The Return to Hogwarts

"We're no match for them, are we, Whip?"

For no apparent reason, Amosta suddenly said this.

"What do you mean?"

VIP's brow twitched, but his earlier disappointment was replaced by a renewed sense of anticipation.

“I’m still a few years away from turning thirty, VIP.”

Amosta continued with a smile, his relaxed tone as if he were chatting casually.

"Hmph, yes, a genius wizard—"

Whip said with a hint of jealousy, but his expression softened as he understood Blaine's implication—or perhaps, a promise.

Now that Amosta Blaine has offered a price, we should carefully consider the pros and cons.

With his head down, Whip picked up his knife and fork and began to eat a grilled sausage from his plate.

Becoming the principal of Durmstrang was completely outside of Whip Dregern's plans for the little career he had left, but upon closer examination, it was an ingenious move.

He has served the Federation for so many years and has achieved his current position with both merit and hard work, but he still cannot overshadow Dumbledore. But he can't compete with Dumbledore in terms of who lives longer.

He needs to break out of his comfort zone and produce some impressive results so that, with the Federation president facing a re-election and Dumbledore having no intention of seeking re-election, and with Blaine's support, he can truly come into the public eye.

Durmstrang is undoubtedly a very good platform. Serving as the headmaster of a magic school inherently means access to a wealth of connections and resources. Moreover, Durmstrang's reputation in the European magical community has been declining in recent years, and its teaching quality and style urgently need correction. If I could truly make a difference...

The results of the second round of the Triwizard Tournament have been cancelled. It is still uncertain which of the three schools will win the first tournament in centuries. If he can lead Durmstrang to victory, it will undoubtedly be a very impressive 'achievement'!

Look at these villagers—

While Whip was lost in thought during his meal, Amostella kept gazing out the window at the Hogsmeade villagers working in the fields. Suddenly, he spoke up.

"what?"

Guided by Amosta, Vip instinctively looked out the window. He didn't see anything special, just a group of farmers busy in the fields.

"I remember when I visited your residence last time, I noticed that all the Muggle fields near your farm were now being worked on by machines. Those machines enabled Muggle farmers to have higher productivity than wizards, and the gap is becoming increasingly apparent. We also need to make progress. The Ministries of Magic in various countries of Wip are all busy with their own affairs and have no time for anything else. Perhaps the Federation should take responsibility and let more wizards see the necessity of change."

Leading change?

Vip gripped his fork tightly. No, that's not what Amosta meant. He meant that the federation should take on more responsibility. That's in line with his own ideas!

Du--

Vip slowly put down his knife and fork, solemnly wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then looked intently at the gentle-looking Amosta.

"When can I meet Durmstrang's group of lads?"

Chapter 878 Current Status and Departure

2024-04-23

When Amosta is alone and reflecting on himself, he sometimes thinks he is a really terrible guy.

His talent for magical innovation is unparalleled in a millennium, and based on this, along with his innate advantage in soul strength, he possessed awe-inspiring magical power in his early twenties.

His experience of living two lives has endowed him with the ability to see into people's hearts, in addition to his ability to manipulate minds and thoughts. He does not necessarily need to use force to force others to do what he wants.

Most importantly, he didn't have Dumbledore's high moral standards.

In other words, if he wanted to do evil, the damage he could cause to the wizarding world would probably be unmatched by either Grindelwald or Voldemort.

He easily persuaded Whip Dregern to apply for the position of Principal of Durmstrang, and at almost no cost.

This old man, who was neither particularly despicable nor particularly noble, wanted to bestow upon himself the title of "President of the International Wizarding Federation" before his death. After following Amostall into Hogwarts to appease the Durmstrang students, led by Viktor, he used his office to write letters to the Ministers of Magic of Norway, Sweden, and several other countries, planning to become the Headmaster of Durmstrang.

However, to Amostall's surprise, Whip Dregern's prejudice against Dumbledore was so deep.

He entered Hogwarts Castle, but without even making a courtesy visit to Dumbledore's office, he stayed there for a while and then left.

However, Amosta could understand Whip's resentment towards Dumbledore, just as Vogel did.

When Whip served the Wizarding Union, it was a powerful organization. During the tenure of Presidents Vogel and Sanchez, the Union's power reached its zenith, and its status was far more prestigious than that of the national ministries of magic.

However, since Dumbledore came to power, due to the losses from the previous wars and his tacit approval, the authority of the International Wizarding Federation has plummeted. To this day, the Federation is almost defunct, serving only as a place for magical civilizations from different countries to hurl insults at each other when trade disputes arise, or occasionally organizing some transnational academic exchange conferences.

The reason they were able to become one of the main players in the three-way battle was because of the long-standing tradition. This can be considered a highlight of the association in recent years.

Oh. And now, with the trial of the remnants of the UMNO party, the Federation, as one of the presiding judges, has once again garnered a lot of attention.

This is actually one of the reasons why, even though everyone knows it's a tough job, VIP still grits his teeth and takes it on.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the flickering light and shadow. For the past month, Hogwarts had been bathed in sunshine every day. On the spacious lawns, in the magnificent and ancient castle, and along the ever-green forest, the laughter of young wizards could be heard everywhere. But some things had, after all, changed.

For example, Defense Against the Dark Arts class is gone.

The real Alastor Moody was sent to St. Mungo's for treatment. To be fair, his health wasn't too bad, and Vitia took good care of him. However, being confined for more than half a year made the already wary and suspicious Moody even more sensitive. This forced Dumbledore to abandon his plan to have Moody return to Hogwarts to take on the role of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the next few months.

Amosta could have repeated his previous tactic of temporarily filling in for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class for a few months, but he didn't. The curse Voldemort had cast on this position was indeed not to be underestimated, and Amosta wasn't an expert in it. He didn't know if the curse would be strengthened once Voldemort regained his power.

Dumbledore disappeared from people's sight more frequently, probably leaving for two days a week. Even though he didn't specifically tell Amosta, she knew that the private contest had begun, and Dumbledore was determined to speed up the search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes.

Professor McGonagall seemed disappointed that she hadn't joined the Order of the Phoenix. When the two met, she would occasionally look like she wanted to say something but ultimately said nothing.

Amosta knew that Dumbledore must have given her some instructions.

Severus became more withdrawn than ever before. His colleagues knew something about his past and assumed he was worried about the Dark Lord's revenge.

But in reality, Amostella knew very well that Severus wanted to keep his distance from everyone because he felt it was safer for his colleagues. In case the Dark Lord went berserk and tried to dig open his head to see what was inside, Occlumency wasn't foolproof against wizards of Voldemort's caliber.

A month has passed, and fewer and fewer students are still discussing the accident that occurred during the second match of the Triwizard Tournament, and fewer and fewer students are also discussing the veracity of the mysterious man's return to the magical world.

However, some students were ultimately deeply affected.

In this matter, both Gryffindor and Slytherin students showed the same response during physical education class.

Amosta could clearly sense that Harry's gang and Draco's little group were honing their dueling skills more and more diligently, and they were showing a more serious attitude in their training and combat of encirclement and counter-encirclement.

The magical world appears calm.

Under the strong suppression and manipulation of the Ministry of Magic, the Daily Prophet and many other influential foreign newspapers rarely reported on the return of the Mysterio, let alone the fact that Vitia Cliona appeared at the Battlegrounds.

While most students mentioned the incident in their letters home, it only sparked a small-scale discussion. Moreover, due to the lack of official confirmation, most people were skeptical, believing that Cleopatra was merely trying to disrupt the British wizarding world, and that Harry Potter was probably just 'talking nonsense' because he was frightened.

Even though the wizards who thought this way knew deep down that something was wrong, they were unwilling to believe that their peaceful and tranquil lives were gone forever.

“I have already warned Connelly—”

One night, while strolling along the lake, Dumbledore, weary, said to Amostella...

“Even without the message Severus sent me, I could guess what Tom was planning to do. He probably wanted to break through Azkaban and gather his loyal old followers.”

But Cornelius said that was a pipe dream. He insisted that the Mystic hadn't returned at all, and even if he had, he couldn't have breached Azkaban, which was guarded by Dementors. Besides, nobody knew Azkaban's exact location; if the Mystic wanted to enter Azkaban, he would have to break into the Ministry of Magic.

Amosta didn't want to answer at first, but after thinking for a moment, he spoke calmly.

“I have already expressed my opinion, Headmaster Dumbledore. At this stage, the Ministry of Magic will pose a greater obstacle to us than Voldemort.”

Dumbledore did not refute, he lowered his head and sighed, then ended the conversation.

Therefore, the magical world still appears to be thriving and prosperous.

Privately, the wizarding world is already in turmoil. Amostah doesn't need to leave the house; just by looking at the recent major expenses at Hogwarts, he knows that prices in the wizarding world are rising across the board. However, at present, the increase is not significant, so people will think that this is just a normal fluctuation and will soon subside.

But Amostella knew that this meant that the pure-blood families who monopolized production had almost unanimously chosen to reduce production. On the one hand, it was related to the diversion of their energy to running the workshops. On the other hand, it could not be ruled out that they did it on their own initiative in order to take advantage of the impending war to reap the benefits of the British magical community.

The fairies, who were particularly keen on money, noticed this change. Like sharks smelling blood, they were eager to enter the fray. Old Bana subtly mentioned their discovery and plans in a letter to Amosta, while Amosta gave him a warning.

As I said before, peaceful days are numbered.

"Let's go."

At Heathrow International Airport, Amosta took one last look at London shrouded in mist and rain, then said to Remus, whose brow was furrowed with worry, that the two of them boarded a flight to New York together.

Chapter 879 Landing in New York

2024-04-24

After a nine-hour flight, Amosta and Remus finally landed at Newark Liberty International Airport just before the last rays of sunset disappeared below the horizon.

Traveling in Muggle transportation for an entire day was hardly a pleasant experience for two genuine wizards. However, there was no other way; the Floo Network system connecting continents had exorbitant maintenance costs, and business activities that wanted to use it had to pay high fees and apply to the Ministry of Magic before being granted permission.

Given the current relationship between Hogwarts personnel and the Ministry of Magic, Amostella does not want to 'humiliate himself'.

Of course, illegal entry routes do exist, but crossing such a long distance comes at an astonishing price. Although Amosta and Remus are both quite wealthy now, there's no need for them to be 'suckers'.

Furthermore, if two people were to do the flying broomsticks, they would surely make the officials of the Magical Congress of America laugh their heads off.

"Well"

Spending so long in the cramped cabin was certainly not a pleasant experience. The cramped seat made Amosta feel like his back had become a rigid iron plate. After coming out of the connecting passageway, he stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling windows, glanced at New York City that was slipping into darkness, and stretched.

Turning my head, I saw that Remus was also twisting his neck, his face pale.

"Never tried a Muggle flying vehicle before?" Amosta smiled.

"Once upon a time--"

Remus was slightly out of breath, and his twisting shoulders made a creaking sound as he said with a wry smile,

"Back when they had just graduated from Hogwarts, Sirius and James wanted to try it out. It wasn't a pleasant experience; James secretly looked at the airplane... well, what the Muggles call those blades hanging under the wings."

"engine."