The Return to Hogwarts

"If you mean that bestselling author..."

Amosta exclaimed in surprise, "I have indeed heard of him, Professor. His books are very famous. I have seen people reading his wonderful adventure stories in many other European countries. I have also read them myself. They are indeed very interesting. He is a master storyteller. You... are you asking me if I can get his autograph?"

"That has nothing to do with it!"

Professor McGonagall shook her head sharply, as if shooing away an annoying mosquito, and said irritably,

"He teaches at the school now, invited by Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Oh!"

It seemed Professor McGonagall didn't like that star author. Amosta's eyes widened.

"Then I dare say he must be very popular with the young wizards... so?"

"how to say!"

In truth, Professor McGonagall wasn't the type to gossip about her colleagues in private; it wasn't her style. However, as the school's vice-principal, she was responsible for the quality of Hogwarts' education.

“Professor Lockhart may have some experience in writing... I mean, writing books, but he... well, he doesn't seem to be particularly good at teaching. You know, Amos Tower, fifth graders have to take the OWLS exams in the second semester, and seventh graders have to take the NEWTS exams. These are very important, concerning the future of young wizards. Several students have already told me that they can't get any help or improvement from Professor Lockhart... So, I just thought of…”

Professor McGonagall looked at Amosta expectantly.

"I was thinking, maybe I could help him hire an assistant--"

Amosta frowned. His main task at Hogwarts was to find the Chamber of Secrets and retrieve the Slytherin remnants inside. His method was to monitor the young wizards and observe who was behaving abnormally.

Therefore, he has to stay in the monitoring room all day and cannot go out.

However, taking on the role of a professor means that he must leave his office during the day, which is putting the cart before the horse.

"—If you'd like, I can discuss with Headmaster Dumbledore about paying you the salary of a full professor."

You actually tried to bribe me with money, Professor McGonagall! That's not like you at all!

Amosta asked righteously,

"I don't need to grade assignments, right... By the way, what course does Professor Lockhart teach? Sorry, I'm not very good at divination... Hmm, Professor Kettleburn has retired?"

"It's not about divination or magical creature protection, Amosta..."

Professor McGonagall was unusually cautious. "Uh... um, it's... it's Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Bang!

Amosti turned sharply, slammed the door, and left.

"Excuse me, goodbye!"

Chapter 22 Strange Behavior

The rumors that Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts course was cursed by a mysterious figure are not unfounded.

During Amosta's years at Hogwarts, he never saw a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor walk out of Hogwarts standing up after a year's term. Many professors seamlessly transitioned between Hogwarts and St. Mungo's, making money here and going to see doctors there, without any delay.

Although Professor McGonagall only invited him to be a teaching assistant, it didn't mean there were no risks. Amosta didn't want to use his hard-earned money to help St. Mungo's Hospital boost its performance.

The groundwork has been laid, but that doesn't mean there's nothing left to do in Amosta.

During the week that Mr. Bans was preparing the panoramic telescope, he had to thoroughly familiarize himself with the castle, sealing off any secluded areas that wouldn't interfere with the lives and teaching of the young wizards and professors.

In addition, he also needs to design specific monitoring points based on the castle's architectural structure and create a monitoring network without blind spots.

In his plan, apart from classrooms for each subject, common rooms for the four houses, dormitories for young wizards, and private spaces such as men's and women's restrooms, all other activity areas need to be monitored.

In fact, with his skill level, adding a sound monitoring function to the panoramic telescope wouldn't be difficult. However, that would be going too far, and probably not many professors would agree to it. So, after careful consideration, Amosta abandoned the plan.

"Hagrid, you're definitely hiding something!"

A sudden commotion from the other end of the corridor interrupted Amosta's thoughts; as far as he knew, there seemed to be very few students staying at school for the Christmas holidays.

"Stop asking questions, Harry and Ron!" the gruff voice said impatiently. "I'm not hiding any secrets!"

Harry, Ron, and Hagrid?

Amosta raised an eyebrow and gazed into the distance. Was that clear voice Harry Potter's?

Amosta's heart skipped a beat as he thought, his eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation. Was he finally about to meet the chosen one of this world?

"You know what, Hagrid? Your eyes dart around when you lie!" Harry and Ron pressed indignantly against Hagrid's backside.

"You were just downstairs saying you were going to ask Headmaster Dumbledore about Blaine's appointment as a Ministry of Magic Investigator, but then you inexplicably changed your mind after coming upstairs. Why, Hagrid!"

“And you look really scared!” Ron pointed out astutely.

An investigator from the Ministry of Magic?

Amosta scratched his head, looking puzzled. When had he ever said that?

"Why can't you just be honest, Hagrid?"

At the other end of the corridor, two figures were hanging behind a huge man. They were rapidly approaching the middle of the corridor. Harry was still babbling on, trying to persuade Hagrid to reveal the secret, because his keen intuition told him that what Hagrid was hiding must be very important.

"Hey, Harry!"

Ron noticed Amostella first. He tugged at Harry's robe and whispered, "Look over there, who's that?"

Hagrid suddenly braked and stood still. Harry, caught off guard, bumped headfirst into Hagrid's waist, where a hard dragonhide belt seemed to be fastened, causing considerable pain to his nose.

"Why did you suddenly stop again, Hagrid?"

Harry rubbed his nose, which had been knocked askew, and stood behind Hagrid, muttering irritably, "Have you changed your mind again?"

Hagrid didn't answer. His expression was quite amusing. His face, weathered by years of wind and sun behind his thick beard, turned deathly pale the moment he noticed Amosta. Large beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his large hands fidgeted, constantly groping his upper body as if checking if his attire was appropriate.

"Brain is you,"

Hagrid's smile was awkward. He looked uneasily at Amosta, who had a strange expression on his face, and stammered,

"Long time no see! I heard you're working for the Ministry of Magic now. Congratulations! I mean, congratulations on finding a great job!"

Hagrid had been the game field keeper at Hogwarts for decades, watching one class of young wizards graduate after another. In terms of seniority, even the heads of the four houses were inferior to him, so Amostall naturally knew him.

However, they had no real relationship. Their only contact was after the incident five years before Christmas, when he, under Dumbledore's guidance, went with Hagrid back into the area where he fought the Dark Witch to conduct a search. After that, they did not communicate privately, at most exchanging greetings when they met on weekdays.

However, although we had no personal relationship, we also had no history of conflict!

Why did he make that face when he saw me? And Hagrid seemed really concerned about my return to the school as an investigator—Amostella was filled with deep confusion.

“It has indeed been a long time, Mr. Hagrid.”

Amosta frowned upwards, temporarily ignoring Hagrid's strange behavior.

He looked at the freckled little boy next to Hagrid and recognized him at a glance. There was no way around it; his red hair was too distinctive, exactly the same as Bill's and Charlie's.

Amosta noticed the restraint in Ron's eyes, which wasn't surprising; it was perfectly normal for a thirteen or fourteen-year-old wizard to show resistance to an adult he'd never met. But what Amosta couldn't understand was why he also sensed a hint of longing and fear in Ron's eyes.

Oh, the Weasley kid, maybe he heard from his family that I beat up his two older brothers?

Just as Amosta was about to smile at Ron and greet him, a rather handsome, thin boy with green eyes and messy hair suddenly popped out from behind Hagrid, looking him up and down with almost the same eyes as Ron.

The moment he saw the boy, without any warning, Amosta suddenly felt a jolt in his head, as if a muffled thunderclap had exploded in his mind, leaving him dizzy and barely able to stand!

"Oh!"

Seeing that Amosta looked like he was about to fall, Hagrid quickly stepped forward and supported him on the shoulder.

"What's going on, Amosta? You're acting like you're under a stun spell?"

Behind Hagrid, Harry and Ron exchanged a secret glance, both noticing the astonishment in each other's eyes. Why did this Slytherin senior, who had once driven away a powerful dark wizard who had invaded the school in his fifth year and fought against Headmaster Dumbledore, look so weak?

"Oh, thank you, Hagrid. I think I got dizzy because I woke up too early this morning and caught a chill. Can you loosen my shoulder? I feel like my shoulder blade is going to break."

Amosta frowned and gently rubbed his temples, silently processing the sudden influx of information into his mind.

"It seems,"

After a while, Amostella finally felt better. His complexion returned to normal, and he smiled as he sized up the young wizard whom Professor Snape had described as arrogant, conceited, fond of showing off his cleverness, and particularly disdainful of others. His gaze finally settled on the scar on the wizard's forehead.

"I think I've met the famous Harry Potter?"

Since Harry entered the wizarding world, he has encountered countless strangers who have shown great interest in his scars, and he has long since become accustomed to it.

However, the thought that this man had been sent to Hogwarts to investigate the Chamber of Secrets attack, and that Harry himself was the rumored heir to Slytherin, made Harry feel extremely uneasy, as if the man in front of him would pull out handcuffs from his pocket and cuff his hands at any moment.

Oh no, that's what Muggle police do. Wizards usually confiscate the wands of those who commit crimes first.

"Hello, Mr. Blaine, you've got the right person."

Amosta's not-so-sharp gaze made Harry feel uneasy. He instinctively moved closer to Hagrid, but then, remembering Hagrid's 'glorious' record, the sense of security that Hagrid's massive body had given him vanished instantly.

Chapter 23 Lost Items

"Say something, Harry!"

Amosta, Hagrid, and Harry were all preoccupied with their own thoughts, and no one spoke. This made Ron very anxious. He kept glancing at Amosta curiously and winking at Harry, keeping himself very busy.

It was Amosta who broke the deadlock first, nodding to Harry with a gentle smile.

“Last night, I spent the night with Professor Snape, and he had a heart-to-heart talk with me about his thoughts on you.”