Slytherin's eyes twitched fiercely, making Peter the secret keeper of the Potters the last thing he ever regretted, and yet Snape had to poke his wounds with a knife.
"Best of luck, Harry Potter."
Ferris said that to Harry, and then the centaurs spontaneously dispersed into a circle around the city, enclosing the motorcycle within.
"I never thought I would get to ride this in my lifetime –"
Sirius' expression was complex as he stroked the various unidentified buttons on the dashboard, his voice a bit lonely.
"Oh, are you guys just planning to leave like this?"
The Grimbeaks watched the scene with a cruel smile, of course he would not let Sirius and several small wizards from Hogwarts go to Hogwarts to get reinforcements, and among these small wizards there was the famous Harry Potter. He was the most important negotiating card with Dumbledore.
Grabbing Lupin by the neck, the Grimback flicked his wrist as if displaying garbage, his cold laugh echoing as he addressed Sirius.
"Are you friends with this traitor? If you dare to escape, I'll break his neck!"
"Let go of Lupin, you despicable beast!"
Sirius' eyes blazing with rage, he tried to get out of the car. Just then, a sharp metallic noise echoed in the air. A chilling silver light flashed across everyone's retinas. Before anyone could react, the Grimback let out a string of obscenities and stumbled backward several steps, clutching his injured arm while Lupin, now in werewolf form, fell to the ground.
"Hurry up and take them away!"
With the bow and arrow thrown away, Hagrid roared and threw himself into the pack of wolves. The Grimbeaks were not going to let Lupin go, hoping to regain consciousness after being knocked down. However, the centaurs would not stand for that.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
With guns like arrows, one by one long spears pierced through the distance and stuck to the Grimbeaks' feet, forcing them to retreat in succession.
Lupin groggily rose to his feet, eyeing the Grimbeaks, who were now cowering and whimpering, but then took off in the direction of the darkened woods, disappearing from everyone's sight.
Boom!
Wolfmen and centaurs, two streams collided with a thunderous rumble, filling the ears with angry roars, screams of torn flesh and death, and pale Snape once again used his magical skills to decapitate a jumping werewolf mid-air. The scorching, gushing blood rained down like hailstones.
Snape locked eyes with Sirius, and Sirius also knew what Snape meant. He glared at the direction where Lupin had disappeared, roaring loudly, "Ross!"
"Hold on, Lupin, I'll bring help soon."
The roar of the motorcycle's engine drowned out the noise on the battlefield. As the rumbling grew louder, the Grimbeaks roared, "Halt them!"
The exhaust pipes blasted out blue-white flames in a continuous roar, and Hermione behind Sirius let out a short, shrill shriek.
The motorcycle surged upwards, and before Harry could react, they were soaring thirty feet in the air, accelerating towards Hogwarts at full speed.
Swoosh--swoosh--swoosh.
About a dozen werewolves charged through the dense, vine-covered forest behind the motorcycle, but halfway across, only one of them remained. With a quick leap onto a branch that stretched out across the forest floor, the wolf caught the crossbar of the sidecar and with an armored strength climbed aboard!
"Canریdi·Lеviosа!"
In Ron's terrified scream, Harry raised his wand, and the shards of the shattered mirror on the motorcycle's busted rearview mirror scraped past the werewolf's arm.
Roar!
The werewolf let out a painful howl as he fell from the motorcycle, and his arm left his body forever.
Ron, who was struggling to hold Malfoy, was drenched in blood. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell unconscious, the same way as Malfoy, into the sidecar.
"Nicely done, Harry!"
Sirius looked at Harry and praised him.
Harry just pursed his lips at Sirius' compliment. He looked at the broken arm of the werewolf in Ron's arms, his hand holding the wand shaking uncontrollably, his face turning a greenish color, and heard Hermione, squeezing quietly between him and Sirius. He had nothing to comfort Hermione with, could only pat her thin shoulder silently.
The explosions and flashes behind him were still clear, and Harry turned his head to gaze directly at the battlefield from which they had narrowly escaped, his bloodstained cheeks trembling slightly.
If the underground cave that Prof. Breakin' had taken him to last summer summer was proof that the wizarding world wasn't a fairy tale, tonight Harry truly witnessed the brutality of battle -- the dead werewolves, the missing Prof. Lupin. In a daze, Harry remembered what Prof. Breakin' had taught them three kids.
Power is a very real thing, not subject to individual will.
However, when he was in his first year, he had a duel with the possessed Ginny in the secret underground classroom of the castle. At that time, he had nothing but determination, but he foiled Lord Voldemort's plan to take the Philosopher's Stone. Ginny even couldn't touch herself at that time.
At the time, Professor Dumbledore told him that his mother's love left a mark on him. A person deeply loved by another leaves an everlasting amulet.
At the time, Harry thought that the mark was his scar, but that was not the case. Professor Dumbledore explained that it was invisible and hidden beneath the skin.
"Maybe it only works for Voldemort –"
Harry's muttering was swept away by the howling wind. No one heard him.
Harry was daydreaming; he didn't notice that the motorcycle's flight path had become less stable than at the beginning, now bouncing up and down like a pebble skipping on water.
"B-Black sir –"
Hermione's face was swept by a cluster of leaves, and she winced in pain. She saw Sirius' pallid face in the rearview mirror, and when she regained her senses, she realized that his robes were drenched in blood under the blood moon.
"Oh, what's wrong?"
Sirius looked a bit dazed as if someone had suddenly woken him up from a daze, and his voice had a hint of confusion.
"Oh, I mean you look a bit tired –"
Hermione said anxiously.
After twelve years in Azkaban, the first wizard he encountered upon leaving was Alastor Black, and Sirius had forgotten what it felt like to be respected. Hermione's respectful title made him feel a bit overwhelmed, so he remained silent for a moment before smiling. He was about to say something, but then a loud noise interrupted from several miles away in another direction.
"What is that?"
Harry's spirit was highly tensed due to the recent brutal war, and he let out a loud scream.
The roar was familiar to Harry, but for a moment, he couldn't remember where he had heard it.
"Regardless of what it is!"
Sirius weakly said, "We had better avoid it now."
He suddenly twisted the handle, and the motorcycle roared forward. The strong gust of wind blocked Harry's mouth, but the rhythmic roar did not dissipate; instead, it grew disturbingly closer at an alarmingly rapid pace.
Now, Hogwarts Castle was gradually growing taller in their view, and gazing at the silent ancient fortress standing atop the high ground, Harry and Hermione unconsciously exhaled in relief. An unexplained sense of security surged up in their hearts.
However, before they could fully enjoy the joy of surviving, Sirius suddenly slumped forward, and the motorcycle suddenly lost control, plunging towards the ground. At the same time, the blood moon in the sky disappeared, and the air was filled with visible chill.
(The end of this chapter)
