The Return to Hogwarts

Elder Horn's voice was tinged with worry, and he gazed at Vitia with a kindness he had never shown when speaking to Amostall or Dumbledore.

“Your followers can’t forage for food in the forest; they can’t be exposed to the wizards’ sight. You can only buy food from the wizarding world, but that requires wizarding currency. I suppose you don’t have much gold—”

"We still have some Muggle currency—"

After thinking for a moment, Vitia said,

"I can use that money to buy some things in the Muggle world. You know, we don't pursue luxury; we just need to fill our stomachs."

Horn fell silent.

The druid cultists living in the secret realm number in the hundreds, and it is clear that 'some Muggle currency' will not be enough to sustain them until next spring and summer.

“You are now serving the castle, Vitia. As far as I know, wizards are paid, those things.”

“I’ve already spent that money on potion ingredients—” Vitia’s tone was tinged with helplessness, “the materials for making the disguise potion, and those ingredients weren’t cheap—”

"Potion ingredients?"

Horn blinked, perking up a bit.

“Oh, I remember now, quite a few wizards have indeed ventured deep into the forest to collect certain plants. If you can teach us what is valuable to wizards, we can help collect them, and then you can exchange them for currency or food among the wizards!”

Chapter 670 Making Money is Really Hard

2023-12-31

The pristine snow transformed the Forbidden Forest into a fairytale world, while also concealing its winter desolation.

On the way back to the castle, Vitia, now resembling Alastor Moody, was still pondering Elder Horn's proposed solution to their predicament. If this were their former residence, which they had cultivated for many years as druids, such a problem would never have arisen; they had their own methods for detaching themselves from human society and living in seclusion.

However, this relocation, which she initiated, happened rather hastily. Moreover, in order to avoid being discovered by the two awe-inspiring wizards in the castle, the relocation process had to be extremely secretive. Apart from items related to inheritance, many things were simply discarded by the druids at their previous residence.

Horn's idea was indeed a good one. Vitia even considered that the followers in the secret realm could make a living by cultivating potion ingredients in the future. This was not difficult, as taking care of plants and animals could even be said to be a specialty of druids.

As for sales channels, that's not a problem either.

They didn't need to apply for the relevant licenses from the Ministry of Magic. Vitia was already familiar with the underworld of Knockturn Alley when she was searching for Amosta Blaine. As long as they didn't cross the bottom line of some pure-blood wizarding families in terms of production and price, all that would be left were some minor troubles.

However, it will take time to get this done.

Druids believe in the laws of nature; they have ways to make plants healthier, but they won't force them to grow faster. So, they do have a tough time before they reap the rewards.

The moment she stepped out of the Forbidden Forest, the sudden burst of light made both of Vitia's real and fake blue eyes shrink. Then, she limped across Hagrid's vegetable garden with difficulty, leaning on her cane, and arrived at the school grounds.

This was the first snowfall of the year, and the vast schoolyard was like a playground filled with the joyful laughter of young wizards. Children from first grade to seventh grade chased and ran in the snow, throwing snowballs at each other, or a group of them would grab someone's hands and feet and throw them into the snow, then watch that person's disheveled appearance and burst into laughter.

Everyone's face was beaming with pure smiles. Vitia watched this peaceful scene quietly, and before she knew it, a genuine smile appeared on her lips for a second.

Wow--

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept through the mountains, causing the black lake, with its shattered ice, to make a splashing sound. The area was instantly shrouded in a thick fog, a vast expanse of white. But this did not dampen the children's laughter; instead, it made their joy even more unrestrained.

Vitia started walking towards the castle again, but the smile on her lips had turned into bitterness.

Neither she nor the children in the secret realm could let down their guard and enjoy the simple joys of peace and tranquility during their childhood. This was because they lacked powerful figures like Albus Dumbledore and Amostrath Blaine for protection.

Moreover, after watching for a while, the joyful appearance of these young wizards became somewhat jarring, because she knew very well that what she was doing was destroying the peaceful environment in which these children lived.

To the wizarding community, she was undoubtedly despicable. Her heart was filled with torment, but compared to the more than a thousand years of wandering and countless bloodshed of her ancestors since the collapse of Avalon, her hardships were insignificant.

“No problem, Alastor, I can sign it, but this isn’t a decision I can make alone. If you don’t want to go to Albus, at least you’ll have to get Amosta to sign it too—”

The small study on the second floor, next to the corridor.

Professor McGonagall looked apologetic.

"These are regulations set by the school board, and we must abide by them. Of course, I can do so privately if you need it."

“No need, Minerva, it’s just another damn rule!”

Professor Moody slammed his cane against the floor to express his dissatisfaction with these annoying rules and regulations. His face, scarred and battered, was contorted in a grimace. He picked up the application form that Professor McGonagall had already signed from the table.

"I'm going to Blaine to sign right now. Oh, I hope he'll be as quick as you are!"

Under Professor McGonagall's apologetic gaze, Professor Moody limped out of her office. He went up to the third floor, followed the long corridor, passed his own office, and then made several turns to reach Blaine's office, only to find no one answering his knock.

Under normal circumstances, he could have waited until after dinner to discuss it privately with Blaine. But she wanted to resolve the matter over the weekend, so Professor Moody turned back and prepared to go down to Slytherin's basement.

At Hogwarts, everyone knew that Blaine and Severus were the closest of friends; he would visit Snape's office a week as often as he would visit Dumbledore's office for an entire school year.

Fortunately, on the second floor she had just left, she ran into Blaine, who was staring blankly out the window.

She knew very well what to be careful about when speaking in front of a powerful wizard like Blaine. Composing herself, Vitia quickly went over her prepared remarks in her mind, and then spoke, startling Blaine out of his reverie.

Well, she had no choice but to follow Amosta Blaine back up to the third floor to his office, which he had just left.

Amosta discovered that of all the guests he had invited for tea, Professor Moody was the one who most genuinely loved the bitter beverage of green tea. This was unusual, as traditional British people preferred drinks with a full-bodied taste and rich aroma, and the delicate fragrance and bittersweet aftertaste of green tea were not their style.

However, upon further reflection, there's nothing strange about it.

After all, the woman sitting across from me in the office, who lives a secluded and reclusive life and reveres nature, probably often soaks various leaves in water to drink in the forest.

"Bryan, I've come to see you because—"

“Thank you very much for your trust, Professor Moody.”

Alastor put down his teacup, about to say something, but Amosta suddenly raised a hand to stop him from continuing, and then said something puzzling.

Seeing Moody's puzzled look, Amosta pointed to the bulging bottles of liquor in Moody's pocket and smiled slightly.

"I thought you wouldn't drink the tea I brewed for you. It seems I've gained your trust, haven't I?"

"If Amosta Blaine is not trustworthy, then there are no trustworthy wizards in the British wizarding world!"

Moody let out a hoarse, gruff laugh.

"Many people think I've been driven mad by my experiences as an Auror, but people like you and me know very well that we must always be vigilant, because only despicable people will talk to you about morality!"

Moody grinned menacingly, but inwardly she was terrified. She had briefly dropped her pretense with Elder Horn and was preoccupied with the affairs of the cult, only revealing a small slip-up, which Blaine had immediately noticed.

Faced with Professor Moody's explanation, which was hardly an explanation, Amosta simply smiled faintly. He could tell that Moody was eager to steer the conversation toward the purpose of his visit, but he still slowly rose and walked to the bookshelf—

"Since you're willing to have tea here, Professor Moody, then why not—"

Amusta crouched down, opened the expanded storage space beneath the bookshelf, revealing a dense array of gift boxes tied with colorful ribbons. He picked up the one on top, closed the cabinet, and turned back. The box opened, revealing it filled with liqueur-filled chocolates and cookies.

"--How about some dessert?"

Amosta smiled and said that he noticed Professor Moody was astonished by the shapes of the cookies and chocolates, so he quickly explained...

“Oh, no problem, Professor Moody, these are, well, maybe early Christmas gifts from students, or maybe fans. There are too many, I have to ‘destroy’ them as soon as possible--”

“Oh!” Professor Moody said, his surprise fading. “How romantic, Blaine. I remember receiving a similar gift from a student last month—an old teapot warmer cover filled with crawling cockroaches!”

"Hehe, I happen to have a teapot warmer cover, maybe you can give it to me. But cockroaches, oh, they might be a kind of candy called cockroach piles, which Headmaster Dumbledore really likes. Are you sure it wasn't him who gave it to you?"

Amos chuckled.

The atmosphere of the conversation was fairly pleasant, not as probing and confrontational as the two people involved had imagined. When Amosta took the last pastry from the box, Alastor secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His hand was just about to reach into his pocket to take out the application form—

Boom, boom, boom!

The office door opened unexpectedly, and Moody sighed inwardly, his hand subtly leaving his pocket.

Making money is really hard.

Chapter 671 When it’s time to break, it’s time to break

2024-01-01

Neither of the two people in the office were wizards whose view would be obstructed by a wall. Their gazes swept towards the door being knocked on, and both Amosta and Alastor's expressions became somewhat subtle.

"Should I excuse myself, Blaine?"

Professor Moody, concealing his anxiety in a hoarse voice, asked.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Professor Moody—”

Amosta spoke calmly, waving his hand to make the empty pastry box and crumbs on his desk disappear, then said in a deep voice towards the door, "Come in—"

With a click, the door opened, and a girl wrapped in a sky-blue cloak, her face hidden inside, walked in.

"Hiss—it's so cold—phew, but it's quite warm here—"

The girl didn't even glance up to get a better look at the office. She closed the door behind her, then removed her cloak, revealing Beauxbatons' form-fitting silk school uniform. Fleur muttered to herself as she carefully shook the fine snowflakes from her cloak.

"Oh, to be honest, I really didn't want to leave the carriage and come to the castle in this weather, but Gabrielle wanted to have a snowball fight with the Hogwarts students on the field, so I had to come with her. She was having a lot of fun, but I was very bored."

So I thought of you. You know what I mean, right? I've been waiting for you to invite me. But it never happens. Oh, the British are so reserved in these matters, always so secretive. Why couldn't you just be as decisive as you were in the Quidditch final this summer, beating Vitia Cliona?

Hibiscus glanced at her cloak a few times, then sighed in relief, seemingly finally satisfied.

"Perhaps you could invite me for a cup of your usual tea, Amosta. I don't particularly like the taste, but at least it'll warm me up—"

Hibiscus draped the cloak over her arm, and then finally looked up at the innermost office area. Her expression froze instantly, and her pale cheeks, which had been chilled by the cold, turned red at a visible speed!

Silence descended, and a strange atmosphere filled the office.

Fleur remained motionless as if petrified, while Amosta pursed her lips, expressionless. Professor Moody, though still facing Amosta, had his blue demonic eye malfunctioning, its pupil sometimes pointing forward and sometimes inward toward his skull.

"Perhaps it's not convenient for you right now, Blaine—"

Finally, Professor Moody broke the awkward silence. His hoarse voice suddenly became much deeper, and his gaze toward Amosta held a strange light.