The Return to Hogwarts

"It's better than I expected."

After taking the wand out of her mouth, Hermione said that her tracksuit had begun to change. The loose polyester tracksuit had become thinner and thinner, and after tightening, it clung to her body, perfectly outlining the figure of a young and beautiful witch.

To avoid embarrassment, Hermione submerged her body from the neck down in the water, only raising the hand holding her wand.

Amostella watched silently from mid-air as Hermione completed her transformation, applied the Bubble Head Charm, and submerged into the water to adapt to her environment.

After overcoming her initial panic, Hermione relaxed. After all, this was an adventure she had never experienced before. Hermione excitedly swam back and forth along a stretch of lake shore several times, while Harry and Ron on the shore could only hold onto the rope made of willow branches and run around frantically to prevent Hermione from getting hurt.

However, the frigid lake water caused Hermione's body temperature to drop rapidly, slowing her swimming speed. But to ensure the stability of her voice change, she stayed in the lake for a full hour before finally coming ashore. With Harry and Ron's help, she shakily walked towards the castle.

“I must say, Hermione—”

Ron's voice could be faintly heard in the howling wind.

"Your tail is really nice, I mean, it's beautiful."

Then, Ron's suppressed groans followed.

Having confirmed that nothing unexpected had happened, Amosta averted his gaze, shaking his head with a smile.

Whether clever or foolish, most Gryffindor students are quite straightforward. If it were him, having already gone down to the lake, he would definitely have surveyed the environment beforehand. This is another reason why Amosta has been waiting. It would be somewhat awkward to run into him at the bottom of the lake.

With the wand in hand, he drew a semicircle in mid-air, and a bubble enveloped Amosta. The next second, the magic that had kept her buoyant dissipated, and she fell into the lake from mid-air.

Needless to say, the bottom of the lake is very dark.

However, for a great mage like Amosta who did not view the world from only one perspective, darkness was not enough to hinder him. Through magical perception, he locked onto a direction, and then waved his wand again in the bubble. The lake behind him immediately began to boil, and many fist-sized bubbles rose up. The force generated by the bursting of these bubbles quickly propelled Amosta forward.

Like a dolphin speeding through the water, Amosta swiftly made its way towards the mermaid village located deeper in the ocean, and some underwater creatures that were highly sensitive to magic, such as the giant squid, quickly noticed.

The enormous creature waved its tentacles restlessly, stirring up the lake water, and the resulting whirlpools even interfered with Amosta's movements.

"This is none of your business."

When Amosta's voice traveled through the turbulent waters into the giant squid's mind, the squid, annoyed by the disturbance of its sleep, froze, its massive body stiffening, and a human-like fear appeared in its enormous eyes.

"By the way, did anyone tell you this?"

Amosta's calm voice came again.

"The school is holding an event, so you'd better stay in your den for the next few days and don't come out and cause trouble."

The giant squid's eight tentacles, connected to its head, were shaking, emitting faint mental fluctuations, indicating that it had already been informed.

"Then go ahead."

Amosta said that after watching the giant squid frantically disappear into a narrow, dark ditch at the bottom of the lake, he chuckled, his figure flashing, and he quickly appeared in the mermaid village.

Chapter 835 Entry Application

2024-04-01

The black silt at the bottom of the lake is rich in nutrients, which makes the nearby aquatic plants grow very vigorously. According to the previously planned scheme, some Kaba and Grindylo will be thrown into these tangled clumps of aquatic plants to test the warriors' courage and mastery of offensive magic.

There were some stone dwellings scattered around, speckled with algae. As you went further, there were more and more stone dwellings, some of which even had gardens around them.

This is a vast mermaid village, with thousands of mermaids living in this large area. Even at night, there are still many mermaids guarding the village. Upon seeing Amosta, who was carrying bubbles, rushing into the village, many mermaids raised their spears and vigorously slapped his strong, powerful silver fish tail as they quickly approached.

But once they saw Amosta's face, distorted by the bubbles, the mermaids hid their spears and nodded respectfully to him.

"I'll check where the treasures the warriors took were placed."

Amosta said with a smile

"Just a check-up."

The mermaids whispered among themselves. A creature with a silver tail studded with a few golden scales swam up to Amosta, speaking respectfully in a hoarse voice.

“I can take you there, Mr. Blaine.”

"Oh, no need—"

Amosta shook his head.

"Just give me directions, I'm just here to take a look."

Rejected, the merman's face, covered in iron-gray scales, looked somewhat surprised. Its dark yellow eyes flickered, and then, as if understanding something, it bared its jagged teeth and pointed in a direction.

“We all hope that Hogwarts will win, Mr. Blaine.”

After saying this, the mermaid retreated to her group of kind.

Amosta smiled and nodded. He knew these merfolk probably thought he had come to tamper with things, but he didn't need to explain himself.

In the village square, there were many cages, each containing a Kaba and a Grindillo. When these water monsters saw someone passing by above, they frantically rammed against the cages that bound them, baring their hideous, sharp red claws at him. But after Amosta glanced at them with a nonchalant expression, the water monsters suddenly withdrew their hostility and obediently huddled in their cages, remaining motionless.

In a small square paved with pebbles stands a rough statue: a large mermaid carved from a boulder. Behind the mermaid's tail, four wooden pillars are inserted into the lakebed to bind the warriors' 'treasures'.

Amosta landed in front of the wooden pillar, deftly waving his wand. Then, the bubble enveloping him suddenly expanded, expelling the surrounding lake water and creating a space filled with air.

clatter--

Stepping onto the damp, pebbly lakebed, Amosta's sharp eyes swept around. Perhaps out of respect for him, no mermaids hid behind the rocks at the bottom of the lake to spy on him.

Having confirmed this, Amosta's gaze fell on the wooden pillar in front of him. The pillar itself was fine; the problem lay beneath the lake.

According to the rules, after the warriors' treasures are selected, an official from the Ministry of Magic will cast a spell on them in the presence of the official to ensure their safety at the bottom of the lake. Afterward, the mermaid will bring them to this small square and bind them here to await the warriors' rescue.

With a flick of the wand, accompanied by a rumbling sound, cracks began to appear at the bottom of the lake, and damp mud and sand surged out like a spring. The four wooden pillars also began to shake, but the one furthest to the side shook the most violently. Soon, it was overturned by something hidden deeper in the lake that emerged from the water.

Once the object buried deep in the lake surfaced, Amosta stopped, and the shaking at the bottom of the lake ceased.

altar.

Amosta's gaze remained fixed on the altar, his expression unchanging.

It comes from the Druids and was previously placed by Kriona in that secluded paradise in the Forbidden Forest. The Druid priests used it to divine the Golden Viper and its true identity.

It now seems that its uses are not limited to this one. When Vitia moved her deployment to the Forbidden Forest, she must have used it as well. It is quite amazing that neither Amosta nor Dumbledore detected the intense spatial fluctuations.

Looking at the collapsed wooden pillar, Amosta pondered, roughly understanding what she had done.

He stepped back a few paces, quietly observing the altar and the area it covered. After a long while, Amosta waved his wand again, burying the altar deep into the ground. The collapsed wooden pillar was also erected, but Amosta slightly adjusted the gap between the four pillars.

"That's fine then--"

Amosta said with a smile.

Remus and Sirius arrived even faster than he had expected. The next day, at the crack of dawn, while Amosta was still fast asleep, a scratching sound coming from outside his office door woke him from his sleep.

The moment he opened his eyes, the dazed look vanished. Amosta nimbly threw off the covers and jumped out of bed to look at the door. But once he recognized who it was, the wariness in his eyes disappeared, and he became lazy again.

I slowly walked over and opened the door. A big black dog was making a funny scratching motion. When it saw Amosta glaring at it unhappily, the big black dog lowered its paws and grinned sheepishly.

"The Disillusionment Charm is quite good, Remus—"

Amosta glanced at the empty corridor behind the big black dog, and nodded with a smile.

"Thanks--"

The air distorted and blurred, and Remus appeared before Amosta with a smile on his face.

"Those fairies' work ethic is terrifying. They especially love holding meetings after get off work hours. I can only sneak away from them by using the Disillusionment Charm, how about that, Amosta?"

Remus glanced at Sirius Black, who was reverting to human form, took a breath, and followed Amosta into the office.

“I received your letter late at night, and I immediately went to Grimmauld Place to find Sirius. He was originally planning to leave for Hogwarts after lunch, but after hearing that you needed help, we decided to set off to find you right away.”

Both of them were frequent visitors to this office. Before Amosta could even greet them, Sirius and Remus went to the sofa and found seats.

A warm feeling welled up in Amosta's eyes. He walked to the fireplace, took the kettle from the mantel, and made tea for the two of them and himself.

The drawer was pulled open with a clatter, and a box of snacks given by fans flew out and landed on the coffee table, along with a steaming teacup that flew to the two of them.

“I bet you didn’t have time for breakfast,” Amosta said with a smile. “Have something to eat first.”

Sirius blinked in confusion. He thought Amostella had encountered some trouble, which was why he hadn't dared to waste a moment after receiving the letter and immediately Apparated to Hogwarts. But judging from Amostella's leisurely and carefree demeanor, it seemed that there was nothing urgent.

Sirius was about to ask a question, but after thanking him, Remus began enjoying Amosta's treasured snacks with his hot tea. Seeing this, Sirius shrugged and quickly filled his empty stomach.

Amosta didn't create any sense of urgency; he remained patient, smiling and waiting until the two had wolfed down most of the box of pastries before turning to Remus and asking in a calm tone,

"You said in your letter that we've received a response to our entry application to the Magical Congress of the United States, Remus?"

"That's true."

Remus cleared his throat and nodded, saying...

“But the Magical Congress of America has set conditions, Amosta, I don’t know. I can’t make a decision on my own, I need to talk to you before I can give a formal reply.”

"What are the conditions?" Amosta asked curiously.

"They approved our application and agreed to our entry dates after Easter, but—"

Remus pursed his lips, looking at Amosta with a slightly worried expression.

"They require you to surrender your wand upon entry, and you are not allowed to possess a wand while in the country until you leave."

Chapter 836 The Late-Night Meeting

2024-04-01

"Demand that Amosta hand over his wand?"