Homecoming from Hogwarts

Chapter 1357: After the War, and the Life and Death of Amosta

Last night, the bright moon that had been stained by blood finally regained its brightness.

The wilderness illuminated by the pure moonlight is surprisingly comfortable like a summer day.

However, Hogwarts is shrouded in the shadow cast by the Island of Avalon, which is supported by three towering pillars and the Whomping Willow.

Even in Hogsmeade, one could still clearly hear the violent roars of beasts coming from within the indigo barrier.

St. Mungo's therapists, dressed in dark green treatment uniforms, walked through the brightly lit streets of Hogsmeade, with anxiety on everyone's face.

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Ailments and Injuries could no longer accommodate so many wounded people, and the Ministry of Magic had to requisition villagers' homes as treatment facilities.

In the sky, teams of stern-looking strikers rode on broomsticks and flew over the roofs of residents, and any slight movement would alert them.

The whole village was shrouded in an atmosphere of tension and sorrow.

Ron hurried out of the Three Broomsticks with a pile of food. Before he could take a step, a team of beaters stopped in front of him with a whoosh.

"What's your name, what do you do, where are you going!"

The leading striker had a cold expression and squinted his eyes as he looked at Ron.

"I am Ron Weasley, Arthur Weasley's youngest son. You have questioned me when I came here just now--"

Ron quickly showed the bag of bread, butter and beer to the patrol team and nervously explained,

"I'm going to the Hog's Head to deliver some food. There are a lot of people there. They haven't eaten all day."

"The Hog's Head?"

The leading attacker had doubts in his eyes.
"That's strange, there's nothing to eat there?"

“There are so many people!”

Ron emphasized again,
"There's not that much food in the Hog's Head's cellar."

The striker squinted and took a closer look at Ron's red hair and the freckles on his nose, then his expression softened.

"Go ahead. Try not to go out."

After saying that, the strikers raised their broom handles and flew into the sky to continue their patrol.

Ron finally breathed a sigh of relief and took a step forward.

Ron trotted along the central avenue of Hogsmeade towards the Hog's Head Inn.

When passing by the village square, he paused and glanced at the brightly lit square illuminated by torches.

The square was filled with stretchers covered with green cloth.

Cedric was sitting cross-legged in front of a stretcher, holding the cold hand of the girl on the stretcher, with an expressionless face.

Draco Malfoy was sitting in a similar position a few stretchers away from Cedric, but he didn't look at the person on the stretcher. Instead, he stared into the distance in the direction of Hogwarts, hatred engraved on his pale face.

There were still some living people accompanying their loved ones, and their slight sobs were like heavy hammers hammering at his heart, suffocating Ron.

Ron sniffed, looked away, and headed towards the Hog's Head Bar.

When they entered the alley where the Hog's Head Inn was located, two Aurors appeared from an inconspicuous corner. After carefully examining the large pile of food in Ron's arms, they watched him push open the door of the Hog's Head Inn.

The dirty bar was dimly lit and the air was filled with a foul smell.

But what is even more unbearable is the depressing atmosphere here.

There were people sitting on every bench, and even every step leading to the rooms on the second floor was filled with people.

Every face under the dim oil lamp was filled with dullness and pain.

Only the girl in the portrait on the wall was looking at everyone tenderly.

Hermione sat at the bar, still sobbing softly. Luna stood beside her, hugging Hermione's shoulders, but her own silver eyes were extremely dim.

Harry sat on the first step of the second floor stairs, leaning against the side wall, his eyes twitching from time to time, his fists clenched on his knees, looking like he was in extraordinary pain. Ginny leaned on Harry's shoulder, her brown eyes were also red and swollen.

Looking at this scene again, Ron still felt it was a bit jarring, so he looked away.

Several Hogwarts deans sat around a round table, and Professor McGonagall was sniffing from time to time. Professor Snape's face was much paler than usual, and there was a hazy light in his dark pupils.

Ron realized later that almost everyone he knew was crowded in the bar.

Fleur was at a table by the window, her head buried in her arms. Madame Maxime was also hugging her, while Hagrid, sitting opposite them, was looking at them both and sighing.

"No trouble, Ron?"

Many people looked up and only glanced at Ron before lowering their heads. Mr. Weasley left his twin sons, who were always smiling but now had stern faces, and asked in a hoarse voice with concern.

Ron had no desire to speak. He stuffed all the food into his father's arms, then returned to the table near the door, where he sat on the bench.

Lavender immediately leaned her head over and rubbed her face against his shoulder twice, but Ron didn't react at all. He just put his unaffected hand in his pocket and stroked the coin he was used to carrying with him.

"Maybe someone wants something to eat?"

Mr. Weasley forced a smile and looked around.

No one responded.

After sighing, Mr. Weasley brought the food to the bar, picked out a sandwich and handed it to Tonks, whose hair had turned gray, with a twitch at the corner of his mouth that could be considered a smile.
"Eat something, Tonks, you're not alone now—"

Remus, with his eyes blank and his face livid, finally came to his senses. He nodded to Mr. Weasley, took the sandwich from his hand, broke off a small piece and passed it to Tonks' lips. His voice was hoarse as if he hadn't touched water for several days.

"Come"

Some tenderness welled up in her eyes filled with sadness. Tonks nodded and opened her mouth to accept the food.

There was a sudden commotion outside the room, and Sirius's angry voice came in.

In perfect unison, everyone in the room looked towards the door, and even the door of a guest room on the second floor was opened.

Professor Lahansen helped Vitia out.

As if she had suffered a serious illness, Vitiya's face was pale and her once green, silk-like hair had turned a sickly yellow. She looked as if she was at the end of her life.

She held onto the railing on the second floor, still looking out the door expectantly.

Wow!

The door was pushed open and Sirius appeared in front of everyone.

"How about it?"

Unexpectedly, the first person to stand up and ask was Severus. He looked at his former mortal enemy with no disgust in his eyes, only expectation.

From Sirius's expression, people had guessed the answer, but they were still looking at him, hoping for a one in ten thousand chance.
"Not here--"

Although he knew that his answer would disappoint many people, Sirius still shook his head firmly.
"I went to the orphanage where Amosta grew up. The Muggles there even took me to the grave of the deceased Muggle who raised him."

Sadness surged over Hermione, and her sobbing became louder again, her eyes swollen almost into slits.

Professor McGonagall also let out a cry of pain, and Professor Flitwick quickly jumped onto the stool to comfort her.

Is Amosta still alive?
As reluctant as they were, this question was on everyone's mind in the bar.

Many people saw him fall from heaven, and his clothes were soaked with blood.

Dumbledore also told them that Amosta paid a heavy price to break through the grey fog's defenses.

He was seriously injured. In that situation, he should have received treatment immediately, but why did Amosita Apparate away at that time?

Or does he want to leave this world in a dignified manner?

Or, knowing that he will die, he wants to leave people with a glimmer of hope.
Because if you have hope, you won’t be so sad?

(End of this chapter)