The Return to Hogwarts

"No need, Lawrence, just do as he previously wished."

Amosta bypassed the documents and headed for the door. Halfway there, she put her arm around Harry's shoulder and led him away.

"Are we going to lunch, Professor Blaine?" Harry asked, a little confused.

“Oh, I don’t know why, but I suddenly lost my appetite,” Amosta said with a wink and a smile. “And now that the rain has stopped, I think we might as well leave.”

Neither Harry nor the butler Lawrence showed any surprise at Amos Tower's choice.

“Mr. Blaine—”

The door opened, and just as Amosta and Harry were about to disappear from sight, Lawrence suddenly called out to them. Faced with his questioning gaze, he choked back a few sobs.

"Mr. Blaine, this house is the ancestral home of the Blaine family, where generations have lived—"

Gazing at the white-haired, loyal butler of the Blaine family, Amosta slowly nodded. "In that case, Lawrence, you shall guard it for the Blaine family."

"I won't say goodbye to your aunt and uncle, Potter—"

Outside the house at number four Privet Drive, Amusta, getting out of a taxi, noticed Potter's surprise and explained with a smile,

"Because I've noticed that your aunt and uncle don't seem to like me very much."

“Oh, they don’t like anything related to magic,” Harry grinned, but then his smile faded, replaced by a look of reluctance.

"So where do you plan to go next, Professor Blaine?"

"Something happened a few days ago that caused some changes in my body, so I'm planning to find a hotel to rest for a few days to get used to these changes. Oh, maybe I should get myself a place to stay; always staying in hotels isn't quite right!"

Upon hearing this question, Amosta wearily rubbed his temples.

"After that, I prepared to search for someone's whereabouts."

After saying that, Amosta waved to the bewildered Harry, turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing around the corner.

Chapter 140 An Old Colleague Comes to Visit

The Malfoy family’s residence is located in Wiltshire, England, and is a spacious and exquisite estate covering two hundred acres.

Within the estate, meticulously designed gardens surround the grounds, where beautiful and elegant white peacocks, a symbol of the family, stroll on the lush green lawns that could be used as a Muggle golf course. Numerous small squares are scattered throughout the gardens, and artistic sculptures and fountains also stand.

At the center of the estate stands a villa with a classic and dignified design. A dozen or so white pillars supporting the mansion stand majestically in front of the gate. Inside the spacious foyer, the walls are covered with portraits of the Malfoy family patriarchs throughout the ages. The precious marble tiles decorating the floor have snow-white swirling patterns, and the ebony doors and windows are exquisitely carved. The villa, nestled among the trees, further enhances its magnificent and profound beauty.

In the dead of night, countless stars cast their clear light upon the tranquil manor. Peacocks perched on the huge gilded birdcage occasionally let out melodious chirps, which, far from disturbing the pleasant stillness, only made the tranquility seem even more serene.

boom--

With a few sudden explosions, several figures appeared in front of the exquisite wrought iron gate. These people were hidden under black travel cloaks, so their faces could not be seen. However, a thick, lingering smell of blood surrounded each of them.

Gazing at the brightly lit villa, the man in the lead slightly raised his head, revealing a unkempt beard and sharp, yellow teeth in his mouth, which was covered in sores.

"This is it! It's so luxurious, I'm so envious. I hope the owner won't mind the strange smell on us."

The man spoke smugly, and amidst the snickers of his henchmen behind him, he slowly extended a hand from under his cloak.

Under the bright moonlight, the arm, with its metallic silver luster, shimmered and was very beautiful in color. However, its shape was not so pleasing to the eye. It looked as if it had been made by the most inept craftsman with molten wax. The arm was covered with small pits and holes, or raised pustules.

The man's gaze swept over his arm, his eyes filled with hatred so intense that it made his breathing become disordered.

"Just you wait—" the man ground his yellow teeth with a grinding sound, "When I find you, I'll treat you well!"

study,

Lucius Malfoy sat in a high-backed chair behind his desk, watching the man opposite him greedily examining a beautiful peacock painting on the wall adorned with thousands of gems. His face was ashen, and his grip on his scepter revealed his terrible mood.

"How dare you-"

Malfoy almost held his breath; otherwise, the stench of blood and sweat emanating from the man might have made him turn around and leave immediately.

"How dare you brazenly barge into my home, Graybury! Who gave you the audacity?!"

Malfoy growled in a low voice, "You know how many Galleons I'll need to clean up this mess if we get caught!"

"Ah, Galon--"

Upon hearing this sensitive word, Graybury turned his gaze to Lucius, baring his yellow teeth in a chilling smile.

We all love Galon!

Malfoy's breathing suddenly quickened, his gray eyes flashing with a cold light, but a strange red appeared on his pale cheeks. He realized that the person in front of him was a complete and dangerous madman, and that it was a very foolish thing for him to get angry. The best thing he could do now was to get rid of him as soon as possible.

“If you’re here because of gold, Greyback, you can leave now. I’ll have someone deliver it to you.”

“We both worked under Mystic, Lucius, we're old friends—”

Malfoy's aloof and unapproachable attitude caused a glint of malice to flash in the dark yellow eyes of the most notorious werewolf in the wizarding world. He fixed his gaze on Malfoy's neck, as if studying the best angle to bite him.

zizi——

Greyback extended that strange hand from under his cloak again, flicking out the sharp claws under his nails and scratching lines on the desk, finally seeing the fear in Malfoy's eyes as he had hoped.

“We don’t have many old friends left out, Lucius. I came to see you just to reminisce about those happy, carefree days, but you’re so indifferent—”

If he were absolutely certain, Lucius Malfoy might not hesitate to draw the wand hidden in his scepter and unleash a green glow on this fearless and unscrupulous werewolf, then take his head to the Ministry of Magic to earn the Order of Merlin, First Class. But unfortunately, Malfoy wasn't so sure, especially since Narcissa and Draco were resting in their bedroom upstairs. If a fight broke out, Malfoy wasn't confident he could protect them.

Ever since Lucius Malfoy ran into Amostella Blaine, who had stepped down from his position as Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, at the Leaky Cauldron a while ago, Malfoy has come to a complete realization: sometimes, even the golden Galleons aren't omnipotent.

And now, the infamous werewolf opposite him has only deepened his impression of it.

If you are not absolutely certain that you can suppress someone so completely that they cannot recover, then it is unwise to show too much hostility. This has always been Lucius Malfoy's way of dealing with people. However, the appearance of Greyback deepened Amosta Blaine's fear of the matter he had mentioned.

Malfoy silently stood up, walked to the liquor shelf, pulled out a bottle of red currant rum, poured some for Graybury and himself, then sat back down in his seat. His eyes still held a coldness, but his tone was much calmer.

"Tell me, what is the purpose of your visit?"

"That's the kind of manners you should show to your friends, Lucius—"

Greyback raised his glass with a smug smile, fiddling with it and making various gestures as he held the goblet, occasionally asking how to hold it in accordance with 'high society' etiquette.

"I just want to ask you for a small favor, old friend--"

The werewolf leader tilted his head back and downed half a glass of wine in one gulp, then smacked his lips happily.

"Everyone knows that the Malfoy family is one of the wealthiest families in the wizarding world, and the patriarch Lucius Malfoy has many connections. Among our old friends who are still out there, only you can help us poor folks."

Malfoy remained silent, watching his performance with cold eyes.

"We'd like to use your connections to find out about someone, old friend. I'm sure you won't refuse this humble request, will you?"

"Who are you asking about?"

Malfoy's eyelids twitched, and he asked succinctly.

“A cunning and despicable man, whose real name we do not know,”

Greyback exuded an aura of madness. He set down his glass and grinned maliciously.

"All I know is that he calls himself 'Golden Viper' in his den. With your skills, old friend, I think this is a piece of cake, isn't it?"

Chapter 141 Arm

Malfoy remained silent, and the study fell silent for a moment.

Golden Viper – a newcomer to the underworld who has only appeared in the last two or three years, has risen to fame due to his extremely high success rate in completing commissioned missions and his formidable strength, making him a formidable figure.

Of course, what really boosted his reputation was Graybury and his werewolf underlings.

Even Lucius Malfoy, who never personally participated in the activities there, had heard from the Ministry of Magic and some unofficial sources that the werewolves had suffered heavy losses in the numerous conflicts between the Golden Viper and the werewolves, and that even Lefenrir Greyback himself had almost been killed by the Golden Viper.

To be honest, when Graybury said he wanted to inquire about someone, Malfoy had a vague suspicion, and Graybury's answer later confirmed his suspicion.

“I think you’ve got the wrong person, Graybury.”

Malfoy maintained his stiff posture and said calmly,

“I don’t have many friends in that stinky place. If you really want to find out who this person is, I can suggest you go to Kakus of the Foley family. He specializes in this kind of thing.”

“Oh, Kakus Foley,”

Greyback grinded his yellow teeth, his expression manic. "We're not fools, old friends. There's a rumor that Kakus Foley and Golden Viper are on good terms. If we go to him, that despicable bastard might get wind of it beforehand and escape!"

snort--

Malfoy let out a barely audible, disdainful snort. If he weren't afraid of offending Greyback, he would have loved to remind him how his half of his body had ended up like that.

Unfortunately, his cold snort was still heard by the keen-sensed Greyback. The werewolf's eyes flashed with ferocity, and his facial features changed slightly.

“We acknowledge that despicable man is formidable, old friend, but this time is different. We’ve assembled a team and trained a new batch. Once we know his identity, just wait and see, old friend. I’ll hang his skeleton on the Merlin statue in the small square as a reminder to everyone that the power of werewolves is not to be underestimated!”

When Greyback's face changed shape, Malfoy almost drew his wand and struck first, but thankfully he managed to restrain himself.

Should we help Graybuck find the Golden Viper?

That's not really the problem; the key question is what will happen next if it's found.

If those lowly beasts of Greyback kill the Golden Viper, it won't do Malfoy any good. But if the Golden Viper is really powerful and kills Greyback, then Malfoy will be in big trouble. He believes that such a powerful wizard could easily extract information from the werewolves.

Already overwhelmed by Amosta Blaine's words, Lucius Malfoy really didn't want to cause himself any more trouble at this time.

“I’m sorry, Graybury—”