The Return to Hogwarts

Last time, he tricked Potter and Granger into revealing crucial information from their conversation. Since then, she had never been to Snape's storeroom again.

Moody's blue magic eye flickered as he looked at Amosta Blaine, who seemed completely uninterested in the matter, and a sense of doubt arose in his mind. This wasn't Blaine's style.

"This really surprises me—"

Once outside the area enveloped by the magic, the howling of the wind and snow suddenly became deafening. Through the blinding blizzard, Moody raised his voice.

“Eavesdropping on professors’ conversations is no small matter, Blaine. When did you become so magnanimous?”

"Perhaps the truth isn't what you imagine, Professor Moody—"

Amidst the howling wind, Amosta's steady voice reached Moody's ears.

"Perhaps Potter and Granger simply stumbled upon the place where Professor Snape and Professor Karkaroff were whispering, and to avoid embarrassment, they hid. However, the two little ones probably overheard something interesting and made a commotion, which alerted them."

Amosta glanced at Moody and smiled knowingly.

“If that’s the case, then it can’t be considered a problem for Potter and Granger; they were also caught in the middle.”

These words seemed to have some effect on Moody. He stopped in his tracks and stood motionless on the shore until Amosta, who had jumped ashore, turned around and extended a hand to him. Only then did he use the leverage to step onto the shore.

The sparse footprints left by the young wizards as they walked from the castle had been smoothed over by the blizzard. The two people standing on the shore looked back at the way they had come, momentarily lost in thought.

What do you think of this banquet?

Amosta looked at the ice castle she had built and asked in a light tone.

“Absolutely amazing, incredibly impressive—”

Moody spoke in a hoarse voice, gazing at the fairytale castle bathed in warm light and shadow.

“I bet, Amosta, this will be a new legend at Hogwarts. People will tell the story of what happened tonight for years to come, and those who attended the ball will never forget this night.”

"Oh, thank you--"

Amosta smiled with satisfaction.

Sometimes, I'm amazed by the brilliant little ideas that pop into my head.

Amosta has always maintained a low-key and humble demeanor in public. Like Dumbledore, he has never been arrogant because of his extraordinary strength and rarely flaunts himself. Therefore, Moody was slightly surprised when he heard Amosta say this. However, after seeing the smug smile on Amosta's lips, and after seeing the youthful exuberance that should belong to a young man of his age, Moody felt his tense emotions relax a bit.

"Oh, seriously, why are we just standing here like idiots?"

Amosta grumbled as if he had just realized that he was standing there getting soaked in the snow. He skillfully flicked the wand that had slipped into his palm, and a light screen the same color as the snow appeared, creating a calm space for the two of them.

Rubbing his stomach, Amosta realized that he hadn't eaten anything despite drinking some alcohol. A glint flashed in his pale purple eyes as Amosta turned to look at Moody.

"Would you like something to eat, Professor Moody?"

Chapter 716 Roasted Meat in the Snow

2024-01-27

Moody never imagined that Amosta Blaine's suggestion of getting some food would be expressed in this way.

Amostella summoned a house-elf and instructed it to fetch a grill, some charcoal, and skewered bits of beef and mutton. The house-elf was incredibly efficient; in the blink of an eye, Dobby and Riga appeared at the lakeside carrying everything Blaine had requested. After setting down the items and asking if they needed help, they were refused. The two house-ellipses then bowed respectfully and obediently disappeared into the snowstorm.

"Please wait a moment, Professor Moody—"

Two round wooden stakes rose from the ground. Amosta deftly took off his tuxedo jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and sat down with great interest. Then, he picked up a skewer of meat, placed it on the smoky grill, and began to grill it with practiced ease.

Professor Moody was momentarily stunned by the unseemly behavior and fluid movements. He bet that if anyone else had seen and recorded this scene, it would have become a running joke when people talked about Amosta Blaine.

The sky was filled with snowflakes, and the earth was covered in a blanket of white.

The dreamlike castle in the distance, like a torch, attracted the attention of everyone in the darkness. No one noticed that the tiny spark on the shore of the Black Lake was the work of the famous Amosta Blaine, who was grilling meat by hand.

Before long, an enticing aroma gradually filled the space enveloped by the warmth emanating from the embers on the grill. Moody twitched his nose, which was missing a small piece, and looked at the roasted meat on the grill, its golden fat rendered out. To his surprise, he found that he actually felt a bit hungry.

“That’s astonishing, Blaine—”

Moody suppressed the absurdity in his heart and a slight urge to laugh. He finally sat down, looked at Amosta's handsome face, which was glowing red in the firelight, and chuckled.

"People would never imagine that a great magician like yourself is also a culinary master—"

"It's nothing --"

Amosta, focused on grilling the meat, squinted and said lazily,

"Perhaps you don't know, Professor Moody, but before I returned to teach at Hogwarts, I spent two years wandering around various European countries. To make a living, I would occasionally run errands for others, and living a life of hardship and sleeping outdoors was commonplace—"

Moody's lips pursed, as if he wanted to laugh, but in the end, he suppressed his laughter and nodded slightly.

"That must have been an incredibly difficult period, Blaine—"

"Moody said in a hoarse voice."

call--

The silence lasted for about two minutes. The roasted meat, licking at the flames, emitted an amazing aroma. Amosta quickly sprinkled some spices and salt on it, then placed the meat on the grill and turned it over. After a moment, Amosta picked up the meat, which was almost done, and examined it carefully by the firelight.

"Here——"

Amosta handed over the grilled meat.

For a moment, Moody was slightly flustered before raising his hand to take it. For some reason, looking at the roasted meat prepared in such a peculiar way, he felt a strange emotion rising in his heart. This emotion gave him a sense of satisfaction, but it was also accompanied by melancholy and fear.

boom--

Amosta opened two bottles of butterbeer, handed one to Moody, and then ignored him, slurping up a few skewers of meat before roughly bringing the bottle to his mouth and taking a big gulp.

"call--"

With just one sip, about a quarter of the bottle in his hand was gone. Amostah let out a satisfied sigh, then squinted at the bottle, seemingly still wanting more.

Moody, whose demeanor had suddenly become elegant, took a small bite of meat and chewed it slowly and deliberately. But Blaine's 'unrestrained' manner made him ignore the taste of the roasted meat. He stared in astonishment at Amosta Blaine in the hazy space scorched by the charcoal fire, and could hardly believe that the always elegant and refined Amosta Blaine would have such an appearance.

Or perhaps this is Amosta Blaine's true self, only burdened by fame, forcing him to disguise his true self?

"I still prefer Muggle beer—"

Amosta said with some regret, noticing that Moody hadn't touched the bottle in his hand at all, and raised an eyebrow.

"This kind of barbecue has to be paired with beer, Professor Moody, that's what makes it complete—"

“Um—” Moody hesitated, “I need a wine glass, Blaine—”

“A wine glass? Oh no, Professor Moody, if you keep ruining the mood of eating this barbecue, then just leave it as is!” Amosta said.

To be honest, Moody was somewhat hesitant and resistant, but for some reason, what he was even more unwilling to do at this moment was to go against Blaine's request. So, he reluctantly raised his head, put the bottle to his lips, and took a sip.

The butterbeer Blaine brought was uncooked; in this chilly weather, the frothy liquid slid down Moody's throat like a knife, causing him to frown. But—

After the icy sting, there was a strange sense of satisfaction, which made Moody unconsciously utter some nasal sounds.

“Ahem! It’s a very strange feeling, Blaine—” To cover his embarrassment, Moody quickly transformed his nasal tone into a heavy cough, and asked, trying to conceal his embarrassment, “Where is this custom from?”

Amostella didn't speak, only smiled casually. He turned his head and gazed at the swirling world in a daze. Moody, who had suddenly noticed Blaine's silence, moved his lips and fell silent as well, staring at Hogwarts in the snow.

The fluffy snow blanketed the area between the white mountains and black waters, silencing all the noise. Although the Ice Castle remained bustling and lively, with students' laughter never ceasing and fireworks occasionally exploding in the sky above the square, only monotonous sounds could be heard on the lakeshore. The wind howled dryly, but after listening for a while, filtering out the wind's sound, the world became peaceful, as if only the two of them remained.

Although it was late at night, and the sky was overcast with no stars or moon, the castle did not appear particularly dark. The snow absorbed the brilliant lights from the ice castle and diffused the light in all directions, adding a touch of color to the white, desolate mountains and forests.

"What do you think of life at Hogwarts, Professor Moody?"

Amosta withdrew his calm gaze, poked at the embers with the tongs, and then began to deal with the raw meat.

"Oh--"

This unexpected question caught Moody off guard, leaving him momentarily unable to shake off his melancholy and bitterness. He blurted out instinctively,

"Hmm, very good—"

Then, Moody took a deep breath, his voice softening, and said in a gentle tone,

"This is a good place, Blaine. There aren't so many dangers that could take your life at any moment, and not so many people eager to kill you. Most of your colleagues—Minerva, Felius, Pomona—are friendly. The work isn't complicated either; as long as you show a little real skill, you can win applause in the classroom—"

“What you see is only the surface, Professor Moody—”

Amosta would occasionally poke at the embers, sending fiery sparks soaring into the air with the rising heat, blazing with brilliant light before being extinguished by the oppressive chill.

Amosta said calmly.

"In fact, for thousands of years, this ancient school has always been only one step away from collapse. The danger of destruction has always loomed over this oldest magic school in the European magic world, and there are countless enemies hiding in the dark who hope for Hogwarts to disappear."

Amosta's remarks were quite shocking, but Professor Moody did not refute them in astonishment. Instead, he blinked knowingly and then looked toward the ancient castle next door.

"--Over the course of a thousand years, the former Royal Wizarding Society has become the Ministry of Magic. The royal family has been excluded from the wizarding world. We have fought numerous wars against goblins, werewolves, vampires, and centaurs. We have even clashed with those ancient sorcerers several times. Hogwarts has triumphed time and time again, rising from the ashes each time. The losers of those wars could only helplessly accept the fact that they could not destroy Hogwarts. Do you understand why, Professor Moody?"

"What is it?"

Moody continued to gaze at the ancient castle, lost in thought as he asked.

"Because Hogwarts is no longer simply a magic school—"

Amusta smiled, gazing at the weathered castle, a hint of melancholy in his voice.

"The Hogwarts founded by the four founders has become a belief, one that will forever exist in people's hearts. Countless people are willing to give their lives for this belief. Belief will not disappear, Professor Moody. It does not necessarily need to be placed in some actual organization to survive, nor does it necessarily need the protection of power and influence to live."

Moody looked thoughtful, while Amosta continued,

"And another very important point is—"

Amosta shifted his gaze from the castle to Moody, whose pale purple eyes were as deep as an abyss.

"Hogwarts never holds grudges."