can set up betting odds to bet on the final host."

This time, it was Amosta Blaine who was sighing.

"You agreed?"

"There's no denying this is a great opportunity to make money, is there, Mr. Blaine?"

Bana flashed his characteristic shrewd smile.

"Fairies are indeed wealthy, but our wealth was not acquired overnight. It is the result of centuries of seizing opportunities with keen insight, accumulating wealth one nat at a time, and finally achieving our current situation."

When it comes to the obsession with accumulating wealth, fairies are indeed far more obsessed than wizards.

The source of the matter has finally been figured out. Amosta tapped his fingers on the table, pondered for a moment, and then...

"Which side did Bagman and Mokrich bet on, Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, and how much money did they bet?"

"Neither, Mr. Blaine—"

Bana chuckled.

"Mr. Bagman bet 20,000 Galleons, and Mr. Mokrich bet about the same amount. According to our Gringotts UK branch, this is roughly their entire fortune. Ah, they bet on Hogwarts. This is the choice of most people; after all, ostensibly, the Triwizard Tournament is driven by the British Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore, and Hogwarts is the most likely to succeed. The odds for Hogwarts are much lower than those for Beauxbatons and Durmstrang—"

Amosta's mind raced, a faint chill playing on his lips.

"Until the news came out that I had replaced Dumbledore as the representative of Hogwarts?"