The Return to Hogwarts

"I think you should have some appetite now. Come on, Miss Clona, ​​please have some; after all, this is a family meal."

Vitia sat down and finally picked up the silver fork.

“Oh, since Hogwarts has been mentioned, forgive my presumption, Miss Cleopatra—” Voldemort stared into Vitia’s eyes, his tone polite, “our plan is going well, isn’t it?”

Voldemort summoned me here tonight precisely for this very reason.

"We signed the covenant under the witness of the Twin Serpents, Mr. Voldemort—"

Vitia remained unmoved and said,

"You should trust your allies."

After gazing intently into those emerald eyes for a long time, Voldemort finally nodded in satisfaction.

The sky over the wilderness remained neither bright nor dark, making it impossible to distinguish between day and night.

Standing at the cave entrance, Vitia did not immediately put on her hood, but quietly gazed at the sky.

The howling wind across the wilderness whipped through her hair, the wild strands lashing her pale cheeks like whips, her clear and pure eyes now filled with boundless bewilderment.

Amosta Blaine's gentle, smiling face suddenly flashed into her mind, his piercing, pale purple eyes seeming to stare directly into her soul.

What should be done about everything?

Vitia's lowered gaze revealed a single tear sliding down her cheek, freezing into an ice bead mid-fall before disappearing into the soft snowflakes.

Chapter 733 New School Year

2024-02-01

Amosta had originally planned to have Remus and Sirius take Harry and his two companions away from the orphanage the next morning and return to the wizarding world.

However, these men seemed to have reached a consensus on one thing: they insisted on staying there for another day. He had thought they were still hoping to get some information out of him about Barty Crouch, but in reality, they didn't ask anything. During their extra day, they simply did their best to help the orphanage. Perhaps, they hoped to express their apology for coming here without permission in this way.

But they didn't have dinner at the orphanage. Before leaving, Remus took the time to talk to him about the problems the alchemy workshop was facing.

"--The United States also possesses a thriving magical civilization."

Amosta pondered for a moment, saying that after listening to Remus's account, he roughly guessed what had happened. The Magical Congress of America had repeatedly questioned the safety of their products, simply because the head of the relevant department had some concerns about the workshop's profits.

In business, it's all about business; this is perfectly normal.

In Europe, the fairies, in their cooperation with Remus's promotional efforts, intentionally or unintentionally linked the alchemical item to him, and his reputation was quite useful there. However, across the Atlantic in America, they were not so wary of him.

"We cannot give up the vast market over there."

Amosta said slowly.

“Here’s what we’ll do, Remus, when you apply for entry to the Magical Congress of the United States, please submit an entry application for me as well. I think it’s necessary for me to go and see for myself—”

“No problem, Amosta, that would be perfect—”

Remus nodded, a bitter smile on his face.

Amosta's decision to personally go was partly due to his fear of the complex environment of the magical society there, and partly because this trip would inevitably involve dealing with the Magical Congress of the United States, and given his werewolf identity, he would inevitably be looked down upon and viewed with suspicion.

Hermione, listening to Professor Blaine and Remus's conversation, subtly twitched her lips, showing a hint of displeasure.

Professor Blaine plans to go to the United States, which means he will have to take leave from class again in the first half of the year.

This year's Christmas holiday was the longest he had spent at the orphanage since graduating from Hogwarts. He didn't pack his bags until the children started school, and then quietly left in the dead of night, when no one knew him.

A storm is coming, and darkness is about to return.

First came turmoil, then war—it was all inevitable. Neither Amosta nor Dumbledore was confident they could control the scale of the war. This war would inevitably affect the Muggle world. In the few remaining moments of peace, Amosta hoped to spend more time with the children and staff here.

The Christmas holidays in the Muggle world are longer than those at Hogwarts. When Amostella returned to Hogwarts, the school had already been in session for four days.

The harsh winter cold arrives swiftly, but departs slowly, like peeling away layers of silk.

The snow on the Hogwarts grounds was still as thick as when he left, except that it was covered with messy footprints. The Black Lake was still covered with a layer of solid ice, but along the shore, near the embankment, miniature ice castles had appeared.

These ice castles, some between Philius and Hagrid in size, were mostly poorly sculpted, crooked and lacking in aesthetic appeal. Amosta could tell at a glance that they were the work of young wizards.

Even during his time in the Muggle world, he continued to read the Daily Prophet.

During the Triwizard Tournament, the news that he and Dumbledore had created a stunning ice castle at the Christmas ball had spread throughout the British wizarding world, much to the regret of countless wizards who had missed witnessing the event.

Strangely, when the newspaper mentioned the Ice Castle builder, it only mentioned his name and not Dumbledore.

This wasn't because Amosta secretly gave Mr. Gufie, the editor of the Daily Prophet, a large sum of gold.

Perhaps, after more than half a century, people have become numb to Dumbledore's many achievements, and they crave novelty. The Daily Prophet saw through this and wrote extensively about him.

And after the Daily Prophet's exaggerated report, the wizards who thought they had seen through Amostra Blaine were once again amazed by his superb magical skills.

During the Christmas holidays, Professor McGonagall sent him a copy of "Transfiguration Today," in which almost half of the articles were written by renowned scholars in the magical world, discussing from various perspectives how difficult and incredible it was to conjure such a magnificent ice castle.

In the midst of this trending topic, his reputation in the magical world will rise to another level, which is something Amosta is happy to see, because this fame will enhance his influence and say in the magical world.

It was past midnight, and there wasn't a soul in sight on the Hogwarts campus. Only the shadowy windows of Beauxbatons' carriage and Durmstrang's ghost ship occasionally revealed the figures of the Night Watchmen.

“I will tell Professor Sprout about this, and he will decide how to deal with you!”

As Amosta stepped onto the marble steps outside the foyer, he could already hear Professor McGonagall's angry voice.

He strode into the hall and found Professor McGonagall, wearing a crimson robe and carrying a stack of documents, scolding two second-year Hufflepuff wizards on the small platform on the second floor of the castle. Meanwhile, Filch, with a gloating expression, stood behind Professor McGonagall, occasionally stroking the beard of Mrs. Lorris, who was perched on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Professor McGonagall? What happened?"

Amosta smiled as he walked up the steps into the foyer, asking the question knowing the answer already.

“Filch caught two night-sleeping wizards throwing dung at the paintings on the walls and the spiral staircase. Oh, that’s outrageous, and it’s only the first week of school!”

Professor McGonagall spoke angrily, but after she finished speaking, she paused, then quickly turned to look at Amosta, who was coming upstairs.

"Oh, Amosta, you're back!"

Professor McGonagall exclaimed in surprise, but before Amostella could respond, her expression suddenly changed. Her eyes darkened, and her lips tightened as she scrutinized Amostella.

"Oh, I thought you had already resigned, Professor Blaine—"

Amostella smiled awkwardly, about to offer an excuse, when Professor McGonagall 'yelled' at him.

"Professor Blaine, how do you view your behavior of not showing up during the first week of school, not writing a single letter to me or Albus explaining the reason, but simply sending a leave slip via owl?!"

What a kind person!

The two young Hufflepuff wizards glanced at the somewhat embarrassed Professor Blaine, deeply moved.

"I apologize--"

Amosta smiled apologetically.

"I swear, this is the last time. I mean, next time before asking for leave, I will definitely give a clear reason—"

Perhaps out of consideration for Amostella's long journey, Professor McGonagall did not keep her on the second floor for half an hour of lecturing. After sending away the two Hufflepuff wizards, she gave Amostella some documents to handle and then made way for her.

“Oh, Amostella, at dinner, Felius suggested we go to Hogsmeade for a drink this weekend to celebrate the start of the new school term. He invited Pomona, Alastor, and me. If you’re free, you can join us—”

“Ah, no problem—” Amosta stood between the second and third floor steps, turned around, and said in a light tone, “I’d be more than happy to participate—”

"By the way, Amosta—"

Just as Amosta was about to leave, Professor McGonagall, suddenly remembering something, spoke again.

"I've heard a lot of feedback from students that the skills they learned in your physical education class are very useful. If you plan to continue this course next school year, then I suggest you prepare the materials and submit them to the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Magic for review as soon as possible."

Chapter 734, Fifth Stage

2024-02-01

Entering the cool, quiet room, and after putting down his suitcase, Amosta looked at the spotless office and let out a sigh of relief.

While others spend their Christmas holidays on vacation, he spends his Christmas holidays working overtime.

During the two weeks he spent at the orphanage, he worked tirelessly with the staff to take care of the children's daily needs, from morning till night. Back at Hogwarts, he still had a lot of things to do, but it was relatively easier—physically speaking.

As expected, during his absence, letters from all over the world, mainly in Europe, had piled up on his bed, and even the floor under the bed was covered with them.

Most of these letters were from fans. Amosta didn't have Lockhart's responsible attitude. He would only select some of the fan letters and reply to them when he had free time.

When the warmth radiating from the burning fireplace had dispelled the chill in the room, Amosta had quickly checked the letters to see if they were from people he knew or from official organizations. The rest he 'placed' in an expanded shelf below the bookshelf.

Taking off his coat and throwing it on the bed, Amosta slumped in his office chair, propping his feet up on the desk. Holding a cup of steaming green tea, he stared blankly at the rough stone ceiling.

Professor McGonagall's casual remark about physical education class did give him some pointers.

From the very beginning of planning this course, he intended to make physical education a regular part of the curriculum.

Of course, physical education is different from basic magical subjects such as potions, spells, and transfiguration. When a young wizard enters Hogwarts, he will start to learn about physical education. However, physical education requires a certain theoretical foundation and spellcasting ability. This subject cannot become a basic subject. Instead, it becomes an elective course for students after they reach the third year, just like courses such as divination and runes.

Starting in third grade and ending in fifth grade, the entire training process of physical education classes lasted three years, and students participated in the OWLS level exam. As for whether to open advanced classes afterward, Amosta has not yet made up his mind.

Of course, the current group of students taking physical education classes will not be able to attend physical education classes for three years. In fact, their training progress has officially come to an end.

This group of people had grown up under Amosta's almost cruel discipline. When the formal courses began, he couldn't expect the students to get used to attacks from dung balls in just one or two months, nor could he use the method of incorporating young wizards into his mental world to prolong training time and control the harm as the main teaching method. These were all emergency precautions.

At that time, the normal teaching progress of physical education classes will become much more 'humanized'.

For the current cohort of students, their training is actually nearing its end; as the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the rest is up to you to cultivate yourself.

Amosta pointed them in the direction of self-improvement, but how far they could go depended on their own understanding.