The Return to Hogwarts

The girl behind the door stared wide-eyed, her fists clenched so tightly her thin shoulders trembled slightly, yet her gaze held a resolute strength that moved Amosta.

"You know perfectly well that we are a family, so why are you pretending not to know us?"

Cough!

Sirius spat out a mouthful of wine, covering his mouth and trying to stop coughing, staring in astonishment at the two people facing off.

“I don’t want to deceive you, Amelia—”

Amosta, unable to hide his weariness, rubbed his temples and said calmly.

"When I was at the immigration office, after seeing your face and hearing your surname, I did have a general idea of ​​your identity, including in Saint-Syria. I must admit that I cannot completely eliminate my curiosity about you and hope to learn more about your situation."

Amosta met Amelia's intense gaze. He had the strange feeling that this girl, younger than him, had a sharper eye than Dumbledore.

"But I don't want to disturb your lives too much."

"That's a completely selfish idea!"

Amelia didn't know where she got the courage, but she was angry at Amosta for keeping it from her.

Amelia burst out from behind the door and stood before Amosta, berating him angrily as if she were an elder.

“Aren’t we family? You should stay with us, Amosta. Why do you think you’re disrupting our lives?”

Panting, Amelia's eyes were filled with tears.

“Belina, my sister, Mom and Dad have always treasured their photo album. They have always regretted what happened back then, regretted not taking her back, not taking you back. Are you really not even willing to give them a chance to forgive themselves?”

Chapter 943 Conspiracy

2024-05-29

"Perhaps you misunderstood me, Amelia—"

As Amelia's emotions spiraled out of control, Amosta sighed heavily.

"The events of that year, regardless of right or wrong, are all in the past. Holding onto hatred is foolish. I do not hate your parents for abandoning my mother back then."

Your family has a happy and joyful life. My intervention will only tear apart your peaceful life, which is contrary to my original intention.

Moreover, I believe you are aware that the British wizarding community is currently facing a tremendous test. Voldemort's return has once again cast the shadow of war over the wizards living in that land. If you know even a little about Voldemort, you should know that if our relationship were to become public knowledge, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for you and for your parents.

Voldemort.

Amelia was stunned.

She didn't really give much thought to the dark wizard Albus Dumbledore had proclaimed to return to the people.

More than a decade ago, the riots that Voldemort instigated in Britain did not spread to other countries. For most magical civilizations, he was just a figure in history books.

Amelia, with her excellent memory, had read some accounts of the dark wizard referred to as the 'Mysterious Man' by the British wizards. If the things recorded in the books were true, Amelia bit her lip. Amosta would definitely stand firmly on the front line against that dark wizard, and given Voldemort's past actions, he would not possibly let them go unpunished.

Sirius stood at the bar, holding an empty glass, watching the two people facing off, their mouths opening wider and wider, revealing a comical expression.

The only thing he was certain of was that Amelia was probably not the kind of person he had imagined; she was an admirer of Amosta, which was why she had gone to such lengths to help him. Amosta seemed to regard this girl as family.

"I'm a little confused--"

Sirius scratched his head, his voice high-pitched with surprise.

"Who exactly are you—"

Du, du, du—

The sudden knocking made Sirius Black, who was about to ask something, change his expression. He immediately activated Animagus, and in the distorted light, he transformed back into a large dog.

"Come in--"

At Amosta's slightly somber greeting, the Muggle waiter who had left earlier pushed the food cart in.

Seemingly sensing the somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the room, the Muggle waiter glanced with surprise at the sullen Amelia and the large black dog by the wine rack, but did not look at Amosta.

Amostella watched the Muggle waiter enter the room, his pupils contracting almost imperceptibly before returning to normal. His expression, which had been grave due to Amelia's questioning, softened as he calmly watched the waiter place three steaks, a salad, and some desserts on the table and remove the lids.

"gentlemen--"

The waiter looked up, glancing nervously at Amosta, and raised the glass of red wine in his hand.

"Would you like me to open it for you to decant?"

Amosta thought for a moment, then raised his hand to the waiter as an invitation.

The waiter opened the wine and poured it into a decanter, gently swirling it in his hand. The deep, blood-like liquid swirled in the glass, and a rich, mellow aroma gradually filled the air. The whole process lasted for more than ten minutes. Finally, the waiter took three more stemmed glasses from the cart and poured some wine into each.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

Perhaps the ten-odd minutes of exertion had exhausted too much energy, the waiter asked, slightly out of breath.

"That's all. I'll call the front desk to clean up after we finish eating."

Amosta walked over, picked up the wine glass with an enthusiastic expression, took a deep sniff, and showed a pleased look.

"Then, I wish you both a pleasant meal."

Amostella's satisfied expression relieved the waiter, who bowed slightly and then quickly pushed the food cart out of the room.

"I'm starving!"

Sirius Black immediately reverted to his true form, complained to Amosta, and then sat down at the dining table.

"bring it on--"

Amosta waved to Amelia, who was frozen in place.

Although she hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day and was starving, Amelia didn't care. She was preoccupied with Amostella's words: the danger posed by Voldemort, the safety of her parents, and the unfortunate experiences Amostella had suffered in his childhood.

"Aren't we family?"

Amusta's call brought Amelia back to her senses; her voice, no longer clear and melodious, became hoarse.

"No matter what happens, we should—"

"Let's eat something first—"

Amostella smiled and interrupted her, "The only thing you should never miss is good food. We can talk about the rest later—"

Amelia pursed her lips and slowly moved to the dining table, while Sirius was already feasting.

"So--"

In the dim light, Amosta raised his glass and gently swirled it, a fleeting look of amusement in his eyes.

"Regardless, Sirius, Amelia, I want to express my gratitude to you both. You've gone to so much trouble for me—"

“Oh, not at all, Amosta—” Sirius mumbled with meat in his mouth, then picked up his glass and gulped down his drink as if it were water, while Amelia took a small sip as well.

"Oh, right!"

The atmosphere at the dinner table remained somewhat subdued. Sirius glanced at Amosta, who was listlessly cutting his steak and sipping his wine, and thought for a moment...

"You just said you had a guess about who took your wand, right? So who was it?"

"That's not hard to guess, is it?"

Amosta tilted his head, staring at the empty glass, his expression unreadable.

"The person who did this took my wand inside the Magical Congress building, killed people with Fiendfyre, and then left calmly without anyone noticing. The security measures were completely ineffective against him, and he left no clues. What kind of person could do that?"

"You suspect someone inside Congress!"

Amelia was startled and instinctively stood up to ask, but perhaps she stood up too quickly, and she became unsteady, holding her head and looking dizzy.

"what happened to you?"

Seeing her like this, Sirius asked in surprise, but then his brows furrowed. The intense dizziness had severely blurred his vision. Unlike Amelia, who was completely bewildered, Sirius was, after all, an experienced wizard, and an Auror at that. He immediately realized what had happened—

"Food. We need to be careful—"

Sirius tried to stand up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he heard a loud thud. It was the sound of Amelia falling to the ground. He tried to reach out to Amosta, who had somehow slumped onto the table, but before his fingertips could touch her, his body went limp, darkness suddenly enveloped him, and he slid to the ground, unconscious.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock--

The room was silent, except for the dark red wine that Sirius accidentally bumped into, spilling onto the table and dripping onto the floor.

The silence lasted for an hour and a half until the crescent moon climbed into the center of the night sky, breaking the stillness.

Click——

"gentlemen?"

The Muggle waiter who had been there earlier opened the door with his trolley, but instead of coming in, he tilted his head and peered through the crack in the door to see what was happening inside.

"I was waiting for you to call me to tidy up, but I haven't heard from you, so I came to see if there's anything I can do for you?"

He called out twice, but there was no response from inside the room.

"Sir? Is there anything I can do for you?"

The waiter raised his voice slightly, released the handrail of the food cart, squeezed through the crack in the door, and then casually closed the door behind him.

When the waiter saw Amelia lying on the ground and Amostella slumped on the table, a fleeting look of surprise crossed his eyes. However, when he saw Sirius Black beside the table leg, the Muggle waiter's expression immediately turned to suspicion.

"gentlemen?"