The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 96 Course

Fudge kept his promise, and the next morning he arranged for someone to deliver a gleaming Merlin Medal. A simple awarding ceremony was held in the presence of Dumbledore, with most of the professors in the school as witnesses.

The Order of Merlin holds a very important position in the entire European magical community. In the British Ministry of Magic, holders of the Order of Merlin, at the second rank or higher, automatically become honorary members of the Wizengamor Inquisition and have the right to cast their votes in trials.

This is a remarkable privilege, meaning that Amosta can command considerable respect even from officials at the level of department heads in the Ministry of Magic. Although Amosta has many ways to keep those officials in awe of him, having a respectable public identity is ultimately useful.

Clearly, Amosta underestimated people's curiosity about the basilisk, a creature with the reputation of being an ancient being and associated with the great founder of Hogwarts.

According to Dumbledore, Fudge received nearly two hundred letters in just one day, all requesting the Ministry of Magic to publicly exhibit the Basilisk. The Ministry had already held an emergency meeting and decided to hold a public exhibition at Hogsmeade next month.

The Daily Prophet dispatched a team of reporters for an emergency interview, and many experts on magical creatures, including the renowned Newman Scamander, author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," clearly stated that they would attend the exhibition and conference.

Fudge extended an invitation to Amosta through Dumbledore, hoping Amosta would attend the exhibition as a special guest and speak highly of the Ministry of Magic's 'enormous' and 'unignorable' role in the event. Amosta, however, refused with a disapproving eye roll.

“I believe this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Amosta!”

Lockhart, who hadn't been seen in public for some time, nearly knocked Professor Flitwick away; thanks to Mrs. Pomfrey's meticulous care, his teeth were still gleaming.

“I can attend the exhibition with you, Amosta. I can share some valuable tips on maintaining perfect manners in public and creating buzz!”

"I think you urgently need to learn about how to get along with Dementors," Professor Lockhart—Amostella thought to herself as she dodged his advances.

Although Amostella was not a Gryffindor student, she ultimately belonged to Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall covered her mouth, her eyes reddening, and looked at Amostella as she walked over with pride.

"Ahem, Professor McGonagall—"

Amosta smiled shyly, "When would be a convenient time for me to tell you... I mean, salary?"

Professor McGonagall's eyes reddened even more.

Snape stood silently to one side, watching the young Amostella laughing and joking with everyone. Unconsciously, a slight smile appeared on his usually gloomy lips.

"You can all have brighter lives, Severus—"

Dumbledore approached and said softly, "We cannot change the tragic things that happened in the past, but the future is always a choice, Severus, if you wish."

Before Dumbledore could finish speaking, Snape had already walked away.

Lockhart had been bedridden for almost two months and would need a few more days to fully recover, so Amosta would still be in charge of the final week of Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

In the Defense Against the Dark Arts practice class for senior students, when Amosta led a shirtless, gloomy and terrifying middle-aged man onto the Quidditch pitch, most people looked puzzled. Of course, a few Hufflepuff girls were also gazing at the man's strong chest muscles with infatuated smiles.

What happened next can basically be described as horrific.

When the middle-aged man transformed in front of everyone, revealing a terrifying wolf head, baring his ferocious canines, and letting out a murderous and violent howl, nearly half of the senior wizards who were about to graduate were so frightened that they collapsed on the lawn, unable to move. The others who could move used all four limbs to desperately try to escape in all directions!

“Hey, come back here, kids. I’ve already shown you how to use this thing in class. Okay, maybe you can all come at me together. If you can take him down, I’ll tell Professor Lockhart that you can get an ‘O’ on your Defense Against the Dark Arts final exam!”

Looking at the little wizards scattering like birds and beasts, Amosta, his face dark with anger, roared!

Amos Tower's encouragement did have some effect; several young wizards shakily raised their wands, trying to stop the werewolf from getting closer, and Percy even used a beautiful shattering spell to remove a small tuft of black hair from the werewolf's chest.

Then there's Oliver Wood of Gryffindor, who cast a Stunning Spell, but for some reason, the red light, as thick as a willow branch, missed the werewolf and instead struck Marcus Flint, who was fleeing in another direction. It's unclear whether this counts as 'settling a personal score'.

"I already told you."

Amosta sighed helplessly.

"The magical resistance of werewolf fur is outstanding even among magical creatures. A spell cast by a junior wizard cannot defeat a werewolf. When a werewolf transforms, it is difficult for it to maintain its rationality. In the fight against werewolves, setting traps and using polymorph spells are the most useful methods."

“We are not you, Professor Blaine,” Penelope said in a pitiful tone, “dealing with the Boggarts is beyond our capabilities.”

“Oh, that kind of childish stuff!” Amosta wrinkled her nose and said disapprovingly. “You should have some higher aspirations, Miss Crevat!”

“But—” Percy gasped for breath, defending his girlfriend, “we’re just little wizards, Professor—”

Ultimately, none of the older students were able to inflict any real damage on the werewolf Amosta conjured from the chair. To be honest, this disappointed him a bit. If these children couldn't face truly dangerous things in the school, under such a heavily protected environment, what would they do when they entered the magical world, completely unprepared?

Throughout his two months as a coach, Amosta has actually discovered quite a few talented young wizards.

Potter goes without saying; his quick reflexes and keen intuition for danger are exceptional. Hermione's thirst for knowledge and competitiveness will also enable her to achieve remarkable success in the future.

The Gryffindor twins' creativity is commendable, their little sister Ginny's quick thinking is excellent, Neville's potential under pressure is eye-catching, and there are many other young wizards, such as Cedric of Hufflepuff, Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw, Blaise Sabine and Theodore Nott of Slytherin, and Draco is also one. These young wizards all have quite good talents.

Unfortunately, almost every one of them had a huge flaw.

From Amosta's perspective, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they could become excellent wizards, but in terms of future strength and excellence, none of them would reach the level of himself or Professor Snape.

But then again, everyone has different expectations for the future. Just like the Weasley twins, they obviously hope to make some achievements in those quirky products. Not everyone is like Amosta, who aspired to become a powerful wizard from the very first day he learned of the existence of the wizarding world!

"Just know in your heart what kind of wizard you aspire to become, and keep striving towards that goal."

Late Friday night, Amosta looked at his empty office, smiled and murmured something, then picked up his suitcase and closed the office door.

Chapter 97 Leaving

"I remember the night I returned to Hogwarts, it was here that you greeted me, Professor—"

Arriving amidst a snow-covered sky, departing draped in starlight, Amostella stopped and gazed at Snape, who stood for a thousand years beside the great iron gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, beneath the boar sculpture, with a smile on his face.

“Otherwise,” Snape straightened up and sneered, “do you expect anyone to throw you a grand farewell dinner, Amostall?”

Amosta smiled but didn't speak. Under the brilliant starry sky, the two of them faced the refreshing breeze, gazing at the ancient castle standing on the high ground. At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the lights of Hagrid's Hut burned eternally. On the vast playground, the breeze rustled through the tall golf clubs, making a cheerful murmur. Amosta was in a daze. For a moment, he seemed to really see the existence of 'eternity'.

"Have you been working for Headmaster Dumbledore all this time?"

It would be wishful thinking to expect the taciturn Snape to speak first. Amosta spoke first, but his question was quite strange. Since Voldemort's downfall, Snape had been the Potions professor at Hogwarts, and theoretically, he had indeed been working for Dumbledore.

However, Snape clearly knew that Amosta's question wasn't about that, and he gave an affirmative answer with a slightly nasal tone.

A wry smile appeared on Amosta's lips. He shook his head, his gaze pointing to the office on the eighth floor of the castle, where candlelight still flickered.

"for what?"

Snape's eyes were no longer dark and empty, but rather filled with obvious bewilderment. His gaze swept over every blade of grass and every tree in the great school before him, and memories that had been dormant deep in his thoughts, pale and colorless, suddenly surged into his mind like a volcanic eruption.

Pain, helplessness, loss, hatred.

Snape couldn't describe his feelings at that moment. He had an impulse to tell all his secrets to the outstanding young man beside him, whose growth he had witnessed. However, when the words reached his lips, not even a sigh remained.

"To atone for my sins."

After a long silence, Snape said calmly that, apart from Dumbledore, this was the first time Snape had ever shed his magical and mental disguise, revealing his truest self to himself.

Amosta gazed at the stars, which resembled the sands of the Ganges, and heard Professor Snape's reply. He was not surprised; human emotions were perhaps the most complex things in the world, and it was laughable to expect that cold magic could perfectly conceal one's heart.

"I have some experience, it's about life."

Amosta's unexpected words made Snape instinctively want to show sarcasm. He wanted to remind Amosta of the age difference between him and him, but when his gaze fell on those shimmering purple eyes, Snape suddenly froze. He didn't know why a young man in his early twenties would suddenly have such a sense of vicissitude in his eyes.

I have witnessed the cycles of the world.

Amosta's soft words puzzled Snape even more. He stared at him blankly, unsure how to interpret the words. Perhaps Amosta meant to express the idea of ​​entering the mysterious magical world from the Muggle world.

Amosta wearily closed his eyes, then opened them again a moment later, his turbulent soul returning to calm.

"I have witnessed the most terrifying and selfish darkness of the human heart, and I have also basked in the radiance of an incomparably pure soul. Severus, life is given to everyone only once--"

This was the first time Snape had ever heard Amostella call him by his name, but strangely, he felt no anger or displeasure at all. Instead, he felt it was perfectly natural. This odd feeling made Snape even ignore what Amostella was saying.

“Those painful past experiences should not become ropes binding us to move forward. Those who protected us with their lives would not want to see us burdened by pain, unable to extricate ourselves from our memories. Severus, compared to atonement, don’t you think living a better life is more worthy of those who sacrificed themselves?”

“You have no idea what I’ve been through, Amosta.”

Snape's appearance was so tragic that it was unbearable to look at him, and his voice was hoarse, like the desperate howl of an explorer lost in the desert.

"Many people in this world have experienced losing everything. Severus, the dead are gone, and what's lost will never come back. Don't let yourself live in self-blame and hatred."

Amusta glanced again at the office on the eighth floor of the castle, and suddenly smiled.

"How many heart-wrenching losses do you think a wizard like Dumbledore has experienced in his lifetime, hmm?"

“I am not him, Amosta—”

Snape's breathing sounded more like a sob. He lowered his head, his tone both an attempt to defend himself and a struggle to convince himself.

"The great Dumbledore, the omnipotent Dumbledore, admired by all, while I am just an ordinary person."

Sometimes, Amos Tower felt a great headache about Dumbledore's existence. On the one hand, he acknowledged Dumbledore's indelible contributions to the peace and stability of the entire European wizarding world throughout his life. On the other hand, he felt that Dumbledore was like a mountain weighing on the hearts of every wizard in the contemporary wizarding world, making them afraid to have any thoughts of overstepping their bounds.

To some extent, Dumbledore's very existence seemed to limit the development of the wizarding world.

Like Severus before him, he openly expressed his disgust for Dumbledore in private and acted arrogantly, but when it came to facing his inner self, he almost instinctively believed that Dumbledore was beyond the reach of ordinary mortals, whether in magical power or wisdom.

Three feet frozen, not a cold day.

Amosta wasn't naive enough to think he could convince Severus to let go of his twenty-year-old obsession. He simply hoped to plant a seed in this man who deserved to be loved and embraced by the world, a seed that, at the right time, would take root, sprout, and bear fragrant fruit.

"Well then, let's leave it at that for now, Professor Snape—"

The aura of decline that had surrounded Amosta was gone. Now, he was once again the outstanding young wizard with both strength and beauty, and boundless aspirations for the future.

Snape knew the conversation was coming to an end, and reason slowly and painstakingly regained control of his mind. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something goodbye, but unfortunately, he was clearly not as adept at emotional manipulation as he was at brewing potions. Before he could think of anything to say, he saw Amostella open his suitcase and take out a thick stack of parchment, handing it to him.

"A little bit of dirt on Gilderoy Lockhart that I stumbled upon --"

Looking at Professor Snape, whose brow furrowed as he reviewed documents, Amosta's tone lightened, a smile playing on his lips.

"I hope you can wait until the young wizards' final exams are over before reporting to Dumbledore. Or, reporting it directly to the Ministry of Magic wouldn't be a problem either."

Clang!