Fudge hurriedly left with the Ministry of Magic people, taking with them Wormtail and a gravely injured Remus Lupin.
Peter, upon learning that the Ministry of Magic was not going to execute it, but instead planned to send him to Azkaban, had already been reduced to a shape unlike a human, and he fell to the ground in joyful tears.
As long as you are alive, everything has hope.
Dumbledore also did not disclose the Ministry's plans to Professor McGonagall and the other professors in full. He merely told them that, due to the potential consequences, they had to keep the secret for the time being and not reveal the truth about Sirius's innocence. Of course, he also promised that this period would not be long, with a maximum of one week before the truth would be revealed to all.
Harry, who had been the most vocal in response to Dumbledore's words, was also forced to stop protesting and agreed to Dumbledore's request, returning to bed and resting peacefully.
This night was destined to be a sleepless night, as the Ministry of Magic needed to issue a brief statement before 8 am the next morning. Even in Germany on a visit, Bathilda Crouch also received a notification from headquarters, instructing her to immediately return to the country for an emergency meeting.
And The Daily Prophet, which had moved swiftly in response to the news, had dispatched all of its reporters. Some were tasked with eavesdropping on snippets of information from the lips of the rare barrel-like figures of the Ministry's upper echelons, while others ran into Hogsmeade, knocking on every door in each home, trying to glean more details from the villagers' mouths.
Hogwarts, except for Professor Flamel staying to help Madam Pince take care of Hagrid and Snape, most of the others left in a steady stream, returning to their own dormitories to rest.
Knock-knock--
The door knocked, and two feet rested on the coffee table as Amoshta, who was leaning back on the sofa, eyes closed and resting, opened his eyes.
Dumbledore's expression was no longer discernible as anything unusual, after receiving permission, he smiled merrily walked in, sat on the sofa, picked up the hot tea Amoshta had prepared for him and sipped a few mouthfuls.
"Ah, wonderful beverage—"
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, making a sound of approval.
"Although personally, I prefer sweet things more, I must admit that the taste of this bitter drink is not bad either. Oh, and it has a bit of a stimulant effect!"
Amoshta laughed softly, leaning back on the sofa, the steam rising from his teacup obscured his expression.
"Remus had a bit of a rough night. Earlier at Hogsmeade, Tonks sent him to Sainte-Mangue. Given his condition, I'm afraid you'll need to find a replacement for Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the second half of the term."
Dumbledore's expression immediately became less cheerful, he sighed and said,
"Every summer vacation of the school year, I have to face this troublesome problem, and this year is particularly bad. Amoshta, would you consider taking over as professor for a period of time?"
It's a redundant question; Dumbledore must surely know what kind of answer he would receive.
The idle chat lasted for about twenty minutes, Amoshta brought up the topic of Mrs. Bones's little schemes, and Dumbledore's seemingly untroubled expression still seemed a bit odd to Amoshta.
"Don't you worry that I might change my mind and take this opportunity to leave Hogwarts and find another position at the Ministry?"
"Oh, about that --"
Dumbledore smiled without any reservation.
"Yes, I know you wouldn't choose the Ministry. You see, I think we're both quite adept at intrigue and subterfuge, but for various reasons, we're not particularly fond of using those means to solve problems. But if you worked in the Ministry, avoiding that might be rather difficult..."
The atmosphere of the conversation between the two top wizards at the beginning of this conversation was not particularly heated. The reason for this is not hard to guess.
Both of them were powerful wizards with strong personal styles. When dealing with a matter, they might have different ways even though their pursuit was the same. Conflict was inevitable unless one party chose to compromise.
At the beginning of the conversation, Amoshta was anxious.
Beforehand, he was willing to return to Hogwarts because from Dumbledore's attitude, he saw a certain sincerity. That is, he would not interfere easily in what he wanted to do and how he wanted to act.
But the issue tonight involved a wide range of people, and Amoshta was uncertain if Dumbledore could 'hold fast to his original heart'. However, it now appeared that Dumbledore seemed determined to keep Amoshta at Hogwarts, not hesitating to change some of his principles for that.
With this confirmed, the subtle tension between them disappeared, and the atmosphere of the conversation gradually became amicable.
"--The Flourish tree by the playground, I learned from Harry that it was a secret passage that Featherbottom never knew. Following that secret passage, I reached the Shrieking Shack that night. It was cold that night, and in order not to freeze to death, Sirius left his usual cave and took refuge in the hut during the heavy snowfall--"
"Strange coincidence--"
Dumbledore nodded, marveling.
"Thanks to this coincidence, you found Sirius and clarified the truth, allowing us to stop advancing on the wrong path."
Speaking of this, Dumbledore sighed again.
"This incident once again proves that I always make mistakes in key matters. I don't want to make excuses for myself, Amoshta, but I truly did find it suspicious that Sirius betrayed the Potters at the time. However, their deaths blinded me, and I didn't have a proper talk with Sirius. This tragedy could have been avoided. Now, because of Peter, so many people have been hurt, including a young wizard..."
As for the others, Malfoy was indeed unlucky. Controlled by Peter's Imperius Curse for so long, it could indeed be said that this was a lapse by Dumbledore and Amoshta.
"Regarding Draco..."
Amoshta pondered for a moment.
"I will find an opportunity to talk to Lucius. It can be expected that he will be angry at Draco's plight, but considering the trouble I've helped him solve, I think he will keep quiet."
Dumbledore shook his head, his face full of guilt. Amoshta also understood that what Dumbledore was concerned about was not Lucius Malfoy's potential for revenge in his anger, but rather the possible harm to Draco himself.
"In the end, things turned out well, didn't they? We can't be perfect in everything we do, Headmaster."
Dumbledore's self-reproach also touched Amoshta's heart, and he consoled him.
"Yes, indeed. Although we had to pay some costs, we were able to correct the mistakes we made."
Dumbledore took a deep breath, and he straightened up.
"I have some good news to share with you, Amoshta--"
Dumbledore's aged face softened, and his eyes regained their brightness.
"Do you remember why I've been running around for a while now?"
"One of Voldemort's Horcruxes?" Amoshta's eyes narrowed slightly, "You found that house-elf--"
"Under an abandoned bridge in London..."
"Dumbledore's beard quivered, his voice full of relief, 'When I found it, this poor creature was on the verge of death. Confused, but luckily, I was able to obtain some valuable clues from its memories--'"
Amoshta had already destroyed two of Voldemort's Horcruxes, which meant he couldn't stay on the sidelines. Therefore, Dumbledore didn't choose to withhold information either, he happily said.
"Just like the crown, it's another item left behind by the founders of Hogwarts! Tom is very interested in these things!"
"Er--"
Looking at Dumbledore, whose enthusiasm was palpable, Amoshta's expression subtly changed.
"There are two items in total. One belongs to Hufflepuff, a golden cup, and the other holds more significance for Tom; it is Salazar Slytherin's relic, a finely crafted pendant box!"
Dumbledore took out his wand and focused on drawing in front of him, a silvery mist rose from the wand's tip, gathering in mid-air to form the shape of a golden cup and a pendant box.
After doing all this, Dumbledore looked at Amoshta. He thought he would see a surprised expression on his face, but Amoshta's strange look confused him.
"How is it, Amoshta?"
Dumbledore furrowed his brow, raising his voice to ask,
"What's wrong?"
"Not much. This pendant box looks a bit familiar, like mine."
After rummaging in his breast pocket, Amoshta pulled out a gold chain.
The pendant box, swaying gently, reflected the pale morning light onto Dumbledore's shocked and aged face.
"Is it still at the old price, Headmaster?"
Amoshta blinked his eyes, asking seriously.
(End of this chapter)
