The Return to Hogwarts

Since these people came from there, they couldn't possibly be unaware of this common knowledge.

“Vitia Kriona—”

The first thought that popped into Amosta's mind was whether the woman who had escaped from his grasp had revealed her true identity, thus attracting a group of people who had clashed with 'Golden Viper' in the past to lie in ambush. But then he thought it was unlikely.

It's not that I think Vitia wouldn't do that, but rather that if she really did, I wouldn't be so slow to realize it.

Including Foley, Golden Viper still has some well-informed friends in the underworld, so he won't go unnoticed if his identity is exposed.

Just as Amosta was wondering, the group of sneaky guys by the wall all looked away. They exchanged glances, shook their heads discreetly, and then lowered their heads to deal with their pipes and the rum on the wooden table.

"These guys are looking for someone, but not themselves—"

Amosta narrowed his eyes, a realization dawning on him, and resumed his normal pace.

Just then, a large family suddenly rushed out from the other side of the bar. They were in a hurry, carrying large and small bags of luggage, and they firmly protected a six or seven-year-old boy in the middle.

"Mom, why are we suddenly going to Paris?"

The little boy, who was practically dragged along, looked resistant and pouted as he asked.

"Oh, I've told you this so many times, darling, it's because your grandmother isn't feeling well, and we need to go visit her—"

A middle-aged witch with disheveled hair, who looked like she hadn't had time to tidy herself up before leaving home, answered hurriedly.

"You're lying, Mom! I know why." The little boy's innocent face showed his dissatisfaction with the perfunctory answer. "It's all because of that little—"

"Shut your mouth, Baker!"

As he passed Amosta, the little boy's father gave him a wary look and reprimanded him in the harshest tone, "This is not something to be discussed in public. We don't know who is reliable!"

Amosta turned his head and watched the family walk out of the Leaky Cauldron. Their figures quickly disappeared from his sight. Turning his head again, he happened to see the group of people by the wall also looking away. Their eyes met briefly in mid-air before shifting to other places.

Something has happened, and it doesn't seem like a small matter.

Sensing the tense atmosphere in the air, Amosta easily came to this conclusion.

"Wait a moment. Let me think... Oh, I've got it, Mr. Minister, room number 11 is still empty, you can arrange for him there!"

A voice came from the passageway next to the bar. Amosta recognized it as Tom, the hunchbacked owner of the Leaky Cauldron.

“Minister.” Amosta’s eyes flickered.

"At dinner time, the Minister of Magic, who is usually extremely busy, should be at a party hosted by those noble pure-blood families, but instead he's at the Leaky Cauldron, arranging rooms for someone?"

The question flashed through Amosta's mind, and in less than a second he made a decision to postpone meeting with Cornelius Fudge.

Amosta could tell from the two meetings before and after Fudge solved the locked-room mystery last semester that Fudge was a typical politician.

A qualified politician's "rule of friendship" is whether a person has any value to him or not, or whether he or she can bring him or her enough benefits.

Amos Tower didn't want to get too involved with politicians, especially big-shot ones like the Minister of Magic. Admittedly, connections are a very valuable resource, but the price you have to pay to acquire them, or the trouble that comes with it, is enormous.

"--Okay, that doesn't matter, as long as we're comfortable. Oh, and Potter's luggage."

“I will take Mr. Potter’s luggage to his room, so you don’t need to worry, Mr. Minister!” said Tom, the bar owner, solicitously.

Porter?!

Amosta, who was about to leave quickly, suddenly stopped and stared at the corridor with a surprised expression.

How many wizards in the wizarding world have a name like Potter that commands the personal attention of the esteemed Minister of Magic?

But shouldn't Potter be spending his summer vacation at his aunt and uncle's house? How did he suddenly appear at the Leaky Cauldron?

It had only been a week since the two last met, and Amosta was certain he hadn't gotten the date wrong.

The footsteps inside grew fainter. Amostella narrowed her eyes, then adopted a friendly expression, quickly pulled back the partition next to the bar, and went inside. Her gaze swept past Tom coming out, landing on the short, stout wizard in a striped cloak. She waved and called out.

"Please wait, Minister Fouché!"

Fudge, who was about to walk up the stairs, froze. He turned to look at the young man who had greeted him at the bar, a hint of confusion in his eyes. But in a very short time, the confusion turned into surprise mixed with delight, which also softened the deep wrinkles on his forehead that reflected his weariness.

"Oh, look who this is!"

Fudge walked out with a smile and opened his arms to Amosta.

"Amostrade Blaine, the outstanding young wizard who was awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class, solved the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin and donated an incomparably precious basilisk to the Ministry of Magic!"

Chapter 144 The Ministry of Magic's Big Trouble

In the deserted Leaky Cauldron, the sound of Amosta and the Minister of Magic exchanging greetings was extremely jarring. Almost everyone, including the group in the corner, turned their attention to them. Amosta didn't want this to become common knowledge. He glanced at the bar owner, Tom, beside him, but was surprised to find that the hunchbacked, slovenly owner didn't seem to show the surprise he expected.

“Oh, Mr. Blaine, I’m on good terms with Hagrid, he’s mentioned it to me a couple of times—” Tom, being very perceptive, lowered his head and said meekly.

Amosta pursed his lips, and ten thousand divine beasts surged through his mind.

“Oh, I like a humble young man who’s low-key—” Fudge observed all this and said with a smile, “But I think sometimes having a little fame isn’t such a bad thing.”

“I just hope that our conversation won’t be overheard by some unknown individuals—” Amosta said with a smile, then casually pushed open the wooden door of the adjacent cubicle. “Would you do me the honor of inviting me for a drink?”

Fudge hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Then I'll just grab a bite while I can. You can't imagine how many days it's been since I've had a proper meal. Tom, the kid is still waiting for me upstairs. Could you look after him for me?"

Once they entered a private setting, Fudge's chubby face and expression were not so relaxed. Even without careful observation, one could see the melancholy and bewilderment in the heart of the current head of the Ministry of Magic.

Amosta sipped the sweet wine in his glass, staring with interest at the candlestick on the wall, quietly waiting for Fudge to finish the piece of buttered bread in his hand.

“I want to express my gratitude to you, Amosta—”

Fudge picked up his glass, and before Amosta could respond, he gulped down the rum in two gulps, using the opportunity to clear his mouth of food. After a long sigh, he smiled wearily.

"That basilisk left behind by Slytherin has made us famous. Ministers of Magic from many countries have written to me personally, hoping that I can allow that basilisk to be exhibited abroad. Oh, of course, I think they are mainly after Salazar Slytherin's name."

A few months ago, the basilisk was mainly significant to Amosta for the reward of the quest, and handing it over wouldn't have been a problem. But in the days since the events of Avalon Island, Amosta felt that his decision back then was somewhat reckless, and that the thing might be hiding some deeper secret.

"It can only play a greater role in the hands of the Ministry of Magic, Minister."

Amosta also put down his glass and smiled slightly.

"That poor basilisk was blinded by Dumbledore's phoenix and hit by several of my spells. I thought it wouldn't last long. Come to think of it, its current condition isn't too bad, is it?"

"Oh, so lively and energetic!"

Speaking of this, a slight embarrassment appeared on Fudge's chubby face.

"In fact, this beast has a bit too much energy, even more difficult to deal with than a fire dragon. Several young men from the Department of Magical Creatures Management and Control almost... cough cough, I mean, there are some invitations to overseas exhibitions that I really can't ignore. Considering safety, we invited a master of dealing with magical creatures to help tame it for a while."

Amosta nodded, wondering when he could retrieve the basilisk from Newt Scamander.

"Excuse my intrusion, Mr. Minister—"

Neither Fudge nor Amosta intended to spend too much time on this impromptu dinner. After finding out who had the basilisk, and exchanging a few pleasantries, Amosta feigned appropriate curiosity.

"You look very tired. Has the Ministry of Magic run into some trouble lately? Oh, if it involves classified information, you can pretend I didn't ask!"

"Haven't you heard, Amosta?" Fudge's short eyebrows shot up, and he asked in surprise, "Everyone knows about it!"

"I've been spending some time in the Muggle world lately, so--"

“Oh, trouble?” Fudge shook his head vigorously, his face falling. “No, no, it can’t be called trouble, it should be called a ‘disaster’. Not just my disaster, but the disaster of the entire Ministry of Magic. I can tell you this without worry, Amostall. Since I became Minister of Magic, I have never encountered such a troublesome situation!”

Amosta didn't interrupt, quietly waiting for Fudge to answer his question.

"Someone has escaped from Azkaban!"

Amostella's eyes flickered. Before going to Hogwarts, someone from Cacus had given him a mission to rescue the Lestranges and the Carol siblings.

Could it be that someone actually succeeded? Wow, that's 20,000 Galleons!!!

"It's Sirius Black!"

Finally, Fudge uttered a name in a heavy, almost collapsing tone.

Without warning, Amosta raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"If I heard you correctly, you mean Sirius Black, the one people call the top henchman of the mysterious man?"

“It’s that man, Amosta,” Fudge sighed repeatedly. “I never dreamed this day would come. I was the deputy director of the Department of Magical Disasters back then, and I was among the first to arrive at the scene the day Black was captured.”

Amosta had no interest in listening to Fudge reminisce about the past. He interrupted Fudge's self-talk and asked in a light voice, his eyes narrowed.

"So, was he rescued by someone, or did Blake run away on his own?"

“You’re very perceptive, Amosta.” Fudge nodded approvingly, but his tone remained dejected. “Both possibilities are possible, but we believe he ran away on his own because… oh, I’m sorry, Amosta, I can’t tell you that.”

“I understand—” Amosta raised his glass to Fudge and smiled.

Judging from Fudge's behavior, the Ministry of Magic probably still doesn't know how Sirius managed to escape Azkaban, but as for his purpose in escaping, Amostella glanced in the direction of Potter's magic and had a guess in his mind.

Voldemort's top henchman escaped from prison to avenge his former master?

So, does that mean our savior, Mr. Harry Potter, has a mission this year to take down Voldemort's right-hand men?

Perhaps realizing that his dejected appearance in private might be relayed by the young man opposite him, Fudge tried to compose himself, his voice regaining its confidence. He looked at Amosta, who was deep in thought with his brows down, and smiled confidently.

“No need to worry too much, Amosta. We’ve dispatched all the elite forces of the Ministry of Magic to track down Black, and even the Dementors of Azkaban are working on it. I think it won’t be long before you see the good news of our great victory in the Daily Prophet!”

“I have confidence in you, Mr. Minister.”

Amos chuckled, but he was still somewhat surprised that the Ministry of Magic had sent out creatures like Dementors.

I've only ever seen the Amosta, this creature that strikes fear into the hearts of wizards, in books; I've never actually encountered one in real life!