Regardless, Christmas, the much-anticipated festival by many, has arrived amidst the hustling and bustling snowfall.
The castle and every corner of the campus are full of joy. There has never been a Christmas when there are still so many students who have not gone home. You can hear the cheerful laughter of the students on every corridor, clumping in groups and chatting about the evening dance party.
The only drawback is that the weather for these two days might be the coldest of the year.
When Amysta hauled a big bundle of things up the cat owl's hut on the top of the tower, she found that the entire outdoor corridor leading to the hut was covered with a thick, solid layer of ice, as solid and unyielding as could be, due to exposure to the air outside.
This is undoubtedly very dangerous, and if a student slips on the ground, Mrs Pomfrey will have her work cut out for her.
Amysta blinked, then pulled out her wand and flipped it backhanded, a sudden gust of wind sweeping through the snowflakes in mid-air. Under the thick layer of ice covering the ground, it seemed as if a radiant heat had been laid, like a warm floor beneath it. The solid ice surface melted rapidly under this soothing heat, and even the melted ice water was cleaned up. The brown stone tiles became dry again.
The owl hut also experienced a bit of commotion, with many owls flapping their wings and calling out in alarm as they flew out of the hut's windows in a hurry.
"Oh, it's you guys—"
When Amysta stepped onto the corridor, Harry and his two friends, covered in feathers from the panicked owls that had been affected, rushed out in a hurry, their faces and cloaks stained with feathers.
"Professor Blaine?!?"
Harry and his three friends also noticed the 'culprit' responsible for their disarray was Professor Blaine, and they greeted him accordingly. However, Amysta seemed to notice that besides being somewhat taken aback upon seeing him, these three young ones also seemed to have something on their minds but were hesitant to say.
"What are you doing here?"
Amysta let the large package float behind her as she walked into the somewhat dim hut, casually asking Harry and his three friends who were still standing at the door without leaving.
"Oh, I'm writing a letter home, Professor Blaine—"
The one speaking was Hermione, who answered the question, looking slightly nervous.
"I'm sending them Christmas presents. Well, I reserved the gifts with an owl, but they arrived late."
Amysta caught a glimpse of Hermione's cheek with the corner of his eye and easily detected that it was a lie. However, he didn't bother to expose her; the kind of person who meddles in everything only ends up being disliked.
"I and you have encountered the same situation---"
Amysta surveyed the owls in the hut and spoke casually,
"I bought some magical candies for the children from the orphanage I grew up in. It took quite a bit of time, you see. I had to pick and choose, because if I sent something like chocolate figs to those kids, well, you know, it would be a disaster for both them and me. Maybe it's this snow; the owls' efficiency isn't particularly satisfying..."
"Orphanage children?"
Ron subconsciously yelped and then, he got kicked by Harry and Hermione simultaneously. When he realized that he had attracted everyone's attention, Ron came to his senses and remembered that last year, Harry and Professor Blaine's conversation had indeed briefly mentioned that Professor Blaine was an orphan.
Amysta looked at Harry with a hint of surprise as Ron mumbled an apology.
"Didn't you tell Hermione and Ron about my things?"
"No---"
Harry shook his head sincerely, then his eyes conveyed a sense of earnestness as he carefully asked, "May I say something, Professor?"
"It really is astonishing---"
Amysta grabbed a gray owl,
"Since you've kept this secret for so long, let's keep it that way. Harry, please hand me the brown owl on top of your head, Harry—"
The gifts that Amysta bought were too heavy for the four owls to carry, so Amysta removed the package, took out several large boxes of Beeswax Candies, and used them to lighten the weight of the package.
"Just treat them as a Christmas present for you--"
Amysta threw a package to each of the three little ones and held the remaining one under his arm, preparing to take it back to give to Headmaster Dumbledore. During the time when Shimmer was released, he had publicly hinted that he wanted Amysta to send him a Christmas gift, so this box of candies was perfect for him.
"Speaking of---"
Seeing the four owls disappear at the edge of the horizon, Amysta breathed a sigh of relief and walked out of the owl hut toward the tower. Harry and his three friends followed him.
"Are you going to lead the dance with the other heroes tonight, Hermione? Who is your dance partner?"
Hermione was considering trying to get information from Professor Blaine, but she never expected him to suddenly ask this question. Subconsciously, she looked at Ron, who also blushed deeply in just two seconds.
"Hm." Hermione hesitated for a moment but still said the truth, "It's Ron, Professor Blaine."
Ron quickly lowered his head and stared intently at the tip of his toes.
"Is that so?"
Amysta was slightly surprised, then his expression returned to normal,
"I thought... oh, quite a good choice, then how about you, Harry?"
Before Harry could respond, Amysta gently rubbed his forehead,
"Oh, sorry, Harry, you're going to the dance with Fleur. I forgot you've already told me about it--"
Harry's lips twitched, unsure of what to say. However, because of this matter that had been weighing on him for several days, he suddenly felt a desire to laugh. Fleur wanted to make herself noticeable in front of Professor Blaine, but Professor Blaine had completely forgotten about it.
The more they walked down the stairs, the more wizards they encountered. Hermione knew that if she didn't ask now, when there were more people, it might be less suitable to start a conversation. She looked at Professor Blaine's calm side profile and took a deep breath before stepping in front of Harry.
"Hold on, Professor Blaine," Hermione controlled her breathing and asked in a low voice, "You have still Dumbledore professor, released Shimmer, right? Can I ask, where did it go?"
Amysta's brow furrowed slightly, and the weight in his casual glance was almost enough to crush Hermione's hard-earned courage.
"You have really good news, Hermione---"
Professor Blaine spoke in a tone that did not contain any obvious displeasure, and she stammered as she tried to explain.
"This is it, Professor, we, um, visited Dobby. From him, we learned that Shimmer hasn't been back to work in the kitchen since that night, so we guessed that maybe it is because you and Professor Dumbledore released Dobby---"
Hermione avoided the main point and said casually, "After I guessed about Snape, Harry suggested we just go and ask Shimmer directly, which is how we found out that she has been away from Hogwarts since that night."
"A very insightful observation, Hermione---"
Amysta said calmly.
"Shimmer was indeed released. There's no need to keep it a secret. You all probably know that Shimmer doesn't want to work at Hogwarts at all. She longs to return to her old master, Bati."
"A few days ago, I went to visit Bati, oh you probably don't know, Mr. Barty Crouch was ill and on sick leave. When I saw him, he was very sick, but he didn't want to go to St. Mungo's nor did he want anyone to take care of him. So, I proposed letting Shimmer come back to take care of his body."
"Hmm, Professor Blaine..."
"Mr. Barty Crouch was ill?"
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and both felt that this might not be as simple as it seemed.
Hermione knew that continuing to ask questions would be a bit impolite, but she couldn't suppress her desire to know the truth. So, she mustered her courage and continued to ask.
"You went to visit Mr. Barty Crouch, Professor Blaine, because you suspect that the black mark on the field during the Quidditch final that night might be related to him, isn't it?"
(The end of this chapter)
