The Return to Hogwarts

The laughter completely stopped, and the bar was so quiet that one could even hear increasingly heavy breathing.

The ugly wizard's hand left the Muggle girl's waist, trembling unconsciously as it hung down. His eyes were filled with terror, and his mouth, devoid of lips, slowly opened, emitting a strange "ah ah." sound.

Amosta Blaine!

"Run away!"

Behind the bar, the tall bar owner's deafening, terrified roar made the glasses on the shelf clang loudly.

"Golden Viper is Amosta Blaine, and he has no intention of leaving any survivors!"

Boom!

In that instant, the bar shook violently as if struck by lightning. Inside, a variety of reactions erupted: some fled desperately towards the exit, others unleashed spells at the walls in an attempt to blast the bar open and escape, some brandished wands and fired powerful dark magic at Amosta, some made throwing motions, trying to incapacitate Amosta with a vicious potion, and still others released their magical creatures—fierce creatures driven by magic—which bared their teeth at Amosta upon landing!

hum!

In the center of the chaotic bar hall, where Amosta stood, a tangible wave of magical energy emanated from him, sweeping outwards with the force of a thunderbolt. Everyone and everything swept by this wave froze instantly, as if trapped in solidified amber. Only pairs of gaping eyes emitted vivid fear and bewilderment!

Da da da--

After thinking for a moment, Amosta turned around and strode away, clearing away the shards of glass frozen in the air in front of him, and returned to the bar counter.

The bar owner had already jumped onto the bar counter and was poised to pounce towards the door. His center of gravity had already fallen outside the bar counter, but his massive body was still unable to move.

Amosta flicked his wand, and the bar owner's body floated from the bar counter to the ground, lying face up in a bizarre posture.

Amosta could read a range of emotions in the bar owner's bulging eyes: fear, regret, pleading, and hope. He probably wanted to trade some information for a chance to live, but unfortunately, Amosta didn't need him to speak.

In the dimly lit bar lobby, two purple moons slowly rose, their strange and heavy purple light obliterating all emotions in the bar owner's eyes.

Recently, Amosta has been going through the violently extracted memories, and one frozen image after another flashes rapidly before his eyes, one day, two days, three days.

As his memory retraced back to more than ten days ago, Amosta's gaze froze, and the rapidly flowing images slowed down.

A woman appeared at the House of Soul Eaters, but it was not Vitia Kriona.

This was a plump, middle-aged witch, dressed in normal, respectable clothes. Her expression was slightly bewildered, as if she didn't understand why she was there, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be afraid after seeing the room full of demons and monsters.

The rest is self-explanatory.

The witch who had stumbled in panicked and tried to leave, but now that she had made a mistake, how could these lawless people in the house turn a blind eye?

She was being controlled by some dark wizards who were eyeing the terrified fat witch, seemingly plotting how to deal with her.

Just then, in an inconspicuous corner of the bar, a wizard wearing a cloak and with his head wrapped tightly in a headscarf suddenly stood up. Before anyone could react, the wizard conjured a grapevine staff. In the emerald light that suddenly burst forth from the tip of the staff, the wizard's cloak fell down, revealing an elegant attire, and his long, smooth, emerald green hair cascaded out from under the headscarf.

The desolate moon finally climbed into the center of the night sky.

In the dense forest, a raging fire turned half the sky white. From the flames, faint sounds of walls and wooden beams exploding and cracking could be heard, along with faint, mournful howls.

Illuminated by the firelight, the Muggle girl, who had been kneeling on the ground dozens of feet away, finally regained a glimmer of clarity in her bewildered eyes. With her mouth slightly open, she stared at the blazing flames and slowly rose to her feet. Although not fully recovered, the roaring flames still instilled a primal fear in her. She staggered backward, tripping unexpectedly over a rock embedded in the ground.

"Ouch!"

The excruciating pain in her buttocks brought the girl back to consciousness. Her face contorted in pain as she struggled to get up. Her gaze inadvertently fell upon something on a huge spruce tree not far away.

It's...it's a head!

Several grotesque heads, completely charred, were pierced by hard stone spears and pinned to the spruce trees. The faces of the charred heads were twisted, and the fear before their deaths could still be vaguely seen!

"what!!!"

A piercing scream, ripping open the throat, echoed through the tumultuous night. Nearby, Muggles preparing to put out the fire sped up again upon hearing the cry.

Among the towering trees standing side by side, two points of eerie purple light disappeared into the deep darkness.

Chapter 444 Inference

2023-08-27

The creatures in Albania's forests did not sleep a wink all night.

What started as a simple task of extinguishing a wildfire unexpectedly led to the discovery of a foreign tourist who had just gone missing. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal; it's not uncommon for foreign tourists to mysteriously disappear while visiting this country, and it's quite common for them to be found with amnesia.

However, a brutal murder occurred at the place where the little girl was found, which complicated the whole incident.

In particular, after the fire extinguished itself, the remains of at least a hundred people were found in an unrecorded wooden building that had been almost completely burned to the ground, which was horrifying.

The Muggle police were no longer qualified to handle this incident. After the case was reported, the government quickly dispatched a large armed force to cordon off the forest and conduct an investigation. They investigated the identities of the victims while simultaneously pursuing the killer. Throughout the night, the roar of Muggle helicopters echoed over the outer edges of the primeval forest.

After a long absence, Amosta camped out in the forest.

He found a not-so-tall rocky mountain in the primeval forest, and after using magic to flatten the top of the mountain, he set up a tent on it.

The forest was chilly in the dead of night, with temperatures so low they were almost like early winter. Amosta lit a fire in front of his tent, set up an iron rack, and leisurely started grilling sausages.

The flames licked the sausage, and soon a rich, caramelized aroma spread with the help of the breeze. The creatures living nearby became restless after smelling this tempting scent. They followed the aroma to the temporary camp that Amosta had set up, but were blocked by the surrounding defensive magic. They whimpered anxiously, but could not find a way in.

When the sausages were almost done grilling, Amosta placed a teapot on the rack.

He slowly brewed tea for himself, watching the tea leaves unfurl in the cup by the firelight, inhaling the aroma, and the lingering stench of blood and murderous intent around him gradually faded away.

Without a doubt, the woman he saw in the bar owner's memory was Vitya Cliona.

Although the woman never revealed her true face, Amosta could not mistake the uniquely styled grapevine wand, which possessed extraordinary magical power and vitality.

From last summer vacation to early August this year, after a full year, Kakus finally provided crucial information within the mission's deadline, allowing him to find clues about the whereabouts of this contemporary druidic priestess.

By now, Amosta is no longer so bothered by what happened at the central temple on Avalon Island. If it weren't for this woman drawing him into this series of events, and his desire to see if she could answer some of his questions, Amosta might have already withdrawn her bounty.

Although some clues have been found, Amosta did not show much joy.

Previously, some things he had seen in the memories of the owner of the House of Soul Eaters had intrigued him greatly. First and foremost was the middle-aged, overweight witch who had accidentally stumbled into the House of Soul Eaters.

Amosta possessed an exceptional memory, and he had an image of this woman.

Previously, when the Greyback incident first occurred, in order to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic's marketing and publicity efforts, he frequently visited the Ministry during that period. He met most of the Ministry's employees, including this woman.

Although he had never heard of the fat witch's name, after carefully searching his memory, Amosta was certain that he had not made a mistake; this witch was indeed an employee of the British Ministry of Magic.

Amosta had no idea why the fat witch appeared in Albania. What concerned him was that after being rescued by Vitia Kriona, the witch followed the priestess directly into the depths of the forest and had not been seen since.

The Soul Eater's House is built on a pivotal point on a key road deep into the jungle. The ram's head outside is equivalent to the owner's eyes. The bar owner has no memory of her ever appearing, which means that the fat witch may still be deep in the primeval forest.

Given that secretive sects like the Druids are usually extremely careful about keeping their whereabouts secret, it wasn't surprising to Amosta that the priestess, who revered nature and life, had rescued the fat witch. But what was the priestess doing with her? Shouldn't she have been sent out of the forest immediately after escaping from the House of Soul Eaters? Why was she heading deeper into the forest instead?

They wanted to recruit the fat witch as a follower and then send her into the Ministry of Magic as a spy.

Amosta chewed on the fragrant grilled sausage, lost in thought.

But then he overturned that conclusion.

There's absolutely no need for that. Cultists and wizards have always been clearly separated. If Vitia Cliona wanted to seek help from a wizard, there were two most suitable ways. The first was to go to Dumbledore and beg him to allow the Druids to reside in the Forbidden Forest.

The second approach is to use incentives to sway pure-blood families and high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic, persuading them to work together to push for policies that would allow the British magical community to accept Druids, thus securing a place for them to live and work, while also making the Papacy hesitant to act against them.

What can a spy do by sending to the Ministry of Magic?

There was another thing that puzzled Amosta.

Amosta retrieved nearly a year's worth of the bar owner's memories and made a surprising discovery.

Since last summer, Vitia Kriona has been living in the depths of this primeval forest for a whole year.

For Druids, surviving in the forest is not a strange thing.

However, Vitia Criona, disguised as a dark sorceress, never had any followers. Each time she entered the Soul Eater's home, she was alone, rarely speaking to anyone. She would sit in a secluded spot, silently listening to the conversations of those nearby, as if she had entered the camp solely to gather information.

Amostella had no doubt about Vitia's determination to defend the sect.

What's puzzling is that for a whole year, instead of spending time with her followers, she hid alone in the Albanian forest.

To avoid himself?

He was afraid of being with his fellow believers, fearing that if he discovered them, they would all be arrested.

That is indeed possible, but...

Amosta tossed aside the tongs, held the steaming teacup in both hands, and gazed intently into the depths of the forest, unlit by the firelight.

Why did she choose Albania?

You see, this country is far from peaceful; it's a haven for poachers and smugglers. This jungle before us is no quiet place either; those wicked scoundrels roam the woods all day, hoping to find some valuable, magical fire-making materials.

Druids, who are close to nature, clearly abhorred this behavior.

Why would Vitya Cliona risk being discovered and living next to a bunch of people she despises?

And

Amosta took a sip of tea, his expression slightly somber.

Rumor has it that the once-glorious Voldemort is hiding in this forest.

Chapter 445 Continued Investigation

2023-08-27

early morning.

The vibrant morning sun, brimming with boundless energy, pierces through layer upon layer of dark green leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on the dew-dampened ground. This is the best time of day; even in the secluded primeval forest, the cool air is invigorated. The birds that occasionally flit through the canopy, their clear calls not disturbing the forest's tranquility but rather making it even more serene.

A deep sleep had completely erased Amosta's fatigue from the more than half a month of tossing and turning at sea and the battle against Azkaban's defensive magic. When the gentle sunlight brushed against his cheeks, the old forest's eyes, which had been open, regained their vitality.