The Return to Hogwarts

Coincidentally, when Amostella appeared on the street where the entrance to St. Mungo's was located, in front of the dusty glass window of the red brick department store, Dumbledore, who was about to walk through the glass, seemed to sense something. He turned his head and looked at the deserted street in the dead of night, at a lamppost standing on the side of the street, and stepped back. The next second, Amostella walked out from behind the lamppost.

"Your perception of the changes in magic is commendable, Headmaster Dumbledore."

After a polite exclamation, Amosta smiled and walked toward Dumbledore, whose hands were folded over his stomach.

A hint of fatigue showed through the vertical lines between Dumbledore's brows, and his clear pupils behind his half-moon-shaped glasses were not as blue as usual. Clearly, the arduous journey of the past two days had taken its toll on him. Yet, draped in his travel cloak, Dumbledore still smiled with gentle elegance.

"Please forgive an old man for having such a strong curiosity, but what exactly has gotten into you, Amosta?"

Amosta dusted himself off and went to Dumbledore's side.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Headmaster Dumbledore, it’s a secret and I can’t tell you right now.”

"temporary?"

Dumbledore showed some curiosity.

"temporary."

Amosta responded to Dumbledore's probing gaze, pursing his lips slightly.

Dumbledore chuckled.

“I bet, Amosta, if you were to write books like Professor Lockhart, you would be even more successful than him. You know how to pique a reader’s curiosity.”

"Staying cooped up at a desk all day making up stories is a chore. I'd much rather go out and explore."

Amosta said cheerfully, making an inviting gesture, allowing Dumbledore to pass through the hospital entrance first.

St. Mungo's seemed relatively peaceful tonight. The plump blonde witch at the information desk in the lobby was fast asleep, her head resting on the table in front of her. And the former headmistress of Hogwarts, Madam Dalyse de Winter, was not in the framed portrait at the front of the lobby. It was unclear whether she had gone to visit someone or returned to Dumbledore's office.

Ascending the stairs, Dumbledore and Amosta passed through the double doors on the fifth floor and entered a narrow corridor lined with portraits of famous healers on both sides.

"So, how's your collection of memories about Alice and Frank going, Headmaster Dumbledore?"

As they passed a ward from which faint moans could be heard, Amosta casually asked.

"Are you quite sure Augusta will agree to treat her son and daughter-in-law, Amosta?" Dumbledore asked in a similarly casual tone.

"If it were her, she might hesitate, but she would definitely want her grandson to enjoy the love of his parents."

For some reason, Amosta's tone faltered for a moment, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

"You're right, Mr. Longbottom certainly wants his family to be reunited."

Dumbledore blew his nose, looking somewhat sad.

"Memory. Very smoothly, Amosta. Augusta contributed Frank's childhood memories, Alice. Oh, her parents are gone, but I found a Muggle neighbor who watched her grow up and 'begged' him to tell me what he knew about Alice's past."

When Minerva, Felius, Pomona, and Hagrid heard about this, they were very happy to share their impressions of Alice and Frank with me. I also found their roommates at the time, and of course, I also provided some information about their time at school and their connection with the Order of the Phoenix, as well as Sirius Black, their relatives who knew the Longbottoms, especially Neville's great-uncle and great-aunt, and the caregiver who had been looking after them at St. Mungo's Hospital.

I didn't need to bother persuading them at all. When they heard the news, they eagerly told me everything they knew and begged me and you to make sure Frank and Alice recovered.

Dumbledore smiled and said,

"The only thing I need to convince them is to stay home and wait for good news, otherwise you will see the homes of the Longbottom family's relatives and the Longbottoms' friends filled with St. Mungo's Hospital of Magic."

"Touching,"

Amosta whispered.

"People have not forgotten the sacrifice of the Longbottoms."

Perhaps pleased with Amosta's explanation, or perhaps relieved that Amosta hadn't shown signs of great stress after hearing all this, Dumbledore's tone was light.

"Yes. They provided Frank and Alice's memories at various stages of their lives. Of course, we can never know exactly how much they went through growing up, but I believe that what I have collected is quite complete."

Now, they arrived at the Longbottoms' hospital room, and the two of them could see the situation inside the room through the observation window on the door.

The Longbottoms were both in their respective hospital beds, while their only son, Neville, was fast asleep, nestled beside his mother's bed.

The remaining space in the room was furnished with a few recliners, and Mrs. Longbottom, Sirius Black, Tonks, and even Hermione squeezed into the ward.

“I thought Miss Granger would be eager to return to Hogwarts to see her two good friends.”

Amosta said with a hint of surprise.

"Clearly, she's also waiting for good news."

Dumbledore smiled, the fatigue from the past two days of constant travel quickly fading from his face, and now he looked as energetic as ever.

"So?"

Dumbledore looked at Amostella.

"When do you plan to start, Amosta?"

"Just as you wish, Headmaster Dumbledore,"

Amostavellia smiled.

“Let’s get started now. If all goes well, they’ll wake up tomorrow morning to a completely different Longbottom couple. I’m looking forward to Neville’s surprised expression.”

"Oh, that certainly sounds exciting."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

Silently, Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom floated up from their hospital beds without making a sound.

“We need a hospital room. Hmm,”

Amosta pondered.

"Let's go to Hermione's room."

The caregivers and therapists who occasionally appeared in the wards along the corridor had already seen this scene, and some of the portraits in the frames on the wall were also peeking. However, at Dumbledore's signal, they all remained calm and watched them walk into a dark ward with expectant eyes.

Dumbledore waved his wand, making the only hospital bed in the room duplicate. Then, with a solemn gaze, he surveyed his surroundings. Spells merged into the walls, causing them to ripple like soft water. When the walls finally returned to calm, the room was completely isolated, and no one could easily break through his defenses.

Seeing Amosta take off his coat and straighten his sleeves and shirt collar, Dumbledore also took off his travel cloak and shook out the wide sleeves of his robe beneath it.

“Then, tell me the detailed steps, Amosta.”

Dumbledore said in a slightly expectant tone.

Chapter 823 Purifying the Soul

2024-03-24

Alice and Frank, lying in their hospital beds, were completely unaware of what they were about to experience. Bathed in starlight, they were trapped in nightmares, their withered faces slightly distorted.

“Let me see the memories you have collected, Headmaster Dumbledore.”

In the dimly lit room, Dumbledore waved his wand, and a shallow stone basin with the 'True Runes' carved along its rim appeared before Amostra. The silvery substance inside the basin, which was both liquid and gaseous, was almost overflowing. Under the influence of mysterious magic, they were still bound inside the basin and slowly spinning on their own.

"Have you already sorted it out?"

Amostella glanced at the Pensieve illuminating the dimly lit sickroom, slightly surprised; collaborating with wizards of similar skill levels was indeed remarkably easy.

"It looks like there's no problem."

Amosta nodded, looking at Dumbledore's focused face.

"It mainly consists of two steps, Headmaster Dumbledore. The first step, as you already know, is that we need to completely erase the memories intertwined with malice and evil magic in the Longbottoms' minds. These memories cannot be retrieved by any means. This is not just a superficial memory cleansing like the Forgetfulness Curse, but a deep erasure of everything from the mind."

Amosta said solemnly,

"That's why I need your help, Headmaster Dumbledore. I tried to purify that Muggle's mind with pure magic, but it didn't work. The Cruciatus Curse is one of the 'soul magics,' and the evil and magic it contains must be eliminated with power from a higher dimension."

"Using the power of the soul's origin is not something I can do. Unlike you, I haven't crossed that barrier. It's just that my research on the 'Blood Demon Curse' has allowed me to find some 'tricks' to trigger the power of the soul's origin."

Dumbledore didn't say anything, but simply pulled his sleeves up a little more.

"Step Two"

Amostah glanced at the Pensieve placed on the floor between the two hospital beds.

"Returning those memories to them is, of course, not so simple. It's not just about filling their brains with memories; it requires delving into their inner world and using the soul's influence on their personality. I can't explain it very clearly, Headmaster Dumbledore. This is the uncharted territory of magic. Anyway, you will see."

Dumbledore's magical knowledge was so profound that he didn't need Amostardo's explanation at all; he fully understood his thoughts and how to carry them out.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Dumbledore nodded. “So, may we begin?”

“I’ll deal with Frank. Alice is yours.”

Amos said, and then the two of them went to the Longbottoms' bedside. After exchanging a solemn glance with Dumbledore, Amos stared into Frank's closed eyes.

Suddenly, the tranquil ward seemed to have been transported from the St. Mungo's ward to a raging, stormy sea. In the void, magic roared violently due to the drastic changes. The walls of the ward rippled as if struck by raindrops, and countless streaks of lightning flashed around Amostella and Dumbledore.

Click!

Tiny bolts of lightning occasionally shot out around the two people. Of everything in the almost destroyed ward, only the meditation basin of the sheltered person and the two hospital beds remained unharmed.

Almost simultaneously, Amosta's sharp eyes shone brightly, and a tangible purple glow filled half of the ward. Meanwhile, Dumbledore's aura nearly shook the space itself as he smoothly rotated his wrists, and a gradually intensifying radiance flowed into Alice's body.

wow-

As if piercing through a curtain of water, the noise in the ward faded away, and Amosta had already entered Frank Longbottom's mental world.

This is an ocean that is about to dry up!

When Amosta looked down and saw the sea of ​​the soul beneath him, a sudden realization dawned on him.

In the deep sky, streaks of fireballs, like meteorites from outer space, carrying jet-black lightning, crashed into the sea with an aura of destruction. Each impact caused towering waves to rise in the sea of ​​the mind. However, those evil fireballs did not extinguish immediately. Instead, they hovered above the water's surface, evaporating the 'seawater' with their fury.

The seawater in the ocean of the mind was unwilling to simply disappear. It surged and hurled those fireballs into the seabed, paying a huge price of its own annihilation in order to extinguish a single 'fireball'.