Homecoming from Hogwarts

This rain before the arrival of midsummer still shows no signs of abating.

The heavy rain had submerged the streets, and rainwater had flooded into the homes of many Hogsmeade villagers. The villagers, wearing raincoats, rushed to the streets in the heavy rain, busying themselves with unclogging the various sewers in the village. Even Aberforth had to rush out with his wand to take some remedial measures to prevent his "old brand" from collapsing in the heavy rain.

Amosta sent Ludo to the door, and after taking three or two steps into the heavy rain, his back disappeared from Amosta's sight.

Amosta did not tell Ludo what he needed his support for, but from Ludo's confused and uneasy look before he left, he seemed to have anticipated what Amosta wanted to do.

The sky was dark as if night had come.

The surging waves on the Black Lake hit the cliff, and the rumbling sound even overwhelmed the thunder.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the world of ghosts and wolves, and quickly became clear in Amosta's sight.

The visitor was wearing a rainproof cloak and his high-top black leather shoes trampled the rain on the ground. His dark yellow eyes, as sharp as a hunting lion, pierced through the rain and fell on Amosta's smiling face.

"I'm coming, Blaine."

"Ah, thanks for the invitation. Did you have a smooth journey, Rufus?"

Rufus Scrimgeour, the head of the Auror Office, the largest 'armed department' under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic, looked up at the bloodstained pig's head on the bar sign, which could not be washed away even by such heavy rain. He did not hide his disgust for this place.
"Why here instead of in Hogwarts? Why, don't you want Dumbledore to know about our meeting?"

Rufus' sharp eyes and fierce aura pounced on Amosta, but he smiled at Amosta's warm smile without causing any ripples.

"I suppose you didn't let the Ministry know what you were doing away from home, did you, Rufus?"

Amosta smiled and waved to Rufus outside the door.
"Come on, Rufus. It's so rainy. It's really stupid for us to stand at the door and talk. Come on, the bar owner is out. Let's have a drink to relieve our fatigue. Hmm, what do you want?"

Staring deeply at Amosta who was shrouded in the dim candlelight, Rufus did not step into the Hog's Head Tavern immediately. He supported the tattered and rotten door of the bar with one hand, and his cold eyes swept across every corner of the bar, and finally fell back on the face of Amosta Braine.

Facing Brian's eyes that were slightly smiling, Rufus' eyelids trembled slightly, and a surge of anger surged in his heart.

Brian saw through what he was worried about, and his eyes made it clear that if he wanted to deal with him, there was no need to set an ambush.

This is what is disgusting about those powerful wizards. Apart from relying on their own moral standards, there are no rules to restrain them. At this moment, Rufus had the same opinion as his colleague from the Magical Congress of the United States of America who was against Amost.

"casual."

Finally, Rufus stepped into the bar and said in a calm voice.

"Oh, people with hot tempers are not suitable for those hot-tempered drinks, so have a cup then."

Amosta was talking to himself at the bar, his eyes swept across Aberforth's wine rack.

"Hmm Musk Sherry, looks good-"

He knocked on the bar counter with his fingers, and a bottle of dusty brown sherry floated out from the wine rack silently. The cork at the mouth of the bottle disappeared in a wisp of green smoke, and the pouring wine made a pleasant sound like clear spring water running in a stream.

There were some damp new footprints on the ground, which was covered with centuries of oil and dust. One of them was walking back and forth beside the bar, one was Amosta Blaine's, and the other two led to a small round table with a few empty wine glasses in the back of the bar.

"It seems that I am not your first guest today, am I, Blaine?"

After a slight silence, Rufus turned his head and stared at the gray-haired young man at the bar, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Ah, indeed—"

Amosta's voice is brisk,

"I don't have classes today, and I don't have anywhere good to kill time, so I made an appointment with a few friends to have a few drinks here."

"Oh, I'm not your friend, Brian--" Rufus said coldly to himself.

"It wasn't before--"

Amosta picked up the wine glass and handed it to Rufus on the way to the round table.
"But maybe you'll have a chance to come later, Rufus, don't stand there, sit down, you've walked such a long way--" His nose twitched, and Rufus walked silently to the opposite side of Amosta and sat down. He glanced coldly at the glass of sherry that Brian handed him. He had no urge to drink it. He gently placed the glass of wine on the table, and then looked at Brian with a stern expression.

"Oh, Auror habits,"

Amosta seemed amused by Rufus's caution. He chuckled.

"But you don't think I'd poison you, do you?"

"I'd better be careful."

Rufus remained unmoved and said calmly that he would not tell Brian about the will he had left in the office before coming. If something unfortunate happened on this trip, the will would tell everyone who killed him.

"I think time is precious to both you and me, Brian. Let's skip those meaningless probing sessions and get straight to the point. Why did you ask me to come here?"

A strand of wet gray hair fell in front of Rufus's sharp yellow eyes, but he ignored it and kept staring at Amosta sharply, as if he was interrogating a prisoner.

The real criminal might be intimidated by Rufus Scrimgeour's title as the head of the Auror Office, but this did not cause any disturbance to Amos. He leisurely tasted his glass of dry sherry. Listening to Rufus' words, Amos's face was still gentle and tolerant.
"Ah, get straight to the point. I like that style—"

Amosta said,
"You want to know why I asked you to come here, Rufus? It depends on a premise. Or, it depends on the answer to a question."

Rufus frowned slightly, but didn't say anything and waited quietly for Brian to ask questions.

"Dumbledore said Voldemort has returned—"

Amosta's words made the head of the Auror Office tense up.
"I say the same thing, but the Minister of Magic disagrees. Rufus, as the head of the Auror Office, the backbone of the fight against the evil forces in the wizarding world, what do you think?"

Rufus stared at Amosta, and never since they met did his eyes look so sharp.
"Is this the premise for us to start a formal conversation?"

"That's right." Amosta nodded and smiled.

"You need to provide evidence, otherwise"

"If that's the way it is, Rufus."

Amostas raised a hand to interrupt Rufus. He looked calmly at the most prestigious Auror in the Ministry of Magic, after Moody. During the years when he was the Golden Viper, many of the wizards he knew who were wandering in the gray area were afraid of this famous Auror.

Rufus once led people to surround the Golden Viper and the bounty wizard who was on a mission with him, but they were all knocked down by a spell from the Golden Viper.

Amosta's calm tone, without smiling, was filled with determination and cruelty.

"I'm sorry, but then we have nothing to talk about."

A surge of humiliated anger suddenly ignited in Rufus' heart. He wanted to jump up and scold Brian for his arrogance and rudeness, but when he met Brian's heart-piercing eyes, Rufus' face turned pale and the air around him suddenly became thick and suffocated him.

State whether the mysterious man has been resurrected?

This was not an easy question to answer. Rufus knew what answer Brian wanted to hear, but if he gave this answer and his reply fell into the ears of Cornelius Fudge, he would probably end up in the same situation as Sirius Black, as his situation was becoming increasingly difficult.

Fudge knew that Sirius was Brian's absolute direct descendant, and he wanted to kick him out of the Ministry of Magic, but he was worried that if he really did so, it would anger Brian. Moreover, Bones, who stood on Brian's side, was also trying to protect Sirius.

Bones also knew that re-employing Sirius would completely anger Fudge's faction, so as the two sides were wary of each other, Sirius was put on ice.

But is the mysterious man really resurrected?

Rufus, whose heart was aroused, also had his breathing disordered. This was a question that did not require much thought, wasn't it?

(End of this chapter)