The Return to Hogwarts

"But as you might guess, Amosta, before leaving this beautiful world, I can briefly experience the vitality of my youth."

Amosta pursed her lips, her breath catching slightly.

Perhaps his conversation with Vogel had already reached Dumbledore's ears, but Amostella was too lazy to care about the intimidation implied by Dumbledore's words; he only wanted to find out what he was curious about.

"What about Voldemort? How would you rate his strength?"

"It is obvious that Voldemort will never see the scenery you are about to see, that is for sure. It takes a whole, healthy soul to do that, and Voldemort has damaged his soul so badly that it is hard to say how much sanity he can retain."

This means that Helbo most likely developed Horcrux magic after becoming a 'legend'. Helbo undoubtedly created Horcruxes, which is why Merlin couldn't completely destroy him and chose to banish him, and his Horcruxes...

Amosta pondered, and Dumbledore spoke again in a solemn tone.

"But I must admit that Voldemort's mastery of dark magic far surpasses what most people imagine. He can never reach that level, but that doesn't mean his evil modifications to his body are useless. He still possesses considerable magical power."

This is a well-worn topic; Dumbledore has been trying to instill in himself the danger of Voldemort.

A brief silence fell over the ward, while Pastore, lying on the bed, breathed steadily and slept soundly. For an old man who had lost everything, perhaps only by losing even his memory could he finally get a good night's sleep.

Amosta's gaze fell on the sleeping Muggle's face; what to do with him was another headache to come.

It's not appropriate to leave him in St. Mungo's forever. The only way is to send him back to the Muggle world. As far as he knows, old Gitte has no family left, which is why he has served the orphanage his whole life. But he certainly can't send Pastore back to the orphanage. Perhaps, sending him to a nursing home and giving him some mental guidance, telling him not to try to find out about old Gitte's past, and letting him spend his old age in peace in a foreign land would be the best course of action.

After taking some time to consider the matter of Onisto Pastore's whereabouts, Amosta looked at Dumbledore, who remained silent as well. Unusually, he saw a flicker of light in Dumbledore's clear, azure eyes. His thoughts raced, and Amosta's lips twitched slightly. He whispered,

"I thought you would ask about the situation."

In what seemed like an instant, Dumbledore looked much older, and the beard under his crooked, hooked nose lost its silvery luster. After taking a few difficult breaths, Dumbledore shook his head and said nothing.

"The living conditions there are not very good."

Amosta's expression remained unchanged; he simply narrated in a flat, straightforward tone.

"The weather there was very cold, and the thin dressing gown he was wearing looked like it had been worn for at least twenty years. Perhaps he needed a pair of wool socks more. Oh, and his room was piled with newspapers, the Daily Prophet, probably every single issue. It was probably his only pastime besides looking at the scenery. When I dragged Vogel's good-for-nothing grandson out of his room, he was engrossed in reading the newspaper."

Dumbledore's gaze fell on his weathered hands. He remained silent, but he listened intently to every word Amosta spoke in his brief description.

Amosta got up and walked to the shelf opposite the hospital bed, slowly opened the tea canister to make herself some tea, and also gave Dumbledore more time to process her emotions.

What do you think?

Dumbledore's voice was very soft.

Has he realized his mistake?

That's really dishonest.

Amosta shook his head inwardly.

"In my opinion, he probably hasn't completely calmed down yet, Headmaster Dumbledore."

Amos Tower's words brought some light back to Dumbledore's dim eyes.

Chapter 813 Letter

2024-03-20

With Amosta's intervention, the dark witch Jasna Rozier was thrown into Azkaban, and he didn't mention a word about her to Dumbledore, nor did he mention the 'gift' he left for Grindelwald.

To be honest, he didn't know if Grindelwald could understand the message he was subtly conveying, nor was he sure if Grindelwald would really leave Nurmengard. He wasn't even sure if what he was doing was the right thing to do. The reason he did this actually stemmed from his own insecurity.

With the future uncertain, Amosta knew very well that he would be facing far more than just Voldemort, who was 'inevitably defeated'.

Merlin and the four founders of Hogwarts had laid their plans on him a thousand years in advance. Helbo, who existed in the dark beyond the realm and always coveted the light of this world, was no ordinary person. In this era, there were very few wizards who could potentially become his helpers.

"Tell me about Neville's parents."

Dumbledore's resilience exceeded Amosta's expectations. By the time he returned to his seat with his teacup, he had regained his composure, though his voice still carried a hint of hoarseness.

"You're planning to treat them the same way you treated this Muggle, aren't you?"

Dumbledore said with a frown,

"The problem is, Augusta and Neville probably won't accept Alice and Frank becoming someone else."

"There are two main difficulties,"

Amosta also suppressed some of his worries, rubbing his fingertips against the rim of the glass.

"As we discussed at the beginning, ethically speaking, erasing a person's entire memory is equivalent to erasing their personality, and the disappearance of personality can be defined as death. Neville's parents are in a better situation than this Muggle; they are being well taken care of, and even without addressing the problem, they can still live for several more years. Therefore, I cannot make the decision of whether or not to treat them."

Dumbledore seemed thoughtful; this was indeed a problem.

"What about the second one?"

"As you said, Headmaster Dumbledore, I cannot turn Neville's parents into someone else. Therefore, after erasing their memories, my idea is to collect the memories of everyone who knew the original Alice and Frank, such as Mrs. Longbottom, the professors who taught them at Hogwarts, including yourself, and former members of the Order of the Phoenix."

Amosta paused for a moment, then continued speaking to Dumbledore, who was deep in thought.

"Finally, we need to compile these memories and reintroduce them to Neville's parents to reconstruct their personalities. This will definitely require you to take the lead, Headmaster Dumbledore. Mrs. Longbottom doesn't know me well, and she's unlikely to trust me with something like this."

Dumbledore finally understood Amostella's concerns; this could hardly be called treatment, but rather the re-'production' of Frank and Alice.

The soul is still the same soul, and the body is still the same body. However, completely erasing the original mind and reconstructing their personality is a method that can only be described as fanciful. Yet, there is a possibility of success, after all, there is already a precedent around them.

The biggest challenge with this approach is, if it succeeds, how do you view the newly born Frank and Alice? Are they still the same people they were before?

For a moment, even Dumbledore was somewhat bewildered.

“I must say, Amosta—”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Dumbledore shook his head. "It's an amazing, brilliant idea, and if we work together, the chances of success are very high, but—"

Dumbledore looked intently at Amos Tower.

“None of us have the right to make this decision, you understand? Only Augusta and Neville.”

My suggestion is…

Amosta shook his head, interrupting Dumbledore's suggestion.

“You can talk to Mrs. Longbottom, but there’s no need to put Neville Longbottom’s mind through any more trials.”

Dumbledore's long, slender fingers were interlaced, and he remained silent as if petrified, carefully considering his options. Ultimately, however, he too did not accept Amosta's suggestion.

“I agree with you, Amosta, but neither you nor I have the right to make that decision. As for whether Mr. Longbottom needs to know the nature of his parents’ treatment, that also needs to be discussed with Augusta. We can only offer advice.”

Amos Tower shook his head. Working with Dumbledore always presented this problem. His opinions and suggestions were always so 'perfect,' leaving no room for criticism, but undoubtedly making him seem 'idealistic' and 'indecisive.'

Du, du, du—

An owl huddled in a small window high up on the outer wall of the ward, tapping urgently on the window. Amosta glanced at it, and his eyes narrowed. He left his seat, strode to the window, and tiptoed to let the owl in. When he saw the envelope and read the address on it, his aura immediately calmed down.

"What's wrong, Amosta? What happened?"

Amosta's change in demeanor was too obvious. Dumbledore, who was pondering how to communicate with Augusta to get her to agree to Amosta's proposed treatment plan, suddenly woke up and stood up from his seat, looking at him solemnly.

But Amosta didn't answer the question; instead, he flipped his fingers and deftly opened the letter.

The words on the letter were not long. In just a dozen seconds, Amosta took in all the words. He read them several times, his face deep and somber, but in the end, he let out a soft sigh.

"I need to leave for a moment. Headmaster Dumbledore, Mrs. Longbottom's place."

“I will speak with Augusta. If she agrees to the plan, then I will contact everyone who knows Alice and Frank as soon as possible and ask them to provide their memories, Amosta.”

Dumbledore looked gently at Amostella, who seemed to be in a bad mood after reading the letter.

"What help do you need?"

“Oh, it’s nothing serious—” Amosta stuffed the letter into his pocket and smiled. “If things go quickly, I might be back by tomorrow morning.”

Click——

Amosta opened the ward door, and Sirius, who had been waiting drowsily at the door, immediately perked up, gazing eagerly at Amosta.

"How is it? Has that Muggle recovered? Can you use the same treatment methods you used on Alice and Frank?"

The therapists in the corridor still refused to leave; they crowded around Amosta, looking at him excitedly.

"Could you tell me how you did it, Mr. Blaine?"

"This is nothing short of a miracle, Mr. Blaine. You've restored the sanity of a Muggle who was driven to madness by the Crucifixion Curse. This is an unsolvable problem worldwide!"

"Say a few words, Mr. Blaine, tell us about your thought process, where did your inspiration come from!"

"Oh!"

Principal Delilah Dewent on the opposite wall was also waving her arms.

"Don't be stingy, Amosta, I'd like to know too!"

"I'm sorry, everyone,"

Amosta smiled.

"The treatment for Muggles is just a bold experiment. Whether it can be applied to others still needs rigorous verification, and it is not convenient to disclose it at the moment."

After saying this, under Dumbledore's worried gaze, Amosta quickly gave a reassuring look to the bewildered Sirius and Tonks, and strode away.

Chapter 814 Comfort

2024-03-20

Neville showed some resistance to entering Hermione's private ward. He stood at the door of the ward, not daring to look inside. However, Professor Dumbledore had completely abandoned him, seemingly forgetting the purpose of bringing him here.