On a night with a bright moon and sparse stars, the Barred Owl pub was bustling with a lively family feast. Besides Charlie and Bill, the Weasley family was all present. Additionally, Harry, Hermione, and Amos were also special guests at this dinner party. Even the pub owner Tom, while serving them food, was pinned to a chair by Mrs. Weasley's cheeks flushed with wine, who poured two cups of mead into his mouth.
"I don't know how to thank you, dear!"
Mrs. Weasley held tightly onto Amos'ta's sleeve, saying this for the fifth time that evening, "I can't even imagine what would happen if Ginny and Ron really... Oh, it's so terrifying!"
"At that time, we were preparing to go to Hogwarts ourselves to thank you, Amos—"
Mr. Weasley wiped away the sweat on his slightly balding forehead, smiling cheerfully and said.
Over the past period, Mr. Weasley, who had been on edge since Black's escape, was rare to encounter a joyful event. Therefore, even though he knew his own limits in terms of alcohol tolerance, he indulged himself slightly and consumed quite a bit of rum.
"About that incident..."
Mr. Weasley belched and said,
" I mean, when you and Bill and Charlie were at Hogwarts, after the terrifying incident happened that night, Moli and I wanted to go to Hogwarts to thank you in person. But Snape told us that you needed a whole term of isolation, not letting us see you... In the first half of the year, after you rescued Ginny and Ron from the Chamber of Secrets, we planned to visit again. I wrote a letter to Dumbledore to ask if it was appropriate. He told us that you had already left school and gone mysteriously! "
Fred and George, sitting opposite Amos, couldn't stop laughing at the slightly tipsy parents. The other kids were all in a similar state, except for Percy, who wrinkled his nose in a bit of dissatisfaction.
"Oh, Mom and Dad!"
Percy puffed out his chest, which bore the badge of the Head Boy, making the badge shine more brilliantly in the candlelight, and complained with an air of solemnity.
"We're all very pleased to see Professor Breed, Mom and Dad, but you're being a bit too rude!"
"It's all right, Percy—"
Amos supported the dazed Mrs. Weasley on his shoulder, smiling and saying to Percy,
"Here isn't school, so we don't have to be too formal... Oh, by the way, I haven't had a chance to congratulate you on becoming the Head Boy. Dumbledore made a wise choice, didn't he? I think you deserve it. Just like your brother Bill--"
Percy blushed and didn't know what to say, so he just shot a 'fiery' glance at the twins, who were making vomiting gestures on the side.
The Weasley family's home atmosphere was indeed very good. Influenced by this atmosphere, Amos' mood was also very good. It had been a long time since he last discussed his classmates who had graduated with Mrs. and Mr. Weasley.
Among them, quite a few had become ordinary people and some were even more closely related to the Muggle world. Outstanding ones were just a few, such as Nymphadora Tonks who became an Auror at the Ministry of Magic.
"Oh, I know, that girl is full of passion, she's very popular in the Auror office--"
Mr. Weasley raised his glass again and clinked it with Amos's, "By the way, Rufus and his bunch have not been doing well recently... They've run into a tough nut, stayed at St. Mungo's for over a month to recover, and just started to make some moves in front of Fudge and Barty to prove themselves, when they encountered Black--"
Hack--
Amos coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject,
"By the way, I heard that Bill has been working as a Disarming Elf at Gringotts in Egypt after he graduated. How's he been doing lately?"
"Oh, as for this!" Mrs. Weasley, who had been smiling all night, suddenly became angry. "Bill and his colleagues have been bothered by those nasty goblins at Gringotts!"
"Goblins at Gringotts?"
Amos blinked his eyes in confusion and asked, "Isn't he working for Gringotts?"
"It all started because of what happened with Rufus and his gang," Mr. Weasley shook his head and smiled bitterly, " those dark wizards."
"Two months ago, Rufus and his men intercepted a batch of black wizards smuggling cultural relics... The things they had were the very ones that Bill and his colleagues had uncovered... The black wizards immediately struck after Bill and his team handed over the items to Gringotts. It was too suspicious, the goblins thought there must be a spy among Bill and his colleagues, so they demanded that the Egyptian Ministry of Magic detain them all for questioning..."
Amos pursed his lips and lowered his head, suddenly becoming interested in the glass cup in front of him.
"--Of course, the results of the interrogation showed that Bill and his colleagues were innocent, but the goblins wouldn't accept that. They demanded that all wizard employees must be under their surveillance until the items are found... In my opinion, those greedy goblins should take a look at themselves; they're the kind who would do such things!"
It was only an opportunity to visit her eldest son, but to run into such a thing made Mrs. Weasley angry and called out.
"Cough, cough, you're right, Mrs. Weasley. Indeed... I think this is more likely to have been done by the goblins!"
Amos coughed a few more times, looking innocent, and nodded in agreement with great enthusiasm.
......
The lively family feast lasted until well past nine o'clock in the evening before finally winding down. Amos, who often accompanied clients at work, emerged victorious from the gathering. The Weasleys were carried up to bed by their eldest three sons. Their youngest daughter, Ginny, who looked more energetic than she had in the last term, ran up to the bar for two cups of honey wine and then hurried off to bed as well.
Amos held a cup of steaming tea, leaning against a support, and watching the trio who hadn't really had much chance to talk to him, he smiled and said.
"I noticed that you guys have something to tell me, haven't you?"
After a summer vacation, Hermoine blushed and smiled shyly as she was tanned two shades darker. Then, she looked at Harry with concern and said.
"Harry has told us some things--"
Amos' gaze suddenly turned towards Harry, and his eyebrows raised.
This kid, can't be that dumb to spread rumors about the Breed Manor and his own background everywhere?
"Oh, it's about Black, Professor!"
Facing the sharp gaze of Professor Breed, Harry suddenly woke up and shivered, hurrying to explain.
"Harry spoke to Ron and Hermione about my suspicions that Black escaped prison to kill me... And that you've accepted Fudge's commission to hunt down Black, and that's all!"
Amos nodded in satisfaction, his gaze softening. He's been studying the Blood Magic Curse recently, and he's just lacking experimental materials...
"You have other secrets to keep from us!"
Ron immediately understood and glared at Harry, unhappy.
Hermione also felt curious about the secrets Harry kept, but she was clearly more concerned about Harry's safety.
"Professor, what are you going to do about Black?"
As Hermione asked her question, something in Ron's pocket started to stir. In a moment, an exhausted-looking rat popped out of his pocket, its glossy eyes peeking out with curiosity.
......
Reading Room
