Homecoming from Hogwarts

"Oh, stop calling me professor. I'm not a professor now--hiccup--"

The small flame in the fireplace dispelled the chill of the early autumn night.

The room was warm like spring. The fat old man curled up in the cushion. He took out his magic wand and waved it. The piano keys immediately played melodious and graceful music by themselves.

Although he had only drunk a few glasses, Slughorn's cheeks were already flushed and he was slightly tipsy.

"I'll call you Amosta and you call me Horace, okay?"

"Oh, you're a very approachable wizard, Horace. What do you think of that?"

Amosta pointed his wand at Horace's glass, and the empty glass gurgled and filled up with thick, clear liquor.

Gudong!

The two drank it all in one gulp. Horace's consciousness seemed to be blank for a moment. He kicked the chandelier above his head for several seconds before looking at Amosta, whose back was still still and whose face had an impeccable smile.
"Where were we, Amosta?"

"I think so"

Amosta pretended to hesitate for a few seconds.
"Your brilliant teaching methods?"

"Oh, yes, that's it!"

Horace slapped his lap and picked up another piece of preserves from the half-empty box of preserves.

"What does Severus know about teaching? He is not cut out for it!"

Horace shook his head at Amosta.

"Oh, I know this may make you uncomfortable. After all, you were taken care of by him when you were studying at Hogwarts, but this is nothing. If it were me, I would also take care of you. An outstanding talent like you. Hiccup!"

Horace, in a drunken stupor, waved his arms in indignation.

"Don't think I'm not paying attention just because I'm retired. Look at what Slytherin has become over the years. Not a single decent talent has emerged since I left. Oh, of course, you are an exception, Amosta."

Horace grumbled,

"But you're entirely on your own, isn't Severus's tiny bit of help nothing to you, is it? Oh, and as for Albus -"

Horace glanced at Amosta with a wise look that saw through everything.

"Although Albus is full of praise for you now, I bet he held you back a lot when you were studying at Hogwarts. I heard about the incident when you set the forest on fire when you were in school. He still had the nerve to blame you when it was obviously his fault for not protecting the school and letting the bad guys take advantage of it."

hehe--
Amosta laughed heartily.

"You are absolutely right, Horace, Dumbledore is indeed prejudiced against Slytherin -
So, at this time, we need a respected, fair and open-minded authority to stand up and speak for those Slytherin students who are suffering from strange eyes and unfair treatment, don't you think?"

"Oh--"

Horace immediately avoided looking at Amosta with a guilty conscience and muttered,
"Well, to be fair, it's not all Albus' fault. Who let Slytherin produce such a person? Hiccup, it's really terrible."

This old man
"How about changing the subject?"

The memory from long ago that jumped into his mind made Horace shudder violently. He muttered a few words, then turned to look at Amosta with great interest.
"I heard that Diagon Alley, which was destroyed by the war, will be officially rebuilt before November?"

"Ah, you are truly well-informed, Horace—"

Amosta praised,
"Yes, the Ministry of Magic knows that the entire wizarding world is looking forward to this, and the Ministry also hopes to return Diagon Alley to the British wizarding world as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there is too much work to be done, and the detailed planning and design drawings are still being handed over to the Muggles for design.

In order to solve part of the employment problem, the department plans to recruit most of the construction workers who have no stable jobs and meager incomes from the lower classes. However, this is a highly professional job after all, and they still need pre-job training.

Including the goblins, investing millions is not an easy task even for the goblins' wealth. They need time to adjust their global financial strategic layout.

Including the early procurement of materials. Oh, to be honest, just thinking about these things gives me a headache. Fortunately, I only need to give advice and don’t have to do any work--"

Amosta's witticisms made Horace chuckle, and he took the opportunity to refill Horace's glass. "Oh, sorry. Huh--"

Horace noticed and waved his hands.
"I'm afraid I can't drink any more--"

"Just this one, Horace?"

Amosta spoke in a friendly tone;

"Just for the great Slytherin?"

"Great Slytherin, oh, yes, Slytherin is a good boy!"

Horace was convinced, and with a flushed face, he picked up the glass again and drank it all, while Amosta did not touch his wine.

"Let's talk about Diagon Alley"

Horace, in his drunken state, shook his head.

"There's news that Diagon Alley will be very different after it's built. Oh, it should have been like this a long time ago. Diagon Alley has been like that since I was in school."

"Oh, actually, to be precise, Diagon Alley will try to keep its original appearance. After all, it is also a historical site, right?"

Seeing that Horace seemed very interested in this, Amosta decided to talk about it in detail.

"The area around Diagon Alley that will really change. The Ministry has decided to expand the area around Diagon Alley, build it into a city-like scale, and divide it into different functional areas."

The world's tallest building of the Ministry of Magic; the modern wizard hospital; the beautiful natural reserve of magical creatures; the flourishing commercial streets, the developed industrial blocks, and the neat residential areas.
In Amosta's description, a magnificent city picture slowly unfolded in Horace's eyes, making his drunken eyes shine again!
".As for why the ministry has to allocate a piece of limited land to build manors and luxury villas, this is really a helpless move--"

Amosta's calm smile,
"You must know that even with the wealth of the fairies, it is not enough to build such a magnificent magic city.

On the one hand, the Ministry of Magic must seek its own development, and on the other hand, the ancient families that control most of the wealth in the British wizarding world must make a contribution.

"Oh, you're going to use this to get them to pay, right?"

Horace reacted quickly and realized this immediately. He imagined that he was occupying the best location in the magic city where every inch of land is valuable, in a vast wealthy area surrounded by mountains and rivers with pleasant scenery. A crystal clear smile flowed from the corner of his mouth.
"That's right. That's right, cunning boy, this can be sold at a good price. Who would refuse to own a villa handed down from generation to generation in such a great city? Oh, it must be a sky-high price!"

Horace looked envious, his eyes were full of envy,

"I'll never have the chance to live in a house like that in my lifetime. Oh, stingy Albus, if I want to buy a house like that, I'm afraid I'll have to be like Professor Binns, who started teaching a thousand years ago. But Hogwarts doesn't pay ghosts."

"yes--"

Amosta nodded and smiled.

"Who wouldn't want to spend the rest of their life in such an elegant environment?
Breathing fresh air, enjoying the best security, and neighbors who are all respectable people in the wizarding world. A marble brick in the house is enough for a Hogwarts professor to work for half a year!"

"oops"

Listening to Amosta's description, Horace suddenly sighed. He looked around sadly and suddenly felt that this cozy Muggle house that he had carefully selected was not comfortable at all.

"Of course, there will not only be a manor for the rich on that piece of land, there will also be a sanatorium that combines medical care and nursing care."

Amosta lowered his head, took a sip of wine, and pretended to speak casually.

“A sanatorium that combines medical care and nursing care?”

Horace's eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at Amosta with desire and greed in his eyes.

"Oh, yes, that's right—"

Amosta, who seemed to have drunk too much, leaned back on the soft sofa and smiled lazily.

"Dear Horace, such a good place can't just serve the rich. It's so unfair, isn't it?
When designing it, I have always emphasized that some wizards who have made outstanding contributions to the British wizarding world, recipients of the Order of Merlin, First Class, and the like, should have the right to enjoy it, such as the retired Minister of Magic. Dumbledore must also be eligible, as he has a medal and has worked hard for Hogwarts all his life." (End of this chapter)