Hogwarts Homecoming

The two old men under the flying wicker fell into silence, and the atmosphere became stiff.

After destroying the Resurrection Stone ring left by Slytherin, Voldemort would not have too many Horcruxes left behind.

However, there is no room for error in this matter.

In addition to Nagini and Harry who were with Voldemort, were there any other Horcruxes?

If so, is it one or two?

If Dumbledore hadn't moved his silver eyebrows.

The situation would be much simpler, and with the presence of Amosta, he was even confident that all these sins would be ended before Christmas!

But the crux of the problem is that Horace has never been willing to reveal this crucial information to them.

With a few sighs in his heart, Dumbledore looked at his old colleague, but when he saw Horace's expression, his eyes moved slightly.

Under the setting sun, which was as red as blood, Horace looked a little sad. He looked across the lawn. From the angle of his sight, he seemed to be looking at Harry.

Dumbledore's blue eyes behind the half-moon glasses on his crooked nose were more focused.

Horace was not a cold-blooded wizard, and he certainly felt guilty.

So many people died at the hands of Voldemort, including Harry's mother, Horace's favorite student.

However, Voldemort never received the punishment he deserved because of his possession of Horcruxes.

Horace must have been tortured by this.

But the problem is that Horace is not a brave wizard. He is afraid of facing his mistakes and fear of retaliation.

So, maybe.

Dumbledore's eyebrows suddenly moved while he was deep in thought. He raised his head and looked at the young figure walking this way from the cobblestone road.

"Oh, Amosta--"

"What?"

Horace, who was immersed in sorrow and self-blame, came back to his senses, and then he also found Amosta coming here while responding to the students' questions with a smile.

"Ho!"

Horace's dull face immediately brightened up,

"Look who this is, the most outstanding young wizard in Slytherin House has returned to Hogwarts with his great achievements!"

"Haha, your evaluation of me is completely different from the latest issue of Wizarding Weekly, Horace--"

Amosta chuckled,

"The magazine said that I was probably the wizard who caused the most damage to the British wizarding community in thousands of years. They even took back the 'Most Charming Smile Award' awarded to me!"

"Oh, ignore them, Amosta!"

Horace had obviously read the article concocted in the magazine, and he said angrily,

"That's pure nonsense. I bet the idiot who wrote the article must have had too much bad mead!"

Dumbledore also pursed his lips, and then he noticed the fatigue between Amosta's brows.

What's going on? Amosta started fighting with someone?

Dumbledore's eyes flashed, and he could feel that Amosta's magic power was greatly consumed.

However, he did not take the initiative to mention it. He only gave Amosta's casual questioning look a look of profound meaning in return.

I see--

Amosta immediately understood what Dumbledore was talking to Horace.

"Speaking of bad mead—"

Amosta sighed,

"If I could, I'd really like to have a drink. Oh, you don't know how far I've traveled!"

"Why not!"

Horace said happily. Obviously, he didn't want to be entangled with Dumbledore here anymore.

"I have, oh, a bottle of oak-aged mead in my office!"

"I wonder if I would have the honor of tasting your private collection, Horace?"

Dumbledore asked with great interest.

"Don't be silly, Albus, of course you have to come along-"

Horace waved to Dumbledore,

"As long as you don't bring up those unpleasant topics again."

The setting sun has sunk below the mountains. Looking from a distance, it looks like the tops of the mountains standing in the distance are glowing with red.

In the auditorium, thousands of candles have been lit, the starry sky has not yet brightened, and what is illuminated on the ceiling is a dark sky with a few drifting clouds.

Several students' exclamations came from the stairs of the foyer. It was Hagrid's younger brother. Grawp couldn't wait to rush into the auditorium.

Amosta, Dumbledore and Horace did not enter the auditorium where many people gathered. Instead, under the curious eyes of many students, they waited for Grawp to come downstairs and then went upstairs through the stairs in the foyer.

Professor Slughorn's office is on the sixth floor.

Compared to an office, this place is more like the top-level hotel suite in the Twin Towers where Amoesta stayed when he was on a business trip to New York.

"Oh, this is really nice-"

This was the first time Amosta had set foot in Horace's office.

Walking into the room, standing on the luxurious velvet carpet, Amosta looked at the office's private balcony overlooking the mountains, the magnificent fireplace and various luxurious furniture with great interest.

"Oh, I'm different from you, Amosta. I'm old and it's time for me to enjoy peace and quiet—"

Inviting Amosta and Dumbledore to sit down on the soft leather sofa in the center of the room, Horace walked towards his private wine storage cabinet that looked like a locker beside the floor-to-ceiling curtains.

As he walked there, he raised a finger almost as thick as a carrot and waved it.

"That's the only thing that makes me think you're not a Slytherin, Amosta. Your office is famous for its style. In my opinion, even if you want to show your hardworking qualities, it's a bit too much. Look at Albus, his is the most luxurious!"

"I want to correct you, Horace--"

Dumbledore said with a smile,

"Many of the furnishings in the principal's office are the wealth of Hogwarts, and there are not many of them that belong to me personally."

"Oh, it's the same. Anyway, no one stops the principal of Hogwarts from moving the school's things back to his vault--"

Horace squatted down with great effort, rummaged in his half-man-high private wine cabinet for a while, and then walked over with a bottle of oak wine.

When passing a table full of drinks, Horace took a few crystal glasses.

"Speaking of which, is your joint force going well, Amosta?"

Putting the cup on the coffee table, Horace took out his wand and pointed at the bottle mouth, and the cork immediately jumped out lightly. When he poured wine into the three glasses on the coffee table, he asked excitedly,

"Looking at what the Daily Prophet said these days, it seems that as long as the joint force is established, any problem can be solved immediately!"

"Oh, haha, then they may be too optimistic, in fact..."

Amosta said with a smile, he watched the yellow wine roll into the cup, his nose twitched subconsciously, and then, the smile on the corner of his mouth froze.

Carelessly glancing at Horace, who was pouring wine into the second glass with a comfortable look on his face, Amosta's eyes were more focused,

"Oh, this mellow wine smells really good. I think you must have treasured it for a long time, right?"

Dumbledore's eyebrows suddenly had vertical lines, and he looked at Amosta calmly.

What is Amosta testing?

"You guessed wrong, Amosta, I haven't had it for long--"

Horace looked at Dumbledore, unaware, and laughed,

"Actually, this bottle of wine was originally intended to be given to you as a Christmas gift, Albus. Good wine must be enjoyed in season, and I think you definitely don't mind taking out your Christmas gift and sharing it with Amosta--" (End of this chapter)