The Return to Hogwarts

"what happened?"

"I have a favor to ask of you, Amosta—"

Dumbledore gazed at every blade of grass and tree in Hogwarts, not at Amostella. His beard fluttered freely in the wind, but his voice was incredibly heavy.

"There is ample evidence that darkness is already stirring—"

A sigh drifted away on the wind, and Dumbledore, looking much older, finally met the gaze fixed upon him in Amos Tower.

“If you notice anything happening at Hogwarts next school year, Amostella,”

The last rays of sunlight fell on Dumbledore, while the shadow cast on the ground was incredibly thin.

"I hope you will remain silent."

Chapter 418 Admirable Qualities

2023-08-13

Boom!

A deafening thunderclap resounded through the mountains and valleys, sending a shiver down the spine of the world!

In an instant, a torrential downpour enveloped the world. The once shimmering lake surface was now turbulent with the wind and rain. Streaks of lightning flashed across the towering buildings of Hogwarts, illuminating the gloomy castle with a deathly pale light.

The torrential rain caused the lake to rise rapidly, submerging the banks in the blink of an eye. But just as the surging river was about to touch Amostall and Dumbledore, who stood facing each other in the downpour, it automatically split off and flowed elsewhere.

Is the darkness already stirring, remaining silent?

"Have you decided?"

Amosta recalled his earlier speculation. Harry had already spent nearly half his time at Hogwarts, and at some point in the future, Voldemort would choose his opportunity to return. Dumbledore, however, clearly saw things more clearly; he had sensed from certain clues that the moment this disaster was about to strike was unstoppable.

What prompted you to make this decision?

Before Dumbledore could answer the first question, Amosta asked the second one.

"In the two months since you left Hogwarts—"

Facing Amosta, Dumbledore didn't need to mince words; he calmly stated,

“Severus had warned me privately on several occasions, his past secret magical connection with Tom suggesting that Tom was becoming stronger—”

"A concealed magical connection?"

Amosta's brow twitched. He knew that Professor Snape had worked for Voldemort before, but what was the deal with the magical connection?

"The Black Mark, I think you should have heard of this intimate mark that exists between Tom and his disciples."

Dumbledore said succinctly,

"Tom has clearly received some kind of help that has allowed him to escape the wretched state he was in twelve years ago, when the Killing Curse rebounded and stripped him of his physical body, but he was barely able to survive thanks to the Horcrux. From what I know of him, he certainly won't be satisfied, and he will do everything he can to regain his former magic."

"What help? Who is helping him?"

In the wizarding world today, if you were to ask who knows Voldemort's situation best, it would undoubtedly be this old man who has stood in the world for a hundred years. In this respect, Amosta is far inferior to Dumbledore.

Amosta's gaze was fixed on Dumbledore's deep blue eyes.

“I am not omniscient, Amosta—” Dumbledore managed a weak smile, “but Tom will always get help, no matter what.”

What do you think he will do?

“As I’ve already said, Amosta, although my aging head is filled with a lot of information, I am not omniscient. Many times, I can only rely on guesswork to deduce the direction of events—”

“Then take a guess, Headmaster Dumbledore. It’s no big deal if you guess wrong anyway—” Amosta smiled as he gazed at the helplessness on the old face beside him.

The world was in turmoil, and in the gloomy world, Amosta's smiling, serene demeanor was like a beacon of light, dispelling some of the worries and gloom in Dumbledore's heart. A head taller than Amosta, Dumbledore looked down at that incredibly young yet unusually composed face, and unconsciously, the lines on his forehead seemed to fade considerably.

“Alright, since you insist, Amostella—” Dumbledore’s voice became lighter, “then let’s guess.”

After a pause, Dumbledore didn't reveal his guess, but instead asked,

"You know something about Horcruxes, Amosta. Surely you also know what methods are available to help wizards who possess Horcruxes but have lost their physical bodies regain their former magical power?"

In an instant, Amosta searched through the vast amount of magical knowledge stored in his mind, and as that knowledge swept past his eyes, Amosta's brow furrowed slightly.

It's not that we can't find them, it's that there are too many!

Modern and ancient systems, complete and incomplete, the magic that can help a wandering soul regain its body is not unique.

No one dared claim to be an expert in all of magic, not even Dumbledore or Amosta. They couldn't possibly pinpoint a single spell Voldemort might use from among all the spells available.

Amosta stared intently into Dumbledore's bright eyes, and suddenly, a thought struck him.

"Do you think he'll take advantage of Harry?"

"That's the most likely explanation--"

Dumbledore turned his gaze toward the Gryffindor Tower.

"I guess Tom has spent all these years trying to figure out why his magic didn't work on Harry back then, and now he should at least have figured some things out."

Dumbledore clearly didn't want to talk much, but based on this information, he had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

It is also understandable why Dumbledore asked him to remain silent about what might happen at Hogwarts in the next school year.

Many thoughts flashed through Amosta's mind in an instant, but in the end, this was the sentence that came out of his mouth.

"So you've considered that Harry could still die, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore fell silent for a long time, and then, wearily, said...

“I can’t foresee everything, but I will do my best to ensure Harry’s safety, Amosta, and that will require your help. Perhaps you think it’s a despicable act for me to send a fourth-year student to face the most dangerous dark wizard in history—”

“No—” Amosta shook his head, “That is precisely your most admirable quality.”

The clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, and the sun shone down on the earth once more.

At the school gate, Sirius Black squeezed through the large iron gate and saw Amosta and Dumbledore by the lake in the distance.

"Oh, right, Amosta—"

Dumbledore glanced at Sirius Black, who was trotting over, and suddenly said...

“I don’t know why you insist on bypassing the Ministry of Magic and going to Azkaban, but I hope you will try not to interfere with the peaceful lives of the prisoners there.”

"I'll pay attention."

Amostella strode towards Sirius with a smile, waved to him, and asked with great interest,

"I heard you went to negotiate with the Dursleys. How did it go?"

"of course!"

Sirius Black, forced to step down from his classroom seat, showed no signs of dejection. He jogged along, his face beaming, and said...

“Harry is right, those Muggles are definitely not popular.”

Sirius's gaze swept over Amostella's shoulder, glanced at Dumbledore not far away, and he lowered his voice.

"I threatened that nasty family that if Harry is ever targeted or treated unfairly while he's at their house, I'll personally go there and blow their house to smithereens!"

I told them I escaped from prison, so I didn't care about having a few more lives on my hands. You should have seen their reaction; Amosta, that little boy who was almost as fat as a baby whale, peed his pants in fear!

To be honest, Amosta didn't quite approve of Sirius's approach, but he didn't offer any opinion, just smiled casually.

"How are you preparing?"

"Ready to depart at any time--"

Sirius said cheerfully.

Chapter 419 Sirius's Savior

2023-08-13

Amosta and Sirius didn't want the adventure to take too long, but in reality, they were delayed by two days.

Sirius Black suddenly received a letter from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Damage. It was from Remus. After several long months of recuperation, the werewolf virus in Remus's body had finally dropped to a safe level. He would be able to be discharged in about a week.

Remus, who had been cooped up in the hospital for almost half a year, couldn't wait to write a letter asking Sirius about his recent plans.

Remus certainly hoped that he could be accompanied by his old friend when he was discharged from the hospital, but Sirius needed to accompany Amosta on a journey that would conservatively take twenty days to a month. Therefore, Sirius went to the hospital to apologize to Remus.

However, there are also things to look forward to.

When they return, the 422nd Quidditch World Cup will be just a few days away. Sirius plans to go with Remus to the Dursleys' house to pick up Harry, and then they can meet up with Harry's friends and watch the World Cup together.

They both sincerely invited Amosta to join them, but Amosta had never been very interested in the sport.

The first half of this trip was generally comfortable.

They chose to travel in a Muggle-like manner, first flying from London to Aberdeen, a port city in northern England, located in northeast Scotland and one of the major cities in the region.

The ferry from Aberdeen to the Shetland Islands usually departs at 7 p.m. and arrives the next morning, which means that Amosta and Sirius will have to spend the night on the ferry.

At the end of June, when the height of summer is approaching, the temperature here is not scorching; instead, the air is permeated with a slight coolness.

Boom——

In the dead of night, a ferry traveling on the fog-shrouded sea suddenly plunged from a height equivalent to four or five stories into the sea between the waves and the wolves. The violent turbulence startled the Muggle tourists who were sleeping in their rooms, and even Amosta was awakened by the commotion.

To be honest, Amosta is indeed not very good at handling these less comfortable modes of transportation.