The Return to Hogwarts

"--That's a very useful alchemical tool, I mean, for preventing crime and guarding against ambushes, much more useful than my spyglasses and black magic detectors. Have you considered using it for something worthwhile, Amosta? I mean, for something more respectable—"

"That did happen."

Amosta nodded and smiled.

"As you should know, the first time I returned to this school after graduation was to investigate the infamous Chamber of Secrets incident, and I also used it during Sirius's escape. But this thing violates the students' privacy, and if I intend to do anything with it, I must apply to the Ministry of Magic in advance—"

"Oh, really?"

Moody said thoughtfully, then realized he shouldn't have remained silent.

"What a pity. If I were still in the Ministry of Magic, there wouldn't have been so much red tape. I would have made the Minister of Magic realize the true value of this invention and promoted it vigorously."

"Yes, I often feel sorry that this invention is not valued."

Under the boundless night sky, the two smiled at each other, then turned and walked away again.

Chapter 635 The Curse of Being Born with the Soul

2023-12-06

When Amosta entered Hagrid's hut, he immediately sensed that the atmosphere inside was not as pleasant as he had imagined.

First was Hermione. Having won the match and become famous overnight, Hermione immediately jumped up from Hagrid's bed when she saw him enter the room. She nervously clasped her hands, avoiding his gaze. Hagrid, too, stared intently at Dom, who stood in the corner, his large, tennis ball-sized eyes brimming with tears.

"Professor Blaine—"

Ron opened the door for him. When he saw that it was Professor Blaine, Ron's face showed a hint of restraint. Unlike Harry and Hermione, he had given up physical education class and now rarely had the opportunity to meet Professor Blaine face to face. The place where they met most often was the school's Great Hall.

Amosta also sensed the slight unease in Ron's demeanor. He smiled gently at Ron, patted him on the shoulder, and went into the house.

This casual action left Ron standing there, looking completely bewildered.

"How are you, Sirius?"

After scanning the room, Amosta took in everyone's emotions before going directly to Hagrid's bedside (Hermione hurriedly made way for him).

Sirius's eyes were covered with gauze and ointment. He knew who had come in from Ron's greeting.

"It's not bad—"

Sirius smiled wryly.

"But I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to ask Ms. Burns for a leave of absence. I'll probably need to rest for a few days. I took that hit for you, Amosta—"

Amosta laughed heartily upon hearing this, while Hermione looked so sad she was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I—"

Hermione lowered her head, wanting to express her apology, but it seemed there were too many things to apologize for, and she didn't know where to begin.

"You did very well today, and you lived up to my expectations—"

Hermione looked devastated, and Amosta knew why. He spoke gently.

"I bet you're thinking that if that Chinese Fireball Dragon hadn't been Sirius in disguise, you wouldn't have passed the test. But I'm here to tell you that's not the case at all; quite the opposite."

This was indeed the question that bothered Hermione the most after learning all this from Harry. She looked up at Professor Blaine, her face filled with astonishment.

"I'm sorry, Professor Blaine, I don't quite understand—"

“I think Sirius has already said that I deliberately created some difficulties for you. If you were facing a real fireball dragon, I think your initial summoning spell would have been enough to solve the problem. So, there’s no need to get hung up on it, Hermione. Your excellence is undeniable.”

"So."

Amostella shifted her gaze from Hermione's deeply moved face to the house-elf in the corner.

"You've obviously already educated Dom, haven't you?"

"It admitted it readily—"

Hagrid slapped his forehead in frustration.

"But it's very difficult to make a house-elf realize that it's wrong for it to help its owner through a difficult time."

Amosta nodded, then fell silent.

He recalled the scene he had witnessed beneath the island of Azkaban, in the despicable lair of Helpo, where thousands upon thousands of house-elves had their heads and hands cut off to make steps for people to trample on. Even the well-traveled Amostella felt a chill run down his spine upon first seeing that sight.

The Hogwarts History clearly states that Helga Hufflepuff was the first person to bring house-elves into Hogwarts to work. However, even such a great wizard could not completely eradicate the enslaving mentality imprinted on the souls of house-elves. It is conceivable that the cruelty Helpo inflicted when creating these creatures was extraordinary.

"Come to me, little one—"

Amosta sat down and waved to Dom in the corner.

Professor Blaine's silence sent a chill down Hermione's spine. Dom's presumptuous actions had nearly ruined the Triwizard Tournament, making Hogwarts a laughingstock. It would be perplexing if Professor Blaine didn't get angry. So, when Professor Blaine called Dom over, Hermione's face turned deathly pale. She rushed forward to block his path.

"Doom was just... but it's not its fault, Professor. It's my fault. I asked Dom to cheer me on during the game, but it didn't understand. Professor Blaine, if you're going to punish someone, the one who should be punished is me!"

Harry and Ron both looked worried. To be honest, they didn't think Professor Blaine would hold a grudge against a house-elf. It was Hermione's stubbornness on this matter that was giving them a headache. Hermione had previously established a house-elf rights association and mobilized everyone around her to join. If it weren't for the fact that she was later chosen as a champion, she might still be going on about this.

"It's all Dom's fault. Dom has caused Mistress Granger a lot of trouble. Dom is willing to accept any punishment from the great Mr. Blaine!"

Dom nimbly emerged from behind Hermione's legs, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Amostella.

"Doom just hopes Mr. Blaine won't kick him out—"

"Amosta--"

Seeing Dom so obsequious, Hagrid felt a pang of pity. To be honest, Dom had helped him a great deal, and they had become friends. If Amostella wanted to expel Dom from Hogwarts, he couldn't accept it.

"Keeping Guan Guan in confinement is fine. Considering it didn't cause any serious problems, could you—"

"I don't plan to punish you for now, Doum, as long as you don't plan to give me any more 'surprises' like today in the next match, after all—"

Amosta spoke gently.

"No matter what, I'm the one who brought you into this world--"

Dom's teary eyes trembled violently, a sense of bewilderment welling up from the bottom of her heart. In that last moment, it seemed as if a crack had appeared in the enslaved soul of the house-elf.

Hermione was already in tears, looking at Professor Blaine with immense emotion, the image of the two of them saving Rega and Doom flashing before her eyes.

"Come on, little one, lie down on the bed, I'm going to give you a check-up--"

Amosta stood up and gave his seat to Dom.

Should I get a checkup?

The people in the room all looked confused. Dom hadn't been hurt, so what kind of examination was needed?

Dom instinctively refused, filled with trepidation. It was merely a house-elf, its only opportunity to be on a wizard's bed being making the bed; how could it possibly lie on a wizard's bed? It was utterly disrespectful. However, it had to obey Mr. Blaine's orders. So, with trepidation, Dom hesitantly climbed into Hagrid's bed and lay down as instructed.

"What are you going to do, Amosta?"

Sirius moved aside, his eyes still hurting so badly he couldn't see, but he heard the conversation.

"I need to check it out--"

Amosta bent down, telling Dom to relax, and then placed a finger between Dom's eyebrows.

"The Soul of House-Elves--"

The moment the words left his lips, a gentle breeze seemed to appear out of nowhere in the comfortable room. No one noticed that the illusion magic shrouding Amostella's eyes had shattered. Only Dom saw the great Mr. Blaine's wondrous pale purple eyes suddenly turn a clear, jewel-like purple, and then his consciousness drifted and fell silent within those infinitely alluring, deep purple eyes.

late at night.

It's unclear when it started, but the candlelight in Amostella's office has become one of the last to go out among the hundreds of rooms at Hogwarts.

Most of the guests who attended the banquet tonight have already left through the temporarily opened FlooNet. Only a few guests are staying here, and they all hope to take advantage of this rare opportunity to have a conversation with Amosta.

By the time I got back to the office, a new day had begun.

Amostella possessed an energy that most wizards lacked, thanks to his powerful magic and spiritual strength. He pulled a spellbook from the bookshelf and quietly flipped through it by the dim candlelight.

His strength has reached a bottleneck. To break through this barrier, he can only rely on persistent, gradual accumulation, and, most importantly, a catalyst—

As he flipped through the book, Amosta recalled what he had seen in Dom's soul—a curse that had been placed within Dom's soul at the moment of its birth, at the very first glimmer of its life.

At its core remains—

dong dong——

Amosta, who was deep in thought about this question, suddenly looked towards the door, raised an eyebrow in surprise, and then, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes. He closed the spellbook and calmly said,

"Come in, Ron—"

Chapter 636 Awakening

2023-12-06

Harry, Ron, and Hermione did not stay at Hagrid's hut very late. They left Hagrid's hut shortly after Professor Blaine left.

The main reason was Hermione. She wanted to take advantage of the time available to go to the school hospital and ask Madam Pomfrey how people afflicted with the Eye Curse could recover as quickly as possible. Harry agreed with her idea, but Ron's unexpected remark dispelled their plans.

I think it's best not to do that--

As they hurried across the grounds toward the castle, Hermione was telling Harry about her plans to go to the school hospital, and Ron immediately followed suit.

"Why?" Harry asked, surprised. "Sirius looks really bad—"

“If things get really bad, he’ll figure it out himself—” Ron shrugged. “You see, Professor Blaine hasn’t asked much about his injuries, so I guess Sirius just wants to take this opportunity to stay at school a few more days to rest. Normally, he can’t get himself much vacation time, can he?”

Harry and Hermione stopped and stared at him in surprise.