The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 535 Situation

2023-10-15

In late October, the temperature at night was already chilly. Fog floating on the Black Lake, carried by a cold breeze, permeated the grounds of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. The tall, imposing castles, nestled in the mist, appeared desolate at first glance.

But the atmosphere in the PE classroom remained lively.

One by one, the young wizards took off their robes and threw them against the wall, rolled up their sleeves, and unleashed their wands on their respective armors.

Over a month later, these young wizards had changed noticeably since the start of the school year. They exuded a more capable air, their eyes were more focused, and they were less distracted, displaying more confidence and composure. Amostella walked among the young wizards with his hands behind his back, looking at their faces, and couldn't help but feel a little proud.

The young wizard is currently still training in dueling-type spells.

However, instead of practicing spells in Amostra's mental world, Amostra had them practice spells in the real world after they had mastered some practical spells. This was because there were subtle differences between spellcasting in the mental space and the real world, and they needed to familiarize themselves with the spells they had mastered in a more realistic environment.

call out--

A dazzling red beam, about the thickness of a thumb, shot past Amosta, producing a shrill whistling sound as it rubbed against the air. Like an arrow released from a bow, the beam struck the armored figure thirty feet away, causing the spear in the armored figure's hand to fly out of his grasp with a clang, leaping into the air and spinning back toward the caster.

That wasn't all. At the same time, the armor struck by the spell was instantly covered in tiny red electric sparks, and amidst the crackling sounds, the armor creaked and groaned as it contracted.

The Disarming Charm, which has a paralyzing effect—this was Harry's doing.

More importantly, it is a silent incantation.

Not far from Harry, Hermione was also practicing the spells she had mastered. Her attacks played to her strengths. Unlike Harry's talent for specializing in the Disarming Charm, Hermione's movements were more agile, and she used more spells for attacks. However, there was a problem: because her training time was still short, she couldn't cast every spell silently, and every now and then, the sound of chanting would escape her lips.

Hiss, hiss——

Several black pythons, each as thick as a forearm, leaped from the tip of Draco's staff and landed on the ground. They stood upright, flicking their scarlet tongues at the armored figure not far away!

A cold light flashed from the black python's eyes. Draco's wand fell, and several black pythons darted out with a whoosh. Their movements on the ground were swift and elusive. In just two breaths, the black pythons that approached the armor from all directions leaped up and coiled around it!

Creak, creak!

A tooth-grinding sound rang out, and the hard armor rapidly deformed under Draco's black python's coils. At the same time, a plume of foul-smelling black smoke rose from the shoulder of the armor where the black python's fangs had pierced it. The bronze armor quickly turned white and then rotted!

Seeing this, Draco grinned, revealing an excited smile. He instinctively looked for Harry, but met Professor Blaine's gaze. He immediately shrank back, focusing on dealing with the self-repairing armor.

Amosta stopped in his tracks as he saw Ginny summon a torrent of bats that startled Finley, who was not far away. He saw Luna, the little witch, gracefully waving her wand as if in a dance, and colorful, musical note-like things emerged from it, easily tearing her armor to pieces.

Cedric Diggory, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Sabine—the young wizards were all practicing intently in their own ways.

Amostella's gaze shifted to Neville Longbottom, who was hiding in a secluded spot, diligently practicing magic. His brow furrowed slightly involuntarily.

Compared to his outstanding physical talent and quick reflexes in times of crisis, Neville's clumsiness in spellcasting is simply unbearable to watch. It's not that Neville can't recite spells or wield his wand well, but his control over magic is terrible, and even the new spell training methods developed by Amostall can't help him with this.

Let alone someone like Harry, who relied on instinct and talent to enhance the power of his Disarming Charm, or Hermione, who mastered a wide variety of spells through excellent focus and control, Neville still has a considerable chance of failing when casting these basic offensive spells. As a result, Neville has basically lost all the confidence he had painstakingly built up in this course.

Hmm--

To be honest, Longbottom's situation was giving Amosta a headache. If things continued like this, he definitely wouldn't be able to keep going. But Amosta didn't want to give up on the young wizard he had been training until now, and he didn't want to give up on any of them.

How can we help Neville find his path to improvement?

Amostah's brow furrowed even deeper; he needed to think about this problem carefully.

clap clap!

In the bustling training room, the crisp sound of clapping suddenly rang out. Receiving the signal, the young wizards stopped training one by one. They gathered from all parts of the classroom, which had been expanded to almost the size of a Quidditch pitch, in front of Professor Blaine, and lined up in their positions according to the academy's training, showing considerable discipline.

Every young wizard stared at the indifferent Professor Blaine with reverence, especially the Slytherins, whose eyes shone with almost fanaticism.

Because of Professor Blaine's rules, no one dared to flaunt their progress or get into fights at school. However, they were all aware of the changes that the past month of training had brought them.

"Today's training is now over—"

Professor Blaine said with a smile.

Hermione wiped the sweat from her forehead, her eyes immediately darting around, targeting today's PR objectives in the crowd, while Harry subtly moved a little further away from Hermione.

"Before I go back, I have something to tell you in advance. The school originally planned to announce it this Friday, but I think students in physical education should have a little privilege."

The young wizards puffed out their chests proudly, staring wide-eyed at Professor Blaine.

"At the Sorting Ceremony at the beginning of this semester, I told you that the Triwizard Tournament would be held this year, and the other two schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, would be arriving at Hogwarts next Friday. For the rest of the school year, the brave candidates brought by these two schools will live and study with you—"

boom--

Professor Blaine's words were like a drop of cold oil falling into boiling oil, instantly enlivening the atmosphere in the classroom.

Being a group of lively young wizards, they couldn't contain themselves after hearing the news and began discussing it enthusiastically with their acquaintances.

“Professor Blaine!” Cedric of Hufflepuff raised his hand eagerly, “But the school hasn’t announced the rules for the Warrior selection yet!”

"I will announce it in the auditorium when the guests arrive; for now, it remains confidential."

Professor Blaine chuckled as he listened to the disappointed looks on the faces of the young wizards.

“What are the competition events, Professor Blaine?” Fred Weasley asked loudly. “Is the school still planning to exclude underage students?”

“I’m sorry, that’s true—” Professor Blaine replied with a smile, “As for the events that will take place in the competition…”

Professor Blaine innocently spread his hands.

"I don't know. The competition events are decided by the International Department of Magical Cooperation and the Department of Sports. To ensure fairness and impartiality, they will not disclose them to the three participating schools in advance. This is information that needs to be kept strictly confidential."

Another chorus of disappointed sighs echoed through the classroom.

"alright--"

Professor Blaine clapped his hands again.

"I'm telling you this so that those aspiring to participate in the Champions' election can prepare themselves mentally. Although I shouldn't be biased, I still hope that the young wizards representing Hogwarts will come from your ranks. If it's not you, then I will feel..."

boom!

Professor Blaine was expressing his expectations when a heavy thud suddenly sounded from outside the window, which was covered by curtains.

The young wizards instinctively turned their attention to it and discovered that it was an owl flapping its wings and eagerly rushing into the house.

Generally, owls that deliver mail appear in groups in the auditorium at breakfast time; it is rare to see owls delivering mail at midnight.

Amostah raised an eyebrow slightly, walked over, opened the window, took the parchment from the beak of the brown owl whose feathers were glistening with moisture, patted the owl's head, and then read the unfolded parchment by the light of the torch on the wall.

The silence continues.

"what happened?"

Seeing Professor Blaine's expression instantly turn solemn, his eyes sharpening, Harry leaned close to Hermione's ear and whispered in surprise,

"Has anything happened recently? Has the Daily Prophet mentioned it?"

After a moment's hesitation, Hermione shook her head slightly.

No, Harry.

"This Friday's physical education class will be supervised by Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood—" Professor Blaine, his expression now completely restored, calmly addressed everyone as he returned to them, "I have some urgent business to attend to, and I will be leaving Hogwarts for a few days—"

After saying this, Professor Blaine strode out of the classroom, leaving the bewildered young wizards standing there, looking at each other in confusion.

Chapter 536 Lurking

2023-10-15

After leaving the bewildered young wizards in the gymnasium, Amostella's expression immediately turned calm, a lightning-like glint flashing in his pale purple eyes. He strode through the castle corridors toward the tower where Dumbledore's office was located.

As soon as he stepped into the connecting corridor leading to the small tower, Amosta's expression shifted slightly, and he suddenly took a few steps back.

As soon as he landed, a burst of incredibly brilliant fire suddenly erupted in the dim, yellowish air before him. After the fire subsided, Dumbledore and Fawkes, with serious expressions, suddenly appeared before him.

"Amosta--"

Dumbledore strode out from the never-ending embers, his collar slightly disheveled beneath his long, silvery-white beard, clearly having hastily changed his clothes after receiving the news.

"You've already received the message, haven't you?" Dumbledore asked solemnly.

Amosta nodded slightly.

Sirius sent me a letter, telling me the gist of what happened. He also said that Kingsley had informed you of the news—

"Remus has been taken back to the ministry by Scrimgeour and is currently being held by the Auror office. He's using the excuse of guarding Remus with Dexter to prevent them from using any illegal methods against him. Remus's case should normally be reported to Amelia, but this was ordered personally by Cornelius. I believe Scrimgeour will definitely inform Cornelius Fudge. Before the matter is classified, we must come up with a proper solution, otherwise..."

The vast expanse of land was filled with darkness, and Dumbledore and Amosta, bathed in Fawkes's radiance, exchanged opinions rapidly.

Dumbledore held his breath; Amostella hadn't seen Dumbledore with this expression in a long time.

"--I'm afraid Remus will be imprisoned in Azkaban."

“Remus is following my orders, and I will not let him follow in Sirius’s footsteps.”

Amosta said calmly.

“I called you here precisely for this matter. I hope you will entrust this to me. In any case, Cornelius Fudge will owe me a favor. He certainly doesn’t think that simply sending Sirius Black to the Auror’s office will repay the favor from that night’s Quidditch final. But if we get involved in this matter, it will put a lot of pressure on Cornelius Fudge and cause him to lose his last source of emotional support. A Minister of Magic who has lost his mind will bring us a lot of trouble.”

“You've figured out Connery perfectly, Amosta—”

Dumbledore was taken aback, clearly not expecting Amosta to ask him to stay out of it. But after some thought, he had to admit that Amosta's suggestion made sense. After a brief hesitation, Dumbledore asked cautiously,

"Are you sure you can handle this properly, Amosta?"

Dumbledore emphasized the word 'properly,' clearly worried not only about whether Amostrath could rescue Remus, but also that the methods used should not be too drastic, lest they destroy the Ministry of Magic.

"Don't worry—" Amosta nodded calmly, "Neither Remus nor the Ministry of Magic will have any problems."