The Return to Hogwarts

Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged glances and walked over, asking in surprise. As they got closer, Hagrid draped Malfoy under his arm and pulled the three of them behind him, also taking back the hunting bow from Hermione's hand.

"We've been ambushed."

Sirius Black said with a serious expression that Snape had not given him the wand, so he had no choice but to confront the noisy darkness with his bare hands.

Harry glanced at him but didn't say anything; Sirius wasn't on his trust list yet.

At this moment, Hagrid threw Malfoy into the protective circle formed by several adult wizards back to back. Harry and Ron frantically grabbed Malfoy's arms, both showing expressions of disgust.

"Who exactly is attacking us, Hagrid?"

The tense and oppressive atmosphere turned Hermione's face deathly pale. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Could it be centaurs—"

“I’m afraid not, Miss Granger—” Lupin said with a bitter expression, “They are creatures far more dangerous and evil than centaurs—”

The wind rises, the leaves fall.

A mocking voice suddenly echoed through the desolate forbidden forest.

"It's truly ironic to hear such a comment from you—"

In the dim, cold light, a man with a tangled beard and repulsive yellow teeth, reeking of blood, slowly appeared.

“My friend, Remus.”

Chapter 298 Choice

2023-05-20

A friend of Professor Lupin?

Harry paused, instinctively wanting to look at Lupin, but as his gaze shifted upwards, he inadvertently caught sight of Ron and Hermione's expressions. They both looked as if their breath had been frozen, as if they had seen a ghost.

"What's going on? Do you guys know this guy?"

"He is Greyback, the leader of the werewolves. I've seen his wanted poster in the books."

Hermione's voice trembled just like her body.

So, this is a notorious criminal? Harry instinctively thought, but judging from Ron's fearful expression, it didn't seem so simple.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know Greyback, Harry—” Ron said, his voice trembling with fear. He lowered his head, not daring to look at the man.

“Greybuck was particularly cruel. He enjoyed dealing with underage children, but instead of eating them, he would tear them apart and turn them into his own kind. He used this method to expand his power.”

Harry was stunned. Turned into a werewolf?

A chill ran from his stomach to his head, and in an instant, a fine bead of cold sweat appeared on Harry's forehead. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he were turned into a werewolf. He would be unable to stay with the Dursleys and would have to wander the world.

“Just as Ron said—” Professor Lupin said bitterly, his back to them, “that’s why I became a werewolf.”

"What do you want, Graybury!"

Hagrid roared, "You want to wage war against Hogwarts and the centaurs at the same time? You know, if you dare to do that, Dumbledore won't let you get away with it!"

"Oh, why would you think that?"

Graybury's voice sounded quite smooth, but his eyes remained icy cold.

“We’ve been very sensible, haven’t we, Hagrid? Over the years, we haven’t harmed any of those little fools who sneak into the Forbidden Forest, and we haven’t provoked those centaurs either. The werewolves have always been good neighbors, haven’t they?”

Looking at the pretentious Graybury, Lupin took a deep breath and asked with a cold face,

"So what is your purpose in being here tonight, Graybury?"

“Those who betray their compatriots have no right to speak to me.”

Greyback scoffed dismissively, glancing at Lupin with a malicious glint in his vertical pupils.

“State your purpose, Graybury.”

Snape spoke in a soft, murmuring tone, and even Harry and his friends could sense the danger in his voice.

"You've had a pretty good year under Dumbledore's protection, Severus—"

Greyback seemed completely oblivious to the aggression in Snape's question; he chuckled slowly and deliberately.

"While we've been constantly on the run from the Ministry of Magic, barely surviving, why didn't you think to look after your old friend, Severus? After all, we once worked together—"

Harry couldn't help but glare at Snape with disgust.

Rumors circulated at school that Snape was once Voldemort's henchman, and now, those rumors have been confirmed.

"Either explain your purpose clearly, or get out of here, Graybury!"

Surrounded by a large pack of werewolves, it was impossible not to be nervous, especially with Harry and his friends present. If any of these young wizards were to suffer any harm tonight, it was unimaginable what kind of backlash Dumbledore and Hogwarts would face. Hagrid growled in a low voice, and the sight of a twelve-foot-tall behemoth with its furious expression was indeed intimidating. Greyback slightly softened his demeanor, smiling coldly.

"An old friend wrote us a letter saying that we'll meet someone here tonight whom we've been longing to see day and night—"

Gregg wants to find Black?

This was the first thought that popped into Harry's head, but then he realized something was wrong; the person who wrote the letter definitely had ill intentions.

"It might be freckles—"

Hermione said in a low voice.

Things had progressed to a point where it was completely beyond the control of the young wizards, so Harry, Harry, and his two companions could only stay quietly within the protective enclosure and observe how things would unfold.

"--But I think we've been deceived,"

Graybury's tone was cold.

"I led my fellow countrymen to search the vicinity, but we didn't find the person we wanted to kill. Instead, we unexpectedly witnessed a good show--"

Lupin seemed about to say something, but Graybury suddenly turned his gaze to Sirius and continued,

"Perhaps this is a gift from a kind person. You know, life is very hard for werewolves, and the chance for us to get 50,000 Galleons is not often—"

Sirius paused for a moment, then his eyes flashed with ferocity.

"The werewolf does not wish to be an enemy of Hogwarts, Hagrid—"

Greyback casually put his hands behind his back, gave a command to the werewolves hidden in the darkness, and then pointed his gleaming silver finger at Sirius and Remus.

“Hand over Blake and this traitor to us, and then you can leave with the rest of the people, Hagrid.”

Upon hearing this request, Snape's eyes flickered. He glanced sideways at the two men named by Greyback, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

“I believe our reasonable demands can be met. So, what do you two say? Now is the time to demonstrate our courageous and fearless spirit of sacrifice.”

Harry assumed Professor Lupin and Black would refuse such an unreasonable request, but to his surprise, after exchanging a glance, Lupin actually said with a stern face,

"If we stay, are you really willing to let them leave, Graybury?"

"Professor Lupin!"

Hermione switched back to her original form of address, exclaiming incredulously.

"You can't make deals with werewolves, they're not trustworthy. Oh, sorry, I mean, those werewolves aren't very trustworthy."

Perhaps because Hermione had started calling him "Professor" again, Remus seemed pleased, and he smiled gently as he spoke.

“You don’t understand the situation, Miss Granger.”

"No, Remus!"

Hagrid also said rudely,

"Professor Dumbledore will not agree with your decision. We must go back to Hogwarts together!"

Harry, Sirius, and Remus were not the only ones surprised by Remus's decision; Snape was also taken aback. When he heard that Remus and Sirius had indeed volunteered to stay, the joy on his face vanished, and his expression turned quite grim.

"So, how did your discussions go?"

Greyback admired his metal hand in the crimson moonlight and said somewhat impatiently, "To be honest, if I wanted to, none of these people would escape tonight. But even werewolves have enemies they can't afford to mess with. If I really did that, I'm afraid I'd have no choice but to lead my entire tribe away from Europe."

"Hagrid, we have to make sure Harry and the others are safe."

Lupin emphasized as he spoke.

"No!"

Harry cried out fiercely, clearly realizing that if Professor Lupin and Black were left here, they would likely meet a grim fate.

"If we're going to leave, we have to go back together!"

“You’re just as brave as your dad, Harry.”

Sirius blew his nose and said sadly,

“But Remus is right, you should leave. These werewolves are not something you little guys can handle.”

Hagrid hesitated because of Sirius and Remus's decision. He wasn't unaware of the gravity of the situation, but he also knew that if Remus was left behind, the werewolves would certainly not let him off well, and Sirius would definitely be killed as well. They would hand his body over to the Ministry of Magic for a bounty, and the Ministry of Magic would prefer Sirius to die as a criminal rather than as an innocent hero.

Chapter 299 The 297th Night of Slaughter

2023-05-22

"Hagrid, I don't want to leave!"

Harry drew his wand to show his determination, and looked at Lupin as he spoke.

“If my father were here, he wouldn’t want me to be a deserter.”