fantasy novels Chapter 305 Werewolf Under the Moon
Chapter 305 Werewolf Under the Moon
Chapter 305 Werewolf Under the Moon (5.8K) (1/2)
Just moments before, Lupin had led Harry around the low wall and begun to silently circle behind Peter.
In the temporary command room, Lin Qi, who had been keeping an eye on the blurry scene on the screen, turned slightly and said to Fudge in the center of the room in a clear and calm tone: "Minister, I think it's time to let the Aurors take over and control the situation."
Fudge was still reeling from the shock of Peter's confession and his anxieties about the impending storm when he heard this and suddenly jolted awake.
As if grasping at some straw that allowed him to demonstrate authority and control, he immediately straightened his obese back and, in as authoritative a tone as possible—though his voice still trembled slightly—ordered Scrimgeour, who had just returned to the command room and was equally grave: "Rufus! Take your men in immediately! Take control of Peter! And—ensure the safety of Black and Porter!" He deliberately obscured his role in Sirius's case, but the use of the word "control" already indicated a change in his attitude.
"Yes, Minister," Scrimgeour replied in a deep voice, without any hesitation.
As an experienced Auror, he knew he had to act quickly at this moment.
But before turning and leaving quickly, his gaze swept briefly, with a hint of complex emotion, over Barty Crouch, who stood frozen in place like a stone statue.
His eyes held a mixture of regret for fellow law enforcement officers and a deeper understanding of the impending political storm. He knew that his superior, known for his iron fist, was likely to become the most conspicuous victim of this massive scandal.
Almost at the same time that Scrimgeour left the command room to summon the waiting Aurors, Lynch turned his gaze to Dumbledore, who was still immersed in deep self-reproach.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," Lynch's voice was calm, "the Mist's mission is complete. The Aurors need to step in. It's time to remove it."
Overwhelmed by guilt, Dumbledore didn't give much thought to the deeper meaning behind Lynch's actions.
He waved the elder wand again, slightly wearily and almost subconsciously.
There was no incantation chanted, just a simple wave of the hand.
The next moment, the thick, milky-white mist on the curtain and at Hogsmeade was instantly wiped away by an invisible giant hand, rapidly dissipating and exposing everyone inside to the light of day.
The lowest layer of dense, dark clouds in the sky.
A wizard dressed in black robes, completely covered up, sat motionless on a broom, like a vulture lurking in the shadows. He gripped a complex wizard's telescope with its layers of lenses tightly, his eyes fixed on Hogsmeade Village below, which was completely shrouded in thick, milky-white fog.
The telescope's lenses rotated and switched slightly, filtering various magical spectra in an attempt to penetrate the stubborn magical fog.
But the fog, as if it possessed a life of its own, stubbornly blocked all attempts to see.
Suddenly, he switched to a specific lens combination, and his vision caught a faint but steady light coming from a window on the top floor of a tall building below—the agreed-upon signal!
He immediately put away the binoculars, his movements swift and silent.
With a sudden jerk of his hands, he sent the broom soaring like an arrow, piercing through the thick, damp clouds and rising above the sea of clouds.
The moonlight shines unhindered here, turning the top of the surging sea of clouds into a cold, silvery white.
He hovered in the air and quickly pulled out his wand.
A small, inconspicuous but extremely penetrating light shone from the tip of the staff, like a precocious star in the night sky.
As his wand lit up, almost simultaneously, the same light also appeared above the clouds on his left and right sides. These points of light rapidly extended into the distance, connecting with each other, and in the blink of an eye, outlined a gigantic circular magic circle above the vast expanse of clouds, encompassing the entire Hogsmeade region.
All the wizards involved in this operation, like him, were shrouded in black robes, silently riding on brooms, and positioned at key nodes of the circular magic circle.
Without any commands, the moment the circle was fully formed, all the wizards simultaneously waved their wands, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they had rehearsed it hundreds of times.
A vast and silent wave of magical energy rippled out from the circular magic circle, like a boulder thrown into calm water, creating invisible ripples.
The thick, seemingly unchanging clouds below, driven precisely by this combined magical force, began to rotate, dissipate, and retreat rapidly from the center outwards, as if stirred by an invisible, giant hand of the gods!
The clouds have parted and the fog has cleared!
The bright, cool, and full moonlight, like the long-awaited light of judgment, pierced straight through the suddenly thinning and then completely disappearing clouds without any obstruction, pouring down like mercury onto the clearly visible village of Hogsmeade below.
mission completed.
Above the clouds, all the black-robed wizards remained silent as they had arrived, quickly putting away their wands, mounting their brooms, and silently scattering into the vast night sky, as if they had never existed.
Lupin had just told Harry to "go help Sirius," and his self-image still carried a forced calm and resolute air.
However, when the cool, clear moonlight unexpectedly poured down on him, he froze.
A chilling, bone-deep fear, originating from the depths of his blood, instantly seized him!
He slowly raised his head in disbelief, his gaze meeting that of the flawless, ominous silver disc in the sky—
Full moon!
Today is the night of the full moon!
He was so engrossed in tracking Peter and uncovering the truth that he completely forgot about time and the most important thing in his life at the end of each month—something that concerned his life, death, and the safety of others!
"No--!!!"
A desperate, painful roar, seemingly from the depths of the soul, burst from Lupin's throat. The sound was distorted and deformed, no longer entirely human.
The color drained from his face instantly, and his muscles twitched and twisted violently from extreme pain and resistance.
He could feel that familiar, tearing pain surging wildly from his limbs and bones, and a kind of violent, inhuman consciousness was crashing against the dam of his reason like a tidal wave.
In the final moments before his reason was completely consumed, in the instant when the moonlight ignited the curse in his blood, Lupin used all the remaining willpower he had left to suddenly point his wand at Peter, who was kneeling on the ground, equally stunned by the sudden moonlight and Lupin's transformation!
He collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious!
A beam of red light shot from the tip of Lupin's trembling wand and struck Peter.
However, the light of the spell appeared scattered and unstable, its power greatly diminished. Lupin's deformed body could no longer accurately control his magic.
Peter was thrown backward by the spell, letting out a muffled groan. His obese body rolled half a circle on the ground, and his eyes briefly became unfocused and confused, but he did not completely lose consciousness as expected.
He simply collapsed to the ground, unable to move for a moment, his consciousness struggling between semi-consciousness and semi-consciousness.
However, Lupin no longer had time to verify the spell's effect.
After casting that spell, it seemed as if he had exhausted the last of his strength as a human being.
His wand fell to the muddy ground with a thud. He whirled around, looking at the figure standing close beside him...
Harry was stunned by the series of unexpected events.
Lupin's pupils contracted sharply in the moonlight, turning a wolf-like amber color. Coarse, stiff hair began to sprout from his face, and his body emitted sickening sounds of bones dislocating and muscles swelling.
With the last vestige of Remus Lupin's humanity, he squeezed out a few blurry, hoarse, yet urgent words from his deformed throat: "Ha-li-run!!!"
The last word "run" has completely transformed into a beastly roar.
Before the words were even finished, the transformation was completed at an unstoppable speed.
Standing before Harry was no longer his gentle, somewhat weary Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Instead, it was a tall, lean werewolf covered in gray fur!
It stood upright, its amber pupils gleaming with a hungry and wild light in the moonlight, saliva dripping from between its sharp fangs protruding from its lips, and a low, threatening gurgling sound emanating from its throat.
It shook its enormous head, seemingly still adjusting to the body, but its cold, brutal self-glow had already instinctively locked onto its closest prey, Harry Potter, who exuded a vibrant life force!
On the screen, the breathtaking transformation process was clearly displayed before everyone in the command office.
The werewolf's tall, wild body cast a chilling shadow in the moonlight, and its amber eyes, gleaming with hunger and madness, were fixed on Harry, who was standing right in front of it!
Almost the instant Lupin let out his first painful roar, Snape sprang up from his seat in the shadows as if bitten by a venomous snake.
His black robe billowed from the violent movement, and for the first time, a clear crack appeared on his usually indifferent mask. A mixture of shock, disgust, and—something deeper—urgent emotion flashed across his eyes.
His fingers had already slipped into his robe sleeves and were gripping the wand handle tightly.
However, someone was faster than him!
Just as the werewolf was fully formed and let out a threatening growl at Harry, Lynch, who had been standing quietly in front of the curtain like a calm observer, had already turned into a gray lightning bolt!
Without the slightest hesitation or even leaving any instructions, he dashed out of the temporary command office like a ghost.
The anti-Apparition spell installed in the office restricted his long-distance movement; he had to run as fast as he could to an area that allowed Apparition or had other means of transportation.
Snape reacted only half a beat slower than Lynch. Like a black whirlwind, he rushed out the door after Lynch's back, his sallow face covered with a layer of frost.
His mind flashed with overwhelming anger at Lupin's neglect, mockery of Potter's situation, and a barely perceptible tension, but all of these transformed into the speed at which he broke through the obstacles at this moment.
"By Merlin! It's a werewolf!" an official cried out in alarm. The voice was like a sharp thorn, instantly piercing the heavy atmosphere in the office that had solidified with the revelation of the truth, and also abruptly waking Dumbledore, who was trapped in a vortex of self-blame.
He almost instinctively looked up, his deep blue eyes instantly catching sight of the extremely dangerous scene on the screen—Remus grotesquely contorted in the moonlight, and Harry's pale, terrified face.
The guilt and exhaustion that had been suffocating him just a moment ago were now forcibly suppressed by a more urgent and direct sense of crisis. His responsibility as principal and his instinct to protect students overwhelmed all other emotions like a conditioned reflex.
His gaze instantly sharpened like an eagle's, and his steady voice, now laced with urgency, resounded throughout the room: "Minister Fudge! Have your men act immediately!"
After Dumbledore finished speaking, he immediately strode out, his tall figure exuding a resolute aura.
"Werewolves! More werewolves! Right on the edge of the village! And so many of them—so many of them—" Cornelius Fudge's voice was choked with sobs, his fat face a mixture of terror, anger, and a sense of collapse as if he had been driven to the brink of despair.
The twists and turns of tonight have pushed this already nervous minister to the brink of emotional overload.
He gripped his already thinning hair tightly: "Merlin's beard! How many more surprises are in store for tonight?!"
An Animagus fugitive, a resurrected traitor, and now a werewolf who transformed in front of the students! The public will tear us apart! My ministerial position is finished—
Chaos erupted in the office. Some rushed towards the door to help, while others stood helplessly in place, their eyes fixed on the curtain. The fully transformed werewolf had lowered its body, its powerful hind leg muscles tensed, and it let out a low growl before attacking. It was about to pounce on Harry Potter, who seemed to be stunned with fear!
At the same moment that Lupin's body underwent a horrific transformation under the moonlight and emitted a painful roar, the ineffective "Stun" spell also began to fade from Peter Pettigrew's body.
The scattered consciousness, as if doused with cold water, quickly coalesced under the frantic drive of the survival instinct.
He didn't even have time to feel relieved or think. His obese body trembled violently in the mud, and his small, round eyes were instantly filled with the most primal fear and desire to escape.
He witnessed the horrifying sight of Lupin's transformation, and he also saw the werewolf's murderous aura locked onto Harry—this was the only chance!
Without a moment's hesitation, without even glancing at Sirius, whom he hated to the core, Peter curled up, and with a soft "poof" sound almost drowned out by the werewolf's growl, all that remained of him was a pile of crumpled clothes.
A rat missing a toe darted out of the clothes with lightning speed. Without the slightest hesitation, it shot out like a gray shadow into the deeper darkness opposite where the werewolf and Harry were, and was instantly swallowed up by the shadows and grass.
"Peter!" Sirius cried hoarsely, watching helplessly as the rat disappeared into the night, his chest churning with twelve years of pent-up hatred and a sense of powerlessness.
Capture Peter and put him on trial; this was one of his greatest obsessions that kept him alive.
But his gaze instantly shifted to Harry.
The thin, black-haired, green-eyed boy, the only bloodline of his best friend, stood frozen in the moonlight, facing the mad, insatiable werewolf.
The faces of James and Lily flashed through his mind, and a protective instinct stronger and more primal than revenge erupted like a volcano.
Peter can be caught later, but Harry—Harry can't be hurt!
Even a second of hesitation could lead to irreversible consequences!
"No—!" Sirius let out a roar that was a mixture of anger, determination, and desperation, as if he wanted to squeeze out all the air and pain from his chest.
He endured the excruciating pain of his wounds tearing open, forcibly energizing his weakened body with sheer willpower.
The next moment, his tall figure shrank and deformed rapidly under the moonlight, and black hair covered his entire body.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the enormous, ghost-like black dog that was once famous at Hogwarts reappeared. Without pausing, it stomped its powerful hind legs on the ground, sending mud flying.
The big black dog let out a deep, threatening growl. Instead of rushing towards the direction Peter had fled, it charged like a black arrow released from a bow, with unstoppable momentum, and fiercely pounced on the werewolf that had just completed its transformation and was about to pounce on Harry!
His goal was crystal clear—to draw Lupin's attention and protect Harry, even if it meant fighting werewolves again, and even if he was far from being at his best.
At this moment, loyalty and the responsibility to protect outweighed everything else.
Harry stood frozen in place, his mind blank from the surreal and terrifying sight before him.
Professor Lupin, who had just been speaking gently, transformed in the blink of an eye into a werewolf exuding a wild and murderous aura;
Sirius Black, whom he had hated for so long and who had just been proven to be innocent, transformed into a black dog in front of him, fearlessly lunging at the werewolf just to protect him.
This stark contrast and the ensuing crisis brought his thinking to a near standstill.
Until one "Awooo!!"
The werewolf let out a furious roar and collided violently with the charging black dog!
Claws and fangs gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and the roars of wild beasts, the sounds of fur being torn apart, and the heavy thuds of impacts—this brutal and primal struggle instantly jolted Harry out of his daze.
Fear remained, but an overwhelming urge to do something, to help the black dog fighting for him, surged up.
Almost instinctively, he raised his wand, his mind flashing back to the simulated battles he had experienced in the "Transformation Corridor"—the composure and aiming skills honed in the face of dangerous magical traps.
"Fainted and collapsed!" "Obstacles everywhere!" "Legs stiffened and he died!"
He chanted incantations in succession, and several beams of light of different colors shot out from the tip of his staff, precisely grazing the side of the black dog that was fighting with the werewolf, even passing through its raised paws, and accurately hitting the werewolf's gray fur-covered body!
However, to Harry's dismay, the spell he had placed so much hope in struck the werewolf like a pebble thrown into a bottomless swamp, failing to even create a ripple.
The red glow of the Stunning Curse flashed briefly on the werewolf's fur before disappearing, the Barrier Curse seemed to have never existed, and the Leg Lock Curse had no effect whatsoever.
The werewolf didn't even pause because of these attacks; its attention remained completely focused on the ferocious black dog, as if the spells were just annoying mosquito bites.
Werewolves have extremely high natural resistance to most common offensive spells!
Just then, the werewolf unleashed a fierce swing, its powerful forepaw slamming into the black dog's side with tremendous force!
The black dog let out a painful howl, its entire body sent flying by the force of the blow. It crashed heavily into a rough tree trunk a few steps away, then slid down softly, convulsing on the ground. Dark red blood quickly seeped from the wound in its abdomen, staining the mud beneath it.
With one of the obstacles gone, the werewolf's amber eyes, filled with madness and hunger, immediately turned to Harry, who had been constantly firing "mosquito bites" at it.
Locked onto by that inhuman gaze, Harry felt a chill run down his spine and his hair stand on end.
He could clearly see the cold moonlight reflecting off the werewolf's bared fangs and smell the wild aura emanating from it.
He swallowed hard, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
run!
Must run!
Without any hesitation, Harry turned around abruptly and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction from the werewolf!
"roar--!"
The werewolf let out an excited roar announcing its hunt, and with a powerful push from its hind legs, it was about to give chase.
However, the moment it started moving, the black dog, which should have been seriously injured, suddenly showed an amazing willpower!
It barely managed to prop itself up with its front paws, let out a weak but still threatening growl, and suddenly bit at the werewolf's hind leg!
The werewolf, in pain and enraged, turned around and swung its claws down with a piercing shriek that tore through the air!
"Sizzle I"
'
A piercing tearing sound rang out. The black dog let out a short, extremely mournful howl as its soft belly was almost completely ripped open by the claw, revealing blood and internal organs.
The light in its eyes quickly dimmed, and before it completely lost consciousness, its gradually unfocused eyes stubbornly stared in the direction Harry had fled.
Then, like a torn black rag, it collapsed in the pool of blood, unable to move any further.
The werewolf disgustedly shook its paws, which were covered in blood and dog hair, and ignored the dying black dog behind it.
Its scarlet tongue licked its fangs, and its gaze locked once more on the small, stumbling figure running through the night. On all fours, like a gray shadow of death, it chased after Harry at a speed far exceeding Harry's!