Homecoming from Hogwarts

Perhaps it was his return that had some kind of deterrent effect on those little wizards who loved night wanderings.

After seeing off Lucius Malfoy, Amos Tower was on his way to Dumbledore's office. He did not find any little wizards running around in the castle late at night. Only Peeves's crazy laughter and Filch's angry voice roamed in the empty castle.

When he entered the headmaster's office, Dumbledore was sitting in his office chair, staring at the round dome in a daze, while the Pensieve belonging to Hogwarts on his desk was emitting a star-like light.

Passing by the fire pot where Fox was perched, Amosta stopped and looked at it.

Fox, who had been reborn in New York, had not yet fully recovered, but some colorful feathers had been plucked out from his young body as he crawled on the warm ashes.

"Is there a possibility, Headmaster Dumbledore—"

Amosta smiled as he stretched out a finger and rubbed the soft fur on Fox's head.

"Suppose. I mean suppose one day--"

"That's not my word, Amosta."

Dumbledore smiled calmly.
"You'll have to get Fox's opinion."

Amosta shrugged, walked away from the brazier and towards the thin-legged desk, his eyes pointed at the Pensieve. Before he could ask, Dumbledore took the initiative to explain.
"I'm recalling some memories, memories of the trial of Tom's Death Eaters after he lost his powers last time."

Amosta nodded slightly, knowing why Dumbledore was revisiting his memories.
"I talked to Lucius Malfoy, and from some of the information he told me, our previous speculation is possible."

"Besides Horcruxes, what else could make Tom nervous now? He is no longer the little boy in the orphanage. Wealth is no longer his goal. Only eternal life is his goal."

"I asked Lucius for his opinion. Apart from him, who are Voldemort's most trusted Death Eaters? He did give some opinions -"

Amosta told him the names of the Death Eaters that Lucius had told him, and then said calmly,

"We can't lock on to the correct answer, Headmaster Dumbledore. If we want to find the Horcrux that may be in the vault under Gringotts, we can only open the vaults that belong to Voldemort's loyal followers."

"But you know that's impossible, Amosta—"

There was a hint of warning in Dumbledore's gaze.

"It's really inappropriate at this moment,"

Amosta responded calmly,

"But as the situation gets worse and the wizarding world enters a state of open warfare, some plans that are normally unacceptable may gain people's understanding."

Dumbledore said nothing more, but rubbed his brows tiredly.

Some things are absolute taboos for him, but they cannot restrain Amosta's hands and feet. Even though he is wary of excessive disruption of order, the consequences will eventually be borne by all ordinary wizards, but Dumbledore has to admit that using some rough means can indeed solve the problem faster.

When it comes to dealing with Voldemort, Dumbledore and Amosta did not take the same approach.

Strictly speaking, the actions of the Order of the Phoenix are more targeted. For example, Voldemort is currently eager to expand his own strength, while the Order of the Phoenix is ​​counterattacking Voldemort's plan.

As for some of Amosstar's arrangements, in the short term, they seem to be irrelevant to dealing with Voldemort, but they are more direct to the core.

So, even though Dumbledore saw through Amosta's purpose in pushing Hogwarts to gain greater independence at this time, he did not stop it.

After listening to what Amosta had told Lucius to do, Dumbledore sighed.

"I have no doubt that you can achieve your goal, Amosta, but you should expect that once Fudge realizes that Hogwarts is further out of control, he will probably go completely crazy."

After rummaging in his arms for a while, Amosta took out a letter and placed it in front of Dumbledore.

"There is something I'm afraid you already know, Headmaster—"

Amosta looked slightly cold.

"The British Ministry of Magic has secretly threatened the International Confederation of Wizards by threatening the next quarterly budget of the Confederation, and held a vote to suspend you and me from the Confederation. Vip is currently coordinating this matter with all his strength, and has written to German Minister of Magic Adenauer, asking him to express his attitude as well.
For the sake of power, Fudge has already fallen into madness, not about to fall into madness. Do you really think that allowing such a ruling group to exist is a responsible behavior for the wizarding world? "Dumbledore picked up the half-moon mirror frame in front of him. He did not pick up the letter, but looked at Amosta attentively.

"You know I don't care about that, Amosta."

"Then you should care, Headmaster—"

Amosta said calmly,

"It has nothing to do with power. These titles will make you more authoritative in the eyes of ordinary people in the magical world. If we can't unify our ideology, we won't be able to completely win this war."

Looking at Dumbledore, who was frowning as he pondered his words, Amosita breathed a sigh of relief, but his voice sounded heavy.

"Fudge has committed some unforgivable sins. You will learn about this, Headmaster, but not now."

"I'll never be able to get anything out of you that you don't want to say, Amosta--"

Dumbledore shook his head helplessly.
"But I think I should remind you that Lucius Malfoy is not as good at Occlumency as Severus is. If Tom interrogates him, he may not be able to hide the secret in his heart."

"Oh--"

Amosta leaned back in his chair, and the smile on his handsome face looked both good and evil under the flickering candlelight.

"But Lucius Malfoy is a good actor, isn't he? Of course, some safeguards are necessary, and I think he understands that."

When he stepped out of the big iron gate of Hogwarts, which had a heavy historical atmosphere, and stood under the wild boar sculpture beside the gate, the tingling sensation like thorns in his back finally disappeared. Only then did Lucius dare to stop and look back at the tall castle on the cliff with twinkling lights.

The slightly pale moonlight made Lucius's face look somewhat sad.

Pulling off his collar, Lucius tilted his head to look at his shoulder. As if sensing his gaze, under the moonlight, a strange golden flying snake slowly emerged from his left shoulder, swaying agilely for a few times before slowly disappearing on his skin.

A sigh dissipated in the sound of the breeze and the rustling of leaves in the forest filled with primitive breath, and Lucius picked up his steps and walked towards Hogsmeade.

The Malfoy family, which is "rich enough to rival a country", naturally would not be without any industry in Hogsmeade.

With a flash of fire, Lucius Malfoy returned to the essentially dispossessed Malfoy Manor through the fireplace of his safe house in Hogsmeade.

The mansion was so quiet late at night that not even the chirping of insects or birds could be heard. The waiters who were supposed to come out to clean after he and his wife rested were all dismissed after Voldemort moved into the manor. This was not the Dark Lord's request but Malfoy's own decision.

Because Lucius knew very well that if he allowed these Squibs and inferior citizens of the wizarding world with little magical power to appear before the Dark Lord, only death would await them, and his family would also be charged with the crime of 'negligence' by the Dark Lord and punished.

In comparison, house-elves, humble and legitimate creatures in the wizarding world, are more acceptable to the Dark Lord.

Lucius pushed open the door of the study and walked out without even taking off his hood. Under the gaze of the pale portraits on the wall, he walked towards the hall and reached the top floor of the mansion through the spiral staircase.

The Dark Lord was not in the study and living room specially prepared for him, but he could faintly hear the Dark Lord's voice on the terrace on the other side.

"I thought you had rested, my dear master--"

Before stepping through the door leading to the terrace, Lucius tugged at his collar guiltily.

"Ah, you are back, my dear Lucius--"

Voldemort, wearing a loose black robe and half lying on a comfortable recliner, moved his slender fingers, and the recliner under him slowly turned a circle, carrying Voldemort to face Lucius.

Lucius quickly glanced at Voldemort's pale wife who was holding a tea tray. His lips moved, but when he saw the Dark Lord's scarlet snake eyes that showed a cold smile, Lucius held his breath. The next second, he slowly knelt down, picked up the Dark Lord's robe and kissed it.

"I have completed the task you asked me to do, my respected master--"

(End of this chapter)