Time always flies silently and quickly. In an instant, the first month of the second semester has come to an end.
No thrilling topic can compare to the mundane daily routine, and Amortia, entering Hogwarts under the guise of a special investigator sent by the Board of Governors, indeed caused quite a stir at first.
However, because he had an extremely low profile and the incident had occurred two months ago, the topic of him was quickly abandoned. Even some people had forgotten that there was a special investigator who came from Slytherin in the school.
Of course, some people believe that the reason why the attack did not continue was that the secretive investigator played a key role in deterring it.
For Harry, this was the best of all possible situations.
People gradually stopped looking at him suspiciously and, from the second week of the term, arranged for Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne, Pansy and others to report Harry's Muggle-born status to Amortia. Malfoy also seemed to realize that his behavior was quite boring and began to lay low.
There was another reason to be pleased: Hermione had finally rid herself of her embarrassing black hair, and Mrs. Pomfrey told them she was ready for Hermione to be formally discharged from the hospital wing at the weekend.
Fred and George, on the other hand, had been rather unhappy recently. Since they found out that Mr. Breezy had been monitoring the school, they had been reluctant to run around the castle at night as much as before, because although Mr. Breezy seemed to be an easy-going person, that did not mean he would tolerate repeated provocation.
At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Amortia was in his office, watching Harry and Ron return to the Gryffindor common room and disappear into the portrait on the wall.
Now, nearly three weeks had passed since he had posted his announcement, and even Amortia himself had to admit that this firsthand probe had almost officially failed.
What should be done next?
Should they release false news that the recovering wizard who had been attacked was now awake, or continue waiting?
Amortia stared at the picture of himself and Grandma Fellina on the table, hesitating for a moment.
The glass mirrored a blurred but still discernible young face, much more gaunt than before. Amortia had to admit that he had somewhat undervalued the hardship of the task and underestimated his opponent's patience.
Amortia moved his gaze to the top of the notebook with complex magical rune models spread out on the table. The open letter paper, this letter had arrived today afternoon, and the writer was Karkus Flee.
Dear Mr. Breezy,
I'm sorry to disturb you during your task, Mr. Breezy, but there is something I believe you may need to know.
Recently, an unknown force has suddenly appeared in the underground world. They have been asking around about the whereabouts and true identity of 'Golden Viper', out of curiosity and caution, I did a little investigation and found that their leader is none other than the person who previously issued the task of exploring magical ruins. At present, I have not yet figured out their purpose in seeking 'Golden Viper'.
Additionally, I've learned that Lucius Malfoy has been active recently and seems to be plotting to expel Albus Dumbledore from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
You are truly
Karkus Flee
Amortia fingered his fingers, his expression stern, and his deep gaze roamed back and forth over the brief words on the letter.
It's quite interesting that there are some people investigating 'Golden Viper'!
Who could it be? Amortia pondered quietly. Over the past three and a half years, he had been active in the underground world under the name of 'Golden Viper'. To be honest, he had offended a fair number of people for various reasons.
But if it's someone with a life-and-death grudge against him, it can only be that pack of overconfident and carefree big wolves with tough hides and coarse fur.
But since even Karkus couldn't figure out their identity, it's unlikely that the people investigating 'Golden Viper' are those irritating wolves. They never bother to hide their identities.
The information Karkus provided is too scarce, Amortia can't figure out who has taken an interest in him. Besides reminding himself to be more vigilant, there's no good way to respond for now.
As for the second point mentioned by Karkus, about Lucius Malfoy's plan to expel Dumbledore, Amortia was not too concerned. Any sensible person wouldn't believe that Malfoy could pull off such a thing. The reason Karkus mentioned this in the letter was merely a veiled reminder.
Because Malfoy and the Greengrass family were strongly opposed to the previous incident of sending a special investigator, if Lucius Malfoy really succeeds in temporarily expelling Dumbledore from Hogwarts, then it would also mean that Amortia would be expelled immediately, which means the mission to find the 'Slytherin Room Treasure' is completely failed.
After a light sigh, Amortia stood up and went to the bookshelf, pulling out the Daily Prophet sent by owl on Monday morning from the bottom shelf.
The official edition of the newspaper mostly carried peaceful and joyful news, with only one article by Rita Skeeter on the sharp criticism of the "Muggle Protection Act," which was issued last summer and has been in effect for nearly half a year, being somewhat interesting.
However, Amortia took out this newspaper not to relish some of the interesting comments from this prominent journalist, who is known for her acidic, cutting, and nonsensical remarks. He flipped to the seventh page and stared at the small announcement in the lower right corner with deep thoughts.
"... As the recommendation by the Director of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and the approval by the hospital board, it is confirmed that Ms. Yadlee Flee will take up the position of Head of the Department of Magical Illnesses and Injuries. It is reported that Ms. Flee has worked in this department for nearly eighteen years since she joined St. Mungo's Hospital as a Healer in September 1975..."
Yes, this is the reason why Karkus Flee is eager to take on the task of finding the Slytherin Room Treasure...
Amortia's gaze deepened further. Initially, he thought the person who issued this task was just a school of witches or black wizards in the underground world who coveted the Slytherin Room Treasure. But now it seems that things are not as simple as he had originally thought.
Who could have issued this task?
Amortia's mind flickers through a succession of powerful Ministry officials, but he can't quite confirm the answer.
Tap-tap-tap--
A sudden knock interrupted Amortia's contemplation. He checked the monitor and saw that the visitor was Professor Snape.
The life of staying in hiding during the day and coming out at night is too tiring, so in these days, Snape occasionally stops by to help Amortia relax when he has time, but he usually brings a note for Amortia beforehand. He's never visited like this before.
After returning to school, Professor Snape showed him a very obvious distance, which once made Amortia feel very strange. However, after deep thinking, he could understand it a little.
Professor Snape might be afraid that if his former master returns to power, he would very likely sink into the quagmire once again and be unable to pull himself out.
At that time, if his close relationship with Professor Snape were exposed to too many people, he would also be dragged into the water, so Professor Snape deliberately showing indifference probably wants to protect himself.
"No new findings?"
The always-busy Snape strode into Amortia's office, his gaze falling on the young man looking pale and dispirited behind the desk, not knowing if it was because of too much of the toxic smoke from brewing potions that had caused his usually sallow and rigid face to change subtly.
"Obvious."
Amortia stood up, stretched out a big yawn, and lazily said, "Are you here to relieve me?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see you,"
Snape's lips moved, his tone was sarcastic, "Maybe, you should get ready for your job to be terminated, Amortia--"
