"Dumbledore indeed gave him a good job."
Dumbledore left in a hurry, his fatigue from traveling urging him to rush back to his personal bathroom to soak in a bath and wash away the weariness of the journey. Amortha, still leaning on the sofa in the office, mulled over the task that Headmaster Dumbledore had just entrusted him with.
This is indeed not an easy task.
The specific competition events of the Triwizard Tournament are top secret. At this stage, even the event organization has not yet selected the competition events to be held. Only after deciding on the host institution will the event organization choose from dozens of specially designed competition events tailor-made for the three schools through drawing lots.
To be required to prepare a safety plan for the unknown competition events ahead of time is indeed quite challenging.
But Amortha doesn't have a choice, does he?
As Dumbledore said, as the head of this school, he must strive to secure this honor for the school. And Amortha, who graduated from Hogwarts and holds positions related to safety, must also give his best effort. Otherwise, if wizards in the British magic world knew that Hogwarts lost its hosting honor due to inadequate safety measures, who knows how many would criticize him!
Moreover, Dumbledore also told him that he must prepare the safety plan as quickly as possible, because this matter is of great importance. His plan must be approved by the Ministry of Magic. Specifically, it should be recognized by the International Cooperation Department and the Department of Magical Sports of the Ministry.
Barty Crouch.
As Amortha thought of this person, his brow furrowed slightly when he stood up and walked with a heavy step.
There was no enmity between the two. In fact, Amortha even had a bit of admiration for Barty Crouch. However, because Amortha strongly supported Amelia, the two had become 'political opponents' in essence.
Speaking of it, Barty Crouch is indeed quite lucky.
In the original plan, due to the wrongful imprisonment of Sirius Black, Old Barty should have been in trouble. As for Filch, he had preconceived ideas. He would use this event as an opportunity to exclude Barty Crouch from the Wizengamot and then promote public opinion to get him out of the position of Minister for International Cooperation.
But who could have thought that Barty Crouch's fiery speech at the Wizengamot and Peter's sudden mysterious death would increase his reputation in the hearts of some highly morally upright citizens.
Barty has once again secured his position, and if the Triwizard Tournament is successfully held and Hogwarts becomes the host, this will be a remarkable achievement. Perhaps he can capitalize on this to turn things around and ultimately aspire for the position of Minister for Magic as well.
Barty Crouch's rise to power does not align with Amortha's interests.
Should they take the initiative to manipulate and tamper with the fairness of the Triwizard Tournament?
The thought of interfering with Hogwarts instantly crossed Amortha's mind, but he quickly suppressed it. One thing at a time, he couldn't treat his principles and integrity like trivial matters, as some politicians might.
Dumbledore's sudden assignment did indeed disrupt Amortha's plans. The 'P.E.' class he was highly committed to had just entered a crucial stage, and now he had to abandon it, causing the previous training to be wasted.
The sky was dark.
Amortha stood by the window, sniffing the fresh air that had lost its warmth, rubbing his brow while watching the playground.
Taking advantage of the small window before dinner, many young witches were having a great time on the grass. Surrounded by the stands, a few Hufflepuff witches were faithfully carrying out his orders and completing today's sports training.
Amortha suddenly chuckled a few times, turned his head towards the door and prepared to go downstairs for dinner.
Now, he had a taste of Professor McGonagall's plight — what it felt like to work under a manager who was a mere figurehead.
Harry and the others dared not get too close. They hid around the corner of the third-floor staircase, anxiously watching Sirius stride into Professor Brain's office, his figure disappearing from their view.
Before this, Sirius had been so angry that he had gone to find Professor Snape trouble, though he himself had assured Harry that he just wanted to have a serious talk with Snape about his teaching attitude. However, after knocking several times and there being no response from Snape's office, Sirius couldn't help but break the door that kept people out in a manner that was far from polite.
Looking at the various magical plants and animals specimens floating in colorful solutions that were neatly displayed on the wall, Harry and Sirius both furrowed their brows and revealed the same disgusted expression.
Inside the private storage room, there was no sign of anyone. As the two of them were wondering if Bray's Sabini had provided them with wrong information, Brawn Professor's protective spirit came through the wall and stopped in front of them.
"Professor Snape, and Professor Dumbledore..."
"Ron and Hermione were in a hurry to find us," he continued, as they ran up to the third-floor landing just as they met them in the first floor. "I had no idea you two were here, they said you might be on the third-floor."
"Both of them are in Professor Brain's office."
"Interesting..." In response to Hermione's reminder, Sirius just gave a cold smile, "Does that mean, Snivellus has gone ahead to make false accusations?"
"He doesn't look like him, little Sirius..."
Even with Sirius's repeated requests, Ron was still uncomfortable addressing the professor directly by his first name, and he stammered, "I mean—"
"Professor Dumbledore, at least, he seems to be in a good mood, not like he's angry."
"I'm fine, little Sirius, I swear!"
No matter how dangerous it was, Sirius felt no fear. He intended to go in and confront Snape himself, but Harry firmly held onto his arm, gazing at him with a determined look.
"You can't fight Snape in front of Professor Dumbledore and Professor Brain, please, Sirius, don't give him any leverage!"
In fact, Harry wanted to say that he would rather be bullied by Snape a hundred times again than see Sirius fight him twice and get expelled from Hogwarts.
Perhaps Harry's sincerity touched Sirius, making him seem calmer. After giving Harry a reassuring smile, he broke free from Harry's grasp and took a few quick strides towards Professor Brain's office.
Waiting time is always the most torturous.
Harry, along with the other two, had been waiting at the corner of the stairs. They dared not get too close because the two most powerful witches in the world were in that office, and they didn't dare to hope that Professor Dumbledore and Professor Brain would not notice them eavesdropping. However, they couldn't help but stretch their ears.
Passersby witches and wizards glanced at them strangely, but Harry had no mood to care. He was constantly worrying about Sirius's fate.
"Don't worry, Harry—"
Hermione noticed that Harry's fists were tightly clenched. She patted his shoulder gently, her voice gentle, "Don't worry, Harry."
"Professor Dumbledore and Professor Brain won't be blind. They must know that Sirius just wants to help you get rid of Professor Snape's prejudice, and he never intended to cause trouble."
To be honest, Hermione's statement was not entirely objective.
Sirius indeed wants to help him get rid of Snape, but it is also a fact that he dislikes Snape personally.
Time passed by second by second, and it seemed as if an entire day had gone by. Finally, there was movement about 30 feet away.
Harry burst out as the door hinge made a sharp sound, but after taking just two steps, his body went rigid and his expression froze.
The first one to come out was Snape, whose face was as ugly as Harry had ever seen him. Moreover, Snape seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, and even though he was normally as fast as the wind, his steps were unstable.
Does that mean the expelled one is Snape? !
If it weren't for the fact that Sirius, who followed Snape out of the door, also looked severely defeated, Harry might have truly believed it.
Harry didn't pay attention to Snape's quick glance on his face as he passed by, and he rushed forward again, holding onto Sirius who looked a bit weak.
"What happened, Sirius?"
Harry looked at the already-downstairs Snape and worriedly asked,
"Did you two—I mean, did you not fight?"
(Chapter ends)
