The Return to Hogwarts

As an unwelcome guest, it was wise to remain low-key and humble, so Amostah ignored the wizards who surrounded his and Remus's residence.

However, this does not mean that Amosta will tolerate all offensive behavior.

The earlier remark at the hotel about 'shaking off the pursuers' was just a joke. If these people really follow him everywhere he goes, Amosta wouldn't mind using some unfriendly methods to remind them where the bottom line is.

Near the World Trade Center, towering modern buildings stand side by side. This is one of the most bustling commercial areas in New York, filled with Muggle elites in suits and ties, and gleaming luxury cars are everywhere on the streets. Amosta stood by the roadside, listening to the sounds of traffic, his gaze sweeping over the towers, sensing a hint of the 'modern' city he had lived in in his previous life.

"Blind Pig Bar--"

Those who were watching them were somewhat sensible and did not follow them after they left the hotel, but Remus still dared not let his guard down. He had sensed the hostility of the Magic Congress's higher-ups towards him and Amosta, so with Amosta having lost his wand, he should be responsible for their safety.

Amosta's admiration for the Muggle's modern city was misunderstood by Amelia, who thought he was lost. Although she didn't approve of Amosta going to such a chaotic place, she was only responsible for following him and had no right to stop him from going wherever he wanted.

“When I was studying in Iphamoni, I heard my classmates talking about it, but they didn’t give me the address.”

Out of guilt for an innocent person being monitored, and out of respect for a great magician, Amelia said with a hint of apology and shame.

She was the only local among the three of them and should have been their guide.

"It's okay, I know where it is."

Amosta smiled and reassured Amelia.

"Some friends who sell goods have mentioned this to me before."

走货

Amelia pursed her lips, unsure how to understand Amosta's words, while Remus's lips twitched a few times.

Amostah, oblivious to the subtle changes in the two men's expressions, noticed a dense grove of trees in the distance and beckoned to them.

“Let’s go. If we’re going to get there, we need to change our appearance. We don’t want to be stared at like monkeys in a circus.”

Changing one's appearance is considered an advanced form of transfiguration. For safety reasons, Amosta, who had lost his wand, did not do it himself. He had Remus cast the spell for him. Although Amelia was a newly graduated wizard, she was an elite with excellent grades in all subjects, so changing her face was not a difficult task for her.

Knowing that her slender appearance would attract attention wherever she went, Amelia made her skin tone much darker and yellower, grew some freckles on her cheeks, reduced the height of her upturned nose, and made her long hair, which was tied behind her head, look as messy as withered grass when it was let down.

After she finished her forgery and looked at Amosta, she found that Amosta was drawing out cold air in front of the water mirror floating in the air, looking like he had a toothache.

"You made me look like Harry?"

"Oh, actually,"

Remus chuckled.

"It's James. Of course, I added a little Sirius element. Look, your eyes are gray now."

Amostah rolled his eyes, said nothing more, then looked at Amelia. When he saw that stunning face had become ordinary, Amostah nodded in satisfaction.

"It looks better this way."

What do you mean by "it looks better this way"?!

Amelia's lips tightened sharply; her good manners and strong self-control prevented her from losing her temper.

After disguising themselves, the three of them were finally able to set off.

Since none of them had ever been here before, they could only use some simple methods, such as taking a taxi, to get around. Although it was slow, it made it easier for the two of them, who were visiting the city for the first time, to better appreciate the scenery.

"Where do you live, Amelia?"

Taking a taxi was a relatively new and comfortable mode of transportation for Amosta and Remus. In the back seat, Amosta asked Amelia with great interest.

“A block in Manhattan.”

Asking about someone's address is considered impolite, Amelia thought with a straight face, but deep down she wasn't really opposed to telling Amosta about herself.

“I was planning to move out of my family home after Ifa graduated from school, but my parents wanted me to live with them so they could see me every day.”

"You have parents who love you very much."

Amosta nodded slightly, perhaps because he was preoccupied with something, and for a moment, he lost interest in chatting.

The environment of any wizard's stronghold is always out of place in the surrounding Muggle world.

The taxi carried the three of them through the streets of New York for over an hour before reaching Grafton Avenue. Unlike the pristine, clean cityscape just two blocks away, the street where the Blind Pig bar was located seemed forgotten: the dirty, decaying pavement was littered with trash and puddles, and the cold-toned building walls were plastered with faded advertisements and missing person posters. A tangled web of electrical wires enclosed the space, and as the three passed an old metal utility pole, Remus noticed it was rickety and corroded by rainwater.

"It's quite different from our style, isn't it?"

Amelia, who was not a native of the wizarding world, frowned at the scene she saw. She couldn't believe that wizards would be willing to stay in such an indecent place. Remus, on the other hand, smiled and said in a light voice that he was referring to the underground world deep in Knockturn Alley.

Amosta nodded but didn't agree. He looked up at the top of an old six-story building beside him, where a rain shelter supported by a metal frame stood.

Let's go--

Amosta withdrew her gaze.

"The bar should be on the other side of the street; we'll have to walk a bit."

The three walked slowly through the narrow, messy streets, enduring the stench of stagnant water from the potholed pavement. Amosta and Remus were used to it; they had seen worse. Amelia, however, remained skeptical, believing that Amosta might have taken the wrong turn.

When Amosta looked up for the fourth time at the messy obstructions between the buildings, Remus finally snapped out of his daze. He glanced quickly at the awning above, his eyes turning sinister.

"Is someone watching us?"

Amelia's arm trembled slightly, and she instinctively reached for her wand.

"Don't be nervous--"

Amosta smiled.

"Not a wizard, I think... well, maybe just a cat with an overactive curiosity."

A cat with a strong sense of curiosity?

Amelia bit her lip, unsure if it was a joke, because in their brief time together she had discovered that Amosta Blaine had a penchant for 'showing off' his humor.

Remus, however, did not let his guard down. Having spent many years in the underworld, he knew the wizards' ways.

The three of them were newcomers to the local tyrants, and it was possible that a greedy wizard might have attacked them in an attempt to make a quick buck.

The quiet streets amplified Amelia's fear. In a flash, she realized that although Mr. Grevis had said she could become an Auror if she could keep an eye on Amosta Blaine, she hadn't actually received any 'pre-job training' whatsoever.

The work of an Auror is much more dangerous, and it's not the same as working for Mandy.

"arrive--"

Although he had never been here before, Amosta found the place precisely. He stopped and faced a short, narrow alleyway by the roadside, at the very end of which was a wall painted with colorful murals.

"We're going in."

Then, Amosta turned around, looked up again at a window across the street whose pane had completely fallen off, revealing a dark, gaping hole, and smiled as he spoke.

Would you like me to take you inside to get something to eat?

Meow!

A cat's meow suddenly came from the dark window. Remus and Amelia stared in surprise, not expecting that Amosta wasn't joking; there really was a cat following them.

Just as the two were in surprise, a dark shadow suddenly flashed out from the window they were staring at!

The dark figure moved with lightning speed, leaping and bounding across the messy external coat racks before suddenly lunging at Amosta.

Chapter 890 Blind Pig Bar

2024-04-30

Attack!

The indistinct shadow hadn't arrived yet, but the gust of wind that came towards her had already ruffled her hair. Amelia trembled for a moment, and she instinctively reached into her pocket to grab her wand. Her movements were too slow compared to the shadow; she simply didn't have time to complete the spell.

Fortunately, Remus was much more experienced. While Amelia was still panicking because of the appearance of the shadow, his hand had already touched the wand.

"Armor protection!"

Remus shouted sharply, and a breeze rippled in the air in front of the three people. Invisible light and shadow stretched and expanded in the wind, and an invisible barrier quickly unfolded.

The dark shadow that descended from the sky was incredibly agile. It was able to dodge in mid-air, where there was nowhere to brace itself. Facing the rapidly unfolding barrier, the shadow curled up its limbs and nimbly flipped over the edge of the armored barrier released by Remus. Then, it used its hind legs to accelerate suddenly, and like the wind, it swept past Remus's ear and rushed straight towards Amosta, who was being protected behind him!

Damn!

Remus and Amelia were startled. They quickly turned to look at Amosta standing behind them, and upon seeing him—

Meow!

It really was a cat, with glossy gray fur dotted with many irregularly shaped black spots. Its fluffy ears were much larger than any cat Remus had ever seen. What was unusual about this cat was its tail, which looked like a lion's, thick at the base and thin at the tip, covered with a layer of short, stiff hairs, also gray.

As expected, Amosta was not choked. The cat nimbly landed on Amosta's shoulder, sniffed the scent of Amosta's hair, and then squatted down contentedly, lazily licking its paws.

"This"

The unexpected scene left Remus speechless for a long time. Finally, he looked at Amosta, who was raising his eyebrows and seemed both amused and exasperated.

"You... you know this cat?"

"This is not a cat!"

Amelia, who had been in shock, suddenly came to her senses, but her tone was still one of utter astonishment.

"It's a raccoon dog!"

Amelia, pale and panting, looked at Amosta.

“I suspect it may have escaped from the Fantastic Beasts Nature Reserve. There have been quite a few wild magical creatures missing there recently. Amosta, you'd better stay away from it; this kind of animal is quite dangerous.”

"Wild?"