The Return to Hogwarts

Snape gave a cold laugh, but Sirius glared at him.

“You don’t understand, Harry!” Lupin said, a little annoyed.

"This is not the usual little squabbles you have with Mr. Malfoy at school. This is a real battle. Do you know what this means? You will see the lives of your enemies or friends wither before your eyes. You will see scalding blood splattering on your face from those gruesome wounds. You will hear wails far more terrifying than the howls of ghosts. This is something that a few underage wizards cannot bear."

"But--"

Hermione was terrified, but she still mustered her courage and spoke.

“Harry defeated the Infernal last year, and Professor Blaine has always encouraged us to face real dangers, believing that that is what helps us grow.”

Remus's voice faltered, then he said angrily,

“I don’t deny what Amosta said, I just think it’s a bit too radical!”

“Go back to school, Potter—”

Snape finally spoke, commanding in that annoyingly detached tone he used to give instructions in class.

"This is not a Quidditch stadium where you can be a hero."

Harry glared at Snape, but Snape's eyes were as deep as an abyss, and his anger disappeared without a trace.

"Listen up, you lot—"

In the final moment, Hagrid made up his mind, and he spoke in a voice only they could hear.

“Let’s break out together, Sirius. You take your motorcycle and a few kids back to the castle first. As long as you escape, these werewolves can’t do anything to the rest of us!”

"What are you plotting!"

Greyback finally lost his patience. He made a gesture, and the hundreds of werewolves he had used to deal with the golden viper all revealed their true forms from among the surrounding trees. Although these werewolves still appeared in human form, the savagery and ferocity in their eyes sent chills down the spines of the young wizards who had never experienced war.

"Do it!"

Hagrid suddenly roared, and Remus immediately raised his wand and launched a dazzling firework into the unfathomable night sky.

"Damn bastards!"

When Remus's distress signal went out, Graybury, who finally realized what was happening, turned pale and let out a mournful wolf howl, after which his appearance underwent a dramatic transformation.

In the blink of an eye, Greyback disappeared, and a werewolf covered in thorny gray fur, only a head shorter than Hagrid, with incredibly sinister and bloodthirsty eyes, appeared before them. Greyback howled at the blood moon in the sky, and his howl seemed to be a signal, as the werewolves surrounding them howled one after another!

"Oh my god, we're doomed--"

Ron's eyes widened in despair, and his legs buckled as he was about to collapse to the ground, but Hagrid lifted him up with one hand and roared,

"rush out!"

Hagrid tossed Ron to Remus and led the charge. At that moment, several werewolves, unable to contain their aggression, rushed in front of Hagrid. Under Harry's horrified gaze, Hagrid slapped the werewolf, deforming its head and sending it flying several feet through the air before collapsing to the ground.

Hagrid then kicked out again, and with a chilling cracking sound, the second werewolf spat out blood. Harry, with his excellent dynamic vision, could even see the broken ribs pierce the werewolf's skin and fall into the air; it seemed he was already dead.

In the next instant, many things happened simultaneously.

Greyback leaped into the air, baring his sharp fangs at Professor Lupin. His murderous grin made Hermione scream. Professor Lupin, carrying Malfoy in one hand, suddenly stepped forward, thrusting his wand forward like a sword.

"There are many obstacles!"

A gentle breeze created a barely visible barrier in front of Remus, which blocked Graybuck's leap at the last second.

Snape's expression was icy. He suddenly swung his wand down, and in a daze, Harry seemed to hear the clang of a blade being drawn. The five or six werewolves rushing towards Snape seemed to have collided head-on with a high-speed blade, chunks of flesh flying everywhere and foul-smelling blood splattering into the sky.

This cruel scene gave the little ones in the greenhouse an unparalleled shock to their worldview. Not to mention Ron, at one moment Harry also felt his legs go weak. He stared in disbelief at Snape's back, simply unable to imagine that Snape, who only kept company with disgusting frog brainstem and bat liver in the dark and damp basement, could be so powerful.

Sirius faced a wave of werewolves that were no fewer than any of them, and moreover, his wand was still in Snape's hands.

Amidst the howling of wolves, Sirius's body suddenly grew much taller, transforming into a large black dog as big as a black bear. Facing the werewolves flying up, he charged forward with equal ferocity, the heavy thud of their bodies colliding sending chills down one's spine.

Since entering Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione, and Ron have faced and dealt with many crises together.

Those legendary experiences are something most adult wizards can't go through, but Harry has to admit that they are powerless in the face of the battle that lies before them.

A heart-wrenching wail, a desperate look in the eyes of someone on the verge of death, and crimson flowers blooming and withering before one's eyes.

"Disarm me!"

Sirius roared as he grappled with several werewolves, creating an opening in the constantly moving formation. A werewolf missing an ear seized the opportunity to charge at the group from that direction. Harry instinctively raised his hand and cast a spell, but the red light of the Disarming Charm, though it struck the werewolf, grazed the werewolf's mane and flew away without affecting him at all!

Roar!

In a moment of crisis, Sirius desperately broke free from a werewolf that was biting his hind leg, and pounced like a madman, biting the stumped werewolf by the back of the neck and throwing him away. However, the werewolves he had just shaken off immediately surrounded him, each biting one of Sirius's four legs and retreating in their own directions, seemingly intent on tearing Sirius apart!

"No!"

Harry roared and stopped his retreating steps, about to rush forward, but before he could take a step, he suddenly noticed Sirius's eyes, those grey eyes filled with an unwavering determination.

Roar!

Sirius roared at Harry again. Harry couldn't understand him, but he knew that Sirius wasn't allowing him to charge forward; he was ordering him to retreat.

Although Sirius and Professor Lupin hadn't finished explaining everything before, looking into those determined eyes, Harry finally believed at that moment that Sirius was innocent, and that the one who killed his parents was Ron's rat, that guy named Peter Pettigrew!

Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Apart from Hagrid, who was clearing the way forward, Lupin and Snape both noticed the perilous situation Sirius was in. However, Greyback's entanglement prevented Lupin from intervening, and he could only watch helplessly as Sirius was about to be torn apart.

Snape's ashen face twitched violently. No one knew what complex inner struggle he had gone through or how much pain he had overcome. In any case, he withdrew his wand and pointed it at Sirius, ready to lend a helping hand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Just moments before Snape's wand fell, a sharp scream drowned out all the roar on the noisy battlefield. Death, wielding his scythe and shrouded in a ghastly green light, suddenly appeared above Sirius Black's head!

Chapter 300 White-hot

2023-05-22

A green light, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, streaked past Harry's eyes and, to everyone's utter astonishment, slowly approached the stiff-bodied Sirius!

Between life and death, Harry, who was closest to Sirius, was unable to react because he himself was in deep trouble—it was as if a scorching hot iron had been forcibly pressed onto his scar. The intense burning sensation and the sudden surge of the woman's screams in his mind caused Harry to faint, and his body went limp uncontrollably.

Snape was the only one who could have saved Sirius, but his attention was momentarily drawn to the fallen Harry, causing him to miss the best opportunity to intervene.

Remus's eyes were filled with despair, while Sirius, facing the Grim Reaper's scythe, had a sense of relief in his gray eyes, as if he had finally rested after a long journey.

James, Lily... I'm sorry, I haven't been able to avenge you. And Regulus, please forgive me, I haven't had a proper funeral for you. And Harry, I haven't fulfilled even a fraction of my duty as a godfather.

In the final moments of his life, a tear slid from Sirius's eye.

Snapped!

Rocks flew everywhere, and the green light dissipated!

Just as the Killing Curse's light was five feet away from Sirius, and Death was about to bring down his scythe, a stone wall suddenly sprang up from the soft ground. In the nick of time, it blocked the incoming Killing Curse and also knocked away the two werewolves that were tearing at Sirius.

The chaotic battlefield fell silent for a moment, and no one could figure out how what had just happened had occurred.

"You saved me?"

Sirius shook off the werewolf who had bitten his other two paws, stood up panting, and looked around. He only noticed Snape's wand pointing at him. After a brief silence, he nodded to Snape.

"not me--"

Snape said through gritted teeth that he had no interest in taking credit for someone else's work.

However, his self-defense was taken as modesty, because the adult wizards there all knew about the old feud between Snape and Sirius, and they all thought Snape was just embarrassed.

"Anyway, Severus—"

Remus, panting, patted Professor Snape on the shoulder and said gratefully.

"Thank you for saving Sirius."

Snape couldn't get rid of Remus's hand for a moment, but when he heard Remus's words of thanks, his face darkened completely, as if he had been insulted.

Who cast that deadly curse just now?

The thought crossed everyone's mind, and they all came to almost the same answer.

But the crazed werewolves didn't care about that. Under the magical blessing of the approaching full moon, one werewolf after another went mad, and the werewolves rushing towards them from all directions almost formed a high wall.

"Stop standing there like idiots, charge out!"

Hagrid roared and cleared a path for them, but he was also trapped. Several werewolves clung to Hagrid and tore at him repeatedly, which aroused Hagrid's ferocity. After a dragon-like roar, Hagrid grabbed two werewolves by the throats with both hands and used them as weapons to slaughter them!

"go!"

Snape tossed Sirius's wand to him, then, after tucking the dazed Harry under his arm, roughly shoved the bewildered Hermione.

In this critical moment, Remus finally began to use his deadly power. He swung his wand violently, the tip of the wand flashing repeatedly, and three blue beams of light exploded in the chests of several werewolves. The werewolves were knocked into the air and howled incessantly, and when they fell back to the ground, they were already lifeless.

"Disgraceful traitor!"

Greyback let out a deafening roar, his thick limbs gripping the ground. The next second, Greyback turned into a phantom, smashing through Remus's armor with a crack, and then rolled around with Remus before rushing out of the guards Harry and the others' camp.

"Remus!"

Sirius yelled and tried to rush up to save Remus, but he himself was also the werewolves' main target, and the endless stream of werewolves kept him busy.

Roar!

What Harry saw next was something he would never forget until he died!

With a terrifying roar, Lupin's head elongated, his body grew longer, his shoulders arched, and hair sprouted from his face and hands, his fingers transforming into sharp claws. Professor Lupin stood on two legs like a bear, entangled with Graybury, their jaws tearing at each other, each swipe of his claws leaving a trail of bright red blood on his opponent's body!

Harry stood there, completely lost and disoriented, unable to even move.

"But--"