The Return to Hogwarts

Because the letters from last week had not been fully resolved, when Amosta opened Professor Lockhart's office, which had been closed for a week, a white wave surging out from inside on Sunday afternoon around 1 p.m., he was almost buried alive. There was not a single clean spot in the entire office where one could stand.

"We'll have to find another place, everyone!"

Amosta emerged from the tide of letters, looking helplessly at Hermione, who had suddenly become as reserved as when they first met, and Harry and Ron behind her, whose eyes clearly held hidden thoughts.

Ultimately, Amosta had no choice but to offer up his office.

Hermione and Harry had both been to Professor Blaine's office before, but this was Ron's first time entering the Investigator's office. He curiously looked at everything there, his focus, of course, on the surveillance wall hidden by a curtain.

"This is the one."

Ron glanced at the surveillance wall with a slightly awe-inspiring look and asked Harry in a low voice, but before Harry could answer, Hermione stopped him with a stern look.

Amostella smiled as he watched this unfold. He waved his wand, drew back the curtain, and openly displayed the magical wall to the three of them, jokingly remarking...

"I might need to be discreet with others, but the three of you have clearly figured me out, haven't you!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione laughed sheepishly. Then, with Professor Blaine's permission, the three of them took a good look at the 'Hogwarts on the wall.' Of course, Harry and Ron just watched the spectacle, while only Hermione noticed something amiss.

"Such a profound transformation spell, I probably won't be able to cast it in my lifetime."

At the end of the visit, Hermione said with a look of disappointment.

"Don't underestimate yourself, Miss Granger. You have a great talent for magic. Just keep up this humble learning attitude, and one day this will be no challenge for you!"

To avoid interfering with the work ahead, Amosta shut down the surveillance wall again, and when he turned around, he found that Miss Granger, who had been praised, had her ears turned red.

Even with twice the number of people, helping Lockhart write back to his fans was still a tedious and painful task. Amosta continued to dawdle, and in the end, he was even unwilling to write two words by hand with a quill. Instead, he waved his wand to control sheets of paper to float over, letting the quill write and draw on them, while he himself studied the manuscript with great interest.

Harry and Ron were furious at the sight, but neither of them had the guts to imitate it.

Time passed slowly, and the sun set in the west.

When it was time for dinner, Amosta excused himself to go downstairs to get their dinner and went for a walk. When he returned, the letters that were still there were missing a piece. In the office, Hermione was glaring angrily at Harry and Ron. Amosta smiled and probably understood what had happened.

"Please take a rest, ladies and gentlemen, there's no need to rush."

Professor Blaine is very approachable when chatting with people; in fact, you might forget that he is a professor and investigator, and instead feel more like a senior at Hogwarts. This gave Harry the courage to voice his doubts.

"Professor Blaine, did you visit Hagrid yesterday morning?"

Harry acted nonchalantly, trying to make his question seem like a casual remark in conversation. However, his clenched fists and the sudden, eerie silence of Hermione and Ron told Amosta that this was undoubtedly a question he had prepared for a long time.

Chapter 59 Differences

"A personal matter--"

Sure enough, when Amosta said those words, the three little ones in front of him immediately tensed up. Hermione frantically winked at Harry, while Ron stared anxiously at his toes. Their reactions made Harry, who was determined to find out what was going on, hesitate.

Interesting. What are these three little guys trying to find out from me?

Amosta observed the three of them with great interest.

"The three of you seem quite curious about the purpose of my visit to Hagrid?"

"Is that so, Professor Blaine—"

Harry carefully controlled his tone, trying not to sound suspicious, "Hagrid is one of our three best friends, and you are an investigator."

Harry stammered, unable to continue.

Amosta nodded knowingly.

"You're worried that the secret chamber incident is related to Hagrid, so you're worried that I'm investigating him?"

Harry's face paled slightly, Ron's cheeks flushed, and Hermione, after a moment of silence, broke the awkward silence with a blink and a lighthearted tone.

“I’m sorry, Professor Blaine, I’ve already told them that this is pure speculation. Hagrid is Dumbledore’s most trusted gamekeeper, and he couldn’t possibly have any connection to Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets, could he?”

Amosta lowered her eyes and smiled. "Miss Granger, you're still thirty years out of the question if you want to play hard to get with me!"

He pondered for a moment, neither saying yes nor no, but simply smiled at the three of them and said calmly,

"Actually, it's like this: pure theory and practice alone are not enough for you to skillfully deal with dangers that may strike at any time. Therefore, according to the tradition of the Defense Against the Dark Arts course, I think it is necessary for you to come into contact with some truly dangerous creatures."

Seeing that Hermione and the others were listening attentively, Amosta paused, shrugged, and continued.

"Many fascinating and magical creatures live in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, and Hagrid is the one in the school who knows the most about it, so I asked him to be my guide—"

call!

After hearing his explanation, the three little ones all breathed a heavy sigh of relief, their expressions immediately becoming relaxed.

Under Amosta's amused gaze, Harry, with a shy smile, shifted his body and realized that his back was completely soaked with sweat in just a short time.

"May I ask what you have prepared for us?"

Ron's eyes lit up. "I know unicorns and centaurs live there, but Fred and George told me there's much more to the forest than that!"

"what!"

Amosta leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back, his voice sounding mysterious.

"That falls under the category of confidentiality, Mr. Weasley. You see, quick thinking and adaptability when facing unknown dangers are also very important. I'm not planning to give you time to prepare in advance."

By the way, don't even think about going back to Hagrid to ask him anything. I've already warned him; he won't tell anyone a single word. Anyway, you three, get ready for a surprise!

Professor Blaine's words almost brought tears of excitement and curiosity to their eyes. Even Hermione couldn't help but ask for a hint, but Amosta ruthlessly refused.

"I can only tell you that I have prepared three kinds of dark creatures with different levels of danger. Each grade level will deal with one of them. As for the others, don't even think about asking!"

The discussion about this interesting topic lasted for more than half an hour. No matter how Harry and Ron tried to subtly inquire, Amosta remained silent with a smile, letting them guess. In the end, even Hermione ignored Lockhart's letters and joined in the heated discussion.

The pleasant atmosphere of the conversation even made Ron forget about Amosta's professorship. He looked at Amosta and muttered something with a hint of resentment.

"That's incredible, Professor. How could a wizard as remarkable as you come from Slytherin?"

When he noticed the warning look from Hermione, Ron immediately changed his tune.

“I—I mean, we’ve never met a Slytherin as friendly as you, Professor. The Slytherin junior wizards we’ve met always talk about pure blood and honor and look down on Muggle-born wizards. But you’ve never mentioned any of that. To me, you’re more like a Gryffindor!”

Harry and Hermione both nodded in agreement immediately, clearly having been puzzled by the same question for some time.

"Actually, Slytherin and Gryffindor are quite similar at times."

Amos Tower's straightforward statement left Harry, Slytherin, and Gryffindor looking at each other in bewilderment: "Slytherin and Gryffindor are very similar. What kind of novel theory is this?"

In everyone's eyes, Slytherin and Gryffindor are the most incompatible of the four houses of Hogwarts. This huge difference in ideology began when the four founders created the magic school a thousand years ago. Even the current Chamber of Secrets incident is a trouble that stems from this.

Should we give Dumbledore a little trouble?

Looking at Harry, whose eyes showed the strongest resistance to his words, Amosta smirked and cleared his throat.

"According to Headmaster Dumbledore's philosophy, the most powerful and irresistible force in the world is love, because love gives people courage, and courage gives people the strength to face all misfortunes. This philosophy itself is very much in line with the thoughts of Godric Gryffindor, the founder of Gryffindor House."

"Isn't this the right thing to do, Professor Blaine?"

Harry immediately became sensitive when Dumbledore was involved, while Hermione also became nervous. She stared anxiously at Amostella, afraid that Professor Blaine in front of her would say something like, "Pure-bloods are noble, and half-bloods are despicable."

"Many things in this world don't have a single answer, Potter—"

Amosta shook his head and chuckled.

"I can't say that Gryffindor or Dumbledore's ideas are problematic or even wrong; it's just that I personally have my own views."

Before Harry and the others could ask any further questions, Amosta began to explain himself.

"My idea is that no matter how strong the love or hatred, it cannot enable an ordinary person to lift a 500-pound stone without the aid of magic."

"Porter, I believe power is power. It's an extremely simple thing. Neither love nor hate can give you extraordinary power. Of course, these two extreme emotions can indeed ignite a person's determination to pursue power."

Looking at the three little ones lost in thought, Amosta turned his head to look out the window. The scattered fluorescent lights were still embedded in the boundless black curtain. Throughout history, that mysterious universe has been the other side that countless wizards and Muggles have dreamed of conquering.

After a long while, Amosta finally withdrew his unfathomable gaze and chuckled softly.

"If we have to link strength and courage with love, I would agree more that strength can give people the boundless courage to pursue love and freedom."

"Which one do you think is right, Ron?"

On his four-poster bed in the dormitory, Harry recalled the loneliness and longing that Professor Blaine exuded when he gazed at the stars, and asked softly.

“I don’t know either, Harry,” Ron muttered, turning over in bed.

"But I feel that compared to love, I seem to lack even more strength."

Chapter 60 shows some improvement

Harry and the other two had already left, leaving only Amosta in the office. The candlelight flickered, casting swaying shadows on the walls. He silently watched the surveillance screen until the three of them returned to the common room before turning his gaze away.

The weather in early March was no longer the bone-chilling cold, but the fire in the fireplace was still burning brightly, and the room was slightly warm.

Amosta walked to the window and opened it, his gaze wandering aimlessly. For some reason, he suddenly felt that the quiet of this fairly comfortable office was maddening.

The ancient castle still stands silently on the high ground. The forest not far away has witnessed countless legends that were once glorious and brilliant, illuminating an era, but have now vanished like smoke. Amosta gazes at the rolling forest and suddenly thinks of Voldemort, who was even willing to sever his soul, which possessed infinite magic, in order to achieve eternity.

"eternal?"

Amosta chuckled self-deprecatingly. From the day it was born, the universe has been relentlessly marching toward its demise. Life is but a fleeting ripple in the long river of time. In this vast universe, what can stand shoulder to shoulder with eternity?

For Muggles or wizards, the only constant companion in their short lives is solitude, Amostah told himself.