The Return to Hogwarts

"She's relatively stable. Pomfrey handled her problem correctly. With a few weeks of rest, she'll be back to normal."

Snape's tone was curt, but he at least answered the question truthfully. However, when he saw Dumbledore's relieved expression and his intention to let the matter drop, he finally couldn't contain his anger.

"I think you know very well what those self-important and show-offy guys from Gryffindor have been doing. They've been brewing Polyjuice Potion in secret and have even broken into my office to steal the materials. Dumbledore, when did this school become so lenient that breaking school rules and stealing professors' property is allowed?"

“Despicable acts are never allowed,”

Snape's relentless pursuit seemed to wear down Dumbledore, who was exhausted from his journey. He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples.

"But we should observe people's intentions through their behavior to judge whether their hearts are equally despicable. Severus, I do not think that Harry, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger's desire to investigate the truth of the attack is despicable."

"So you're just going to let him get away with it, even if his reckless behavior puts him in danger?"

For some reason, Snape's face appeared slightly pale in the gentle firelight. Although he did not name "him" in his words, Snape was certain that Dumbledore understood him.

The office fell silent, save for the soft snores of the past principals depicted in the murals hanging on the walls and Fox's delicate but clear chirping.

“It’s not about letting things run wild, Severus, but about observing,”

After a long silence, Dumbledore spoke again, but his tone lacked the silent confidence he once possessed.

“Indeed, the line between courage and recklessness is sometimes not so clear, but we should be more tolerant of young people, Severus, so as to avoid stifling their innate strengths.”

"tolerate?"

Snape's lips twitched; reluctantly, yet unable to stop himself from recalling his time at this school.

"Don't flatter yourself, Headmaster Dumbledore. You've always been tolerant of students you admire."

Snape completely transferred his hatred for James Potter and his love for Lily Evans onto Harry. He had to protect the son of the woman he loved, while also enduring how much the child resembled his father. This made Snape's emotions incredibly twisted.

"Let's end this topic, Severus,"

Since Harry Potter entered the school, such conversations have taken place countless times in private, leaving even Dumbledore feeling quite helpless.

"Could you please go to the school gate to greet a guest for me?"

Dumbledore stood up; his clothes were unsuitable for receiving guests.

"Actually, this task should have been given to Minerva, but unfortunately, she accepted an invitation from the editorial team of 'Transfiguration Today' to attend a cocktail party about Transfiguration, which was a rare moment of leisure for her, and I tried not to disturb her."

Snape was not interested in Dumbledore's private meeting. He turned and strode away, his face even worse than when he had entered the office, as memories of the past kept flashing through his mind.

But inexplicably, before leaving the office, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked back at Dumbledore, who was using his wand to clean the mud off the hem of his robes, his voice filled with suspicion.

Who did you meet with?

"Ah—actually, I originally planned to let you know about this surprise at the school gate, but since you asked,"

Dumbledore smiled, and his deep blue eyes once again shone with an unfathomable light.

“Amosta Blaine, one of your most admired students over the years.”

January 31th, 7:40 PM.

Amos Tower, who had disembarked at Hogsmeade Station on the express train, traversed a long, snow-covered path and arrived right on time outside the Great Iron Gates of Hogwarts.

For millennia, two winged boar sculptures have stood guard over this magnificent magic school at the school gate. Amostah's gaze, filled with awe, passed through the iron gate fence, soared over the playground with its six tall golf clubs, and over the gloomy ancient castle standing on the cliff edge, until it disappeared into the boundless Forbidden Forest.

I have to admit, it feels even better to be back here than I imagined.

"I knew it was you, Professor, that I would be waiting for me when I boarded the train."

The rusty gate creaked open slowly, and Amosta stepped through the gate, facing the approaching figure. As Severus Snape's expressionless face became visible in the dim light, Amosta put down his suitcase, opened his arms, and gave a genuine smile.

P.S.: Please continue to add to your favorites and invest!

Chapter 6 The Interview (Part 2)

The extreme cold froze the vast Black Lake into a solid block of ice. In the dim light, the Forbidden Forest, swaying in the biting wind, resembled a shimmering lake.

“Last year before Easter, I remember you wrote to tell me you were exploring the ruins of an ancient Greek sorcerer in Greece, and you mailed me five pints of dragon's blood and forty ounces of dragon's liver,”

Amos and Snape walked side by side toward the castle standing on the cliff edge. As they passed the three tall golf clubs on one side of the playground, while Amos gazed at the flickering firelight of Hagrid's hut, Snape looked at Amos beside him, whose features were even more profound than when he graduated three and a half years ago, his voice carrying an ambiguous meaning.

"But then, the Daily Prophet revealed some interesting information: the Norwegian Ministry of Magic stated that someone had illegally entered their dragon nature reserve, stolen a precious Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg, and slaughtered a Norwegian Redscaled dragon in front of two Muggles who had mistakenly entered the reserve. Amostall, I don't think these two things are related, right?"

"What do you think, my professor?"

Amosta withdrew his gaze from the distance and looked at the only room in the tower, out of a row of dark rooms, where a light was still on. He smiled and said...

"Or rather, what kind of response do you hope to get from me?"

Snape's lips curled into a habitual sneer, but the words caught in his throat as he realized that the young man beside him was no longer the impoverished student who disliked deep connections with classmates and preferred to immerse himself in his own world. Instead, he had rapidly matured into a wizard whom even Snape found somewhat unfathomable.

“None of this matters to me, Amosta, I just wanted to remind you,”

The warm reunion that Dumbledore had envisioned did not take place between the teacher and student. Snape strode towards the castle, head down.

“I want you to know what you’re doing right now, and I want you to know that this school isn’t as peaceful as it seems—especially these past few years, Amosta. If your habit of keeping a low profile hasn’t changed, then keep it up, especially in front of Dumbledore.”

Finally, my advice is to leave here as soon as possible, even leave the British wizarding world, and come back after everything has settled down… If your mind is still as sharp as it was back then, you should understand what I'm saying.”

...............

Perhaps because the actions tonight were too ordinary, the stone monster at the office door bared its teeth and subtly revealed its dissatisfaction as it moved aside.

"Thank you for reminding me, Professor."

Snape showed no intention of going in; as he passed by, Amostella chuckled softly.

“I have always known what I am doing and I am very aware of the risks I will be facing.”

Dumbledore, who was in his office, had already taken the time to change into a clean and presentable wizard's robe. He had obviously sensed the visitor's arrival in advance. As Amostella stepped into the office behind the closed wall, Dumbledore was already standing behind his desk, smiling at the door.

Good evening, Headmaster Dumbledore!

Although he had mentally prepared himself, when those bright, clear blue eyes, illuminated by the steady, bright firelight and brimming with the wisdom of a century of life, fell upon him, Amosta Blaine still felt his face tighten and his heart beat faster involuntarily.

Fox, who was in the brazier, heard a somewhat familiar voice and struggled to stretch his neck out from a pile of ashes, looking around curiously.

Thirty feet away, the old man, bathed in flames, possessed not only a vast, cloud-like magical power within his tall, thin body, but also a legendary life story that was second to none, a living history of modern European magic.

It's hard to imagine how the first and second Dark Lords managed to hold out for so long in front of such a person.

"Welcome, welcome!"

Dumbledore smiled and extended his hand to meet Amos Tower's striding approach. His piercing gaze swept over Amos Tower's young face, lingering only briefly on his pale purple eyes before shifting his attention to Amos Tower's snow-white gray hair.

"Good evening, Amosta. I'm sorry to have made you travel in such terrible weather. As compensation, may I buy you a drink?"

"Thank you, this is exactly what I needed."

Amostella, guided by Dumbledore, sat down. He then walked to a bookshelf, opened a cabinet containing the Pensieve, and retrieved an aged wine bottle from under a trapdoor.

"For the sake of my health, I had to hand over most of my collection to Bobby, but this bottle... to be honest, Amosta, I haven't shared it with anyone else yet!"

"Ogden Firefly Whisky, aged over eighty years, is priceless."

Amostella sniffed the aroma of wine wafting in the air, smiling subtly. "Thank you for your generosity, Headmaster Dumbledore. This alone makes this trip worthwhile—"

Time has given this valuable spirit a rich, mellow flavor. Amosta sipped his liquor, silently waiting for his stiff fingers to regain their flexibility.

Dumbledore wasn't in a hurry to start the next conversation. He quietly watched Amostella with a gentle gaze. Although he didn't ask any questions, he seemed to have gotten what he wanted to know, and he was quite satisfied with the result.

“Severus once told me that for the past two years he had been following in the footsteps of those great sages, exploring magical relics lost in time,”

When Dumbledore saw Amostella's pale cheeks regain their color, he smiled.

"I'm glad that even after leaving this school, you haven't forgotten to hone your magic and improve yourself. This makes me feel that the educational principles I upheld while you were here weren't a complete failure."

At least, Hogwarts' education has made a very small number of people realize that besides the Ministry of Magic, there are many other wonderful places in the wizarding world.

Dumbledore did not mention the appointment of the Board of Governors or anything about the Chamber of Secrets, which surprised Amosta, who had prepared her speech and plan.

"Back in my school days, young wizards wouldn't rush to find a way out after graduating from school. Instead, they would all take a graduation trip to see the world. Before I graduated, I had planned to go to Greece with an old friend to find the magical creatures that had made their mark in mythology and to Egypt to visit the alchemists' experiments..."

Unfortunately, some unexpected events disrupted my plans, and this almost haunted me for the rest of my life.

Dumbledore's gaze drifted into reminiscence as he sighed.

"Making this choice may have something to do with my Muggle background,"

Amos put down his glass, smiling in agreement, but inwardly feeling confused.

Before arriving here, Amosta had pondered his conversation with Dumbledore many times in his mind. In his deduction, the unfathomable old man behind the desk would probably delve into his experiences over the past two years and would not be deceived by his simple words.

Perhaps, like Professor Snape, one is curious about his true motives for trying to return to school.

We might discuss with him in depth the perpetrator of the locked-room attack and question his proposed preventative measures.

But now it seems that Dumbledore has no interest in any of these things and just wants to chat with himself.

is it possible?

Amosta didn't believe Dumbledore was so naive; he became even more wary, but outwardly appeared quite interested in the current topic.

"Children from wizarding families take the wonder of magic for granted, while someone like me who grew up in the Muggle world understands better how precious it is that a wand can bring about miracles. Compared to this, power and wealth seem so insignificant."

“No need for modesty, Amosta. There are many children from Muggle families, but your unique gift is your reverence for knowledge and your tireless pursuit of it.”

Amos Tower's explanation was exactly what Dumbledore wanted to hear, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his deep eyes behind his half-moon-framed glasses.

"Most importantly, after all you've been through, you can still describe magic as 'miracle unfolds,' rather than 'power'—"