The Return to Hogwarts

"Shut up!"

Harry said, his voice trembling with fear, staring at the wooden cone on Aragog's head, which he had complete control over, his eyes revealing struggle.

Despite his resolute demeanor, when it came to actually taking the life of an intelligent and wondrous creature, he hesitated.

“This won’t solve the problem, Harry—” Hermione trembled, but she still didn’t want Harry to hurt the spider. “They won’t let us leave, even if you kill it.”

"I know, Hermione!"

The ever-approaching swarm of spiders darkened Harry's face. He held his breath and gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"But this is our only bargaining chip, Hermione. Is there any other way we can break out?"

It was just killing a spider; in Snape's classes, he killed countless frogs, lizards, and other such creatures!

Harry not only had to convince Hermione, but also himself.

Just then, two flashing lights suddenly broke through the spider wall and shone on Harry and Hermione. At the same time, a roaring engine sound, like the roar of a bull, reached their ears. Harry was very familiar with this sound; earlier that evening, before encountering the Dementors, he had heard the exact same roar.

The eight-eyed spiders surrounding them panicked, with spiders falling from their companions' heads to the ground. Before they could get up, something heavy suddenly rolled over them, knocking away one spider after another, and quickly approached Harry and Hermione.

"What is that, Harry!"

Hermione stared in astonishment, her mouth agape in disbelief.

"Mr. Weasley's car."

Harry, equally lost in thought, stared at the dilapidated car with its headlights drooping, which was charging at the eight-eyed spiders like a knight. He murmured to himself, but then joy filled his heart, and Harry jumped up in delight, shouting,

“It was Mr. Weasley’s car, remember, Hermione? When we started our second year, Dobby blocked the wall at King’s Cross Station, and Ron and I used this car to get back to Hogwarts!”

This incident caused quite a stir in both the wizarding world and Hogwarts. Harry and Ron gained considerable fame, but Mr. Weasley was rather unlucky, as he was investigated by his workplace as a result.

"But why is it here?"

Hermione looked around blankly, hoping to find the wizard who had called a taxi for them.

“This car has been living in the Forbidden Forest ever since. My God, I never expected it to still be able to move. Maybe it was wandering around nearby and heard the noise here!”

While they were talking, the old Ford Anglia, which had been magically modified, broke through the barriers and stopped in front of them.

The car was much the same as Harry remembered, except the doors and roof were dented, damage from the Willow Tree that had brought them to Hogwarts last time. The windshield was also teetering on the verge of collapse, and the old car's four wheels were covered in green sap, which belonged to the eight-eyed spider. When it broke through the spider wall, many spiders died under its wheels.

The Ford's lights flashed rapidly, as if to greet them.

Once the vehicle came to a complete stop, the slumped doors automatically popped open, and a horn blared, signaling an urgency.

"Don't just stand there, Hermione, get that traitor in the car!"

Harry continued to point his wand at Aragog, anxiously urging Hermione on.

Hermione muttered a few words, then controlled the white cocoon to fly into the pop-open trunk of the car. After settling Peter in, she herself jumped into the back seat.

"Come in quickly, Harry!"

The spiders on the perimeter seemed to have anticipated something, and one after another, the eight-eyed spiders surged forward like a tide, rushing towards Mr. Weasley's car.

After Harry shrank into the car, a series of smashing noises suddenly came from the dented area. Two spiders that had arrived earlier were attacking the car with their large claws.

"Let's go, to Hogwarts!"

Harry yelled at the trembling steering wheel.

I know you can understand!

Suddenly, the engine roared, the car spun around once, flinging the eight-eyed spider on top, and then, seizing an opening, bounced forward, struggling to break through the encirclement.

Inside the car, neither Hermione, whose head was resting heavily on the roof, nor Harry, who had rolled off the seat, noticed that a sliver of silver-gray light drifted into the car through a crack in the window and silently disappeared into Hermione's collar.

"Well"

Amosta stretched, pulling his gaze away from the taillights. He turned his head, looking towards the horizon where the dense jungle met the layered mountains, and smiled.

"I should get some work done too."

The car finally left the bumpy mountain road and drove through the dense forest.

"Phew—could you please drive a little faster?!"

Hermione stared intently at the time on the car's dashboard, urging him on anxiously.

"Look, Hermione, the Dementors are coming—"

Harry leaned forward, his eyes scanning the air. Suddenly, he found what he was looking for: a dark cloud floating in mid-air. At the edge of the cloud, many shadowy figures were flying up and down, moving in another direction from the Forbidden Forest.

"Dementors, when did they appear?"

Hermione gasped for breath, her face turning deathly pale in an instant.

"When we were about to leave the Forbidden Forest, Sirius's motorcycle crashed from the sky. You were all unconscious, but I'm still awake. Excuse me—"

Harry yelled at the car steering wheel.

"Drive in that direction and see!"

You can't do that, Harry!

Hermione grabbed Harry's wrist and said breathlessly,

"Have you forgotten, Harry? We can't be seen by anyone, not even Dementors, or we'll be in big trouble!"

"You don't understand, Hermione—"

Harry will become exceptionally stubborn.

“You don’t know what happened back then. Professor Dumbledore hadn’t arrived yet, but the Dementors had already spotted Sirius Black. They wanted to kill him on the spot. I tried to use the Patronus Charm to drive them away, but I failed. Later, someone released a powerful Patronus, which drove all the Dementors away!”

Hermione blinked, her expression one of astonishment.

"A powerful guardian deity...you mean Professor Blaine?"

"Not him"

Harry frowned and said slowly,

"Yes, I saw that person. But, maybe it was my imagination, Hermione. My mind was a little foggy at the time, and then I quickly lost consciousness."

Who do you think that is?

"I think--"

Harry swallowed hard; he knew his answer was bizarre, but he answered anyway.

“I think that’s my dad.”

Harry looked up at Hermione and saw that her mouth was wide open this time, and she was staring at him with a look that was a mixture of shock and pity.

“Harry, your father—”

As she spoke, Hermione glanced warily at the trunk, then lowered her voice to continue.

"He's already dead, isn't he? The murderer who killed him was in the trunk. We caught him, which is a way of avenging your parents."

"Oh, I know."

Harry gave the trunk a gloomy look, but then, frowning, he continued,

"I know this is hard to explain, Hermione, but I want to go. No, I absolutely have to go!"

Hermione couldn't persuade Harry otherwise, and besides, she was also curious about who the person Harry was talking about was. They parked the car in a place where it wouldn't be easily noticed, and then the two of them, wearing invisibility cloaks, got out of the car and jogged forward, hiding far away behind a tree.

The Dementors have appeared.

Hermione was so frightened she almost screamed, but thankfully she covered her mouth.

The Dementors hovered over Sirius Black's head, who was pinned down by the motorcycle. At this time, Harry was trying to drive them away, but he failed several times. His actions angered the Dementors, who were now prepared to kill him first.

Harry searched anxiously, his gaze sweeping over the trees, because the Patronus finally stopped behind a crooked tree.

"Quick!"

Harry looked around and called out softly, "Where are you, Dad? Hurry!"

No one answered his call. In the middle of the arena, a Dementor had already grabbed his throat and was about to pull off his hood.

Hermione finally couldn't contain her fear and turned her head away, unable to bear looking any longer. Harry gritted his teeth, preparing to say something to comfort Hermione, but when he turned his head, he finally noticed the tree in front of them.

Chapter 312 The Wolf's Last Stand

2023-06-04

Whoosh!

An arrow, gleaming with cold light and killing intent, pierced through a tree as thick as an adult's waist and disappeared into the fleeing pack of wolves. With a clang, a werewolf was pinned to a rock, letting out a mournful howl. However, the sound did not last long. Ronan, who had arrived shortly after, pierced the werewolf's throat with a single shot, ending his sinful life.

This scene caught Greyback's eye, making the heinous werewolf leader roar with hatred.

Previously, with the combined efforts of the centaurs, Hagrid, and Professor Snape, the remaining hundred or so werewolves suffered heavy casualties. Seeing that the situation was not good, Greyback led the remaining seventy or eighty werewolves to break through to the mountains.

Glancing at his people following behind him, Greyback cursed Peter, who had written the letter to them, in his heart with vile language. This despicable fellow had caused them to lose the protection of the Dark Lord twelve years ago, and today, he had almost caused all the werewolves to die in the Forbidden Forest.

Tonight, Greyback's werewolves suffered heavy casualties, and their only gain was capturing a few centaurs.

These 'donkeys' are quite valuable in the underworld, and if they can be sold successfully, they can at least partially make up for the 50,000 euros reward that slipped through their fingers from the Ministry of Magic.

Of course, this money wasn't so easy to get. Right now, the centaurs behind them were practically insane in their desperate attempt to rescue their kidnapped kin. Along the way, more than a dozen of their kind had already died at their hands.