The Return to Hogwarts

"We'd be happy to help!"

Although they claimed to be helping, in reality, the vast majority of the group from the magical world were more of a hindrance than a help.

Sirius Black was born into the noble Black family and grew up in an environment where house-elves helped him. He never did any housework. Even in Azkaban, the prisoners' food was brought to them by Dementors. Faced with a bunch of pots and pans, he had no idea how to cook.

Remus's performance wasn't much better than Sirius's. Although he had also gone through some tough times, don't forget that even in the most difficult circumstances, he had magic to help him. But now, he certainly couldn't wave his wand in front of a bunch of Muggles and make Potato jump up and peel himself.

Ron goes without saying; Mrs. Weasley has always taken good care of the children in the family. As for Hermione, although she comes from the Muggle world, when she is at home, she only needs to focus on her studies, and her parents will take care of the rest.

So, after Sirius nearly cut off his finger for the third time, Remus smashed two plates, and Ron and Hermione, who were tending the stove, tried to make the fire burn brighter but ended up extinguishing it by stuffing in too much firewood, and filling the kitchen with thick smoke, Amosta, with a dark face, told them all to go to the side, under the amused gazes of the Muggles in the kitchen.

Harry's performance, however, was surprising.

He handled washing, peeling, slicing, frying, and grilling vegetables with ease, and even Amosta couldn't help but give Harry admiring glances.

"Well done, Potter!"

Amosta smiled and said in a low voice

"After you graduate from Hogwarts, becoming a chef at the Leaky Cauldron would be a great option!"

Harry grinned, his face even brighter than when he received praise in gym class.

"You know, sir, I did a lot of scrubbing and cleaning work when I was with the Dursleys!"

Harry smiled happily, proud that he could help, but he didn't notice that after hearing what he said, Remus's smile faded, while Sirius pursed his lips, his eyes flashing with anger and self-reproach.

A glimpse of a little boy with brown hair and bright eyes flashed through the crack in the kitchen door. Hermione noticed him, wiped the soot off her face with her sleeve, and watched Professor Blaine's profile as he expertly fried sausages, his brown eyes filled with respect.

“Brain Church. Um, sir, have you been taking care of them, I mean, this orphanage. These children?”

“You know I don’t have much time, Hermione—”

Amosta poured the fried sausages into a plate, placed it on an empty table where the other dishes were laid out, and then, without pausing, went to the oven, his nostrils flaring as he observed the color of the bread's crust through the glass. He paused to answer...

"Therefore, there's not much help I can offer; all I can do is provide some financial support."

“If you need it, Amosta—”

Remus seemed to have been waiting for this topic, and he spoke immediately.

"I can discuss this with the fairies—"

"I can help too, Amosta!"

Sirius, realizing what Remus was about to say, perked up and quickly replied.

Harry also seemed hesitant to speak, but he was willing to use a portion of the inheritance he received from his parents to help these children. This was not just for Professor Blaine's sake!

"No need, Remus still has Sirius—"

As soon as he opened the oven, a rich aroma of rice wafted out, and Ron's stomach immediately rumbled. He nervously covered his stomach, and only breathed a sigh of relief after realizing that no one was paying attention to him.

Smelling the enticing aroma of the ground, Amosta nodded in satisfaction.

"This is entirely my own business, and the transfer of assets between the wizarding world and the Muggle world is strictly monitored, you understand? I don't want the whole world to know."

Seeing the table overflowing with colorful and appealing dishes, Amosta took off her apron, let out a long sigh, and smiled at the older children and staff who were already waiting.

"Dinner's ready, everyone!"

Chapter 726 What a pity

2024-02-01

This was an incredibly wonderful experience for the few people from the magical world.

In the dining hall on the second floor of the orphanage, Harry and his friends dined with more than a hundred Muggle children and orphanage staff. Every Muggle's face was filled with a satisfied smile, as if being able to enjoy such a not-too-luxurious dinner was the happiest thing.

The atmosphere here was exceptionally good. Harry felt that even dining in the Great Hall of Hogwarts didn't create such a harmonious and joyful atmosphere. After all, there was always a subtle barrier between the four houses, but everyone here was so close, like brothers and sisters.

Under the influence of this atmosphere, the magicians quickly stopped feeling reserved and began to enjoy themselves to the fullest.

The group sat at a separate table, and after Amosta gestured for them to sit down, she quickly joined the other orphanage staff to care for the children who were too young to eat on their own.

"I must say, this place is really nice--"

Sirius Black watched the children laughing, joking, and scrambling for food, and sighed with heartfelt admiration.

"It almost makes me think that growing up in an orphanage wouldn't be so bad--"

Remus smiled. He knew that Sirius Black, as the most unconventional member of the family, had always lived a very repressed life at home during his youth.

"Normally, orphanages couldn't possibly be this wonderful--"

Remus looked at Amosta, who was half-squatting and carefully slicing chicken leg meat for a Muggle boy whose arm seemed to be disabled, and smiled.

"If it weren't for Amosta, these children would probably be living in dire poverty."

“That’s definitely true!” Sirius’s gaze also fell upon it, and he blew his nose loudly. “What a remarkable wizard!”

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were also glancing at Professor Blaine. Their respect for him had reached an unprecedented level. Previously, Professor Blaine was respected more for his character and his awe-inspiring magical power. Only today did they notice the dazzling brilliance of his personality hidden within him.

"for you--"

A little girl, barely three years old, toddled up to Hermione and laboriously held out a box of candy to her with her chubby little hand.

Here, have some—

The little girl, looking shy, spoke in a clear, sweet voice to Hermione, who was covering her mouth and had tears welling up in her eyes.

“Oh, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans!” Ron exclaimed in surprise at the candy box in the little girl’s hand. “Where did you get this? Oh, I remember now, it was Blaine who taught me—I mean, Mr. Blaine!”

"Is this for me?"

Hermione got up from her seat, squatted down, and looked at the chubby Muggle girl, looking deeply moved.

"Mmm!" The little girl nodded sweetly.

After Hermione took the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, the little girl immediately giggled. She turned around and quickly jumped into the arms of a little boy who was sitting at a table across from them. This little boy, who looked to be under the age of Hogwarts, had brown curly hair and bright, lively eyes.

The boy ruffled the little girl's hair, handed her to his companions at a table, glanced furtively at Amosta, then grinned and quietly waved to the group of wizards.

"Hello-"

The boy didn't make a sound, but mouthed to Sirius and the others.

"Ah, hello--"

Sirius smiled at the boy's quirky and mischievous nature, and he mimicked the boy's response.

Seeing that Amosta's group of colleagues weren't so aloof, Hammer immediately perked up. He jumped out from behind his chair and darted over, while the boys in the ward immediately made way for him.

"I am Hammer Lane, but people here like to call me Little Hammer!"

Hammer's eyes shone brightly as he looked at Sirius and said...

"I heard that you are colleagues at the drilling company where Brother Amosta works, is that right?"

A drilling rig company?!

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes. What was a drilling rig? A machine that Muggles were accustomed to using?

"Ahem!" Harry, who knew more about the 'insider information,' coughed heavily. "Uh, hello, Ray, Hammer Jr., yes, that's right, we are employees of that drilling company, Groning Drilling Company!"

The children around them were very interested in their conversation and craned their necks to eavesdrop.

Hammer seemed even happier to receive Harry's response. He glanced at Hermione and Ron, then his gaze returned to Harry.

"I heard you were interning at that company, is that right, Mr. Potter?"

“Just call me Harry—” Harry was a little overwhelmed by Hammer’s eager gaze. He pursed his lips and said, “That’s right. We’re interning at this company, uh, you know, it’s a social internship assignment from school.”

"So, which school are you from?"

Another girl, about the same age as Harry, immediately asked with interest.

“Hogwarts!” Harry instinctively almost blurted out the name, but thankfully he reacted quickly, racking his brains to recall the names of the schools his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had chosen for Dudley when they were discussing which secondary school to send him while he lived with the Dursleys.

“Highgate High School, Hammer, we’re students there!” Harry said breathlessly.

“Oh, I know it!” The girl who asked the question immediately cast envious glances at Harry, Hermione, and Ron. “It’s a famous high school in the Hempstead area!”

“Yeah, it’s... kind of famous!” Harry said, wiping the sweat from his brow, relieved that he had gotten away with the question.

"So!"

Hammer was clearly interested in more than just that. He craned his neck and raised his voice slightly, "If I also want to intern at Groningen, what are the requirements? Do I need to fill out a bunch of application forms, or what age I need to be, etc."

Harry couldn't answer that question, but luckily Hermione had a sudden inspiration and smiled at Hammer, saying...

"You can consult Mr. Blaine for details regarding the interns; Hammer is in charge of this business."

Hammer looked somewhat disappointed, muttering something as if to say, 'I already asked, but he wouldn't tell me,' but then he quickly put it out of his mind and continued asking.

"Then why did you come to see Brother Amosta?"

“Indeed, there are some important matters, Hammer—” Remus looked at the energetic little boy with a smile, “very important matters. We must report to Mr. Blaine in person and await his instructions. Of course, this involves major trade secrets, so we cannot tell anyone else.”

Gradually, more and more people gathered around. The children realized that these people were not difficult to deal with, and they all crowded around asking questions. Most of the questions were related to Amosta's situation at the company. Fortunately, Harry knew some details and was able to barely manage to fool them. Amosta, busy with his own things outside the crowd, saw this scene and just smiled slightly without saying much.

"Hi, I have a question!"

Perhaps noticing that Hermione was the only girl in the group, Hammer approached her. Before asking, he glanced at Amostella, then, with a mischievous expression, lowered his voice and asked,

"Miss Granger, do you know if Brother Amosta is dating any girls at the company?"