The Return to Hogwarts

There is no doubt about this matter. The priestess made an extremely unwise choice. In the eyes of a wizard like Voldemort, there is no concept of allies. In his eyes, there are only two kinds of people: fools who dare to rebel against him and servants.

Amosta hadn't spent much time with Vitia Kriona, only a few days. But he knew very well that this priestess was no fool.

Because of Dumbledore's strong control, when Voldemort held immense power, the main impact was on the British wizarding world. Other European countries were not greatly affected. However, his infamy spread far and wide, and Vitia Creona could not possibly be unaware of the kind of evil person she had chosen to cooperate with.

But she still made this unreasonable choice.

Not long after leaving Avalon, Vitia appeared in Albania, presumably heading straight for Voldemort.

Recalling the events that occurred at the temple at the end of their trip to Avalon, the unusual nature of the Twin Serpents Staff, and the shock and bewilderment Vitia Creona displayed at the time...

The source of Vittia's irrational behavior is becoming increasingly clear.

And then there's that unfortunate female employee of the Ministry of Magic; Amostella now knows her name is Bertha Jorkins.

Voldemort interrogated Bertha Jorkins, so what exactly did he hear from this female employee?

Without a doubt, the Triwizard Tournament had been leaked. Although the tournament was still under wraps, it was aimed at the general public in the magical world, and anyone with a bit of status knew the basics. When Amosta was in Paris handling the details of the event, many people in the British magical community wrote to him, asking if he could help advertise the products from the Alchemy Factory during the tournament.

Besides this, what other key information did Bertha Jorkins provide?

Amosta has no way of knowing this at the moment. Everyone has countless secrets in their hearts. What exactly does this ordinary female employee of the Ministry of Magic know, and is this information of any value to Voldemort?

In the scene that was just recreated, Voldemort and Cleopatra's conversation also mentioned Harry...

Use that boy... He has no weaknesses...

Bathed in moonlight, Amosta shook his head slightly. Dumbledore, that old fellow really does leave no stone unturned...

Voldemort probably wanted to use the Triwizard Tournament to get Harry involved, which meant that Harry would definitely have to participate in the competition.

Many of the tournament's rules were drafted with Amosta's help. For safety reasons, the rules explicitly stipulated the age of the warriors participating in the selection process, and Harry did not meet the requirements. Therefore, he intended to...

Voldemort and Creona must have guessed that their conflict had attracted the attention of Muggles. So, after hastily tidying up the place, this time they used Apparition to leave. Moreover, to avoid being tracked, they must have cast some defensive magic on themselves, which rendered the snake scale in Amostella's hand ineffective.

Amosta slowly floated out of the room. He did not leave the old house, but instead went into a room on the second floor with an open-air balcony.

Bathed in moonlight, Amosta gazed at the boundless wilderness beneath the glittering Milky Way, silently pondering what to do next.

Admittedly, Dumbledore wanted him to exercise restraint regarding the events of the coming year, to expose Voldemort from the shadows, even at the risk of putting Harry at risk. He wanted Amosta to remain steadfast and stand by.

The night wind suddenly howled, and the eerie light in Amosta's eyes was as deep as the night sky.

He can stand by and watch, but everything must be within his sight. Next...

Boo!

A piercing cry reached Amosta's ears amidst the howling wind.

He was already very familiar with this owl; it belonged to Cacus Foley.

Unfold the letter; it contained only one sentence:

Mr. Dear Mr. Blaine,

The situation is urgent. Please make sure to travel back to London immediately after receiving this letter to meet with me in person.

You faithfully

Kakus Foley

Sixteen hours later, Amosta returned to London and met Cacus Foley in Diagon Alley.

This guy wasn't even in the Underworld; instead, he was crouching at the entrance to Knockturn Alley, pacing back and forth anxiously. Amosta had known this guy for quite a few years and had never seen him so panicked before.

"Kakus—"

Amostella is now a household name in the wizarding world, attracting attention wherever he goes, so he has to disguise himself with his cloak from afar. Karkus Foley, hearing the shout, paused, but when he noticed the golden snake on the newcomer's collar, his anxious face instantly brightened with delight.

The entrance to Knockout Lane is near Gringotts, and even at night, it is still bustling with people.

With sweat beading on his forehead, Kakus grabbed Amosta and dashed into the alley. After walking a short distance, the two stopped in a secluded alley.

"Could you please remove your disguise, Mr. Golden Viper?"

It seemed there was indeed something important at stake; otherwise, Kakus wouldn't have dared to make such a request. Thinking this, Amosta pulled back his hood, dispelling the magical disguise that concealed his face. After confirming that his face beneath the magical vortex was unharmed, Mr. Kakus breathed a sigh of relief, then gritted his teeth again.

"Don't tell anyone that what happened at the House of Soul Eaters camp has nothing to do with you, Mr. Blaine!"

"You called me back in such a hurry just to question me about whether I killed those scumbags?"

Amosta pursed his lips, his eyes filled with hostility.

"Oh, well, that's not it. Well, it's something urgent!"

Kakus gasped for breath, then gasped again, and said...

"I just found out myself. After thinking it over, I'm afraid only you can solve this. It's urgent, so please allow me to keep it brief—"

After turning his head to make sure no one was around, Kakus, under Amosta's stern gaze, said urgently,

"Well, Mr. Blaine, about two weeks ago, Lucius Malfoy approached me, which surprised me. We all know that Lucius Malfoy is eager to convince some people that he has completely severed ties with his tainted past, so he has been trying to avoid dealing with people like me all these years."

Foley is an excellent broker with a good reputation, and revealing the commission and the identities of both parties would greatly damage his reputation, but now he has broken the rules.

“I immediately realized there was something fishy going on, so I tampered with the contract in the commission agreement. This allowed me to break through the limitations that I couldn’t overcome in previous missions. For example, I could find out Malfoy’s true intentions in issuing the contract, or like this, I could tell other people about the commission. Malfoy isn’t in our industry, so he didn’t notice my little tricks.”

"What exactly did he do?"

Amosta's brow was furrowed deeply.

Kakus took a deep breath.

"--Lucius gave me a large sum of gold and instructed me to use it to recruit men who were exceptionally skilled and capable of faithfully carrying out his orders. He didn't tell them what they were to do until yesterday afternoon, when he gathered them all together in a secret mansion owned by the Malfoy family. He had them impersonate Death Eaters and then carry out a terrorist attack at the Quidditch World Cup venue, where there are 100,000 wizards from all over the world!"

Amosta felt a chill run down his spine and demanded an answer.

When does the World Cup start?

"Right now--"

Kakus's face was ashen, and he spoke in a trembling voice.

"now."

Happy Qixi Festival everyone!

Chapter 449 Visit

2023-08-29

The last day of July.

Today's weather continues the high temperatures that have persisted for the past two weeks, and has reached its peak.

The scorching heat caused the vibrant raspberries in the garden in front of No. 4 Privet Drive to droop listlessly, and even the once lush green grass on the lawn turned a scorched yellow. The road outside the garden was as clean as ever, but no one suddenly appeared in the air, which was slightly distorted by the intense heat.

Although he wasn't looking in a mirror, Harry felt that his current energy and spirit were probably about the same as the flowers in the Dursleys' garden.

This wasn't just because the bright sun kept him awake before six in the morning; there was another reason he found hard to say: it was his birthday.

In the eleven years of his life before entering Hogwarts, this special day had no real meaning for him, because the Dursleys would never celebrate it for him. In fact, to make him feel bad, they might even give him extra chores on this day.

In the three years since he entered Hogwarts, his birthday finally took on some real meaning. Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid all remembered the day and would prepare something special for him. In fact, this year's birthday cake and presents had already been delivered, hidden under a loose floorboard in his room.

This year's situation is a bit more special, because in the first half of this year, something he had dreamed of for fourteen years finally came true: having a family in the true sense of the word.

Just a few days ago, Sirius, who had been missing for more than half a month, finally responded. In his reply, he said that he would arrive at Privet Road before the last day of July and take him out of the house.

Since receiving the letter, Harry has been looking forward to it, constantly fantasizing about celebrating his fourteenth birthday with Sirius and the Weasleys. But to his disappointment, Sirius has not shown any sign of appearing until today.

Although he emotionally believed that his godfather would not go back on his word, Harry was actually a little discouraged.

The clock on the bedside table was pointing between 11 and 12 o'clock; it was lunchtime.

Uncle Vernon didn't stand in the dining room yelling at him to get down to eat, but Harry was certain that if he didn't come downstairs in ten minutes, Aunt Petunia would come to his door with a lunch, walk with the lightest steps of a cat, knock on the door, and then hurry away.

call--

Harry glanced at the messy room, sighed, and then slowly walked out of the room.

If his godfather was held back by something troublesome, at least he didn't want to remain an invisible man and a mute for the rest of his life in this house.

When Harry came down the stairs, the Dursleys were already gathered there.

Uncle Vernon's ruddy face was hidden behind the Daily Mail that had arrived that morning. Petunia was at the table serving lunch to the family members, placing half of the bacon and sausages on Harry's special plate (this wasn't the original rule, but Harry had his own plate since the start of summer vacation).

Of the remaining half, two-thirds were placed separately on another plate, and the last third was divided equally between the two plates.

At the dining table, Dudley, who had been staring longingly at Aunt Penny's portion, clearly knew which one was his. He had a sullen face, looked angry, and seemed to occupy more space than usual.

"This is not fair!"

As Aunt Penny prepared to bring the food to the table, Dudley, who knew he had no chance of turning the tables if he didn't protest, finally started yelling.

"You always give him the most!"

"Oh, my dear little darling--"

Aunt Penny's pouting lips trembled.

"It's not because we've already discussed this issue. The school nurses believe that you should appropriately control your nutrient intake."

This reason had been given many times and was utterly unconvincing to Dudley, he shouted angrily.

"But that freak can't possibly finish it all!"