Harry saw his godfather's face turn ashen, and his lips kept twitching uncontrollably. Similarly, Remus' eyes also showed a hint of helplessness, causing Harry to feel an urge to laugh.
This incident is indeed somewhat mysterious, a Muggle lady entered the house hidden by magic in front of several magical beings, and they were helpless.
"Where are you all not coming in?"
Fortunately, about 10 seconds later, Mrs. Reagan, who had just disappeared through the partition wall, emerged again from the gap, looking confused as she gazed at these well-dressed individuals.
"Oh, I see!"
Seeing the plain Muggle lady again, Sirius let out a great sigh of relief. This time, he had learned his lesson and stood directly between Mrs. Reagan and the partition wall, smiling awkwardly as he did so.
"We have come for a visit this time, um, without prior notification. So, if you don't mind, Madam, could you kindly convey our message to Mr. Brian?"
"Oh, no need to be so formal, Mr. Bosk!"
Mrs. Reagan's cheeks were flushed, and she staring at Sirius intently, thinking that this group of people were indeed worthy colleagues of Amostra. Their every move demonstrated impeccable gentlemanly behavior, and she became increasingly enthusiastic.
"Amo's character is very good. He won't mind this!"
Amo
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at this middle-aged Muggle lady, whose cheeks were flushed and whose shoulders moved unconsciously. However, all three of them were doing their best to hold back their laughter. They couldn't imagine that Professor Brian, who was highly respected in the European wizarding community, would be addressed in such a way.
Mrs. Reagan insisted that they should be allowed to enter directly, but in reality, without Amostra personally leading the way or giving direct permission in some form, they couldn't even step into the orphanage's gates.
After hours of struggling, Mrs. Reagan finally realized that she couldn't overcome these refined individuals. Breathless, she said, "Please wait a moment" before turning and entering the partition wall again.
"I hope Amostra won't blast us with a Stupefying Spell when he sees us coming—"
Sirius, who had spent so much time negotiating with this 'energetic' Muggle lady, was also exhausted. He wiped a sweat from his brow that wasn't there and said, exhaustedly.
"Not impossible, Sirius -"
Remus' eyes lit up with a glimmer of understanding, and he sighed wryly, keeping his thoughts to himself.
Judging by the commotion they had made at the door, a great wizard like Amostra couldn't have missed it, but he had ignored them all this time. It was obvious that he was not pleased with their unannounced visit. Given his understanding of Amostra's mischievous tendencies, he would likely let them in, but he would also be quite happy to see his people harassed for a while.
About five minutes later, Mrs. Reagan reappeared, looking confused, with a note in her hand.
"Amo has asked me to give this to you."
Sirius snatched the note eagerly, took a quick glance at it, and then let out a sigh of relief. He handed the note to Remus, who indicated for Harry, Hermione, and Ron to come closer as well, all three curious.
"HAS Orphanage is located at 178 Forest Street."
This was a note from Professor Brian, which Hermione recognized at a glance. However, she didn't quite understand why Brian specifically wrote a note just to inform them of known information.
"Concentrate and think about the content of the note—"
Noticing the confusion of the three little guys, Remus whispered something and, like Sirius, stared at the partition wall.
After puzzledly exchanging glances, Harry, Hermione, and Ron quickly collected their thoughts and focused on the content of the note. Then, their expressions subtly changed from confusion to astonishment.
The partition wall in front of them suddenly swelled, and a new, massive iron door jumped into their eyes without any warning, causing the three unprepared individuals to step back half a step. Behind the iron door, the land rapidly grew into a neat courtyard with stone paving and a garden, coming into their view.
Harry looked around in amazement, and the department store at 177 Forest Street and the bakery building at 179 Forest Street were compressed into crescent shapes, but their facades and windows showed no signs of damage.
Out of nowhere, the quiet street echoed with the laughter of children. These giggles were coming from the six-story block building in the courtyard with its sky-blue walls. Under the dim sky, the building was brightly lit, and through its windows bathed in light, numerous smiling faces were flashed by. The appearance of these three already attracted considerable attention. About thirty to forty children were curiously pointing and whispering about them at the window on the second floor.
"This is..." Harry said with difficulty, his emerald eyes filled with disbelief, "Loyalty Without Fear."
"Cough cough!"
Remus suddenly coughed heavily, interrupting Harry's murmur. He gave the three stunned teenage wizards a warning glance.
Then, they quickly recovered their senses. Mrs. Reagan was looking at them, seemingly caught off guard by their reaction. Her gaze seemed to question whether this group of unfamiliar visitors might have some sort of problem with their sanity.
That's not surprising, after all, Mrs. Reagan's perspective on the orphanage has always been that it has always existed there.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Madam--"
Remus nodded to Mrs. Reagan with a gentle expression, casting a glance at Harry, who couldn't help muttering 'so amazing' under his breath, and smiled faintly.
"Let's go then--"
The entrance hall was not too spacious, but the walls and floors were paved with glossy chestnut-colored stones. A plain chandelier with a mass-produced lamp hanged from the ceiling, giving off a bright glow. Despite the muddy snow outside, the first-floor floor was clean, suggesting that the people who lived here must have taken good care of it.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all curiously looked around. None of them had grown up in an orphanage. Before entering, Harry had been suspicious about whether the living conditions in the orphanage would be worse than at the Dursleys'. However, after seeing this promptly tidy little building, for some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction in his heart.
"Here seems to be quite nice, Mrs. Reagan--"
The orphanage's environment clearly exceeded Sirius and Remus' expectations. As they approached the stairs, Remus glanced over the wall of photos, quickly spotting Amostra standing in front of a grand pyramid, full of praise.
"Oh, yes--"
Mrs. Reagan happily said,
"Thanks to Amo, it has become like this with his generous donations, whereas the old house was much worse!"
"Is that so!"
Sirius also looked surprised, just like the three of them.
The noise on the second floor was as loud as the daily opening of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and through the gaps in the stairs, faces full of youthfulness peered out. Curious eyes darted curiously at the group below, and whispers buzzed like cicadas in late summer and early autumn.
The entire second floor was the dining hall for the children, and it was mealtime now. There were over a hundred children waiting to eat. As Harry and his friends stepped onto the second floor, the children who had been sneaking peeks at them scattered instantly, retreating far away.
The children in the orphanage, some as young as those still nursing in their staff's arms, others even a few years older than Harry, Hermione, and Ron, were dressed mostly in slightly worn-out clothes with numerous patches. However, they all looked very clean.
Looking at these children, the few wizards felt moved.
Remus remembered last summer before the holidays, when he decided to take a job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts in order to capture Sirius. When Amostra found out about this, he eagerly signed a contract with him to split the reward for Sirius. At the time, Remus had been frustrated by the strong desire of such a powerful wizard as Amostra to have such a fierce interest in Galon.
As he got to know Amostra better in the following interactions, Remus gradually realized that this might just be Amostra's own little eccentricity. It was not until now that he understood the real reason behind Amostra's hidden nature.
Sirius also recalled the night he was caught by Amostra. In order to regain his freedom, he even mortgaged his old house. At that time, he was very disdainful of Dumbledore appointing such a wizard, and now...
Harry, Hermione, and Ron also had their own feelings.
In the minds of the three young wizards, the most impoverished professor they had ever seen was definitely Remus. While Professor Brian, as a renowned wizard in the magical world, his financial situation was definitely better than Remus', you could always see him wearing slightly outdated robes in Hogwarts.
Seymour had once joked that perhaps it was because Professor Brian often did 'unorthodox' things that his salary was deducted by the school board, but he didn't expect the real reason to be here!
Hermione blew her nose, and there were tears welling up in her eyes.
Ron opened his mouth, looking at these homeless children, suddenly realizing that he shouldn't always complain about his poverty.
If it hadn't been for the Dursleys, would he have ended up here too?
Suddenly, the same thought popped into Harry's head.
Under the gaze of these pure-hearted muggle children, Sirius became self-conscious. His voice was slightly hoarse,
"Um, Mrs. Reagan, do you know where Amo, or Mr. Brian, is?"
"Oh, over here!"
Mrs. Reagan pulled Sirius's sleeve, waving to Lemus and Harry, and she led them through a wall that had a door embedded in it. In the kitchen where volunteers were sweating profusely, they finally saw Amostra Brian, wearing a white apron and vigorously kneading dough.
(Chapter ends)
