Leaving the majestic gates of the ice castle, the two stood still in front of them for a moment, silently watching the squabbling wizards in the square.
Fred and George, who were tired of fireworks, expanded their business to foreigners. They brought out the latest bestseller - finch cookies. Lily Jordan, who was selfless, stepped forward to demonstrate the success of their humorous products to students from Hogwarts and Durmstrang.
After a rapid tremor in her form, Lily Jordan transformed with a bang into a beautiful canary before many curious eyes. She then strutted proudly among the crowd, her strange appearance causing Gabrielle to giggle uncontrollably, and even Fleur's eyes sparkled as she generously emptied a handful of galleons from her personal pearl pouch.
Amortia secretly reprimanded herself, remembering to check the snacks she received from school wizards before eating them.
After watching for a while, Amortia went forward first, and Professor Moody turned back to glance at the castle, seemingly made of the purest crystal, before following silently.
On the right side of the square, there was a flower bed formed by vines and beautiful flowers on the ice, which was the work of Professor Sprout.
And this, of course, provided a good place for students who are too in love to control themselves. Amortia and Moody, who were walking towards the lake shore after the flower bed, both noticed that at least seven or eight couples were passionately kissing in the shadows where the light from the ice castle could not reach. Even some deliberately confused lovers had their 'accidentally' removed their dance dresses.
Amortia walked silently through the flower beds, her expression unchanged and making no sound at all. The Mudblood's lips moved slightly, his expression slightly uncomfortable, and he deliberately lightened the sound of his artificial leg and cane hitting the ice.
As the two were about to step out of the glow emitted by the ice castle, Amortia suddenly stopped in her tracks at the boundary between light and dark. Mudblood's reaction was slower, and it was only later that his magical eye detected the movement ahead.
It was Harry and Hermione, both of whom had run to the shore without knowing when, and encountered something, panting and running towards the ice castle.
They had no idea they would suddenly bump into Professor Brain and Professor Moody, so they were running, their brakes failed. Despite the urge to exclaim, one of them ran into Professor Moody's arms, while the other hit Amortia's chest.
"The socks are very nice, Potter--"
Professor Moody scowled and said in a rough voice, his one magical eye pierced through Harry's robes.
"Oh - yes, Dobby made them for me. Yes, a Christmas present."
Harry panted, seemingly in a hurry to leave, constantly giving Hermione subtle glances as if to reassure her.
"Be careful, Miss Granger--"
Amortia smiled at Hermione, whose nose was pressed against her chest and tears welled up from the pain.
"I see that Professor Pomfrey's had a bit too much to drink tonight, Miss Granger. If your nose is in trouble, you'll just have to endure it yourself--"
"Oh, sorry, Professor--"
Hermione rubbed her aching nose, embarrassed and unwilling to look at the professors' expressions. She racked her brain for a plausible explanation for her and Harry's flustered behavior, but Professor Brain, who was extremely considerate, moved aside and did not seem inclined to pursue the matter.
Harry and Hermione exchanged a discreet glance, both noticing the surprise in each other's eyes. However, they had no time to linger; they quickly apologized and supported each other as they ran towards the ice castle, quickly blending into the joyful crowd in the square.
Amortia and Moody watched the two people blend into the crowd, and then turned around. Before they could take a step, urgent footsteps echoed in the darkness.
"Amortia and Moody?"
Snape Professor wrapped himself in his robe, his face ashen, and ran over to them, scowling and suspiciously eyeing them.
"Did you see anyone pass by, Amortia?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor Snape, I didn't see anyone at all."
Amortia smiled and said,
"Professor Karkaroff? I saw you leave with him?"
"He's back on the ship," Snape said in a low voice, "He may not like the trick you and Dumbledore pulled. What are you planning to do?"
"I and Professor Moody are planning to go on a patrol around the field, in case something goes wrong."
Amortia still smiled,
"Would you like to join us for a walk, Professor Snape?"
Snape did not look at Moody, but stared deeply into Amortia's eyes. Then, coldly tossing out a sentence "I'm not interested," he walked around the two of them quickly.
Potter and Granger were most likely tracking Snape and Karkaroff and eavesdropping on their conversation when they were discovered.
Mudblood felt a faint sense of danger rising in his heart, mingled with a touch of absurdity.
Last time, Professor Karkaroff and Snape had a secret meeting that was accidentally discovered by Harry and Ginny. And this time, the same situation occurred. For a moment, Mudblood didn't know whether to feel sorry for Professor Karkaroff and Snape's bad luck or to laugh at Harry and Ginny's ignorance and boundless curiosity.
But what were Snape and Karkaroff actually talking about?
Last time, he had deceived key information out of Harry and Ginny after eavesdropping on their conversation. Since then, she had never gone to Snape's storeroom again.
Mudblood's blue magical eye twitched slightly, looking at Amortia·Brian, who seemed to have no extra interest in this matter. This was not Brian's style.
"It's really surprising to me--"
As they stepped out of the magical barrier, the roar of the wind and snow became deafening all at once. In the blinding snow, Mudblood raised his voice,
"Eavesdropping on a professor's conversation is not a small matter, Brian. When did you become so magnanimous?"
"It might not be as you imagine, Professor Moody--"
Amortia's steady voice cut through the howling gale and landed in Mudblood's ears.
"Perhaps it's just that Potter and Granger accidentally stumbled upon Snape and Karkaroff's secret conversation, and to avoid awkwardness, they hid. Only, those two little guys might have accidentally heard some interesting things and made some noise that was detected."
Amortia looked at Mudblood, smiling meaningfully.
"If that's the case, then it can't be blamed on Potter and Granger; they were also at fault against their will."
This seemed to have some effect on Mudblood, who stopped in his tracks, standing still by the shore. He didn't move until Amortia, who had just jumped onto the shore and turned around, held out her hand to him. He then crossed over with her help.
The scattered footprints left by the young wizards as they walked from the castle to the grass had been smoothed over by the heavy snow. The two people standing by the shore looked down the path, momentarily lost in thought.
"What do you think of this banquet?"
Amortia looked at the ice castle she had created, her tone light as she asked.
"It's astonishing, quite impressive--"
Mudblood's voice was hoarse as he gazed at the enchanting castle bathed in warm light.
"I'd bet that, Amortia, this will become a new legend at Hogwarts. People will sing of the magical events witnessed tonight for many years to come, and those who were part of the dance will never forget this night."
"Oh, thank you--"
Amortia smiled contentedly.
"Sometimes I am amazed by the brilliant ideas in my head--"
Amortia has always been modest and unassuming in public, much like Dumbledore, never proud of his extraordinary abilities. It is rare to see him showing off. So when he heard Amortia say this, Mudblood was somewhat surprised. But upon seeing the smug smile on Amortia's lips, and then, as if that subtle smirk brought out a touch of the youthful exuberance that should be his, something in Mudblood felt unexpectedly relaxed.
"Oh, honestly, why are we standing here like fools?"
Amortia, who seemed to have just realized the futility of standing in the snow, muttered to himself and then delicately picked up his wand which had slipped into his palm. With a flick of his wand, a shimmering light screen, the same color as the snow, appeared around the two, creating a safe and sheltered space.
Rubbing his belly, Amortia realized that he hadn't eaten anything after just drinking some wine. A glint appeared in his lavender eyes, and he turned his face towards Mudblood.
"Do you want to eat something, Professor Moody?"
(Chapter Complete)
