The Return to Hogwarts

“Yes,” Amosta nodded, her tone serious, “the Aurors are our mortal enemies.”

The sun, tinged with a rosy glow, slowly and steadily climbed toward the sky. A carriage loaded with oak barrels was parked outside the bar. The proprietress, carrying a brightly patterned money bag, hurriedly opened the door to receive the goods. Inside the bar, only Amosta and Tonks remained.

Amosta leaned back in his chair with a smile, while Tonks across from him was enthusiastically recounting the exciting experiences of his Auror career.

"Just a little bit more, Amosta."

Tonks held up one finger and gestured randomly.

“I swear, we were so close to catching those dark wizards smuggling artifacts. It was such a shame. Before the operation, Kingsley told me privately that if I performed well in the capture, he would be willing to ask Mr. Scrimgeour to shorten my internship. But in the end, that damned dark wizard who appeared out of nowhere not only messed everything up, making me bedridden in St. Mungo's for half a month, but the Auror office also lost two months' worth of bonuses because of it. I was planning to use that money to buy myself a broom!”

Unsure how to react, Amosta could only continue smiling.

Recalling the failed mission two months ago, Tonks, seething with anger, downed the syrup soda in her glass in one gulp. Still seemingly unsatisfied, she wanted to ask the proprietress for an even more stimulating drink. However, after looking around and finding the shop empty, she slammed the glass down on the table.

"correct!"

Looking at the nonchalant Amostal, compared to his own excitement at reuniting with his long-lost classmate, Amostal Blaine maintained an extremely composed calmness after the initial meeting—Tonks was not surprised by Amostal's behavior; back in school, this seemingly indifferent Slytherin wizard had always been like this.

"Speaking of which, Amosta, what brings you to Hogsmeade? I heard you're no longer working at Hogwarts?"

Amosta knew that the Ministry of Magic had likely placed Tonks here to keep an eye on Black, and of course he wouldn't tell her that he was actually there with the same purpose.

“You already know, Tonks,”

Amosta looked out the window; next to the street stood a row of old houses, their chimneys belching white smoke.

"I returned to Hogwarts earlier this year, and of course, I also took a stroll around this village. I was surprised to find that I quite liked the living environment here. It reminded me of many wonderful memories from my time studying at Hogwarts. So, after careful consideration, I decided to stay here for a while. I came here today hoping to find a house to rent in the village—"

Based on Amosta's understanding of Tonks, when she heard her say "good memories of school days," she would probably make a few jokes, such as, "Good memories, do you mean being locked up in Professor Snape's office for a semester?"

But to his surprise, this kind-hearted girl didn't behave that way at all. Instead, her expression became serious, and her eyes revealed solemnity.

"You want to settle in Hogsmeade, at this time?"

"Does the notice posted by the Ministry of Magic on the village bulletin board prohibit people from doing this?" Amostella narrowed her eyes, paused for a moment, and then asked in a relaxed tone.

“Under any other circumstances, this would be perfectly fine, Amosta,”

When the conversation turned to business, Tonks became serious. She glanced warily at the proprietress haggling outside the door and lowered her voice to warn Amosta.

"But now, this is not a peaceful place!"

Chapter 157 Unknown

Amosta certainly knew what Tonks meant by 'not peaceful'.

Most of the employees of the British Ministry of Magic come from Hogwarts. These wizards retain the good traditions they had when they studied at Hogwarts after graduation. They are eager to tell everyone they know any secrets they learn. So, the fact that Sirius Black escaped from prison to hunt down Harry, which was not reported in the Japanese version of The Prophet, is something that almost everyone with any connection to the Ministry of Magic already knows.

Mr. Weasley had obviously found out in advance that Fudge had asked him to look after Harry during the summer holidays, but as for Tonks, who still had 'two and a half years of training,' she obviously didn't have as many connections as Mr. Weasley, otherwise she wouldn't have spoken to him like that.

Amosta didn't pretend to be confused, because he also wanted to find out from Tonks what progress the Aurors had made.

"If you mean Blake,"

The cunning Amosta leaned forward and lowered his voice, "I already know he might cause some trouble, but I don't think the Ministry of Magic needs to worry too much, after all—"

Amosta pointed towards Hogwarts through the shop window, mimicking the radiant expression Harry had when mentioning Dumbledore.

"Our principal is no pushover!"

"Oh, you already knew?"

Tonks, who was ready to share the 'secret', was clearly a little disappointed. She muttered a few words, but didn't seem too surprised. Obviously, she had some understanding of the Ministry of Magic, which was like a sieve, leaking information everywhere.

"--That's not necessarily true, Amosta," Tonks said, fiddling with her hair, looking a little unconvinced. "Dumbledore made mistakes too, didn't he? Otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed Black to become the Potters' secret keeper!"

Silence, stillness.

Having received no response, Tonks looked at Amosta in confusion, only to be met with a handsome face filled with astonishment and surprise.

"Oh, you don't know this!" Tonks suddenly became excited. "You've never heard of this?"

Amosta slowly closed his mouth and nodded hesitantly.

Swish!

Tonks's golden hair suddenly turned pink, and a flush rose to her pale, heart-shaped cheeks. Her dark eyes, fixed on Amosta, shimmered with a bright light.

“Oh, of course. This matter is top secret. Even within the Ministry of Magic, only a few high-ranking officials know about it. Of course, we Aurors often know some secrets for work purposes, but, Amosta, I can't tell outsiders. This is top secret—”

"Since that's the case..."

“But you’re not an ordinary wizard, are you?” Tonks leaned closer. “You have the Order of Merlin. On a side note, that’s really remarkable, Amosta. Aside from dying in the line of duty, I don’t see any chance of ever getting myself a Merlin in my lifetime. You got it for helping Dumbledore solve that pesky Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin. I dare say he trusts you a lot because of that!”

Perhaps. Amosta thought to himself, but what came out of his mouth was, "Yes, I am Dumbledore's most trusted man!"

"If that's the case!"

Tonks glanced at the door, and after confirming that no one had barged in, said with great interest, "It won't hurt to tell you, Dumbledore will tell you sooner or later anyway!"

Perhaps. Amosta thought again.

"It's a bit complicated, Amosta. I have important business to attend to and can't go into details, but basically, the boy's parents are the Potters. They were good friends with Black. Back then, when the Void was hunting them, Dumbledore suggested using the Faithful Charm to hide their location in order to protect the Potters and their son, with himself acting as the keeper of the Faithful Charm. But the Potters disagreed; they believed Black was more trustworthy."

Amosta's expression underwent a subtle change.

"So, after Black became the Potters' secret keeper, he betrayed them and sided with the Man of Void?"

"That's how it is, Amosta!"

Tonks said in a serious tone,

"As everyone knows, the mysterious man found the Potters and killed them. But just as he was about to kill little Potter, for some reason, his magic failed him, and he was seriously injured and fled in a sorry state. Some people even thought he was dead."

In short, that despicable Black lost everything overnight. He couldn't believe the Mystic could be defeated by a baby. When the news spread, he immediately rushed to the Potters' house to confirm the situation. Upon discovering that it was indeed the case, he chose to run away to avoid trial.

However, Black and the Potters' mutual friend, a guy named Peter Pettigrew, caught up with him. Peter cornered Black in the Muggle streets, attempting to avenge the Potters. Oh, he was a hero, but unfortunately, he was no match for Black. Black used a powerful dark magic spell to kill the hero's mother, who only received one of her son's fingers and the Order of Merlin, earned with her life. And Black…

Ring ring--

After inspecting the goods, Ms. Rosmerta pushed open the door of her bar. Several local residents used magic to control oak barrels to float into the bar. They followed the proprietress to send these aged wines to the underground cellar.

Tonks wasn't really a naive girl. She told Amos about these things not simply because they had been in jail together, but because she genuinely believed that Amos, who had been personally nominated by the Minister of Magic for the Order of Merlin, was one of her own. When she saw a stranger intruding into their private conversation space, she warily shut her mouth.

The Potters, Peter Pettigrew

As Tonks was on guard against the villagers, Amosta narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming inscrutable.

'He killed three of my friends. Very good friends, I had to kill him with my own hands.'

Lupin's words suddenly popped into Amosta's mind, causing him to breathe more heavily.

So that's the truth. Amosta tapped his fingers lightly on the table, a realization dawning on him. No wonder Lupin hated Blake so much, even demanding that Amosta hand him over to him for execution if he really caught Blake.

So, if it weren't for Black's betrayal, Harry's parents, the Potters, might not have perished. Although Voldemort killed them, in reality, Harry's true enemy was actually Black.

Porter probably didn't know about this, right?

The question popped into Amosta's mind, but he immediately knew the answer.

Based on his understanding of Potter, if he knew that his parents died because of the betrayal of their closest friend, he might even drop out of school and run off to "hunt down" Black.

However, this person truly deserves to die.

Amosta's pale purple eyes had deepened.

Dumbledore has always been an unwavering figurehead for the wizards fighting against Voldemort, but the Potters preferred to have Black as their secret agent rather than use Dumbledore. This shows how much they trusted their friend, and it also shows how much regret they felt when they fell from grace!

Chapter 158, No. 156: Want to get in, but can't.

About ten minutes later, the residents of Hogsmeade finally carried all the barrels of wine from the wagon into the underground cellar. After receiving their wages, they did not leave, but instead had Mrs. Rosmerta serve some drinks and chatted and laughed in the bar.

In this environment, discussing Black and his past sins was no longer appropriate. Tonks and Amostella talked about the basilisk donated to the Ministry of Magic. According to Tonks, some young men from the Department of Magical Creatures Control tried to tame the basilisk, but they almost died from its fangs. Fudge was so frightened by this that he ordered the Aurors to cast a Stunning Charm on the basilisk until it was handed over to Mr. Neutral Scamander.

Upon hearing this, Amosta wore an expression that was both amused and exasperated.

This basilisk was living peacefully in the Chamber of Secrets, but after being pulled out, it was first blinded in both eyes by Dumbledore's phoenix, and then taught a lesson by Amosta's Fiendfire. It was thought that after being handed over to the Ministry of Magic, it could live a few days of peaceful life as a 'protected animal', but instead it was tormented by the Ministry of Magic again.

Now, the sun has risen to a conspicuous height, and the temperature in the air is rising rapidly, making it feel slightly hot.

boom!

Just as Amostella was about to ask Tonks when the Ministry of Magic planned to retrieve the Basilisk from Scamander, a crisp Apparition sound suddenly came from the street outside the shop window.

As the dust settled, a tall, dark-skinned wizard appeared before the two men's wary eyes.

Oh no!

Upon recognizing the newcomer, Tonks immediately panicked, nearly knocking over the table as he stood up.

"Oh no, I'm in trouble, Amosta. I was so busy chatting with you that I completely forgot about the shift change. I'm not getting my bonus next month either!"

Amostah's lips twitched, but he said nothing. While Tonks was apologetically explaining to the dark-skinned wizard, he went to the bar and paid the proprietress.

"Hello, Mr. Blaine, it's an honor to meet you. Of course, you may not have heard of me. I am Kingsley Shackle, and I work in the Auror office—"

Regardless, having a respectable public identity always has its advantages. Amosta is not an official of the Ministry of Magic, but with a Merlin Second Class Medal, he can definitely be considered a respectable figure in the wizarding world. Apart from high-ranking officials at the level of the Director of the Ministry of Magic, most officials must take into account the power of a Merlin Medal holder. In addition, Amosta worked as a professor at Hogwarts for a period of time, which is also a very respected position.

Not only had he heard of it, but he had also personally beaten someone up—Amosta thought to himself, smiling as he extended his hand as well.