The Return to Hogwarts

2024-01-31

Harry saw his godfather's face darken and his lips twitch uncontrollably, while Remus's eyes also showed helplessness, and he couldn't help but feel a little like laughing.

This was quite bizarre; a Muggle woman entered a house hidden by magic in front of several wizards, and they were completely helpless.

Why aren't you coming in yet?

Fortunately, a dozen seconds later, Mrs. Reagan, who had just disappeared, "squeezed" out from behind the partition. She looked at the well-dressed people with a puzzled expression.

"Oh, I see!"

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the unassuming Muggle lady again. This time, he was wiser and stood directly between Mrs. Reagan and the wall, smiling somewhat awkwardly.

“We didn’t inform you of our visit beforehand, so, if you don’t mind, madam, could you please pass on our message to Mr. Blaine?”

"Oh, no need to be so polite, Mr. Busk!"

Mrs. Reagan's cheeks flushed, and she gazed intently at Sirius, thinking that these men were indeed Amosta's colleagues, their every move displaying gentlemanly manners. She grew even more enthusiastic.

"Amo has a good personality; he won't hold it against you!"

阿莫

Harry, Harry, and his two friends stared at the middle-aged Muggle lady, their cheeks flushing and their shoulders trembling involuntarily. However, all three of them were trying their best to suppress their laughter, finding it hard to believe that Professor Blaine, who was renowned in the European wizarding world, would be addressed in such a way.

Mrs. Reagan insisted that they go straight in, but in reality, they wouldn't have been able to step through the gates of the orphanage without Amosta personally leading the way or giving some form of direct permission.

After a long struggle, Mrs. Reagan finally realized that she couldn't win against these respectable people. After panting and saying, "Please wait a moment, everyone," she turned and rushed back into the room.

"Hopefully, Amosta won't unleash a Spiritfire Spell on us when he sees us—"

Sirius, who had spent half a day negotiating with this 'energetic' Muggle lady, was also exhausted. He wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and said wearily.

"It's not impossible, Sirius—"

A strange light flashed in Remus's eyes. He smiled helplessly, but there were some things he didn't say aloud.

Judging from the commotion they made at the door, it was impossible for a great mage like Amosta not to have noticed. However, he had ignored them. Clearly, he was not pleased with their unannounced visit. Knowing Amosta's wicked sense of humor, he would most likely let them in, but he was also happy to see them suffer for a while.

About five minutes later, Mrs. Reagan reappeared, looking puzzled, holding a note in her hand.

"Amo asked me to give this to you."

Sirius eagerly grabbed the note, and after glancing at it, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then handed the note to Remus, and at Remus's prompting, the curious Harry, Hermione, and Ron also came over.

"Haas Orphanage is located at 178 Flink Street."

These were Professor Blaine's notes, which Hermione recognized at a glance. However, she didn't quite understand why Professor Blaine would write a note specifically to tell them what he already knew.

"Focus your energy on what's on the note--"

Seeing the three little ones' confusion, Remus spoke softly, and then, like Sirius Black, he stared at the partition wall.

After exchanging puzzled glances, Harry, Hermione, and Ron gathered their thoughts and focused intently. Then, the expressions of the three of them subtly shifted from confusion to astonishment.

The wall in front of them suddenly expanded, and a brand-new, large iron gate unexpectedly appeared before their eyes, startling the three unprepared people into taking a half-step back. Behind the gate, the land rapidly expanded, revealing a clean courtyard with a stone-paved garden.

Harry looked around in surprise. The department store at Flink 177 and the bakery at Flink 179 were squeezed into a crescent shape, but there was no damage to the facades or windows of either building.

Without warning, the quiet street erupted in the joyful laughter of children. The sounds emanated from a six-story, square building with sky-blue walls that seemed to be growing out of the courtyard. Under the dim sky, the building was brightly lit, and through the illuminated windows, many smiling figures could be seen. Their presence had already attracted considerable attention; about thirty or forty children were pointing and whispering curiously at them from the second-floor windows.

“This is—” Harry said with difficulty, his emerald eyes filled with disbelief, “unwavering loyalty.”

"Cough cough!"

Remus suddenly coughed loudly, interrupting Harry's ramblings, and cast a warning glance at the three stunned underage wizards.

Then they immediately came to their senses. Mrs. Reagan was looking at them, seemingly bewildered by their reaction. She looked at them with a questioning gaze, as if wondering if these unfamiliar visitors had some kind of mental problem.

This is not surprising, after all, in Mrs. Reagan's eyes, the orphanage has always existed.

"Excuse me, madam--"

Remus nodded gently to Mrs. Reagan, glanced at Harry who was muttering "amazing" under his breath, and smiled slightly.

"let's go--"

The not-so-spacious foyer had walls and floors paved with gleaming chestnut-colored stone slabs. Below the ceiling hung a Muggle-style light bulb, simple in design but emitting a very bright glow. Despite the muddy, snowy weather, the first-floor floor was remarkably clean, suggesting that the people living here must have cherished it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked around curiously. None of the three of them had grown up in an orphanage. Before coming in, Harry had wondered if the living conditions in the orphanage were worse than those in the Dursleys' house. But after seeing the neat and tidy little building, for some reason, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

"This place looks really nice, Mrs. Reagan—"

The environment of the orphanage clearly exceeded Sirius and Remus's expectations. As they walked up the stairs, Remus's gaze swept over the chaotic faces on the photo wall, and he immediately spotted Amosta standing in front of a magnificent pyramid, exclaiming in admiration.

"Oh, yeah--"

Mrs. Reagan said happily,

"It's all thanks to Amo, entirely thanks to his funding, that this place has become so decent. The old house used to be in such a terrible state!"

"Is it!"

Sirius Black, like Harry and his two companions, showed surprise.

The commotion on the second floor was just like the usual mealtime at the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Through the gaps in the stairs, young faces peeked out, their bright eyes curiously fixed on the group. The murmurs were like the chirping of cicadas in late summer or early autumn.

The entire second floor is the children's dining hall, and it's lunchtime now. There are about a hundred children waiting to eat. When Harry and his friends stepped onto the second floor, the children who had been spying on them on the platform scattered and hid far away.

The children in the orphanage ranged in age from those still sucking on pacifiers in the arms of the staff to those several years older than Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Most of their clothes were somewhat worn and patched, but they all looked very clean.

Looking at these children, several people from the magical world couldn't help but feel moved.

Remus recalled that before the end of last summer vacation, in order to capture Sirius Black, he decided to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Amostella, upon learning of this, excitedly signed a cooperation agreement with him to share Sirius Black's bounty. At the time, he was also amused that a powerful wizard like Amostella had such a strong desire for Galleon.

As they spent more time together, he came to understand Amosta better. Gradually, he began to think that this might just be a quirky quirk of Amosta's. Only now did he truly understand the real reason behind Amosta's hidden side.

Sirius also recalled the night he was captured by Amosta, when he even mortgaged his old house to gain his freedom. At the time, he was very disdainful of Dumbledore appointing such a wizard, but now...

Harry, Hermione, and Ron also had their own feelings.

In the minds of the three young wizards, the most down-on-his-luck professor they had ever seen was undoubtedly Remus, while Professor Blaine, as a renowned wizard in the wizarding world, was certainly in much better financial condition than Remus. However, at Hogwarts, you would always see Professor Blaine wearing a slightly worn robe.

Seamus once joked that Professor Blaine's salary was being docked by the Board of Trustees because he always did 'unorthodox' things. Little did he know, the real reason was here!

Hermione blew her nose; her eyes were already a little moist.

Ron opened his mouth, looking at these homeless children, and suddenly realized that perhaps he shouldn't always complain about his poverty.

If the Dursleys hadn't been there, would I be here too?

The same thought suddenly popped into Harry's head.

Under the clear gaze of so many Muggle children, Sirius became reserved, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Mrs. Reagan, is Mr. Amar, uh, Mr. Blaine in?"

"Oh, over here!"

Mrs. Reagan tugged at Sirius's sleeve and waved to Remus and Harry. She led them through a door embedded in a wall separating the second floor, and in the kitchen where many volunteers were sweating profusely, they finally saw Amosta Blaine wearing a white apron and kneading dough with great effort.

Chapter 725 Cooking Master

2024-01-31

Professor Blaine stood beside a wooden table, wearing loose blue jeans, a gray wool sweater, and a white apron. When they saw him, he was vigorously kneading a large dough on the cutting board.

"Pfft--"

Hermione couldn't hold it in any longer; she covered her mouth and chuckled, while the others also pursed their lips and trembled.

This is not only because of Amostal Blaine's comical attire, which is renowned throughout the wizarding world, but also because Amostal, who is kneading dough, has a lollipop in his mouth, which may have come from a Muggle girl who is causing trouble for him while lying behind him.

The little girl had curly black hair. She was wrapped around Professor Blaine's neck and tapping his head repeatedly with a stick. The small black stick seemed to be Professor Blaine's wand.

“Amosta, I’ve brought them—”

Mrs. Reagan strode over and pulled the little girl off Professor Blaine's shoulders, which provoked a strong resistance from the girl. However, Mrs. Reagan eventually persuaded the little girl and pulled the wand from her hand, throwing it into the basin of flour and water in front of Amostella.

Ron’s shoulders immediately began to tremble violently, showing that he was having a hard time suppressing his laughter.

The kitchen staff and the older children helping out were also watching them. Some of them gave them friendly smiles, while the door they had come through was already crowded with onlookers. When Mrs. Reagan left, she shooed them all away and then closed the kitchen door.

The clanging and banging suddenly became more noticeable, and the Muggles busy in the kitchen all looked away. Harry could sense that they were still glancing at them out of the corner of their eyes, but no one came forward to disturb them.

When Harry finally turned his gaze back to Professor Blaine, he found that the professor had finally turned his head away. The professor cast a chilling glance at them, and a sudden coldness ran down Harry's spine, causing him to instinctively straighten his back and stand obediently. He wasn't the only one who reacted this way; almost everyone around him had the same reaction.

"come over--"

Amosta crunched the lollipop in a few bites, then tossed it precisely into the trash can. He glanced sideways at the group of people who seemed to be under a petrification spell, and said in a hoarse voice.

"Ahem-"

Sirius was the first to step forward. After all, it was he who suggested coming to Amosta, so the responsibility of calming Amosta's anger naturally fell on his shoulders. He put on a somewhat embarrassed smile and slowly walked towards Amosta, beads of sweat already forming on his temples.

Amos's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of displeasure in his pale purple eyes made the group following Sirius somewhat uneasy. Remus glanced at Sirius, who seemed unsure how to greet him, and at the three slightly startled Harry and Meghan, pursed his lips, looked at the dough on the table, and gave a relaxed smile.

“That’s amazing, Amosta, I never knew you were such a good cook—”

Amostella pulled her wand from the basin, wiped it on her apron, and casually slipped it into her pocket. She then glanced at the uneasy group, paused for a moment, then shook her head, her expression relaxing.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, folks—” Amosta gestured with his chin toward Sirius and the others, “If you want to eat, you have to do it yourself.”

"Oh!"

Sirius Black suddenly perked up, looking at the pots, pans, and food ingredients on the table, his gray eyes sparkling with eager anticipation.