The Return to Hogwarts

Rita, guided by Amosta to sit on the sofa, fiddled with her stiff curly hair and said excitedly,

"Oh, I wouldn't call myself well-informed, but this matter has already spread like wildfire. Many people know how the Board of Governors, under the direction of the Ministry of Magic, has treated Hogwarts, and people in the newspapers also know that you are negotiating!"

Amosta, having finished brewing the tea, turned around and saw Rita's expectant face. She had already pulled out parchment and the automatically written feather disease from her bag, waiting for him to say something.

That's certainly true—

Amosta placed the tea in front of Rita, then walked to the other side of the coffee table and sat down, calmly saying,

"Moreover, the negotiations have now officially broken down."

Rita's shorthand was absolutely ecstatic; a single sentence from Amosta was enough for her to compile a whole string of articles.

"So, you and Dumbledore still don't want Umbridge to enter Hogwarts?"

Rita asked sharply,

"Even if this move might completely enrage the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors, to the point that Hogwarts could no longer continue operating?"

"Letting a professor who lacks professional competence into Hogwarts is also a great irresponsibility to the students."

Amosta glanced at the area marked by the pen tip on the parchment in front of Rita:

When discussing the potentially serious consequences of breaking with the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Magic, Amostella Blaine stated that in order to defend his rights, he was willing to close the thousand-year-old Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sending all its students home.

"Rita--"

Amosta said calmly,

"I invited you here not so that you could create my illusions."

Rita's smile froze, and under Amosta's calm gaze, she reluctantly let the quill pen cross out the words on the paper.

“Oh, you know, Amosta—”

Rita lifted her chin and said,

"The newspaper is now under strict control by the Ministry of Magic. If I don't write it this way, you can forget about letting the public know about the trouble Hogwarts is facing."

"You don't need to worry about that. If I didn't have the ability to get your article published, I wouldn't have called you over."

Amosta said.

"If that's the case—"

Rita Skeeter seemed to have been waiting for Amosta's promise all along; her quill erased all the words she had written on the paper, and an exaggerated smile appeared on her face.

“Then I can speak freely. Oh, where shall we begin? What are your thoughts on Cornelius Fudge sending his trusted aides to Hogwarts?”

"This is undoubtedly a very sad thing—"

Amosta said calmly and authoritatively,

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a sacred place, bearing the heavy responsibility of continuously supplying the wizarding world with outstanding talents. This is the cornerstone of our wizarding world's continued prosperity and strength."

However, some high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic, for the sake of their power, used some clumsy pretexts to openly ignite the political struggle in the sacred school.

This behavior is undoubtedly despicable and shameful, and I, on behalf of all the faculty and staff of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, strongly condemn it.

Hogwarts called on certain high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic to immediately cease their erroneous actions, stop their dictatorship and autocracy, and focus their efforts on building a harmonious and peaceful magical world.

"Oh, what a brilliant description of the flames of political struggle!"

Rita Skeeter grinned excitedly.

"But there are rumors that the Ministry of Magic is doing this to salvage Hogwarts' declining teaching quality. What do you think of that, Amosta?"

"This is precisely the lame excuse I just mentioned."

Amosta said coldly,

"There is no evidence to suggest that the teaching quality at Hogwarts has seriously declined."

Recently, Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic, arrived at Hogwarts with a letter of recommendation from the Board of Governors and demanded a position. However, she was unable to defeat three underage wizards.

This incident illustrates two points: first, Dolores Umbridge's personal magical abilities were not up to the standard of teaching young wizards; second, the quality of teaching at Hogwarts has not declined; on the contrary, the school's teaching quality has been steadily improving, reaching its peak this century.

Amosta's account was already brilliant and insightful enough; Rita didn't need to embellish it further on paper, but simply recorded it verbatim.

She asked with great interest,

“But aren’t you worried, Amosta? The current situation is that the Hogwarts Board of Governors firmly supports the Ministry of Magic’s decision. If you and Dumbledore insist on not allowing the Ministry of Magic to send a special envoy, then you and Dumbledore are very likely to be dismissed by the Board of Governors. In that case, the final result will be the same.”

"Ah, of course, unless you intend to use your extraordinary magical power to force the Ministry of Magic to change your mind?"

"In reality, the board of directors has lost this right."

Amosta's calm words surprised Rita Skeeter, who stammered in surprise.

"Oh, loss. If I understand correctly, you mean Hogwarts has decided not to accept the leadership of the Board of Governors?"

Amostah slowly rose from the sofa, staring intently at Rita Skeeter. His resolute voice, echoing in the office, left the seasoned Rita speechless.

"That's exactly what I mean, Rita."

On behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I hereby solemnly declare to the Board of Governors and the British magical community:

Given that most of the board members sought political support and, despite Hogwarts having done nothing wrong, proactively cut off funding to the school, plunging it into a severe operational crisis.

Therefore, effective immediately from the date of this announcement, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will no longer be subject to the leadership of the Board of Governors!

Chapter 1029 Escort

2024-07-13

An owl spread its wings and took flight, carrying the article Rita Skeeter had written under Amosta's supervision, disappearing into the boundless night.

"Who will you ask to ensure this article gets published in the Daily Prophet?"

Rita Skeeter's quill flew into her crocodile-skin handbag, an excited smile still playing on her lips; clearly, she hadn't shaken off the interview with Amosta.

This is not surprising, as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had been deeply intertwined with the Board of Trustees for seven centuries, but in the last decade of the twentieth century, Amostra Blaine openly declared that the Board of Trustees had broken its contract and cut off funding to Hogwarts.

Therefore, Hogwarts will henceforth operate independently, free from the Board of Governors. It's hard to imagine the uproar this news will cause in the wizarding world!

“Amelia will make sure the news doesn’t reach the Ministry of Magic before the article is published, and some of my board friends at the Daily Prophet will make sure the article is published.”

Amosta's casual words sent a chill down Rita Skeeter's spine.

Two years ago, the young man before her was an unknown wizard, but in just two years, Amosta Blaine has built a powerful network of connections throughout Europe—no, including the Americas—something that cannot be accomplished by powerful magic alone.

For a moment, Rita Skeeter, a top-notch current affairs reporter, keenly grasped the key point in Amosta's words.

"It seems Burns has firmly pledged her support for you, is that right? Oh, how intriguing. How did you manage to convince a politician like her to join your side and promise to support her as Minister of Magic?"

Amosta smiled without saying a word.

But this piqued Rita Skeeter's curiosity, and her shorthand quill floated out of her bag again.

"You're already making preparations, aren't you, Amosta? This report will undoubtedly incite outrage throughout the wizarding world, and Cornelius Fudge's approval rating will plummet to an all-time low. You're planning to use this opportunity to push Burns into power. Oh, or rather!"

A sudden possibility flashed into her mind, making Rita Skeeter's voice sharp like an owl's.

"You're planning to become Minister of Magic yourself?!"

"You have a very rich imagination, Rita—"

Amosta smiled faintly, walked back to his desk through the window, sat down, and stared intently at Rita.

“But I can tell you clearly that I do not intend to become Minister for Magic. Educating young wizards at Hogwarts is a very interesting and meaningful job, and I intend to continue doing it.”

“Oh, in this respect you are just as stubborn and pedantic as Dumbledore.”

Rita Skeeter asked listlessly,

"Almost the entire wizarding world knows you're planning to succeed Dumbledore. Oh, speaking of which, when will you become the headmaster of Hogwarts?"

Rita Skeeter had only asked casually; she knew very well that Amosta was a very shrewd and tight-lipped person, and if he didn't want to answer, he probably wouldn't. But to her astonishment—

"Not for long."

Leaning back in his chair, Amosta, his fingers interlaced, wore a subtle, enigmatic smile as he spoke softly.

“What do you mean it won’t be long?” Rita Skeeter’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Hehe, it won't be long."

In the brightly lit office, Amosta's deep laughter sent shivers down Rita Skeeter's spine!

Many people are destined to have trouble sleeping tonight.

Having anticipated this, Ms. Burns used the pretext of dealing with the increasingly difficult security situation in the wizarding world to convene a meeting of all the Ministry of Magic’s strikers.

With the exception of Dolores Umbridge, who was still recuperating at St. Mungo, all the key personnel from various departments attended the meeting. Even Cornelius Fudge, wary of Burns' behavior, turned his attention to him.

Kakus Foley and Lucius Malfoy, one in the open and one in the shadows, were the two directors behind the Daily Prophet who used spies planted within the newspaper to ensure that Rita Skeeter's article passed the initial review smoothly.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gufie, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet who had been in contact with Amosta, suddenly had an urgent family matter after seeing the article. He left his seal with the department's intern, instructed them to send it as soon as possible, and hurriedly left the newspaper office.

So, at midnight, an owl took flight from the Daily Prophet's office in Diagon Alley and flew toward the printing press.

Meanwhile, a Muggle train, chartered entirely by a wealthy businessman of unknown origin, departed from Paris and, after a three-and-a-half-hour journey, finally came to a stop at King's Cross station.

"These are all the formalities—"

Remus, wearing a round hat, pulled a blank parchment from his pocket and coldly showed it to the Muggle officials in front of him. His wand, which had slipped from his sleeve into his palm, was quickly waved, and the Muggles who had been looking for an excuse to skim some money immediately became dazed.