The Return to Hogwarts

Mr. Crouch watched as Mr. Diggory placed his house-elf at his feet, neither moving nor speaking. The other officials of the Ministry of Magic stared at Mr. Crouch. For several seconds, Crouch stood motionless, as if frozen, his fiery eyes fixed on the ground beneath him.

When Mr. Diggory found Sparkle, it was probably lying on the ground, which preserved the skin on its front, while its back was not much better off than the unfortunate wizard he had seen in the woods earlier.

The elf's back was scorched by Professor Blaine's magic, the skin split open and covered in scabs. Judging by the normal timeline, the wounds shouldn't have healed to this extent. Clearly, the little creature must have woken up at some point and taken some steps to prevent its own death.

“This—it’s impossible—impossible,” Barty Crouch finally came to his senses, stammering, “Impossible!”

boom!

Crouch didn't give anyone a chance to dissuade him. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he Apparated to the upper level and plunged into the private room.

“It’s no use, Mr. Crouch—” Diggory shouted up, “I’ve checked, there’s no one else there!”

Mr. Diggory's shouts had no effect, and the creaking sound came from the box again. Clearly, Mr. Crouch could not accept this outcome.

“It’s a little embarrassing,” Mr. Diggory said sternly, glancing down at the dazed figure of Brilliant. “Barty Crouch’s house-elf, I mean.”

“Impossible, Amos,” Mr. Weasley said quietly. “Do you really think it was the elves? The Dark Mark is a wizarding symbol that requires a wand.”

“Yes,” Mr. Diggory looked up at Harry and pulled a wand from his pocket. “He was holding this when I found it.”

"It's my wand!" Harry took the wand and examined it with delight. "I thought it was definitely ruined!"

Mr. Diggory shrugged at Mr. Weasley.

“Look, the elf is holding a wand, Arthur, you understand, this violates the third rule of the Wands Rules: No non-human creature may carry or use a wand.”

Just then, with another "poof," Mr. Barty Crouch Apparated to Mr. Weasley's side. He was clearly unaware of what was happening; his face was pale, and his hands and toothbrush-shaped mustache were twitching.

The situation seemed clear: the officials of the Ministry of Magic all turned their gazes toward the unconscious Brilliant on the ground, while some discreetly glanced at Mr. Crouch.

Mr. Diggory seemed to consider himself the hero of the affair, and he smiled with a hint of smugness.

“If you have no objection, Mr. Crouch, I think we should wake him up and hear how he defends himself.”

Mr. Crouch didn't react, but Hermione looked at Mr. Diggory in surprise.

"But this little elf is seriously injured. Shouldn't you treat it first? I mean, it can't answer questions like this."

Mr. Diggory raised an eyebrow, as if he had heard a joke, but perhaps considering Mr. Crouch's feelings, he spoke in a gentle tone,

“The normal procedure is like this, miss, but tonight we have suffered a major loss, and we must find out as soon as possible whether this little elf is an accomplice.”

As he spoke, Mr. Diggory pointed his wand at Sparkle.

"Resuscitate quickly!"

Flashy moved weakly, as if trying to turn over, but the movement aggravated the wound on its back, and Flashy suddenly cried out in pain, its cries trembling.

Before Sparkle could recover, Mr. Diggory gave her another "help," waving his wand to flip her over and make her float slightly.

When it realized who was around it, Flash's crying was abruptly cut off. Its eyes widened in a daze, and its stiff expression looked as if someone had grabbed its throat.

Harry suddenly felt someone grab his arm. He turned to see Hermione, her face showing pity, her frail body swaying precariously in the night breeze. Harry pursed his lips, watching Brilliant being interrogated, wanting to lend a hand but unsure how.

"I simply can't believe Barty Crouch would do that!"

Outside Sirius's tent, Mr. Weasley gave them a stern warning before hurriedly leaving with his colleagues.

Hermione immediately screamed angrily.

"There is no concrete evidence to prove that Glimmer cast that spell, but Barty Crouch just dismissed it like that. He wouldn't even pay for the healing of the wounds that had been serving him. What does he take the elf for, a slave?"

“You’ve hit the nail on the head, Hermione—”

Ron seemed quite accepting of the house-elf's fate; he calmly said...

"House-elves are slaves to their owners. To be honest, Crouch firing it was actually a good thing for him. If it had been taken back to the Ministry of Magic for interrogation, my father had told me about some of the methods used by the Department of Magical Creatures. It probably wouldn't have been able to leave there alive."

Hermione stared at Ron, her face filled with shock, seemingly not expecting the Ministry of Magic to be so ruthless in its treatment of non-human magical creatures.

"I really hope Dobby doesn't end up like this."

Harry looked up at the deep night sky and sighed deeply.

Chapter 492 The Remaining Days

2023-09-21

Sirius Black learned about Harry, Harry, and his friends' trip to the Quidditch pitch to look for wands the previous night from Mr. Weasley, who was rushing home for breakfast, the next morning.

That was the first time Sirius Black had ever been so furious with Harry. To punish Harry for his reckless actions, he didn't even allow Harry to go with him to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries to visit Remus. Moreover, he wouldn't allow Harry to leave St. Catchpoll and had to stay obediently in the Burrow for the rest of the summer.

This firm decision provoked a fierce resistance from Harry. The two argued so loudly they almost lifted the roof off the Burrow. In the end, Sirius Black stormed out, his face ashen, while Harry... he did indeed stay obediently in the Burrow, after all, he had nowhere else to go.

In the span of two weeks, news of what happened on Quidditch final night spread throughout the wizarding world at an astonishing speed, and the Daily Prophet practically became a portrait exhibition of Amostra Blaine!

The photos of Amostrath Blaine's duel in the Quidditch arena were on the front page of the Daily Prophet for a full two weeks. The second and last pages also featured photos of Amostrath taken during one of the few public appearances. The entire wizarding world was talking about the amazing duel between Amostrath Blaine and the Dark Witch.

Before this event, the most talked-about event in the wizarding world was the duel of the century between Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the time, and Gettler Grindelwald in Paris. However, there are not many wizards who witnessed that earth-shattering duel still alive. Most people have only heard some descriptions in conversations and have never even seen any specific records.

There were over 100,000 wizards present that night, representing almost every thriving magical civilization in the world. This was tantamount to Amosta flexing its muscles in front of the entire magical world.

The International Wizarding Federation passed a resolution with astonishing speed, appointing Amosta as the vice-chairman of the council. Although Amosta was not present, the resolution was still considered valid. In addition, major wizarding organizations in various magical civilizations extended olive branches to Amosta, inviting him to take up high-ranking but powerless positions within their organizations. These organizations, if listed, could almost occupy an entire page of the Daily Prophet. However, none of them received a positive response from Amosta.

Of course, amidst the wave of praise and adulation, there are also some discordant voices.

In retrospect, more than a hundred wizards were affected by the aftermath of the duel between Amostella and Vitia that night and failed to escape from the Quidditch pitch. Most of them survived thanks to the efforts of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries, but a considerable number lost their lives on that pitch.

The families of the deceased were clearly not going to let this go easily. They organized a group and stormed the British Ministry of Magic, demanding severe punishment for Amosta Blaine. The Ministry used every trick in the book to stall them. For those willing to pay a sum of gold, the Ministry offered substantial compensation; for those determined to punish Amosta, the Ministry shifted the blame to Vitia Criona, claiming that their families had perished at the hands of the dark witch and that Mr. Blaine had done everything in his power to save their lives.

This explanation failed to convince everyone, so the grieving family members rushed to the Daily Prophet building, hoping to use the newspaper to make their voices heard. The Daily Prophet did respond, mentioning the matter briefly in the margin of the last page, a place where they usually put some wordplay. Then, it disappeared without a trace.

Another matter of concern is the mastermind and intent behind that night's attack.

The British Ministry of Magic has provided a reasonably satisfactory answer to this question.

The day after the attack, the British Ministry of Magic issued a brief statement, telling people that the attack was carried out by a group that worshipped the Mystic. They were not the Mystic's true followers, and that the heinous crimes they committed were merely an act of respect.

In the days that followed, the wizarding world reported daily on how many dark wizards involved in the incident they had captured. Wizengamor demonstrated the efficiency of the trial of Death Eaters when Varian fell from power. Every day, at least several unfamiliar faces were escorted out of the Wizengamor trial chamber by Aurors in the presence of reporters and sent directly to Azkaban.

Meanwhile, among the wizards living in the dark world of magical civilizations across Europe, a climate of fear and unease prevailed, as rumors circulated that a powerful madman was hunting them down.

Thirteen days after the attack, when people were already tired of the endless reports about Amosta Blaine, another explosive news broke.

In the presence of numerous reporters who had been waiting in the halls of the Ministry of Magic in an attempt to interview Amostrath Blaine, as well as wizards who had come to the Ministry on business, Amostrath Blaine, along with Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror office, and a group of Aurors, escorted Vitia Criona, who looked bewildered and appeared to have suffered a heavy blow, appeared at the Ministry of Magic.

The Daily Prophet issued an emergency supplement to inform the people of the wizarding world about the matter.

"They actually caught it, but--"

That evening at dinner, Harry, cooped up in the Burrow, received a supplement to the Daily Prophet. He stared at Mr. Weasley, who had become emaciated and was eating dinner at home for the first time in nearly two weeks, his eyes filled with confusion.

"The newspapers have consistently claimed that the Ministry of Magic learned from the interrogation that this dark witch was the mastermind behind the attack that night and the leader of the group of masked wizards."

Harry shook the newspaper.

"It says the Dark Witch has confessed to the charges, but that's clearly problematic, Mr. Weasley. Many people saw it in the box that night; the masked wizard and the Dark Witch didn't know each other at all. They were..."

"Let's just let this go, Harry—"

With two large, bluish bags under his eyes, Weasley spoke in an almost pleading tone.

“Dad—” George suddenly said from across the table, “Have you seen Mr. Bagman lately?”

Ron, who had been listless next to Harry, suddenly perked up, perking up his ears and staring intently at Mr. Weasley.

"No, Ludo recently went to Paris to prepare for another event. To be honest, he's really shrewd, avoiding all the trouble. I really envy him—what's up? Did you find something?"

Mr. Weasley yawned and rubbed his bloodshot eyes.

George was about to say something when Mrs. Weasley came in from the kitchen. Seeing her husband's tired appearance, she immediately said with concern,

"Go get some sleep, Arthur. The ministry might send another message in the middle of the night."

"Isn't that obvious—"

Mr. Weasley grumbled, no longer caring why George had asked Ludo, and straightened up, staggering toward the stairs.

“You all need to get some rest early tonight!” Mrs. Weasley added.

"Hogwarts has sent you a list of items you'll need for next term. We need to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to buy them."

"Me too?" Harry's eyes lit up.

“Oh, of course, dear!” Mrs. Weasley looked at Harry with affection.

"But Sirius—"

“I keep my word here, Harry—” Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. “I think you’ve learned your lesson, and besides, we need to buy two special outfits, and you can’t skip it!”

"what clothes?"

Ron watched Mr. Weasley walk up the stairs until he disappeared, then turned back immediately after hearing his mother's words.

“Oh—” Mrs. Weasley’s eyes gleamed. “You’ll find out tomorrow, Ron. Now, go take a bath and go to bed.”

Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley siblings gradually got up and went upstairs. The thought of going to Diagon Alley put Harry in a much better mood, making him less eager to discuss with Ron and Hermione Professor Blaine's efforts to bring the Dark Witch to justice.

"I wonder if Professor Dumbledore has found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"

“He always has an idea,” Hermione said. “And if no one else is willing to take the course, Professor Blaine will definitely take it.”

If Professor Blaine were willing to teach them again, that would be the best thing.

Harry didn't say it aloud, but he thought it to himself. After witnessing the Quidditch final duel, no one would want to not learn a thing or two from Professor Blaine. Harry had made up his mind that no matter how difficult it was, he would continue to teach Professor Blaine's physical education classes.