The Return to Hogwarts

Professor Moody was still standing there in a daze, while Professor Blaine had already turned and gone downstairs, and Harry and his two friends quickly followed.

The noisy auditorium was already filled with students having breakfast. Besides the evening dance being the hot topic of conversation, the students were also discussing the auditorium's unusually elegant appearance.

Although not many students usually spend Christmas at school, Hagrid would start decorating the Great Hall after the first snowfall each year, and the castle would be decorated with colorful ribbons, mistletoe and ivy wreaths. But what is puzzling is that this year's Christmas dinner is much grander than in the past, but apart from a few symbolic cedars, there are no other decorations in the Great Hall.

This would be perfectly ordinary under normal circumstances, but on this special day, it undoubtedly seems somewhat inappropriate.

The students were all speculating about what kind of tricks the school was up to, and some even asked the professors about it. However, this time, even Professors Flitwick and Sprout, who usually liked to share secrets with the young wizards, kept their mouths shut and just told them to wait and see.

"Oh, Professor Blaine, good morning—"

As Amosita descended to the first floor and prepared to turn towards the Great Hall, Viktor Krum, a Durmstrang champion, suddenly entered. He and his classmates were clearly there for breakfast as well. Krum's face was as somber as ever, but upon seeing Amosita, his somberness turned into a brief panic. After exchanging greetings, he and his classmates hurried toward the Slytherin table.

Good morning, Mr. Krum—

Amosta smiled slightly at Viktor Krum, but a hint of doubt lingered in his slightly furrowed brow.

Karkarov's warrior used to admire him quite a bit, a fact that didn't escape his notice. But recently, the boy's attitude towards him seemed to have changed. Every time they met, the boy always seemed eager to get away from him.

Was it Karkaroff who ordered him to stay away from him, or was he blaming him for stumbling upon his invitation to Hermione to the ball, causing the invitation to fail?

"Well then, see you tonight, everyone—"

Whatever the reason, Amosta didn't seem to care much. He turned and smiled at the three kids before heading to the faculty table. Harry, Hermione, and Ron, who hadn't managed to get the key information, could only exchange disappointed glances before also heading to the Gryffindor table.

After breakfast, Harry, Harry, and his two friends spent half an hour walking around the snow-covered Quidditch pitch. Since they all had to attend a banquet that evening, including Harry who had come to terms with it, they had to move their training time forward.

For the rest of the morning, the three of them stayed in the common room and, like their classmates, happily admired the gifts they had received. Then, they returned to the auditorium and enjoyed a sumptuous lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys, a huge pile of Christmas pudding, and a mountain of Kribitch Wizard Cookies.

In the afternoon, they went outside to the field. They had a snowball fight with the Gryffindor students on the white lawn, but Hermione only wanted to watch Harry and the Weasley brothers have a snowball fight and refused to join in herself.

They even took the time to visit Hagrid once.

"Hehehe, you'll be amazed!"

As Dom served them hot tea, Hagrid, who was tending to the few remaining fried-tailed snails, spoke to them in a tempting tone,

"Professor Blaine came up with an idea for tonight's banquet, and all the professors wholeheartedly supported it. Honestly, sometimes I really don't understand where all those ingenious ideas come from!"

But once they had piqued their interest, Hagrid refused to say anything more, no matter how much they begged.

"Just wait and see, there are only a few hours left, aren't there!"

Hagrid said with a chuckle.

"There are only a few hours left. What's the point of keeping it a secret? I want to see what new tricks they have up their sleeves!"

As Ron left Hagrid's hut, he said unhappily.

Having been piqued by Hagrid, Harry, Harry, and Hagrid had no interest in causing trouble outside. Although there were still three hours until the banquet, they all planned to return to the common room.

"Make yourself look presentable, Harry—"

Hermione, who was getting ready to go back to her dorm to pack, said to Harry...

"Since Furong wants to benefit from your fame, why not let her have a good look!"

As she spoke, Hermione glanced at Ron, and for a fleeting moment their eyes met, a blush crept onto their cheeks.

"You too, Ron—"

Hermione said softly, then turned and ran away.

"Make it look decent—"

Only after Hermione disappeared around the corner of the stairs did Ron say with a mournful face,

"What the hell? Was that dress my mom bought me that was fashionable centuries ago?"

“If you don’t mind—” Harry shrugged, “we can switch, Ron. I don’t care what Fleur thinks of me—”

Harry's suggestion did initially appeal to Ron, but after a few careful glances at Harry, his expression fell again.

"Forget it, Harry, I can't fit into your clothes—"

Chapter 705 At least, lend me some money!

2024-01-21

Waiting is the most agonizing thing.

Although the ball was scheduled for 8 p.m., by a little after 5 p.m., young wizards had already begun to emerge from the tower or basement and wait anxiously in the Great Hall.

Now, people are focusing on the auditorium where they are.

"They're not planning to hold the banquet like this, are they?"

Ernie McMillan of Hufflepuff looked up at the sky with a furrowed brow and said to Justin Finley beside him.

Similar remarks were made very frequently in the crowded auditorium.

The auditorium ceiling didn't display the deep, starry sky typical of summer; instead, it remained its usual appearance. Even the number of candles that usually floated in the air for lighting during meals was less than usual, just enough to provide illumination. This undoubtedly left the students feeling quite disappointed. They looked around in bewilderment, unable to believe that the school was handling their long-awaited Christmas ball in this way.

As six o'clock approached, faculty and staff began to appear in the young wizards' sight one after another. Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout were immediately surrounded by students, who were all asking what was going on. However, the two professors just smiled and remained silent, seemingly determined to keep the secret.

Draco, dressed in a black velvet high-necked tuxedo, glanced around but didn't see Professor Blaine. He then turned his gaze to Professor Snape, who stood there lazily, dressed no differently than usual. After a moment's thought, he walked over and asked,

"What's going on, Professor?"

Draco raised his chin.

"Has Hogwarts become so poor without the financial support of the Malfoy family?"

"It's Amosta—"

Snape glanced at Draco, who stood upright in front of him, and Pansy, who was clinging to Draco and dressed in a light pink robe, and said with a listless expression.

"He's planning something new, don't ask me, Draco, he asked us to keep it a secret—"

Professor Snape didn't lower his voice, so his words quickly spread among the young wizards. People whispered and discussed curiously what Professor Blaine was planning to do. Some even wanted to go together to find out more from Professor Blaine.

But Amosta, which people are talking about, is not so free.

Although the banquet was an internal event, key personnel from the Ministry of Magic, who initiated the movement, were still required to participate, and as a representative of Hogwarts, he was obligated to greet them.

Percy showed up in his office after lunch and excitedly chatted with him all afternoon about his changes at work after he followed Professor Blaine's instructions and asked his father to take him to visit his friends in the department.

“Those annoying little things are gone!” Percy repeated the same words for the seventh time with great joy.

“I’m glad you’re doing a great job, Percy, but we’d better leave now. I bet there’s a whole bunch of people waiting for me in the auditorium right now—”

Amosta had changed into a fitted navy blue suit, making him look very tall and imposing. Combined with his neatly styled hair and handsome, slightly sharp features, even Percy felt a sense of amazement when he saw Professor Blaine stand up from the chair behind his desk.

“Okay, Professor—”

Percy smacked his lips, seemingly still wanting more, and followed Professor Blaine out of his office.

"Regarding what I mentioned to you last time, Ms. Burns' proposal to increase the number of batters, oh, although Ms. Umbridge rejected the suggestion, Ms. Burns is adamant and insists on her suggestion. Now the Secretary's office has sent an inquiry to Mr. Crouch. Secretary Fudge wants to know Mr. Crouch's suggestion. Professor, how should I handle this matter? Do you think I need to write to Mr. Crouch for advice?"

Percy continued to ask questions tirelessly.

A strange light flashed in Amosta's eyes.

It's hard to say how the real Barty Crouch would decide this, but the person currently in Barty's house would probably disagree.

“I think you should support Ms. Burns’ proposal, Percy—”

As they reached the corner on the second floor, Amosta paused for a moment before speaking.

“Old Barty has fought against dark wizards his whole life, and he would like to see the ministry increase its support for the fight against evil.”

"You are right, Professor!"

Percy's eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded in strong approval.

Amosta subtly smirked as he watched Percy mutter excitedly to himself.

I warned you that if you want to get into politics, you can't be so naive.

"Oh, Amosta!"

As soon as I got down to the second floor, excited shouts came from one side of the corridor.

It was Ludobagman, walking this way accompanied by Professor McGonagall.

You are absolutely radiant!

Ludo strode toward Amosta, seemingly oblivious to the subtle contempt Percy held for him. His eyes were fixed on Amosta, and he grinned as he spoke.

"Thank you, Ludo--"

Amosta smiled and glanced at Ludo Bagman, who was wearing a bright purple robe.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Ludo. What good news has come your way?"

"Oh, hehe, you're like a tapeworm in my stomach, Amosta!"

Ludo put his arm around Amosta's shoulder, then looked at Professor McGonagall, who was looking at Percy with a pleased expression.

“Excuse me, Minerva. Oh, and Percy too, I'm planning to discuss something private with Amosta. Could you perhaps give us some privacy?”

Professor McGonagall glanced at Amostella, and after receiving a hint, she nodded.

"Please, Ludo. Come with me, Percy, let's go to the Great Hall. Professor Karkaroff and Mrs. Maxim are probably already there—"

Ludo watched Percy and Professor McGonagall go downstairs until he could no longer hear Professor McGonagall asking Percy how life was going, then he turned to look at Amosta, whose eyes showed a hint of helplessness.