The Return to Hogwarts

The voice coming from the flames was clearly impatient.

"After the blunders you made at the World Cup, it was expected that Dumbledore and Blaine would be on their guard, but I also adjusted the plan to make the whole scheme even more flawless."

You must understand, you must prove your worth to me to gain my help. This is your luck; Voldemort never gives people opportunities easily. If it weren't for my loyal servant being seriously injured and needing time to heal, I wouldn't have forgiven you for your unauthorized actions during the World Cup!

Chapter 503 The New School Year

2023-09-28

Today's weather was the worst in days, but a relaxed atmosphere permeated the Hogwarts campus. Every faculty and staff member busy preparing for the start of the school year felt that only when their cold castle was filled with little wizards was it truly Hogwarts.

As Harry stepped out of Hogsmeade Station, he immediately saw Hogwarts Castle, brightly lit amidst the gloomy rain. His overwhelming joy instantly overshadowed the melancholy he felt from Sirius not seeing him off at King's Cross Station and from his encounter with Draco Malfoy on the train.

Not only him, but Ron, who was in a bad mood because of the strange-looking dress, also relaxed. They and their Hogwarts classmates couldn't wait to board the horseless carriage prepared for young wizards outside the station.

After a summer vacation, everyone is eager to share their experiences. Of course, most people are discussing the Quidditch World Cup final, the duel that captivated the world.

Grandma doesn't want to go—

Seeing his classmates engrossed in a heated discussion, Neville said pitifully,

"She refused to buy a ticket, thinking the game was pointless, but after reading about what happened that night in the newspaper, she regretted it."

“Think about it from another angle, Neville—” Hermione comforted him, “So many wizards witnessed that duel, but not many had the opportunity to be personally mentored by Professor Blaine, and you were Professor Blaine’s appointed teaching assistant.”

Mentioning this, Hermione, who was comforting Neville, suddenly shivered and said with a worried expression,

"If Professor Blaine finds out we haven't made enough progress after school starts, will he be furious with us? Oh, where's Luna? I need to find her!"

"Oh, speaking of this--"

Harry immediately became worried as well.

"At least you were still running during the summer, Hermione. My level has probably deteriorated a lot."

"Save your breath, you two—" Ron said irritably, "You were as agile as goblins in my garden when you were dodging that witch Melanoff's attacks!"

The carriage passed through a gate flanked by sculptures of winged boars and traveled along the wide driveway, swaying violently in the strong wind. Harry leaned against the window and saw Hogwarts getting closer, the many lit windows gleaming faintly behind the thick rain curtain.

Just then, a bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, and Harry, who was staring out the window, suddenly jumped up, pointing into the air and shouting.

"Someone just flew by!"

Harry's scream silenced the noisy car for a second or two. Then, everyone except Hermione rushed to Harry's window, staring wide-eyed out the window. Unfortunately, the flash of lightning had already faded, and they couldn't see anything.

“You mean—” Hermione stared at Harry’s face suspiciously, “that someone is practicing Quidditch in this weather?”

"How could that be possible in this weather!" Harry was still excited. "Even Wood wouldn't do something so despicable! I just saw that guy fly there, he didn't ride a flying broom!"

"Is that Professor Blaine?"

Hermione opened her mouth in surprise.

Of all the professors at Hogwarts, only Professor Blaine had ever demonstrated the ability to fly to her. She pressed her face against the window, watching the direction Harry was pointing.

"That direction... is that Black Lake?"

"What's Professor Blaine doing at Black Lake?" Neville asked in surprise.

"Maybe someone fell into Black Lake. Oh, I hope it wasn't Hagrid. If Hagrid fell in, then this year's freshmen will probably all have to take a cold shower. Ugh, in this weather—"

Ron shuddered, but gazed intently into the darkness outside the carriage.

The students' clothes were already soaked through just a short walk from the bottom of the marble steps to the lobby. Everyone was scrambling to squeeze into the auditorium, hoping to warm up as soon as possible. However, the floor was too slippery, and there were too many students trying to get in, making the situation worse and worse.

"Ouch--"

In the chaos, Hermione was stepped on hard, and she immediately cried out in pain. But Harry and Ron, who were right next to her, didn't hear her. They were both trying their best not to fall. So Hermione could only shrink her head like a quail and endure the pain as she moved forward little by little.

call--

With a gust of wind, Amosta landed on the ground from the sky. Looking at the blocked road and the little wizards with pained expressions in the rain, Amosta sighed, grasped the wand that had slid out of his sleeve, pointed it to the sky, and a flowing, milky-white light emerged from the tip of his wand.

The light curtain twisted and deformed in mid-air, forming a canopy that was closed on both sides and top, blocking the pouring raindrops. Then, the wand was pointed at the little wizards who were frozen and bruised, and a gust of warm air was sprayed out. Then, the little wizards were surprised to find that not only had the rain stopped above their heads, but their clothes, which were soaked by the rain and clung to their skin, had also become dry.

Professor McGonagall strode down from above the auditorium, and under the direction of the two professors, traffic was quickly restored.

"How's it going, Amosta—"

When the previously frozen crowd began to move slowly, Professor McGonagall, still stuck inside the auditorium and unable to leave, stood on tiptoe and called out urgently.

"Has the child been found?"

"Dennis!" Colin finally emerged from the group of students, exclaiming with a mixture of surprise and excitement as he saw the little boy being carried by Professor Blaine.

"What's going on? How come you're with Professor Blaine?"

"I fell into the lake, Colin!" Dennis yelled in a shrill voice, dangling in the air. "Then this gentleman flew over and pulled me out of the lake. Wait, you must be Professor Blaine!"

"You'd better line up properly, little one—"

Amostella chuckled as he placed the first-year student on the ground, and, bathed in the admiring gazes of the crowd, floated directly over the heads of the young wizards into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall had regained its former splendor, further decorated for the new term's banquet. Hundreds of candles floated above the tables, illuminating the gold plates and goblets. When Harry and his friends squeezed in, the four house tables were already filled with chattering students. At the top of the Great Hall was a fifth table, where, apart from Professor McGonagall still waiting for the first-years in the foyer, their familiar faculty members were already in their places.

“One person is missing—” Harry said to Hermione, pointing to the empty seat at the staff table. “It’s probably the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor’s seat.”

But where is he?

Hermione craned her neck, her eyes darting around the Great Hall, and said with slight anxiety,

"I don't see any new professors. Is it possible that Professor Dumbledore hasn't found anyone?"

Hermione's guess might be somewhat reasonable. Even after the Sorting Ceremony ended and the four long tables were filled with delicious food, they didn't see anyone sit in the empty seat.

Faculty and staff dining table.

Dumbledore smiled as he watched the young wizards below wolfing down their food. He put down his knife and fork, and turned his head slightly to look at Amostella.

"We will soon announce to the children that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts again this year. Amosta, you have made a great contribution to this, and I think it is perhaps your turn to tell the children this joyous news."

The professors at the faculty and staff dining table were either busy with their food or chatting with those around them, but after Dumbledore uttered those seemingly casual words, they all expressed surprise.

The headmaster's speech at the opening banquet is a Hogwarts tradition. Since Dumbledore became headmaster, no matter how busy he was, he had never missed this occasion or missed speaking. But today, he actually had Amostella speak to the young wizards in his place. This seems... to be a very obvious signal!

Chapter 504 The Changing of the Era

2023-09-28

Of the four heads of Hogwarts' houses, Professors Flitwick and Sprout both showed some surprise. They certainly knew that Amosta had played a significant role in Hogwarts defeating its rivals to win the opportunity to host the Triwizard Tournament, but they were unsure whether Dumbledore had Amosta speak for the reasons mentioned above.

Professor McGonagall looked at Amostella with encouraging eyes. The Head of Slytherin House also showed no unusual expression, but his dark eyes kept glancing at Amostella and Dumbledore.

Amosta picked up a napkin and wiped the cream from the corner of his mouth. He seemed oblivious to any unusual signal, and nonchalantly nodded.

"No problem, Headmaster Dumbledore—"

The four long tables below the Great Hall were still bustling with noise. Over at Gryffindor, Dennis, a young wizard who had just joined the school this year, was patiently describing to others how he fell into the water, how Hagrid sent out a distress signal, and thankfully, Professor Blaine flew over and pulled him out of the water.

Neville's face remained eager; whenever someone discussed the Quidditch World Cup final and that night's duel, he would prick up his ears, desperately listening for every detail. Hermione dropped her goblet of orange juice in horror, for she had just learned from the nearly headless Nick that Hogwarts had the most house-elves in all of England.

Meanwhile, in Slytherin, Draco was proudly showing off the scars on his arms to Sabine, claiming they were from when his family teamed up to fight a masked wizard on the night of the Quidditch final.

A burst of giggles suddenly erupted from the middle of the Ravenclaw table, and at the same time, Harry, whose peeping gaze had been caught red-handed, withdrew his embarrassed look.

No young wizard has yet realized that they are standing at the transition between one era and another.

Ding, ding, ding——

The desserts on the little wizard's plate were completely devoured, and a crisp tapping sound stopped the buzzing in the hall, leaving only the sounds of wind and rain.

The young wizards were surprised to find that it was Professor Blaine who stood up from the staff dining table, while Dumbledore remained seated in his chair, smiling at them.

Gazing at the pairs of curious and puzzled eyes below, Amosta smiled.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts! Before we embark on a wonderful new school year, there are a few new announcements for you—"

"What's going on?" Ron shrank back, looking at Harry with a puzzled expression. "Why is it Professor Blaine?"

"Shh!"

Hermione, who was furious with Hogwarts over the house-elf incident, turned around and made a serious gesture.

"--Before the start of the new school year, there are a few things I must ask you to note. First, as before, students are not allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest over there, and Hogsmeade Village is off-limits to students below the third year."

Dumbledore's opening address was pretty much the same every year, and the older students were already tired of hearing it. They were finally looking forward to something new this year, but Professor Blaine was still saying the same things, which left many of the younger wizards looking disappointed.

"Any new tricks up your sleeve, Professor Blaine?"

Feeling a bit bored, Fred waved his hand and shouted, immediately earning a stern glare from Professor McGonagall.

"A new trick—"

Amosta blinked and said in a humorous tone,

"Let me think. Ah, I've got it. After review by the Student Safety Office, the number of prohibited items on campus this year has been reduced from 437 last year to 385. Of course, some of these items are still not allowed to be used in the castle, but are permitted to be used in other areas. The detailed list can be found in Mr. Filch's office. Anyone interested can check it out."

Amosta smiled at the Weasley twins, guessing that no one else would do such a thing.

Fred and George looked at each other, their eyes filled with a strange excitement.

Since the two of them entered Hogwarts, the list of prohibited items at Filch's place has grown at an alarming rate every year, and this year is the first time that the list has been shortened compared to the previous year. Does this mean that the school environment will be more relaxed in the future?

"Guess what interesting things Professor Blaine will put into Hogwarts—"