The Return to Hogwarts

"We've come here to try our luck, hoping to catch Sirius Black?"

The Ministry of Magic has Aurors stationed in the Underworld for many years, but to avoid provoking the wizarding and dark wizarding factions that scoff at the current rules of the magical world, they don't send too many people and only maintain a minimal level of interference. But now, in order to capture Black, they have to break this tacit understanding.

Amos Tower was not surprised by the Ministry of Magic's high-profile actions. In the wizarding world today, two swords have always hung over the heads of all wizards, deterring those who might try to harm them in the shadows.

One weapon undoubtedly belongs to Albus Dumbledore, who has been living a life of leisure at Hogwarts for many years. The other weapon belongs to the Dementors and Azkaban, which are in the hands of the Ministry of Magic. Now, Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban alive, which has caused the Ministry of Magic to lose face and feel deeply apprehensive.

Not to mention, Black himself was a loyal lackey of Voldemort, the second Dark Lord.

"Professor Blaine"

A magnificent, enormous fan-shaped cavern, with rows of eerie green torches floating in mid-air, moving around all around, each surrounded by a wizard whose presence made Harry uneasy.

Harry felt his teeth chattering; he wanted to express his shock, but didn't know how to describe it.

In a daze, Harry recalled two years ago when he and a large group of young wizards followed Hagrid along a steep and narrow path, and after turning a corner, they saw the towering Hogwarts Castle for the first time.

Is this still the magical world?

Ha asked in a muttering voice.

"This is the wizarding world, Potter."

Amosta smiled slightly and said that he did not urge Harry to move forward. He knew that the young wizard needed some time to process what he was seeing.

"that."

Harry tentatively pointed to the pet market from under his robes, but halfway up, he was startled by Professor Blaine's words and withdrew his hand.

“Oh, you mean centaurs?” Amosta glanced in that direction and said casually.

"A centaur tribe also inhabits the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, and it is the largest centaur tribe in all of Europe."

Harry nodded blankly, staring at the centaur whose limbs and neck were fixed to the ground by iron chains as thick as wrists, and who had been roughly stuffed into a cage. His rigid brain was trying to think.

Ferenczer, Ronan, Bain.

Harry remembered the names of the centaurs he had encountered. The proudest of them all was Bane, who flew into a rage simply because he saw Harry riding on Ferrenze, believing that Ferrenze had tarnished the honor of the centaurs.

"If Bane saw his own kind being treated like this by wizards..."

The thought flashed through Harry's mind, and he felt his breath become hot. "Why put it in a cage, these people?"

"The reasons are varied and bizarre, Potter—"

Amosta said calmly, "Not every country in the world has centaurs. Some wizards capture them to sell for a high price, some want to take their organs or conduct magical experiments, and some simply enjoy the pleasure of trampling on the pride of these proud creatures—"

Harry stared at the centaur, whose cheeks were covered in whip marks and who looked weak. He felt a surge of energy rush to his head, blurring his vision.

"Why, Professor, isn't the Ministry of Magic doing anything about this?"

"No matter how blazing the sun may be, it cannot dispel all the shadows on the earth, Potter."

Amos Tower placed his hand on Harry's shoulder to prevent the agitated young wizard from suddenly losing control. "A stable social order must provide appropriate sanctuary for evil."

Harry didn't respond, but suddenly understood why the centaurs he had encountered were so averse to contact with wizards.

Clang!

A sudden crash made Harry, whose eyes were blazing with fury, struggle to look away. He looked further into the distance and saw a humanoid creature with a bird's head and scaly wings frantically ramming into the iron cage that imprisoned it. In front of the cage, four or five wizards were fiercely bargaining.

"that--"

"That creature," Harry gasped, "is it that people buy and sell to humiliate their self-esteem?"

"Oh, that one—"

Amos clicked his tongue, his tone becoming enigmatic. "The reason is much more complicated than I can explain to you, Potter, because you're still young. You'll probably understand when you're, well, when you're an adult."

Harry didn't ask any more questions, but he disagreed with Professor Blaine's statement. Even if he were Dumbledore's age, he didn't think he would understand such behavior!

Suddenly, Harry remembered something Dobby had once told him: during Voldemort's reign, wizards treated house-elves like pests.

Now, Voldemort has been defeated, and by his own hand. Although he hadn't felt anything about it, the sight before Harry told him that the wizarding world wasn't as wonderful as he had imagined.

"Do you think that makes sense?" Harry asked suddenly, sounding sullen. "I mean, defeating Voldemort."

Amostella raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, and then asked in return,

Do you know Voldemort, Potter?

Professor Blaine's question left Harry speechless. He had faced Voldemort twice, the most recent time being two years ago.

Everyone around him, except for Professor Dumbledore and Professor Blaine, looked like they'd been stepped on by a troll when the name Voldemort was mentioned. This made Harry realize that the years Voldemort wreaked havoc in the wizarding world must have been incredibly terrifying.

Evil, tyrannical, cruel, and terrifyingly powerful—Harry could come up with these words to describe Voldemort. In addition, he himself had a deep-seated blood feud with Voldemort, but those who knew Harry dared not speak out.

"The world needs order, Potter. Whether it's a world of light or darkness, it needs an order that the vast majority of people can accept and abide by. As long as order is followed, wizards or magical creatures can preserve their most basic and most precious asset—life."

Amosta turned Harry's shoulder to the other side and dragged him toward the commission market.

"During Voldemort's active years, he was also working to create an order that would enslave everyone, become the master of everyone, and have the power of life and death to take everyone's life at any time. Such an order is absolutely unacceptable to both the world of light and the world of darkness."

Amosta, with a sullen Harry in his arms, walked toward a small courtyard in the center of the cave, surrounded by a low wall and marked by a tall sign. During this time, the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic quietly followed them, trailing them by about thirty feet and following them for half a mile.

"Go away."

Amosta stopped, turned around, and spoke in a cold, murderous tone.

Harry turned around and looked at the wizard who had clearly hesitated for a few seconds before storming off in another direction, and asked in surprise,

"What's wrong, Professor Blaine? What does that person want to do?"

“Nothing, Potter,” Amosta replied vaguely. “You can see it yourself, there are a lot of bad guys around here. He’s probably trying to steal something.”

Amos Tower didn't tell Harry that the Auror probably wanted to find out whether Sirius Black was one of them. Because, if the young wizard, whose worldview had already been greatly shaken, knew that the Ministry of Magic's enforcers were right there but turning a blind eye to the evil happening, he would probably question his existence.

They continued walking, but suddenly, a short figure passing by not far in front of them made Harry stumble, and his gloomy expression once again revealed surprise.

“A goblin…that’s Gringotts!” Harry exclaimed.

Amostah glanced at the dark-skinned goblin with its wrinkled cheeks and said calmly, "Wizards have a hard time distinguishing between two goblins, so they never try to hide themselves when they come here."

"But--"

Harry frowned, surprised, and said, "Why are goblins here? Aren't they afraid of being locked in cages too?"

“They are allies of the wizards, Potter—” Amosta curled her lip. “These half-human creatures possess superb craftsmanship and have their own unique social system and magical heritage. Wizards fear the power of fairies, so they are free here.”

Amosta flicked a finger and tapped Harry on the shoulder, reminding him to look away.

"The appearance of this Gringotts goblin here... if nothing unexpected happens, I believe it's here to secretly deal with some assets in the bank."

Harry froze, his sluggish brain taking a while to start working again.

“You mean, you mean…” Harry’s breathing quickened again, “the goblins are stealing the wizards’ treasures stored in Gringotts—no, Hagrid said Gringotts is the safest place besides Hogwarts, if you want to keep something there!”

“That’s true, Potter,” Amosta said, pulling Potter along as they continued walking. “Normally, storing gold in Gringotts won’t cause any problems, but there are some exceptions.”

Before Harry could press for further questions, Amosta began to explain.

"If a wizard, or a family, deposits all their wealth in Gringotts' underground vault, but for some reason all members of the family unfortunately die, and Gringotts cannot find anyone to inherit this wealth, then what do you think should be done in this situation?"

Harry hesitated for a moment before saying uncertainly, "The wealth belongs to Gringotts?"

That's not the case.

Amosta stepped over a puddle of foul-smelling water on the ground and gave an unexpected answer.

"According to the Just Confiscation Act, this unclaimed wealth should be confiscated by the Ministry of Magic for the construction of the wizarding world. However, I think you know the goblins' reputation for greed, Potter. Although they were forced to hand over the wealth under pressure from the wizards, they were clearly not willing to do so."

Therefore, it's quite understandable that during the handover, some information would be tampered with in the records to be discreetly concealed.

Are all the people in the Ministry of Magic idiots?

Harry screamed shrilly, enraged by the Ministry of Magic's inaction in the face of the evil happening right before his eyes.

"Why would you think that, Potter?"

Amosta smiled and said,

"If you ask me where the most elite wizards are in the magical world, then without a doubt, it's the Ministry of Magic. They're certainly not fools, but, Potter, the law needs to be enforced, and those wizards who enforce the law also aspire to a life of wealth and luxury."

Harry opened his mouth, once again falling into silent astonishment.

It took him a while to understand what Professor Blaine meant. The Ministry of Magic had always known about this situation, but there were wizards and goblins among them who were complicit.

Having figured this out, Harry's expression returned to its blank state.

He thought of Ron's father, Mr. Weasley, the only Ministry of Magic official he knew.

So, does Mr. Weasley do these kinds of things in private? Harry felt ashamed to speculate about Ron's father, Mr. Weasley, who was very friendly to him, but he couldn't help thinking about it.

No, Mr. Weasley is not that kind of wizard!

A moment later, Harry got the answer himself.

If Mr. Weasley were truly the kind of wizard who engaged in despicable acts, the Ron family's financial situation wouldn't be in such a dire state. It is precisely because of his integrity and adherence to principles that Mr. Weasley, despite his considerable abilities and qualifications, is not well-regarded by the Ministry of Magic!

This answer made Harry feel much better. He wanted to ask some other questions, but found that the two of them had already arrived at the low wall.

"Wait for me here, Potter."

Amosta ordered Harry to stay put and not move, while he went through a gap in the courtyard and walked toward Kakus, who had been watching them.

"How can I help you?"

Bored by the Ministry of Magic's dismal business, Foley stood up and quickly glanced at Amostella, but because Amostella wasn't wearing his usual marked black robe and had a very noticeable magical vortex on his face, he didn't recognize him at all.