Hogwarts: My Yorozuya has no taboos!

Chapter 17 Noisy

The Hogwarts Express smoothly rounded the halfway point and safely entered a vast, puddled swamp.

hum!

A fierce glint flashed in Ares's eyes. He pressed his palms against the space, creating ripples that caused the slowly gliding steam locomotive to stop.

The final deceleration caused quite a commotion; the connecting rods between the carriages creaked and groaned, the carriages swayed and twisted, and screams erupted from inside the carriages once again.

Under the blood-red setting sun, the deep red Hogwarts Express was billowing thick white steam from beginning to end, like a Muggle athlete who had just finished a marathon.

whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

Ares no longer had the energy to immediately check how many young wizards had been seriously injured in the process. He lowered his trembling hands, slowly straightened up, and then moved to the heated track and sat down.

The wind became gentle, and along with the warm setting sun, caressed his sweat-soaked face.

The raging magic continued to tear at his soul, and exhaustion left Ares unable to consider the aftermath of the Hogwarts Express going out of control... He knew it would definitely cause a huge uproar.

Ares just wanted to rest, but some people were unwilling to have peace and quiet.

Bang, bang, bang!

In the left pocket, the dead fly that had been staying in the baby bottle ever since it met Larri Gaspar had been restless and was now in a state of extreme rage.

Now that Quirrell's request is considered settled, it's best to dispose of it safely and harmlessly before arriving at Hogwarts.

Ares reached into his pocket, pulled out a baby bottle, and casually tossed it onto the tracks.

Click—

With a flash of light, the glass bottle struck the foundation stones in an arc, shattering the bottle and dispelling the magic within.

A woman who reeked of sourness, was emaciated, and had tangled hair appeared before Ares—Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Who are you!"

Although she was trapped in the bottle, Bellatrix was aware of everything that was happening outside, and she witnessed everything that had just happened.

She staggered backward, her harsh face now showing only fear. She roared at Ares.

Who are you?!

You lied to me... You weren't working for the Dark Lord at all... You—you just... Where is the Dark Lord? I need to go—to find my master!

Ares remained silent, glancing indifferently at Bellatrix, showing neither the energy nor the interest to joke with her any further.

Ares raised his left hand and covered Bellatrix.

Without any hesitation, Bellatrix turned and ran quickly toward Hogwarts!

She saw everything that just happened... even more than the little wizard on the train. She was the only one who witnessed everything that happened in the last compartment of the train.

This man's magic... there's simply no way to resist it!

The only way to survive is to kidnap a young wizard, steal his wand, and then immediately Apparate away.

After that, she must go find her wandering master... Only her master can stand against this man—Bellatrix firmly believed this!

Bellatrix had already planned this when Ares stopped the Hogwarts Express, so she acted without hesitation.

But-

The train wasn't far from here, less than a hundred feet away, and Bellatrix felt like she'd been running for at least a minute... The locomotive, so close yet still so far away!

Turning her head away, Bellatrix was filled with despair.

Ares remained behind her, staring at her with indifferent, emotionless eyes.

"I am the Dark Lord's most trusted servant!"

In her vision, Ares's outstretched hand grew larger and larger...

At first, it was just as big as a giant's hand, then it grew like a small building—a castle—a towering mountain... and finally, it blotted out the sky!

"The Dark Lord won't let you get away with this!"

Bellatrix screamed in her most desperate, mournful voice, but in reality, it was as low as the chirping of insects.

"Noisy."

Ares said softly, clasping his hands together.

Click—snap—bang!

According to the laws enacted by the Ministry of Magic, underage wizards are not allowed to perform magic outside of school.

However, the students on the train still used their magic to blast open the twisted doors of the train, and one by one they tumbled and scrambled off the train. As soon as they got off, they collapsed to the ground and sobbed. Some even made the sign of the cross on their chests and prayed devoutly.

About ten minutes later, the cries and gasps in the wilderness subsided somewhat.

Led by the students who had just been inside the locomotive, the students approached Ares.

He was exhausted.

The students clearly noticed the weariness in his eyes, expression, breathing, and even the strands of hair that were flying around.

Under the faint yet clear starlight, they silently approached Ares and surrounded him.

Ares was also looking at the students, at their timid faces, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he breathed heavily.

Surprisingly, it was Neville Longbottom who was the first to offer his greetings.

"How are you—how are you feeling, Professor?"

Neville's cheeks flushed red, and he shrank back, asking cautiously.

"Longbottom?"

Ares didn't answer the round-faced boy's question, but just looked at him with a smile and asked softly,

"Did you find your toad?"

"Toad...you mean Leif?"

Neville looked bewildered. He instinctively turned his head to look around, his gaze settling on his shoulder.

"Reverie, when did you get back?"

strangeness...

Before the train crash, she didn't seem to ask the professor what Neville was looking for, did she?

A hint of confusion flashed in Hermione's still tear-filled brown eyes.

But since she had already mistakenly believed the professor to be a fraud, she said nothing... and never mentioned it.

It was only at a class reunion many years later, when they reminisced with a touch of melancholy about the Hogwarts Express going out of control that shocked the entire wizarding world, that Hermione brought up this insignificant little puzzle as a topic of conversation.

Ares beckoned to Neville, looked at the round-faced boy who was confused and fearful, smiled gently at him, and then examined the toad he was holding in his hand.

"Tsk—"

Ares smacked his lips at Leif.

"Looks like you were quite frightened too, weren't you?"

The students were all puzzled by this scene—the professor wasn't concerned about their health, but instead was showing concern for a toad?

"I think you should eat something to replenish your energy."

Ares said softly, opening his palm to reveal a dead fly still twitching.

Neville's toad, Rafer, turned its head to look at its bewildered owner, then tilted its head to look at Ares.

Slurp!

The next second, Lefebvre flicked out his long tongue and swallowed the dead fly.