A sudden green light shot out from nowhere and grazed Harry's eyes. In everyone's shocked gazes, it slowly approached the stiff Sirius!
On the razor's edge between life and death, Harry, who was closest to Sirius, couldn't react at all because he was facing his own great trouble— as if a burning hot iron was forcibly pressed onto his scar. The intense burning sensation and the piercing scream of a woman that surged through his mind caused Harry to faint, his body collapsing limply without control.
Snape was the only one who might save Sirius, but his attention was momentarily caught by the fallen Harry, missing the best opportunity to act.
Lupin looked desperate, while Sirius, facing the grim reaper's scythe, let a sense of release pass through his gray eyes as if he had finally reached the end of a long journey.
James, Lily, I'm sorry. I haven't been able to avenge you yet. And Regulus, forgive me; I haven't had time to give you a decent burial. And Harry, I haven't fulfilled even a fraction of my duties as your godfather—
As the last moments of his life ticked away, a glimmer of light escaped from Sirius's eye corner.
Snap!
Rocks flew and the green light dispersed!
Just as the killing curse's light was within five feet of Sirius, the Grim Reaper was about to bring down his scythe. Suddenly, a stone wall grew up out of thin air on the soft ground, just in time to block the incoming killing curse while also knocking aside two werewolves that were biting Sirius.
The chaotic battlefield fell into silence for a moment, and everyone was too confused to understand what had just happened.
"Is it you who saved me?"
Sirius shoved away the werewolves that had bitten his other paws and stood up, gasping for breath. He looked around frantically, only to find Snape's wand aimed at him. After a slight pause, he nodded at Snape.
"It wasn't me—"
Snape ground his teeth as he said, "I'm not keen on taking credit for that."
However, his explanation was taken for modesty by the several adult wizards who knew about Snape and Sirius's longstanding feud. They all thought Snape was just being shy.
"Regardless of all that, Severus—"
Lupin patted Professor Snape's shoulder, gasping, and said with gratitude.
"Thank you for saving Sirius."
For a moment, Snape couldn't get away from Lupin's hand, but upon hearing Lupin's words of thanks, his face turned as dark as night, almost as if he had been insulted.
Who cast that killing curse just now?
Every single person in that room had the same thought, and they all had an almost identical answer.
But the werewolves went mad regardless, their magic fueled by the moonlight. One after another, they fell into a frenzy, and from all directions, the werewolves who were rushing towards them formed a wall nearly as tall as themselves.
"Stop standing around, run out!"
Hagrid roared with all his might, breaking a path for them by charging ahead. However, he himself was also caught in a trap, several werewolves hanging onto him, tearing at him left and right. This only fueled Hagrid's ferocity. After a mighty roar like that of a dragon, Hagrid squeezed the throats of the two werewolves with his hands, using them as weapons to slay all around him!
"Run!"
Snape threw the wand that belonged to Sirius into his hands, and then, after hoisting Harry, who was feeling faint, under his arm, roughly pushed Hermione, who was at a loss for what to do.
In this critical moment, Lupin finally began to fight back, he waved his wand widely, and three blue spells shot out one after another, exploding in the chests of several werewolves. The werewolves who were hit flew into the air, screaming in agony, before falling to the ground without a sound.
"Shameless traitor!"
Greengrass let out a deafening roar, his thick limbs gripping the ground. The next second, he transformed into a wisp and, with a crack, shattered Lupin's armor, rolling around with Lupin and bursting out of the camp that was protecting Harry.
"Lupin!"
Sirius roared and wanted to charge forward to save Lupin, but he was also the main target of the werewolves. The relentless werewolves attacking him left him too busy to fend them off.
Roar!
The scene that followed, Harry was willing to bet he would never forget until the end of his days!
A terrifying roar, the head of Lupin elongated, his body stretched, his shoulders arched, the face and hands grew hair, the fingers have become sharp claws. Professor Lupin stood on two feet like a bear, tangled with Greengrass, biting at each other's mouths. Every swipe of a claw brought a trail of red crystals from the opponent!
Harry stood there in a daze, forgetting even to move.
"But --"
Hermione managed to keep some semblance of composure. Her face was covered in sweat, and her voice was shrill enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"It's not the full moon today, if I'm not mistaken!"
"The virus in Greyback's teeth has disrupted the balance of magic in his body!"
Snape's voice sounded as if it was being squeezed out from between his teeth. His greasy hair was soaked with sweat, sticking to his face in strands, and his wand was nearly a blur as he swung it, each time leaving behind a dismembered werewolf or bouncing them off an impregnable barrier.
The continuous rumbling noises seemed capable of piercing one's eardrums, and the deathly groans and howls of the werewolves were more terrifying than any sound Harry had ever heard. Now, he finally understood why even Professor Brenn's daring teaching style dared not let younger wizards confront werewolves!
By now, both sides had fought with a fierce bloodlust.
Originally, Greengrass had ordered his pack not to harm the students of Hogwarts, but by this point, the werewolves had lost control and his command was not so effective anymore.
"Get down, Harry!"
Sirius shot up suddenly and leapt over the shoulders of a werewolf who was about to fall, crossing twenty feet in one bound. He grabbed Harry and pulled him down to the ground, rolling around on the floor a few times before they slammed into a werewolf's rear end and came to a halt.
"Harry!"
Ron's legs gave way, and he crumpled to the ground along with Malfoy. Facing a mountain of werewolves, Hermione was sweating profusely, trembling as she raised her wand, but her mind was blank.
Phew!
Following that, all of the dozen werewolves pressing down on Harry flew backward, away from Sirius. Sirius abandoned using his wand against the werewolves and transformed into his Animagus form again. He kept Harry under his protection, the blood trickling down from his broken forehead and staining his gray eyes red. He bared his teeth and growled at the werewolves who tried to charge forward once more.
When he saw Harry being no longer pressed down, Snape's breathing almost stopped, and the color in his face vanished completely. It wasn't until Sirius pushed the werewolves away that his chest visibly rose and fell.
Snape's body shook uncontrollably, his lips dry, but the almost sparks-spitting eyes seemed to be about to explode. Reason held him back from leaving Hermione and Ron, but he didn't realize that his expression at this moment was more ferocious than ever!
A trail of thick, foul-smelling black smoke billowed from Snape's wand tip. The sickening mist that covered the night sky grew longer in the wind, turning into giant black snakes that wound around the werewolves who tried to approach. These snakes, made of mist, clearly possessed incredible toxicity and corrosiveness. The werewolves caught by these serpents shrieked in agony before their bodies melted into a pool of blood and flesh, much like a snowman nearing a fire.
The thick blood smell and terrible situation made Hermione and Ron vomit directly, and the action of killing more than twenty werewolves also put a huge toll on Snape. His body swayed unsteadily, seeing everything around him in a double vision.
The werewolves had lost nearly half of their numbers, but the remaining ones were still in sufficient numbers. Meanwhile, Hagrid's motorcycle man was still behind the wall of werewolves, and it seemed that their hope of breaking through was slim!
(Chapter End)
