The Return to Hogwarts

Having overheard only a few sentences of his conversation with Goldstein and received a hint from Goldstein, he was able to roughly reconstruct the truth of the whole matter and provide a solution to extricate himself from the situation of having to take the blame. The skill and wisdom he displayed were astonishing. Percy had to admit that even Mr. Crouch could not provide him with such a feat.

"Everyone has their own ambitions, Percy—"

Amosta rose from the sofa and strolled around Barty Crouch's office, casually looking around.

"You must understand that power takes many forms; it's not just the power held by the Minister of Magic that constitutes power—"

Amosta turned to look at Percy, who sat upright on the sofa as if in a lecture, and noticed the intense desire in the young man's eyes. Amosta's gaze darkened slightly.

“Let me give you a heads-up, Percy—” Amosta said, “If you’re determined to go into politics, you must keep one thing in mind.”

"What is it, Professor!" Percy asked eagerly.

"Working in a wizarding government, you must keep a clear head and have a keen eye to see through all sorts of conspiracies and tricks. You can hardly avoid or not use conspiracies and tricks, but you must understand that you cannot indulge in using conspiracies and tricks to solve problems. To put it simply, if you want to get promoted, you have to do things steadily to hone your abilities, and don't expect to rise to the top in one step."

Amosta's meaningful look made Percy blush.

"Also, Percy—"

Amosta turned his head to look at the paper airplanes floating in mid-air and pointed at them.

"I suggest you have Arthur show you around the various departments of the Ministry of Magic, so you can meet his old friends, if you don't want to spend all your time in the office dealing with these meaningless things—"

"Dad?" Percy was startled at first, then asked in confusion, "What role can he play?"

"Your father is far more capable than you imagine, Percy. Put aside your arrogance and prejudice. When you encounter problems, consult your father more often; you will benefit from it."

There were more things that Amosta didn't say.

For example, it could be suggested that Percy change jobs and be transferred to another department.

Working under Barty Crouch is not a good choice. Amosta himself supports Amelia, and when Voldemort returns and Fudge is removed from his post, in order to ensure that Amelia can take over, Amosta may even personally speak out in support of Amelia. At that time, they will definitely do their best to suppress Barty.

Percy had been working under Barty since he joined the Ministry of Magic, and whether he liked it or not, he was naturally labeled as Barty, so it was inevitable that he would be affected by the struggle.

Moreover, given Batistuta's current condition...

Two rows of identical detached villas lined the spotless cement road, each with a private garden where lawns and rare flowers were meticulously maintained. The air was filled with the pleasant fragrance of flowers and the fresh scent of earth. The Muggles who occasionally passed by all strode confidently, exuding an air of extraordinary elegance.

Located in southeast London, at the boundary between the city and the suburbs, this is a well-known upscale neighborhood in London. All the residents here are Muggle dignitaries. However, these Muggle "big shots" probably can't imagine that their respectable neighbors actually hide a "maverick" wizard.

After speaking with Percy at the Ministry of Magic, Amostella spent a few more days in London before receiving Barty's reply.

The heavy snow a few days ago had resulted in damp and cold weather in London, but Amosta was still wearing his old dark green coat with only a simple wool shirt underneath, which drew surprised glances from passersby.

After admiring the flowers blooming so beautifully even in the dead of winter for a while outside the Barty family’s door, Amosta smiled and rang the doorbell.

"I have difficulty moving around, Amosta, please forgive me for not being able to come out to greet you, please come in yourself--"

A short while later, Batty's slightly hoarse voice came from the loudspeaker on one side of the door.

Amosta was quite surprised. As a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, Amosta thought that Barty would keep his distance from Muggle technology products, but he didn't expect that Barty would actually use a Muggle walkie-talkie.

A crisp sound came from the machine behind the door. Amosta gripped the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Upon entering the foyer, a pair of brand-new cotton slippers on the shoe rack jumped down by themselves and bounced around in front of Amosta. So Amosta had no choice but to take off his boots and put on the slippers.

As Amosta passed by the kitchen, he noticed that there were no signs of cooking, only that the trash cans were full of Muggle fast food packaging bags.

The wall leading to the living room is a photo wall, which displays many photos of Barty with famous figures in the wizarding world. In almost every photo, Barty has a serious and unsmiling expression.

There is only one photo. It shows Barty and a thin woman together. Barty's expression is relatively gentle, while the woman leaning on his shoulder has a happy smile on her face. Both Barty and the woman look very young, probably only in their thirties.

Amosta discovered that the family photo had been cropped. A ring of light yellow hair was visible at the bottom center of the photo. Judging from the layout and height of the photos, this was probably the reason why Baty's son was not completely cropped out. It was likely because the woman in the photo, wearing a wedding ring, had her hand on top of her son's head.

"That's missing a photo of us together, Amosta--"

A detached voice, devoid of emotion, emanated from the dimly lit living room, pulling Amosta from his feelings of pity. He turned to see Barty, wrapped in a thick blanket, already standing up from the sofa.

"If you don't mind, we can take a picture together right now, Batty—"

The moment Amosta's gaze fell upon Baty's eyes, his eyes flickered, and a sense of confusion arose in his heart. The truth that this confusion might represent weighed heavily on Amosta's mind.

There were also some fast food packaging bags piled on the coffee table in front of Barty. The fireplace in the living room was black and unlit, which made the living room feel even colder than outside.

"Oh my god--"

Amosta's voice was heavy. He hurried over, took Barty's arm, and helped him sit down. Then, he took out his wand and pointed it at the fireplace. The fireplace, which was now just a pile of ashes, burst into golden flames with a bang. The flames illuminated the living room and quickly raised the temperature inside.

By the firelight, Amosta carefully examined Baty's pale face.

"You look terrible, Barty—"

"Cough cough!"

Barty coughed a few times, pulled his arm away from Amosta's grasp, and after a few rapid breaths, said expressionlessly, "Yeah, I guessed it would be the same."

Amosta twitched his nostrils; he could clearly smell blood, and the smell was coming from Barty's arm. He placed the gift he had brought—a bottle of mead matured with the finest oak—on the coffee table, then sat down himself.

"I was planning to have a drink with you—"

Amosta made no attempt to hide the look of surprise on his face when he saw the fast food packaging bags on the coffee table.

“But I’m afraid you’re no longer in the mood to savor fine wine, honestly, Barty. I think you should go to St. Mungo right now, instead of staying in this cold, impersonal house!”

Chapter 688 Let Shining Go Home

2024-01-12

The pungent smell of blood was mixed with a faint stench of decay. Even without lifting Batty's sleeve, Amosta could guess the approximate condition of the burn marks on Batty's arm inflicted by the Hungarian tree peak. He looked at Batty with concern in his eyes, like that of an old friend.

“I’m not going to San Mungo, Amosta—”

Barty looked really weak; even speaking was a struggle for him, yet he maintained his aloof and cold tone.

"Those healers at St. Mungo's only exaggerate. If I were to move in, that would be a real problem for me, you understand?"

Amosta pursed his lips and fell into a brief silence.

For a politician who may become Minister of Magic, his physical condition is crucial. If rumors circulate that Barty has serious health problems, it could very well affect his supporters' confidence in him.

"I've prepared some medicine for myself, enough to handle the trouble that beast has caused me. Of course, as you can see, Amosta, I need to rest—"

Barty glanced at Amosta, his tone slightly displeased, as if blaming Amosta for insisting on coming to his door and disturbing his peaceful recuperation.

"But no matter what, Batty—"

Amosta looked at him with concern.

"You need someone to take care of you. Look at this mess! There's not a single piece of firewood in the fireplace, the water in the kettle is ice cold, the kitchen is piled high with Muggle junk food, and I bet there's a mountain of dirty laundry in your laundry room. This kind of living environment isn't going to help you recover anytime soon. Seriously, you should at least find someone to take care of you. Oh—"

Amosta suddenly raised his eyebrows, as if he had remembered something, and this made Barty, who was sitting opposite him, flash a subtle wariness in his eyes.

"I just remembered something—"

Amosta said thoughtfully,

"The house-elf you fired is currently working in the kitchen at Hogwarts."

Amosta's words caught even Baty off guard, and he instinctively asked,

"You mean Sparkle?"

“It’s Sparkle, Barty—” Amosta narrowed his eyes.

"After leaving you, this little elf had a turbulent life. Later, by chance, it ended up in Hogwarts' kitchen. Oh, but to be honest, it wasn't happy there. It still misses the days of serving the Crouch family and working for you. Seriously, have you considered taking it back to serve you? I believe that before that incident, it was taking good care of you—"

“That’s astonishing, Amosta—”

Amosta's offer did indeed tempt Batty, but he didn't agree. Instead, he watched Amosta warily.

"I'm quite surprised that a wizard like you would care about the happiness of a whelp who's been kicked out of the house. If it were Dumbledore, I wouldn't find it so strange!"

"It's a coincidence--"

In a flash of thought, Amosta smiled contentedly.

"A few young wizards from Gryffindor stayed up late at night and sneaked into the school kitchen looking for excitement. I caught them red-handed. One of them was an elf named Dobby. He used to serve the Malfoy family, but like Blink, he made a mistake and was kicked out of the house."

This little elf named Dobby knows Harry Potter, oh, he's the one who sneaked into the kitchen with his friends, and Dobby and Blink are friends too, they joined Hogwarts together, so--”

Amosta shrugged.

"I learned about this by chance while listening to Harry Potter and his friends confess to their 'crimes'."

Bring Shining back--

It must be said that Amosta Blaine unintentionally made a tempting offer to him. It must have been unintentional; Amosta Blaine's expression didn't seem to be lying. He must have accidentally learned about Glitter. Why would a wizard like him deliberately pay attention to a lowly house-elf?

Bring Shining back. Shining is probably the only thing in this house that doesn't disgust him.

"Alright, Amosta, let's do it this way--"

After hesitating for a long time, Barty said in a low voice, "It is indeed a bit difficult for me to handle the current situation alone. If Sparky is still loyal to the Crouch family and deeply realizes its mistakes, I can give it a chance. Of course!"

Batistuta stared at Amosta with sharp eyes, as if trying to see right through him.

“I accept your proposal, Amosta. At the same time, I hope you can keep this a secret. Understand? If people find out that I have taken Gilgamesh back, with your intelligence, you will surely understand how much that hurts me!”

"We're friends, Buddy--"

Amostella smiled sincerely, "We've worked together, we made the Triwizard Tournament possible together, I won't do anything to harm you. Oh, your elf will be overjoyed, but you'll have to wait a couple of days, Barty. Only Dumbledore has the authority to release elves, and he's out these past two days."

Amosta's apparent delight at Baty's acceptance of his proposal seemed genuine, but a sudden unease settled in his heart; his initial suspicion upon first seeing Baty had been confirmed.

Just then, the water in the teapot on the mantel began to gurgle. Amosta went over, took the teapot down, and rummaged through the shelves above the fireplace. All he found were a few tea bags in a jar.