A light rain that fell at dusk carried away the stifling heat from the air.
As night fell, perhaps because the torches hanging along the walls burned too fiercely, the quiet physical education classroom was filled with an unusually fervent atmosphere. Even the two rows of battered, listless statues by the walls seemed to be making an effort to straighten their chests.
Dozens of young wizards from all four Houses, now worthy of being called the elite, stood in high spirits and craned their necks toward the classroom door.
The instant the tightly shut door was pushed open, the classroom, quiet enough to hear a pin drop, suddenly erupted in thunderous cheers and fervent applause. The gust of sound even visibly distorted the roaring flames!
"Good evening, gentlemen and ladies—"
Amosta strolled into the midst of the young wizards, carefully studying their faces, which had begun to show a touch of resolve. At last, he offered a gentle smile.
"I'm very glad to have another chance to continue teaching you physical education, because Professor McGonagall told me today that half a month ago, she had already planned to remove an irresponsible black sheep like me from the teaching staff, lest I lead the other professors astray."
A burst of cheerful laughter rang out again. Amid the commotion, Ernie from the Hufflepuff students raised his hand and shouted,
"My father wrote to tell me that MACUSA plans to invite you to become the head of their Department of Security! I told him that was impossible—you would never abandon us!"
"Oh, thank you for your trust, Mr. Macmillan—"
Amosta smiled.
"The truth is, Chairman Samuel Kouhaug of MACUSA and I couldn't come to an agreement over my salary, so I came back here."
Harry broke into a grin. Professor Breen's humorous little