The Return to Hogwarts

"Professor Blaine has scheduled the next practical class for next Thursday. Hopefully, I can think of a way before then."

Hermione, her face etched with sorrow, said with lingering resentment...

"Since Professor Blaine has already allowed everyone to give up, why can't we be allowed to look up some information?"

Chapter 70 The Secret of the Eyes

In mid-March, a full week before the Easter holidays, Professor McGonagall informed the second-year wizards that they would need to choose their elective courses for the third year after the holidays. This made Hermione temporarily forget about the Defense Against the Dark Arts practice class. She spent the entire weekend studying the new course list, unwilling to give up any of them.

Even for her regular weekend afternoon activity of helping Professor Lockhart write back, she brought her new timetable, hoping to get some guidance from Professor Blaine.

"Interest is the best teacher, Granger—"

Amosta said with a smile,

"Human energy is limited, and you have to make trade-offs. If you're asking for my advice, I think the Conservation of Magical Creatures course and ancient runes might be more practical."

"She has decided to sign off on all the subjects—"

Harry said cautiously.

This time, Professor Blaine didn't ask anyone other than Hermione to help Lockhart write a reply, but Harry still came along to Professor Blaine's office. The reason for this was probably that he hoped to find some clues about dealing with the Inferi from his conversation with Professor Blaine.

"Learn everything?"

Looking at the stubborn little witch with her brown eyes, Amosta said helplessly,

“Time might be an issue, Granger. There are many courses that completely overlap in time, and you can’t make yourself be in the classroom for two courses at the same time.”

“That’s not a problem, Professor Blaine. Professor McGonagall gave me a good suggestion—”

Hermione was now quite adept at replying to letters; she scribbled quickly on the paper, and it seemed that Professor Blaine's dissuasion had not shaken her resolve.

"And what about you, Potter?"

Amosta gave up trying to persuade him and looked at Harry.

“Divination and the protection of magical creatures, Professor, Ron and I both took those courses,” Harry answered quickly, his mind already racing, trying to steer the conversation back to the tips Professor Blaine had given in the hospital.

Amosta nodded noncommittally, muttering to himself.

"I heard that Professor Kettleburn, who teaches the Magical Creatures class, is retiring in the second half of the year. It seems Headmaster Dumbledore is going to have a headache; he'll have to find two professors to fill the vacancies—"

Harry opened his mouth in surprise, and even Hermione stopped writing with her quill and looked up at Professor Blaine in a daze. After exchanging a glance with Harry, Hermione asked reluctantly,

"Don't you plan to continue teaching, Professor?"

"hehe--"

Amosta chuckled softly, then picked up the group photo on the table and carefully wiped the dust off the frame.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Granger, Potter. Becoming a professor at Hogwarts might be a good job, and perhaps one day I will make that decision, but at least in the short term, I have no such plans."

Professor Blaine's answer dampened Hermione's spirits.

Even Harry, for a moment, lost interest in delving into the methods of dealing with the Inferi. He gazed at the excessively young face and the violet eyes, even deeper than when they first met, in the flickering candlelight, and suddenly remembered what the three of them had learned about Professor Blaine from Hagrid at the beginning of the semester.

"--professor,"

Harry hesitated for a moment, but couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked hesitantly,

"We heard some things about your school days from Hagrid. When you were in fifth grade, you met that dark witch in the Forbidden Forest. Did you eventually find out who she was?"

Amosta paused in his wiping motion, glanced at Harry, and his smile became enigmatic.

“That’s a good question, Potter. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about this for years, trying to figure out what that woman’s purpose was in breaking into Hogwarts and trying to kill me when I was a young wizard. But it wasn’t until a few days ago that I finally got the gist of it.”

"who is she?!"

Harry and Hermione's eyes widened instantly, and they both screamed in surprise.

"I can't tell you right now--"

Amostella lowered his eyes, smiled, and placed the photo frame back in its place. Seeing the obvious disappointment on the two young wizards' faces, he pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, and then smiled again, saying...

"Well, as compensation, you can ask me any other questions, and I'll try my best to answer them. Of course, Potter, if you're looking for advice on how to pass the 'Practical Course,' don't bother trying!"

Harry, embarrassed by Professor Blaine's discovery, smiled and clicked his tongue in regret. His gaze inadvertently swept over the group photo that Professor Blaine had placed down, then suddenly he raised his eyebrows and looked into Professor Blaine's eyes.

When Harry first walked into this office, he was very curious as to why Professor Blaine's eyes had changed so much since he went to school. It was a rare opportunity for them to find out the truth!

Amosta could roughly tell what Harry was thinking from his eyes. He blinked and chuckled.

"Okay. If you're really curious..."

Would you be willing to tell us?

Harry asked shyly.

"Actually, there's nothing I can't say, Potter—"

Amosta leaned back in his chair and smiled gently, "Actually, this is somewhat related to what happened on Christmas Eve when I was in fifth grade."

Hermione tossed aside her quill without hesitation and sat up straight, her serious posture just like in a classroom.

"That night, two things made me uneasy. The first was the Dark Witch who suddenly barged into Hogwarts, and the second was Headmaster Dumbledore—"

Amosta gestured to stop Harry from defending Dumbledore. He looked up at the cold, rocky ceiling, smiling, his gaze lost in reminiscence.

"That night, Headmaster Dumbledore showed me what a truly powerful wizard, standing at the pinnacle of the modern magical world, is like with just a simple Disarming Charm."

For a while after that night, I kept thinking about this question: if, in the future, for some reason, I had to fight a wizard as powerful as Headmaster Dumbledore, how could I ensure that I could survive and even win against such a wizard?

Harry and Hermione exchanged uneasy glances. After a long pause, he whispered,

"That was just a misunderstanding, Professor. Under normal circumstances, Headmaster Dumbledore would never harm you—"

"Principal Dumbledore is the greatest white wizard of our time. I believe we should not lose to a wizard like him."

Under Professor Blaine's piercing gaze, Hermione hesitated for a moment, but she still managed to express her meaning: in the modern wizarding world, no one would consider losing to Dumbledore a shameful thing.

“My opinion differs from yours, Miss Granger.”

Amostamo stroked his fingers calmly as he spoke.

"The first step to surpassing someone is to firmly believe in your own ability to do it. No one in this world is invincible. No matter how powerful a wizard is, they are destined to be surpassed by those who come after them. Therefore, I never thought that Principal Dumbledore or wizards like the Dark Lord were absolutely unbeatable."

Chapter 71 Magical Organ

Harry and Hermione exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions revealing their shock.

Defeat Headmaster Dumbledore?

To be honest, even in his most absurd dreams, Harry had never thought of this. Was it really something a human could do? Harry was certain that if Professor Blaine's words got out, he would be ridiculed by many people!

However, Amosta clearly didn't think he was talking nonsense; he calmly stated,

"To defeat someone, you must first understand the difference between you and them. So, what do you think is the difference between me and Headmaster Dumbledore?"

"A learned person like Principal Dumbledore must know many powerful spells that ordinary people have never heard of."

Hermione offered a very insightful analysis.

"Just like the ancient magic you talked about in class, I think Headmaster Dumbledore's mastery of ancient magic must be beyond ordinary people's imagination!"

"A powerful curse"

Amosta smiled noncommittally.

"This is indeed a very crucial factor. Headmaster Dumbledore's magical talent is beyond doubt. At the same time, he is also a very diligent wizard. Even now, when he is over a hundred years old, he still has not given up learning and improving himself. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for me to have more magical knowledge than Headmaster Dumbledore. That is for sure."

Ron will definitely regret not participating in this conversation today!

The thought crossed Harry's mind as he unconsciously held his breath, but he immediately reminded himself to stay focused. Not everyone was lucky enough to be involved in such a 'high-level' topic.

"--However, this is not the main reason why I cannot defeat Headmaster Dumbledore, Miss Granger, because I also possess a keen intuition that no one else can match when it comes to improving spells. At that time, having already found the path to advancing spells, I believed that as long as I persevered in my research, it wouldn't be long before the power and versatility of spells would no longer be an obstacle for me to defeat first-rate powerful wizards."

If the discussion were about how to become a knowledgeable scholar, Hermione might have many tips to share, but discussing how to become a powerful wizard was a question Hermione had never considered. She frowned as she looked at Professor Blaine, quietly waiting for him to reveal the answer.

"Actually, this problem isn't that complicated."

Amostella smiled and explained, "The key lies in the magic within each of us wizards—"

"magic?"

Harry opened his mouth, looking completely bewildered.

"Yes--"

Amosta nodded.

"Every wizard experiences a magical surge in their youth. This is proof of our innate talent as wizards and the only time in our lives that our magical power increases dramatically."

After that, magic will enter a long, steady growth phase as we age, a phase that will accompany us throughout our lives. In other words, the moment we die is the moment when the amount of magic stored within our bodies is at its peak.

"You mean to say that your biggest disadvantage compared to Headmaster Dumbledore is the huge gap in magical reserves caused by the insurmountable age gap."

Hermione is truly Hermione; while Harry was still in a daze, she had already accurately grasped what Professor Blaine was trying to say.

“Indeed, Miss Granger,”