The Return to Hogwarts

Amelia now harbors a growing resentment towards these people in the Department of Security, she said coldly.

Eurel shrugged, glancing casually at the closed door of the room where Blaine was staying, a hint of suspicion and hesitation in his eyes.

"If you're worried that Amosta might sneak away, why don't you go in and check, Eriel?"

Amelia accurately captured the emotion in Eriel's eyes, and she spoke without hesitation.

"Oh--"

A flicker of interest crossed Eriel's face, but then a bitter smile appeared on his lips as he shook his head slightly.

"I think we'd better not provoke Mr. Blaine any further."

Amelia turned her face away, bypassed Ariel's judgment, and strode towards the elevator. Sirius grinned at Ariel and then followed her.

The man and dog quickly left the World Trade Center and, after a rapid journey, darted into a grove of sycamore trees. After confirming that they were not being followed by Aurors, Sirius Black reverted to his human form.

As the most profound form of human transformation, Animagus wizards are rare in any magical civilization, and Amelia hadn't encountered a wizard who mastered it before meeting Sirius. She stared curiously at Sirius, who had returned to human form, then suddenly blinked and said...

"So you used the Animagus to escape from Azkaban?"

"Yes, that's it-"

Sirius was amazed by the intelligence of this little girl whose tangled relationship with Amostella was unclear; he looked at her with admiration.

"Those Dementors couldn't identify me very well, which gave me an opportunity. Of course, that trick doesn't work anymore, because Azkaban now has other screening methods, so—"

Sirius took the tusk that Amosta had given him out of his pocket and held it in his palm. The floating tusk tip trembled slightly, but it always pointed in one direction.

Sirius Black raised his head, narrowed his eyes as he stared at the buildings scattered in the direction his fangs were pointing, and then said succinctly,

"Let's use flying brooms, that's the most suitable. I think the Aurors in the US must have given us training on using flying brooms for tracking before we start working, right?"

"Oh--"

Amelia blushed and stammered,

"Sorry. I—I haven't received any special training, and, well, I'm not very good at flying brooms."

"Okay, I can give you a ride."

Sirius Black said nonchalantly, taking a Nimbus 2001 from his bag, mounting it, and beckoning to Amelia.

“Come on up, you can help us cast a Disillusionment Charm so that the Muggles won’t find us.”

Amelia gave a soft "hmm," then raised her wand and tapped Sirius on the shoulder—doing the same to herself before mounting her broom.

Although Sirius Black wasn't as gifted at flying brooms as Harry and James, his flying skills were still top-notch. With a light touch of his toes on the ground, the scenery on both sides suddenly blurred in Amelia's eyes, and in an instant, the two of them were hundreds of feet in the air.

Glancing at the empty space beneath her feet, Amelia's face turned pale instantly. She screamed uncontrollably, clutching Sirius's robes billowing in the wind. But before she could regain her composure, Sirius, to avoid a tall building ahead, suddenly swerved, one hand holding his fangs and the other controlling the broom handle.

The violent shaking made Amelia cry out again, and she clung tightly to Sirius's waist!

"Are you OK!"

Amidst the howling wind, Sirius Black shouted without turning his head.

"I"

Suppressing her nausea, Amelia tried her best not to look at the buildings rushing past her, her voice high-pitched.

"I can handle it."

"That's good!"

Sirius cried out, then swooped down to avoid the observation deck connecting the two buildings.

The sudden feeling of weightlessness nearly made Amelia faint, but Sirius's solemn voice startled her.

We're almost there!

Almost there?!

A look of astonishment flashed across Amelia's eyes. Less than two minutes had passed since she and Sirius began their pursuit. She had assumed the vampire who stole the fangs would have Apparated to a faraway place, but she hadn't expected him to be so close.

Sirius controlled his flying broomstick and landed on the roof of a fast food restaurant. He carefully sensed the sensations transmitted to him by the fangs, confirming that the vampire who poisoned them was in the building in front of him. Just as he was about to get off the flying broomstick, he found that the young girl behind him was still holding him tightly around the waist.

"Ahem, we've arrived—"

Sirius coughed heavily, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his gray eyes.

After a brief silence, Amelia neither spoke nor released Sirius's waist, but stared at the building in front of her with disbelief.

"Ahem, Amelia?"

Sirius couldn't see Amelia's expression behind him, but he noticed that the girl was still holding him by the waist, and the unnaturalness in her eyes grew even stronger.

"Oh, sorry--"

Amelia snapped out of her daze, quickly released Sirius, jumped off the flying broomstick, and still stared in shock at the building in front of her.

"How could this be? But how is that possible?"

Sirius stared intently at the fangs in his palm, carefully sensing them. After a moment, he looked up at Amelia.

“I can confirm that the fang Amostall gave me did indeed point here. The vampire who poisoned us is in this building. You seem quite surprised, Amelia?”

Amelia blinked hard, staring blankly at the brightly lit building, her voice filled with confusion.

"But this is Woolworth Building, the location of the Magical Congress of the United States!"

Upon hearing this, Sirius frowned, immediately realizing the problem.

Last night, an employee of the Magical Congress of the United States of America was murdered inside the building, and Amosta's wand was lost as a result. It's easy to imagine that the Magical Congress building is under the highest level of security tonight. How did this vampire dare to break in? What method did he use to disregard those security measures?

"Let's go in and take a look."

Sirius Black spoke solemnly, then put away his flying broom and transformed back into a black dog.

"Dylan?"

Amelia practically ran towards the building. She entered through the shared entrance for Muggles and wizards, and looked behind the revolving door at an old wizard sleeping with a newspaper covering his face.

"Who went in before me?"

The old wizard seemed to be sleeping soundly, but after Amelia asked her question, he didn't remove the newspaper from his face, and spoke in a muffled voice...

“Your boss, Amelia—”

"Grevis?"

Amelia cried out, but Dylan seemed to be really asleep and did not answer the question.

"Hey, keep an eye on your dog, little girl, it looks dangerous!"

Behind the revolving door, several wizards were staring at Amelia with displeasure, holding spyglasses and honesty probes. Just now, when they were about to examine the excessively large dog, it had bared its teeth and looked like it was about to bite them. After they were startled, it immediately and cleverly darted into the building and squatted in the lobby waiting for Amelia.

"Oh, sorry--"

Amelia called out.

"I was just spacing out. I didn't expect Mr. Grevis to be back working here so late."

"Oh, who knows?"

A chestnut-haired, curly-haired wizard listlessly probed Amelia a few times.

"They're probably here to check if we're slacking off. Okay, let's go in--"

Amelia couldn't help but think that the vampire, disguised as Grevis, had swaggered into the Magical Congress of the United States of America. But glancing at the peephole hanging above her head, she couldn't understand how the vampire had managed to bypass the alarm system.

Downstairs--

Amelia rushed to Sirius, who was crouching there. Before she could ask where the vampire was, Sirius raised his forepaw, revealing a sharp nail and pointed it at the ground.

Chapter 946 Exploration

2024-05-30

Because of last night's incident, many staff members of the Magic Congress have become cautious. Some wizards who were originally on night shift have collectively taken leave, and apart from a few guards and patrollers, there are not many people to be seen in the hall.

Amelia led the black dog toward the elevator. As she approached the elevator lobby, she quickly slipped behind a pillar. After confirming that no one had noticed her unusual behavior, she had Sirius return to human form.

"You mean, that vampire is downstairs?"

Amelia lowered her voice and asked in surprise.

Sirius didn't speak immediately. He opened his palm, letting Amelia see the fangs standing upright, the tips pointing towards the ground.

What's downstairs?

"It's an execution chamber—"

Amelia looked both confused and worried.

"And then there are the detention cells, you know. Before convicting criminals, the Aurors of the Security Department need a quiet place to interrogate the criminals they have captured, and the underground is the most suitable."

The problem is, the place is heavily guarded, with many fighters watching over it, and powerful protective magic. Only by knowing the correct methods can one avoid that magic. I can't understand how that vampire would willingly walk into the trap. And how did he even sneak in? He definitely couldn't have forced his way in!

"He's got the airs of your boss, isn't he?"

Sirius said calmly,

"I guess it's a compound decoction. Only this kind of human transformation technique can't hide it from a scopy and an honest probe."

Compound decoction?