The Return to Hogwarts

"Hello, Mr. Shakel,"

Amosta wasn't averse to exchanging a few words with polite people; he shook Kingsley's hand twice and nodded in greeting.

"It's not exactly 'never heard of it,' Mr. Shackles. Tonks just told me something about you. She said you were her mentor, teaching her many Auror skills, from which she benefited greatly—"

"Yes, I thought she had indeed grown a lot—"

Kingsley glanced at Tonks, who was standing to the side blinking innocently, and said in a steady voice,

"But it seems she still has a lot to learn. You know what I was thinking on the way here, Tonks?"

"Hmm, slept in because of an overnight patrol? Don't make that face, Kingsley,"

Tonks muttered, "It's only half an hour late. You know, old classmates reuniting are bound to chat a bit longer!"

"I was wondering if you had already run into Sirius Black, and the first thing I heard when I walked into Hogsmeade was bad news."

Kingsley slightly raised his chin and spoke calmly in a deep voice, the gold earring on one ear sparkling in the sunlight.

Amosta glanced at the somewhat embarrassed Tonks and smiled.

“You don’t need to scold me too much, Mr. Shakel. As Tonks said, it was I who delayed her work. If this has bothered you, I apologize.”

Amostella's gentle attitude surprised Kingsley, who raised an eyebrow in surprise and felt a surge of goodwill towards him. He had assumed that a young wizard in his early twenties, who possessed considerable strength and had earned the Order of Merlin—a feat that even veteran Aurors who had spent their lives fighting evil could not achieve—would at least be proud, if not arrogant. But now it seemed that this person was much more refined than he had imagined.

When both parties have a sense of mutual understanding, the atmosphere of the conversation immediately becomes much more relaxed.

Just as Muggles in London love to discuss the weather, wizards in the magical world can always have a pleasant conversation about Hogwarts even when they are not very familiar with each other.

Both Tonks and Kingsley had been away from the school for several years and knew less about Hogwarts than Amosta, so he did most of the talking while Tonks and Kingsley listened.

"When I was in Hogwarts, the Head of Slytherin was Professor Horace Slughorn, a very interesting old man. Even many years after his retirement, many of the Slytherin alumni in the ministry still kept in touch with him."

Kingsley was Amosta's senior, which undoubtedly made their conversation smoother. After Amosta finished talking about the current situation of the professors at Hogwarts, Kingsley also talked to Amosta about Snape's former head of Slytherin House.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Blaine, we have to leave now--"

As the pleasant conversation drew to a close, Kingsley glanced at the sun's altitude, calmly nodded to Amosta, and said, no longer dwelling on Tonks's minor mistake.

"I'll probably be staying in Grimmauld Place for a while. If you decide to stay in Hogsmeade, we can go to the Hog's Head for a good drink when I get back. I especially love their Flaming Whiskey!"

Before parting, Tonks smiled happily and waved goodbye to Amosta.

"Grimmauld Place?"

Amosta blinked and asked instinctively, "Where is that?"

"A run-down neighborhood in northwest London, that's Blythe!"

Tonks glanced shrewdly at her boss, and only after seeing that the silent Kingsley showed no anger at her for leaking the secret did she pat her chest and continue,

"We've been keeping an eye on Blake's old house because we thought this despicable criminal might want to go home for a visit. Of course, we might not even know if Blake actually went back."

Having served twelve years in prison at Hogwarts, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that the Aurors would go home for a visit after finally being 'released'. Amostella isn't surprised that they would do so, but...

"You don't know?" Amosta asked curiously. "But you have a group of people watching that, don't you?"

“That house is no ordinary one, Amosta,”

Tonks, who had just pulled out his wand and was about to Apparate, said in a serious tone,

“That’s the ancestral home of the Black family, protected by numerous ancient and powerful spells. We can only watch from the outside; we can’t see the exact location of the house at all. So, even if Black is hiding inside right now, there’s nothing we can do.”

Chapter 159 I have an idea

The idea of ​​finding himself a house and ending the three or four years of wandering had been lingering in Amosta's mind for some time, especially after the new dormitory at the orphanage was built. With the orphanage receiving some social assistance and the children having some ability to survive, this idea became even stronger.

After all, his soul comes from a country that highly values ​​settling down and putting down roots.

To be honest, Hogsmeade wasn't Amosta's ideal place to live. The buildings were too crowded and too close to Hogwarts. Neither the noise nor the proximity to the Hogwarts professors was what he wanted.

Of course, settling in the Muggle world is not a good choice either, because there are too many Muggles, which would make it inconvenient to conduct magical experiments and research.

The best option would be to settle in a village where most of the inhabitants are wizards, so that they wouldn't have to be so restricted in their actions.

Currently, in the UK, apart from Hogsmeade, which is a purely wizarding village, there are also a considerable number of wizards residing in Dingworth in Cornwall, Upper Frigley in Yorkshire, Autry St Catchpol on the south coast of England, and Godric's Valley in the southwest.

During the summer vacation, Amosta also took some time to think about this issue and finally decided that after Black was captured, he would take the large sum of Galleons to these villages to investigate and choose a quiet mansion as his future residence.

Amosta stood in a cramped, dark living room, his gaze sweeping over the slightly moldy, silver-green wallpaper covering the four walls. He wrinkled his nose, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

I still remember the last time I rented a place was after graduating from university in my previous life. During those years as a corporate slave, Amosta once shared a room with a young couple and a middle-aged man who rarely left the house.

The house was rented through the introduction of Rosmerta, the owner of the Three Broomsticks pub—Hogsmeade doesn't have real estate agents like those in Muggle society, so Amostall, who wasn't very familiar with the situation, had to seek help from the locals.

The original owner of the house was a bachelor in his forties who supported himself by delivering vegetables to the Hogwarts kitchen. This wasn't unusual; most of the villagers depended on Hogwarts for their livelihood. When Amostella asked the owner why he was renting out the house, the unshaven bachelor replied nonchalantly...

“I’m going on vacation, sir. I’ve lived in the village for many years, it’s time for a change of scenery. Who knows, I might even unexpectedly meet love on my journey!”

The older bachelor said this to Amosta, but then turned away and muttered something under his breath.

"Ugh, I've had enough of those Dementors who patrol the village every day and break into houses to check every now and then. I'm never coming back unless they get out of here!"

Because the original owner lived alone and worked as a grocery deliveryman, the house wasn't exactly clean or hygienic. Even the bedroom was filled with a strong, mixed smell of cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Of course, Amosta had nothing to complain about, since the rent for the house was only a little over three hundred gallons a year.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something,"

Carrying his suitcase, the homeowner, eager to leave the house, turned around and solemnly said to Amosta,

"This house is not allowed to be sublet, sir. I don't want to come back one day to find my warm and comfortable home turned into someone's warehouse. Also, this house is my ancestral home, and I hope you will take good care of it while you live here!"

How can we not cherish it?

Amosta walked into the bedroom and looked at the cracks in the earthen wall opposite the bed, where light could be faintly seen.

Previously, when cleaning, he didn't dare to rely entirely on magic, fearing that after a 'freshly cleaned' process, the house would become beyond repair.

Because the house wasn't facing south, it became exceptionally dark inside after sunset. Amusta walked to the bedroom window and opened it. A gentle breeze carrying a strong dampness rushed in. He looked up at the sky and saw a large patch of gloomy black clouds rolling in from the southeast, driven by a strong wind. He could foresee a torrential downpour about to begin.

Amosta didn't want to end up soaked on his first night. Before the rain clouds arrived, he wandered around the house, patching up any cracks in the roof and walls. But when he returned to his bedroom to take out his travel sleeping bag from his suitcase, the world suddenly trembled, and with a rumble of thunder, a torrential downpour began.

The occasional dazzling flashes of lightning that pierced the sky made Hogwarts Castle in the distance even darker. Amostella stood by the window, gazing at the shadowy area in the direction of the school entrance, where even the rainwater had turned into pitch black. A strange longing suddenly welled up in his heart. He had felt this longing before, but he hadn't expected it to become so intense.

"This heavy rain is perfect cover. How about we take this opportunity to catch a Dementor and study it? My Patronus Charm hasn't worked yet."

Amosta muttered to himself, but after much hesitation, he abandoned the idea. There were too many Dementors gathered at Hogwarts, and tonight was the opening banquet. Amosta wasn't Gilderoy Lockhart; he didn't want to be on the front page of tomorrow's Daily Prophet.

Suddenly, in the stormy landscape, a gray owl spread its wings and circled above Hogsmeade, which resembled a medieval village, seemingly searching for something. A moment later, it found its way, and with a sharp swoop, it landed on the window of the house in the blink of an eye.

"You've worked hard, little one—"

Amosta stroked the owl's head, and when his hand left, the owl's damp feathers had dried and felt warm.

"I've cast a waterproof spell on you, so your feathers won't get wet on your way back."

Gray Owl tilted his head and looked at Amosta with a blank expression, not understanding what the wizard was talking about.

“Go ahead,” Amosta said with a smile.

After the owl disappeared back into the oppressive clouds, Amosta closed the window, lit the candlesticks embedded in the wall, and unfolded the parchment in the flickering candlelight.

Remus Lupin.

This is the name at the end of the letter. Amosta has a habit of finding out who wrote the letter before reading it.

Does this mean it has already been discovered?

Amosta's gaze flickered, then he looked intently at the words written in delicate handwriting.

The letter was brief and had nothing to do with Sirius Black, but it still made him furrow his brow.

"I was in the same carriage as Harry Potter. Halfway through the journey, we encountered Dementors raiding the train. No one was injured, but many were terrified. Harry fainted."

After destroying the letters, Amosta shook his head and chuckled softly.

"The chosen one of the planes, wherever he goes, will have some stories, or rather, accidents—"

Dinner was simple, just a pile of fried potato slices and a few grilled sausages. Amosta sat in the restaurant, facing his own shadow on the wall, quietly enjoying the peace and quiet of being alone, and incidentally, also thinking about how he should catch Sirius Black.

There's really no good way to do this. Amosta isn't the only clever person in the wizarding world. If there really were a way to catch Black immediately, the Aurors would have done it already.

The prevailing consensus is that Black will sneak up on Hogwarts and try to kill Harry Potter. However, no one can say for sure how or when Black will do it.

Before today, Amosta could only passively wait for Sirius to slip up during the assassination attempt. However, after a chance encounter with Tonks this morning and learning from her about the relationship between Black and the Potters, as well as that the Aurors were not only keeping a close watch on Sirius's old house to prevent him from infiltrating Hogsmeade, Amosta suddenly had an idea.

"Why don't we go check out the place where the Potters were murdered? Maybe we'll find some clues."

Amosta chewed on the sausage, making indistinct noises.

"Perhaps criminal psychology could help; it's better than just waiting around."

Chapter 160 The Potter Family Mansion

Amostella knew the location of the Potter family's old house long ago, which is not surprising, as it is common knowledge in the wizarding world.

He vividly remembered that when he first entered Hogwarts, in order to deepen his understanding of this mysterious world unknown to Muggles, he bought a newly updated copy of "Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century," which detailed the "boy who survived" defeating the invincible Dark Lord.

As Amosta gradually learned more about the magical world, he realized that most of the fantastical accounts in the book were fabricated to highlight the mystery of the people involved. However, the location of the Potter family's old house mentioned in the book was indeed real.

Godric's Hollow—the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four great founding fathers of Hogwarts—is located in southwest England. It is a vast basin dotted with numerous human villages of varying sizes. Most of these villages and towns are inhabited by Muggles and wizards, with only a very few tiny villages being purely wizarding settlements.