Amorta returned to Hogwarts at dusk three days after the end of the Christmas holidays. The students who had gone home for Christmas had not yet returned, but among the faculty members, the heads of the four houses had already returned to school to deal with preparations for the coming term.
He didn't disturb anyone; instead, he first went back to his office, preparing to see how the feuding pair were getting along.
To his surprise, the neat and tidy office was deserted, with only the fireplace burning automatically as it sensed its master's return.
After placing his suitcase on the couch, Amorta turned around to see a note on his desk. It seemed like it was left by one of the two of them.
Amorta:
Amorta: I discussed this with Lenny, and as long as that mouse doesn't make any mistakes, blindly searching would be pointless. So, we're planning to stay at Lenny's old house for a couple of days. Lenny told me that you have the right to use that house, and he mentioned that you had planned to clean it during the Christmas holiday. I think we can help you with that first.
If you return to school, come find us at the old house, we can throw a party together to celebrate Lenny's freedom.
Faithful Remus Lupin
The handwriting on the paper doesn't exactly match Lupin's usual handwriting, but there is a sense of lightness and cheer between the words, indicating that Lupin must be in high spirits when he wrote this letter.
"What does 'I have the right to use that house' mean?"
Amorta smirked, "I hope these two don't forget that the aurors from the Ministry are still waiting outside..."
Amorta threw Lupin's note into the fireplace, and a burnt-feather smell filled the air. As she watched the paper turn to ashes, her brow furrowed after making a casual remark.
As he said, the Ministry is still watching, so these two shouldn't get carried away.
"Okay--"
Through the monitor screen, Amorta glanced at the deserted Hogwarts castle for a few seconds. After a brief thought, he picked up his coat that was thrown on the bed and walked out of the office quickly.
As the evening approached, the chimney on top of Rubeus Hagrid's cottage at the edge of the Forbidden Forest began to smoke, and Amorta, who had excellent eyesight, could barely see several different silhouettes moving inside through the window. The interior was dimly lit by a yellow light, suggesting that Harry and others were hosting guests there.
It's now too late to catch a train back to London, and I'd at least arrive at Grimmauld Place around midnight. The Knight Bus is a mode of travel he absolutely dreads, so reluctantly, he has no choice but to use the Patronus charm. Although it consumes a great deal of magic, it's fast.
The world is blurry in front of him, and the ear is filled with the sound of howling wind. In an instant, Amorta stepped firmly into the narrow and old corridor of the entrance hall, bypassing all the ancient defense spells guarding the old mansion.
Amorta raised an eyebrow as he saw the condition of the house, feeling a bit surprised.
Compared to the last time, the place had undergone a tremendous transformation.
Every inch of the formerly dusty floor seemed to have been wiped clean by a polish, reflecting a gem-like shine under the newly replaced chandelier overhead. The walls on both sides had been refurbished, the dark green ones stripped off and replaced with a more pleasing sky blue.
But whether by intention or not, the portraits of the Black ancestors on both walls remained untouched, still darkened and aged over time.
The last time he came here, the old lady who had shouted at him was blocked by the washed curtains, but they had not been removed.
Amorta pursed his lips and made up his mind that he wouldn't keep these picture frames once the ownership of the house was officially transferred.
There was a clinking noise coming from the basement, as if someone was cooking. Amorta stepped forward and pushed open the door leading to the underground.
"Ah, Amorta, it's you--"
Lupin, with a look of sorrow and awkwardly dealing with potatoes on the cutting board, heard the noise and turned around immediately. His face regained some energy as he saw who had come in, and his smile returned.
"When did you return to Hogwarts? Did you see the note I left?"
Amorta nodded in agreement, walked down the stairs, and looked around the kitchen and dining room. A moment later, he nodded in satisfaction and asked casually, "ŴŴŵ."
"Who allowed you to appear in my house, Professor Lupin?"
Lupin immediately laughed bitterly. Compared to the vast majority of Slytherins, Amorta was rather easy to get along with, but that didn't stop Amorta from still retaining some standard Slytherin traits.
"Speaking of which, why is it you, Lupin, doing the cooking? Is it because Sirius took away my house-elves while I was away?"
Amorta glanced at the differently shaped and thick slices of potatoes on the chopping board and scowled.
"This is a long story, Amorta--"
Lupin discarded the knife in his hand, wiped his hands clean by patting them with his sleeves,
"We had been staying here, and it was that house-elf named Kreacher who was cooking for us... But you know, it wasn't very friendly to me, a werewolf..."
In fact, 'not very friendly' is a bit of an understatement. Several times, it tried to poison my food, to kill me, in an attempt to drive me out of this house. To be honest, if it weren't for the years I've spent in the underworld and my awareness of such poisons, I might really have been poisoned to death by it."
Haha, interesting--
Amorta laughed.
Lupin went on to say,
"Later, Sirius was angry and ordered it not to do so... Kreacher couldn't resist Sirius's orders, but it didn't want to submit either. My food gradually had more and more interesting things in it, like dead mice in the mushroom soup, spider legs and frog intestines in the salad, and even a succubus inside the roasted chicken..."
"Lupin, who are you talking to?"
As Amorta was eagerly listening to Lupin's tale of unfair treatment, the voice of Sirius Black called from above, followed by a quick succession of hurried footsteps down the stairs. A moment later, Sirius himself stood at the door corridor that connected to the basement.
Although only about ten days had passed, Sirius's condition had improved significantly compared to before.
Perhaps from eating a few hearty meals, or because he had shed some burdens, in any case, he no longer looked like a skeleton crawling out of hell. His gaunt cheeks had gained some flesh, and his hair was clean. He had changed out of the old robes Amorta had lent him earlier, wearing a black-gray robe instead. Overall, he finally looked somewhat like he did twelve years ago.
"Oh, it's you, Amorta--"
Sirius made a dissatisfied mutter.
"I had somewhat foreseen that you would reveal your identity in front of Lupin when I left Hogwarts,"
Amorta's gaze followed Sirius as he descended the stairs, and she offered a smile that could be said to be either amused or sarcastic.
"But I didn't expect you to be so impressive, Sirius. Just over twelve hours and you've been caught?"
Reading Room
