The Return to Hogwarts

"Remus has a message for you to deliver. Oh, of course, I imagine you must have had a tiring journey. If you're not in such a hurry, we can have dinner together in the office."

"Oh, no need, Mr. Dumbledore—"

Even with Dumbledore's kind face, Amelia was still under immense pressure.

"The situation is urgent, Mr. Dumbledore."

After a few rapid breaths, Amelia composed herself.

“Amostella, I mean, Professor Blaine of your school is currently being held in custody by the Magical Congress’s Security Service!”

A moment of silence fell. Even the group of former headmasters on the office wall stopped pointing and whispering about Amelia. Everyone was trying to process the news brought by this witch from the American magical world.

Finally, the moment arrived--

Clang!

Hermione jumped up abruptly, her face pale. The sudden movement knocked over the chair she was sitting on. Seeing this, Harry and Ron also quickly stood up, their faces just as pale as Hermione's.

Dumbledore remained silent, his once clear eyes now appearing deep and unfathomable. Professor McGonagall rose behind her three students, her slender frame swaying slightly.

"You mean Amosta was imprisoned by the Magical Congress of America?"

Professor McGonagall stared, her face filled with astonishment and disbelief.

"Why?"

"Because the Magic Congress suspects—"

Amelia exhaled heavily and said indignantly,

"A murder that just occurred inside the Magic Council was committed by Amosta!"

Chapter 939 The Origins and Arrangements

2024-05-26

Professor Blaine committed a murder? Harry blinked his emerald green eyes, his gaze filled with undisguised astonishment and anger.

He would never simply assume that Professor Blaine's hands were unstained with blood; however, it was all the blood of those heinous dark wizards, and it was impossible for him to have indiscriminately killed innocent people!

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. From that single description, he sensed something was amiss. However, he didn't rush to question it; instead, he maintained his composure and politely inquired…

"So, what is the reason Amosta was identified as a suspect?"

Anger clouded Amelia's mind, making it impossible for her to recount the whole story coherently. She could only focus on the most important points.

"The murdered wizard belonged to the Congressional Wand Licensing Office. Based on the initial survey and investigation of the scene, the Aurors determined that he died from the Fiendfyre spell. Amostra's wand, which was sealed there, is also missing. When Amostra entered the country, the head of the Security Department, Trak Grevis, considered Amostra a dangerous person and refused to issue him a wand license. His wand was confiscated!"

Harry opened his mouth, wanting to question Grevis about his reason for believing Professor Blaine to be a dangerous person, when Professor Blaine had clearly saved nearly 100,000 wizards on the night of the Quidditch final! However, seeing the solemnity on Professor Dumbledore's aged face, he wisely remained silent.

"Is that why?"

Professor McGonagall's sharp voice was filled with anger.

"So you detained Amosta just for that? Excuse me for speaking frankly, ma'am, wasn't your security department too hasty in exercising its authority?"

What does dying in Fiendfire prove, and as for Amostra's stolen wand? Oh, they suspect Amostra committed murder to get his wand back? That's ridiculous. Why don't they suspect some dark wizards who coveted Amostra's power and took the opportunity to steal his wand?

In my opinion, Amosta is entirely a victim. Your Ministry of Magic failed to properly safeguard his wand, causing him significant loss, and then imprisoned him based solely on conjecture without any reliable evidence. This is utterly…

Professor McGonagall's chest heaved violently.

"This is utterly outrageous!"

“Even a fool like Fudge wouldn’t do that,” Ron muttered under his breath.

The professor's accusations embarrassed Amelia, but she was speechless. She also felt deeply ashamed of the Security Department's actions in this matter.

Dumbledore remained calm and asked Amelia's name.

"So, Amelia, were you present when Amosta was arrested?"

After receiving an affirmative reply, he asked again,

"Has Amosta not offered any defense or evidence to prove that he was not present at the scene of the murder?"

"No--"

Amelia shook her head.

"He did ask the Aurors why he was arrested, and after that he went with them back to the hotel."

Professor McGonagall, who had a furious expression, immediately frowned upon hearing this, while Hermione, who had stood up first, blinked in confusion.

The people in the office were all close to Amosta and familiar with his style of doing things. No one thought Amosta would be intimidated by a group of Aurors.

Faced with a flawed and flawed reason for arrest, even they could find a lot of faults at first glance. With Amosta's intelligence, he couldn't possibly be speechless because of this. There must be something wrong with it.

"Albus--"

Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore and called out softly.

“I can’t make an accurate judgment right now, Minerva, unless—”

Dumbledore's deep blue eyes gazed at Amelia.

"I can know more information."

“Of course, Mr. Dumbledore, I can tell you everything I know.”

Amelia immediately understood Dumbledore's meaning, and she said firmly.

Thus began a long narrative.

Amelia began by recounting her first encounter with Amosta and Remus at the immigration office, detailing her experiences with them and the situations they faced, except for some things she didn't want to or couldn't reveal at the moment, such as her kinship with Amosta.

As she narrated, the portraits on the walls began to whisper again, and the few living people in the office besides her and the great Dumbledore gradually showed expressions of surprise.

Amos Tower hadn't been away from Hogwarts for very long, only a little over ten days, but in that short time, he had already had many exciting experiences in the American wizarding world.

"I believe there's a conspiracy involved, Albus!"

Half an hour later, Amelia, her throat dry from talking, finally finished speaking. Professor McGonagall immediately looked at Dumbledore and said,

"Perhaps they are accomplices of the vampires, taking Amosta's wand in revenge!"

“We all agree that Amosta will not harm an innocent life to get his wand back, and based on what Amelia has told us, I don’t think there’s anything Amosta would need to use his wand in the current situation.”

Dumbledore nodded slightly and shared his opinion.

"But how can we help him?"

Amelia said anxiously,

“If the murderer isn’t caught, then Amosta will remain under guard indefinitely. Grevis is prejudiced against such a powerful wizard as Amosta.”

Dumbledore held out a hand to stop Amelia from continuing. A strange glint flashed in his eyes at the urgency and worry she displayed. Then, he too stood up from his desk.

"Based on what I know of Amosta, Amelia—"

After hearing all this, Dumbledore became even calmer, and he said gently,

“Generally speaking, he wouldn’t put himself in such a disadvantageous position unless being monitored also fits into his plan.”

"What is Amosta planning, Albus?"

Professor McGonagall pressed for an answer.

“I’m sorry, Minerva, I can’t make an accurate judgment, but I believe Amostella can protect himself, even without his wand.”

Dumbledore emerged from behind his desk and, under everyone's watchful eyes, strode quickly to Fawkes, who was standing on the golden branch.

“Of course, we do need to be vigilant. If Amosta really needs help, there are people who can help him. So, sorry, Fox, I need you to pick someone up for me.”

Fox blinked his beautiful ruby ​​eyes a few times, and then disappeared in a flash of fire.

"Mr. Dumbledore--"

Amelia understood Dumbledore's meaning. She believed Amostella had some ulterior motive, which was why she was willing to stay at the hotel. He planned to send someone back to America with him to find an opportunity to meet Amostella and inquire about the situation, but—

"If you want to send someone back to New York with me, you know that wizards need approval to enter the United States, and we probably don't have that much time."

"Oh, please don't worry—"

Dumbledore smiled pleasingly.

"I believe the people I call can hide themselves well and not be discovered."

Hermione's brow twitched slightly, and she subconsciously looked at Harry. The next second, brilliant firelight reappeared in Dumbledore's office, and Sirius Black, with a solemn expression, walked out from the firelight.

Chapter 940 Returning Immediately

2024-05-27

"What's going on, Dumbledore? You sent Fawkes to see me, saying it's important—"

As soon as he emerged from the flames engulfing Fox, Sirius shouted,

"Thank goodness, at least there's something I can help with. You know, I'm completely... Oh... the three of you?!"

Sirius's face lit up when he saw Harry in the office, but then he seemed to misunderstand something; his eyebrows twitched and his lips twitched.

"Got into trouble again?"