The Return to Hogwarts

Suddenly, to Louise's astonishment, the man opposite her stood up abruptly. His gentle face vanished, replaced by a sharp, menacing brow.

“Mr. Blaine—”

Kingsley, who had overheard everything outside, pushed open the door, strode over, and stood ramrod straight in front of Amosta, awaiting orders.

This scene left Louise somewhat bewildered, because judging from their ages, the tall black man named Kingsley was clearly much older than Amosta, yet he seemed to be Amosta's subordinate, and judging from his demeanor, he showed great respect to the much younger Amosta Blaine.

"Get ready, you and I will go to Italy immediately. The rest of you stay here and await further instructions."

Amosta said in a deep voice.

Kingsley wasn't surprised by the instruction, but he did hesitate.

"According to procedure, Mr. Blaine, we need to first submit an entry application to the Italian authorities in Mohenjo-daro, and then wait for approval before we can enter the country—"

Why is an entry application still required?

Louise, influenced by the special aura emanating from Amosta, unconsciously stood up from the sofa. Hearing this, she was somewhat confused, but she quickly understood—these people were law enforcement officers belonging to the government, and if they wanted to investigate cases in another country, they might indeed need to submit an application.

"In urgent situations, one should act expediently, Kingsley. In special circumstances, I don't think it's a big deal to occasionally break the rules. What do you think?"

Amosta looked calmly at Kingsley.

"I believe you are a wise leader, Mr. Blaine--"

Unexpectedly, Kingsley did not insist, but instead smiled slightly and said,

"Perhaps the Auror office would be more effective under your leadership--"

Auror?

Louise blinked. Wasn't this a secret agent, or was this the code name for their elite team?

“I have no intention of taking Scrimgeour’s job—” Amosta smiled slightly, “I won’t inform Dumbledore separately, you can write him a letter when you have time to explain the situation—”

Scrimgeour and Dumbledore are high-ranking officials in some department, but why have I never heard of them? Louise, a Daily News reporter, thought somewhat hurtfully, then she saw Kingsley fix his gaze on her.

"Miss Andelle, what are your plans for her, Mr. Blaine?"

Chapter 768 Head Iron

2024-02-19

Seeing that Amosta Blaine and Kingsley were both looking at her, the heavy pressure in their eyes made Louise Andre shrink back in fear. She was momentarily disoriented, then immediately realized what they might do to her.

"I'm not staying here!"

Although the two men before her belonged to a secret government agency, Louise still cried out indignantly.

"I'm going to Italy too. I'm going to find the bastards who killed Fraser and put them in jail. He's my brother, and I have to do it!"

Kingsley frowned, but instead of offering an opinion, he looked at Amosta Blaine.

"You should understand, Louise, we're facing a group of vicious villains who are capable of any evil—"

Amosta said calmly,

"As the investigation deepens, we will inevitably have to confront them, which is very dangerous for someone as untrained as you. So, I suggest you stay here. Trust us, we will find these people and make those who killed Frazier pay the price."

"No, you have no right to do that!"

Louise shouted indignantly, moving away from Amosta and Kingsley, and grabbing a spoon from her plate and gesturing at them incessantly.

“You have no right to order me to stay here, not even if you are secret agents. Oh, gentlemen, this is illegal house arrest. If you dare to do this, I will expose your illegal activities in the newspapers!”

Amosta maintained a calm gaze on Louise, a gaze devoid of any emotion that made Louise uneasy. However, she resolutely met Amosta's gaze, demonstrating her determination.

“I don’t need to be with you guys. I’m a journalist, and I have my own ways of uncovering clues. But you can’t keep me here. Absolutely not!”

Louise's face was resolute.

Kingsley's thick lips moved slightly, a sense of helplessness washing over him.

This Muggle girl had no idea what she was facing. She was facing a completely unknown world and a group of vicious dark wizards who dared to turn Muggles into Inferi. If Mr. Blaine hadn't been there, even he would have needed to request support from the ministry to deal with these dangerous guys.

“It makes no sense, Louise—” Amosta shook her head.

"Meaningless?!"

Louise's eyes were filled with resentment, and she shouted angrily.

"Investigating the murderer who killed your own brother is considered pointless?"

Louise failed to grasp the meaning behind Amosta's words.

Amosta stared intently at the aggressive Louise, while Louise, though intimidated by the unique aura surrounding Amosta, refused to yield an inch. The two remained locked in a stalemate, and the room fell silent for a moment.

"I want to leave this place!"

Louise's eyes turned cold. She was somewhat disappointed in Amosta Blaine, whom she had initially found very pleasing. She turned and walked to the coat rack, picked up her coat and draped it over her arm, then prepared to leave the room without a second thought.

"etc--"

Amosta finally spoke, and under Louise's wary gaze, he said slowly, "You're determined to investigate this, aren't you, Louise?"

It was obvious. Louise didn't answer, but instead quietly reached into her coat pocket, where she had prepared some small items to protect herself before going to Kirkworth the night before.

“Alright, you can come with us, Kingsley. Could you please help us with the plane tickets? We need to change our original travel plans. Hopefully, we can have some authentic Italian pasta for dinner—”

Amosta nodded slowly.

Before Louise could even show her surprise, Kingsley's expression changed. He stared into Amostella's eyes, his voice solemn.

“Mr. Blaine, you know—”

“It’s alright, Kingsley. Leaving Miss Andelle here would indeed be unfair to her, a cruel act of indifference—”

Amosta turned to meet Kingsley's sharp gaze and said softly,

"She will eventually forget these painful memories."

Kingsley paused for a moment, then looked at the somewhat bewildered Muggle girl, a feeling of sympathy rising in his heart. Finally, he nodded.

The gloomy weather blurred the boundary between day and night. In the swirling rain, the snow in the city melted rapidly, erasing the last trace of winter. The arrival of spring in the new year was already evident in the flowerbeds and the newly sprouted green buds of the trees along the roads.

178 Flink Street, Hass Orphanage.

The bad weather slowed the children's journey home, but the departure of most of the children did not make the orphanage feel cold. The atmosphere inside the orphanage was very warm because of the wonderful donation.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Lawrence. You are a kind and generous gentleman!"

Led by Mrs. Reagan, the orphanage staff, who rarely changed into brand-new clothes, surrounded a man in his sixties, dressed in a neat black tuxedo and with meticulously groomed gray hair, with grateful and excited smiles on their faces, expressing their heartfelt thanks.

"It is my honor to contribute even a small amount to charity, madam--"

Lawrence smiled politely, glanced around, and his gaze fell on the side of the staircase against the wall, on a wall covered with photos.

"Oh, those photos are of children who left the orphanage. They often send us their latest photos, and we put them here as a keepsake—"

Mrs. Reagan introduced the kind old gentleman who had suddenly come to their door through the government, and the crowd surrounding Lawrence dispersed to make way for him and Mrs. Reagan.

"Ms. Reagan, this is—"

Lawrence scanned the photo wall purposefully and soon spotted a gray-haired youth waving and smiling brightly at the camera in front of a magnificent pyramid. He immediately leaned forward, gazing intently at the youth in the photo, a hint of sadness in his expression.

"Ah, that's also a child who grew up in our orphanage, his name is Amosta Blaine--"

Mrs. Reagan, oblivious to Mr. Lawrence's unusual expression, proudly introduced him...

Even after leaving the orphanage, Amosta still cares deeply about the children here. Although he is busy with work, he returns almost every Christmas to stay for a while. He is also one of the administrators of the Has Orphanage, and the new building where the children live was built with his funding.

"Is it."

Lawrence took off his gold-rimmed reading glasses, wiped his eyes, and spoke in a deep voice.

"So, what is Mr. Blaine doing now?"

"He's a business manager at a company called Groning Drilling, you know. His main job is negotiating new business for the company, and he travels frequently. So, if you'd like to meet him—"

Mrs. Reagan hesitated. She noticed that Mr. Lawrence's expression was not quite right. She assumed that it was because Amosta had not shown up at the thank-you party that Mr. Lawrence was unhappy about.

Lawrence was quite certain that Amosta Blaine did not work for the Groning drilling rig company, and that he was entirely in charge of the sale of the company.

"Amo left us an address, Mr. Lawrence--"

Seeing the elderly gentleman remain silent, Mrs. Reagan grew even more uneasy and added,

"If you'd like to speak with him, we can write to him and ask him to come and thank you when he has time. Although he's very busy, I'm sure he won't refuse."

"Oh, not at all, ma'am!"

Lawrence snapped out of his daze and said, almost in a panic,

"I was just a little curious. It's just a small donation, ma'am, nothing at all, um. Not worth making a special mention of to Mr. Blaine... really, there's no need to..."

Chapter 769 Lawrence

2024-02-24

Amidst the orphanage staff's profuse thanks, Lawrence concealed his fear and walked out of the orphanage with a polite smile.

What will the young master say when he finds out?

Gazing at the world stained black by the heavy rain, Lawrence worriedly wondered if he would return all his donations, if he truly hated his father.