The Return to Hogwarts

"Want a drink, Amosta?" Sirius Black stepped forward and said with a smile.

“That was originally a plan—” Amosta said with a dark expression, “but I’m not in the mood for it anymore.”

It was clearly no longer a suitable place to chat, as a large group of people were watching them both inside and outside the store.

"What happened to Harry and Ron?"

Sirius and Amosta turned into a secluded alley opposite the Padif Tea House. Standing under the eaves, Amosta casually asked,

"Did the two little ones get into a fight?"

"It's because of Hermione's warrior status—"

Sirius shrugged.

“You know, Ron has always been under pressure from his siblings and longs to stand out, but he never gets much attention from Harry.”

Amosta nodded knowingly.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione—in this small group, Harry, needless to say, receives a lot of attention wherever he goes, while Hermione is also somewhat famous for her outstanding achievements. Not to mention, she is now the fourth champion of Hogwarts. It's easy to imagine that Ron would face considerable pressure and strange looks from being friends with these two outstanding young wizards.

However, Amosta had no intention of interfering; it was their own business, or rather, an unavoidable pain in the process of growing up.

“Tell me about Barty Crouch—” Amosta said. “Has he made any moves these days?”

“You know, Amosta, I can’t always stay in the department, but when I go back to hand in my missions, I try to get information from other people.”

Sirius frowned and said...

"Nothing special, just as diligent as ever, almost always the last to leave the department. If I had to say something, it would be Percy—"

"Percy?"

"I heard it from Arthur when he was bragging to me. Old Barty seems to value Percy a lot, and now he lets him make decisions on things that aren't particularly important or urgent, while he himself spends most of his time in the office. But it's not really a big deal. Apparently, he got a little injured during a business trip to Hungary, and he was supposed to go to St. Mungo's to recuperate for a while, but we all know he obviously wouldn't waste his precious time in a place like that. But he must be feeling exhausted, so it's not surprising that he's dumping some less important work on Percy—"

Sirius Black gazed at Amostella, who was deep in thought, his brow furrowed deeply.

"What exactly happened, Amosta? Why do you want me to keep an eye on Barty the Elder? You think what happened at Hogwarts is related to him, don't you?"

A flicker of light flashed in Amostella's eyes, but she didn't reply, simply looking calmly at Sirius.

Seeing his expression, Sirius immediately realized that he had no chance of getting anything out of Amosta.

"All right--"

Sirius sighed and said...

“I know you must have a lot of important things to think about, but I'd like you to help look after Harry, oh, and of course Hermione and Ron, the three of them are already overwhelmed with this whole 'Hero' thing—”

Amosta and Sirius didn't talk for long. After all, they had already communicated anything special through letters. As for Sirius's final request, Amosta agreed, but he knew he wouldn't interfere too much. He even wanted to keep his distance from the three little guys until Voldemort's wish was fulfilled.

The rain and mist obscured the view, revealing only the green mountains.

Amosta emerged from the alley. Although he hoped to return to Hogwarts immediately, there were still many Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students at Hogsmeade. He had to wait until before dinner to gather them together and return to Hogwarts.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to go to the Pig's Head Bar to kill some time, as it was quite quiet during the day. However, after turning around, Amosta hesitated and turned back to look at the Elegant Wizard Clothing Store he had left earlier.

Chapter 595 Showdown

2023-11-16

"Harry, Harry!"

In the darkness and dilapidated passageway, Hermione desperately chased after Harry. However, it turned out that even with training, she was still a bit behind Harry in terms of athletic talent, and no matter how hard she tried, the distance between them grew wider and wider.

"Stop, Harry!"

Seeing the road beneath their feet begin to curve, Hermione knew they were almost at Hogwarts. She shouted anxiously, and a hint of regret crept into her heart.

On the one hand, she regretted telling Harry that Professor Blaine didn't intend to hold him responsible for injuring Fleur, because Professor Blaine had asked them to come to his office that night for punishment under the pretext of sneaking out of school—which relieved Harry of any worries.

On the other hand, she also regretted not telling Harry about Ron's feelings during this time, and this was probably the root cause of Harry's anger. He felt betrayed, and this betrayal didn't just come from Ron; Hermione clearly sensed everything but didn't tell him anything, which was also a bad thing.

"Please listen to me, Harry!"

Hermione shouted anxiously, her voice already breaking down with sobs.

Harry certainly heard Hermione calling him, and he noticed the pleading in her voice. But now, a fire was burning in his chest, making him feel hot all over. He had to run as fast as he could to feel less uncomfortable.

He ran through the dark tunnels, his vision flashing back to the years he had spent at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione, from their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express to the present day. Together they had saved the Philosopher's Stone, investigated the Basilisk, and hunted the innocent Sirius Black in the Forbidden Forest.

He and Ron flew to Hogwarts in Mr. Weasley's car, where they used the Time-Turner with Hermione to capture Peter.

The three of them had been through so many amazing things together, and Harry thought their friendship would always be strong, just like Sirius, Remus, and his parents. But now, Sirius was using Peter's example to imply that Harry couldn't tell whether he was angry or scared. All he wanted to do was find Ron right away and punch him hard in the freckled nose!

Wow--

The sudden burst of white light made Harry, who had been running through the tunnels for a while, dizzy. He stood there for a few seconds, and just then, Hermione finally caught up. She jumped off the hunchbacked witch, her hair disheveled, with two clear tear tracks under her eyes.

Harry was rushing to the window in the corridor, squinting at the ground below. Hermione gasped for breath a few times, then ran over and grabbed Harry's robe tightly. But Harry, having already figured out what was going on, forcefully snatched the robe back from Hermione's hand and prepared to rush down.

"What do you want, Harry!"

Hermione spread her arms to block his way.

Harry never imagined he would speak to Hermione in such a tone, but he still spoke very stiffly.

"Get out of the way, Hermione! I'm going down there to find Ron Weasley and smash his nose in. If I can, I'd also like to crack open his skull and see just how many ridiculous ideas are swirling in that stupid little head of his!"

"Don't do this, Harry!"

Hermione pleaded,

Sirius just wants you to have a serious talk with him--

“I’ll talk to him!” Harry shouted, “but only when his nose is like Fleur Delacour’s, or I’m afraid he’ll lose his mind!”

Harry's determination to leave was unstoppable by Hermione, and a fierce chase ensued within the castle. To the astonishment of many, Harry dashed down the stairs to the Great Hall like a whirlwind, leaping down the marble steps in front of the foyer and rushing towards the grounds.

Ron, Seamus, and Dean were keeping watch on the field. Ron rode Harry's Firebolt, leaving Seamus and Dean, who were using the Sweep series, completely behind. They seemed to be having a great time, and even the light drizzle didn't dampen their enthusiasm for the game.

"Come down!"

This scene enraged Harry even more. He drew his wand, fired a brilliant red beam into the sky, and roared,

"Get down, Weasley!"

The sudden commotion disrupted Ron and his companions' rhythm, nearly causing them to collide in mid-air. Then, they spotted Harry yelling at them from the ground. After exchanging puzzled glances, Ron slowly lowered himself down with the Firebolt.

"what's wrong?"

Ron glanced at Seamus and Dean, who were lagging behind, and then looked at Harry and Hermione, who had rushed over looking miserable, and asked in bewilderment.

Harry didn't speak, but instead looked at Seamus and Dean. They could easily tell that Harry was angry, especially since Hermione was secretly gesturing to them to leave quickly.

We forgot to eat lunch--

Dean slapped his forehead and said shrewdly. He gave Simo a look, and the two of them ran off quickly.

"What's going on?"

Ron frowned, puzzled. He was looking at Hermione, who had her head down, because for some reason, he didn't want to meet Harry's gaze.

To be honest, when Harry actually saw Ron, he didn't know how to start a conversation. Of course, he didn't make a move either, even though he did want to punch Ron in the nose.

"Didn't you go to see Sirius?"

Unable to get a hint from Hermione, Ron turned to Harry, a hint of unease flashing in his eyes before quickly glancing at Harry's eyes and then looking away.

"Yes!"

Harry nodded repeatedly, panting as he spoke.

"Thanks to him, I finally understood some things. For example, you've always wanted to have an ugly scar on your forehead!"

"Harry, don't do this--"

Hermione nudged Harry's waist, her lips pressed tightly together, tears welling in her eyes.

Ron's face turned pale instantly, his pupils contracted, and fear seeped outward from the center of the flickering light in his eyes.

Harry felt a pang of pity for her, but at the same time, a surge of satisfaction welled up inside him. To be honest, he hadn't had a pleasant time lately. Hermione had been chosen as a champion in the Warsaw Pitching Tournament, and many theories suggested it wasn't just a prank, but a meticulously planned conspiracy. He had been worried about it constantly, and Ron... he had assumed Ron was just as worried, perhaps even more so, but it turned out to be a completely different story!

"Can't figure it out, can you?"

Harry clenched his fists and stared intently at Ron.

"What do you think about Hermione becoming a champion?!"

Hermione's lower lip was slightly bloody. She hugged herself and turned her face away, not wanting Harry and Ron to see that she was crying.

If Ron's face could be described as pale just now, it was now deathly white without a trace of blood. He looked at the Firebolt that belonged to Harry in his hand, and if he could, he would even want to ride it away from Harry and Hermione!

"What's wrong? You have nothing to say?"

Harry, panting, said in a tone full of pleasure,

"Perhaps you've finally realized you're a fool, an idiot, right?"

"I'm not a fool!"

Ron suddenly looked up, no longer avoiding Harry's gaze, and roared angrily.

"I'm not stupid!"