allendalepharm Chapter 247 The Silver-Gray Giant Wolf
Chapter 247 The Silver-Gray Giant Wolf
Chapter 247 The Silver-Gray Giant Wolf
Often, people only truly realize how important something was to them after they've lost it.
For example, the ability to cast spells.
Lockhart's dark magic creature, the "elevator," solved some problems.
Neville's parents, Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom, regained normal consciousness.
Lupin's wolfsbane was also in a state of "non-expression," preventing him from turning into a werewolf on the night of the full moon.
But this did not completely solve the problem. The three of them were now no different from Muggles, and their lives inevitably faced some troubles.
After leaving the room and locking it from the inside, I couldn't open the door and searched everywhere for the key. In the end, I had to ask someone else to help me cast an unlocking spell. I couldn't use the cleaned-up items and had to get used to washing my hands in the bathroom frequently. The troubles of taking baths like a Muggle appeared in every corner.
Of course, it's not without its advantages.
Their complete absence of magical energy allowed them to walk into the Muggle streets outside the gate as Muggles and do things that wizards like the Order of the Phoenix couldn't do.
This was Grindelwald's idea.
This powerful figure, who influenced an entire era in the wizarding world, possessed immense wisdom, and his casual guidance always carried weight. In just a few hours, the members of the Order of the Phoenix naturally became accustomed to following Old Man Grylls's commands.
Sometimes, a strange thought even arises—Grindelwald seems more reliable than Dumbledore.
Of course, in fact, both of them are reliable.
Dumbledore preferred to see the members of the Order of the Phoenix as comrades in a united front. He did not feel that he should be above them because of his own strength. Instead, he hoped to provide some help so that these comrades could give full play to their initiative and find opportunities to hone and improve themselves.
Grindelwald was different. He didn't need the wisdom of others; he only needed his subordinates. He had enough wisdom to handle anything and didn't believe anyone else was smarter than him.
Therefore, Dumbledore always offered advice and remained silent, while Grindelwald always directed and arranged things.
Under Grindelwald's direction, the house next to the Black family's ancestral home was quickly sold in just one night.
The Longbottom family assigned a house-elf to guard the area and oversee personnel evacuation in case of emergency.
Number 11 Grimmauld Place became the window through which the Order of the Phoenix faced the Muggle world.
This is an arrangement Dumbledore would not make, because it would actually violate the provisions of the Statute of Secrets.
But at least one thing was certain: the Longbottoms weren't living as dependents in the Black family's ancestral home; they had their own space. Buildings 11 and 12, one bright and one dark, provided some support for each other.
late at night.
Most of the members of the Order of the Phoenix have left.
Percy also went back to the Burrow with his parents for one night, and both father and son realized that there were some things they wanted to talk about.
Only Lupin and Lockhart remained as guests at Sirius Black's house.
This was destined to be a sleepless night. Lockhart had to keep a close watch on Lupin's condition until the night of the full moon ended, recording the magical changes throughout the process.
The three of them were drinking and chatting in the hall.
Inevitably, the conversation drifted to the past. Sirius, slumped on the sofa, looked quite depressed. "Of course I know I did a lot of stupid things in the past, too many. I hurt a lot of people—"
He looked up at the room on the second floor that had been specially prepared for Harry, sighed, and said, "I will raise him well, teach him, and make up for my mistakes—..."
When talking about Snape, he would admit his mistakes, "But you want me to apologize to him? To bow down to him? Ha! No way!"
I hate him, I hate him so much! So what if he's wrong? I don't care!
Lu Ping opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't offer any advice; he just sighed.
"Blame me if you must—" Sirius Black murmured, curled up on the sofa, looking wistfully at the fire in the fireplace, his eyes filled with bitterness.
He didn't consider himself a particularly intelligent person; he was always driven by his temper to do things, and all he cared about was his own sense of justice and righteousness.
But they often end up hurting the people around them.
Parents, brother, James, Lily, Lupin, Pettigrew, Harry—"
But no matter what it is, he believes it does not undermine the principles he upholds.
"At the time, many people suspected there was a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix, and everyone was suspicious of each other. Many people knew I had become the secret agent for the James family, and I was afraid that if this information were exposed, I would become the weak point—"
"So I secretly replaced the confidant with Pettigrew, and had him hide in the corner. He's a master at hiding; he never gets noticed. Then I stood in front, drawing all possible attacks." Later, I caught Pettigrew. He did realize his mistake and apologized, but what good was an apology? James and Lily were dead, never to return! —
"Little Pettigrew is cursing at me. He looks like he really hates me. He's accusing me of forcing him to become the Secret Agent, thinking that I'm the reason he got targeted by the Dark Lord, and that I'm to blame for the leak of James and the others' secret room information—"
Sirius Black gripped the bottle, tilting his head back and chugging down the liquor, his eyes filled with anguish. "It's my fault, it's all my fault, but I can't say it. Looking at Pettigrew, I can't bring myself to admit my mistake. He killed James and the others, that's a fact. Why should I apologize to him? I'd rather kill him."
"He died. Although I later learned that he was actually alive, at the time I thought he was dead. He died a terrible death, blown up and only one finger was left. Before he died, he was cursing me, saying that I was the one who caused his death—"
"Haha, yes, it's all my fault. I'm the murderer, so I'm going to jail!"
"Ha, hahahaha..."
He laughed, a twisted, painful laugh.
"If one day Snape has the ability to kill me, I won't blame him. I know he deserves it, but I'm not willing to bow down to him!"
He was drunk and his speech became incoherent.
Lupin stood to the side, head bowed, drinking his wine. His disheveled hair fell down, obscuring his eyes, making his expression unreadable.
Lockhart seemed quite eager to chat, and as they talked, the conversation eventually turned to Lupin, with Lockhart casually asking, "What about Remus?" Sirius was silent for a moment, then asked in a hoarse voice, "Remus?"
Lohat nodded. "Yeah, Remus! Why didn't you choose Remus as your Keeper of the Secrets back then? Didn't you trust him?"
Sirius shifted on the sofa, leaning his head back, and looked at the silent Lupin. "Of course I trust him."
He's my brother!
Lockhart looked at him with some confusion. "Then why not choose him?"
Sirius pursed his lips and didn't say anything, but simply shrank back into the sofa.
Lockhart didn't press the matter, but Lupin raised his head, staring intently at Sirius's figure, his voice low and menacing, "I want to know too! Sirius, tell me, why didn't you choose me!"
Some things, some pains, cannot be erased by time; they will only accumulate and deepen.
"Look me in the eye, Sirius!" Lupin's gaze was deep. "You know I'm better at keeping secrets than Sirius, right? You've certainly considered that. You said you trust me, so why is it like this now? Tell me!"
Sirius just kept drinking, and when he finished, he shook the bottle, muttered curses, and threw it aside, scratching his hair in frustration.
The hall was eerily quiet.
Even Harry, who was listening to his parents' stories at the corner of the stairs, fell silent.
"Because back then, nobody knew what the future held!"
Sirius Black lowered his head, his voice deep, "No one knows how to defeat the Dark Lord, who is so powerful that he inspires despair. Frank and Alice are among the strongest fighters in our Order of the Phoenix, but their most glorious achievement is only escaping from the Dark Lord three times. Ha, escape—"
"My eyes aren't blind, I can see it. Dumbledore isn't as powerful as I thought; he can't find Voldemort at all!"
"As long as Voldemort doesn't want to fight Dumbledore, Dumbledore won't be able to catch him!"
"It's not just me, many people have seen it all. Otherwise, why do you think there would be a traitor in the Order of the Phoenix? If everyone thought that Dumbledore could crush Voldemort like an ant, everyone would be on Dumbledore's side, including those pure-blood families who only care about their own interests."
"There was no hope back then."
"No one would have guessed that Voldemort would be killed by Lily's magic. Ha, it's absolutely ridiculous—"
Sirius laughed, a laugh that sounded worse than crying, a laugh that brought tears and snot streaming down his face.
Lockhart's thoughts seemed to be taken back to that time, and he sighed, "It was really difficult for you to have such firm beliefs back then."
Sirius wiped his face, looked up, and a strange, miserable expression appeared on his face. "I wasn't firm, I wavered."
"I even imagine that all of us in the Order of the Phoenix will be killed, all those who are willing to support Dumbledore will be killed, or will betray us and join Voldemort, and then Dumbledore will be the only one in the world who opposes Voldemort."
"By then, Dumbledore will probably have no choice but to compromise. He can't just watch the wizards get dragged into the war again. One death after another will wipe out a huge number of Sirius Black. He took a deep breath. "In that era, many people hoped that Voldemort would win because the future he promised was too wonderful, something that Dumbledore could not provide."
"Wizards can walk freely in this world, instead of living like rats in the gutter, hidden in dark corners where Muggles can't see them."
The Ministry of Magic doesn't need to be located underground in some filthy street, going to a magical hospital doesn't have to be like a thief hiding from the possible gazes of Muggles, and even werewolves can live in this world with respect—
Lupin's gaze sharpened as he stared intently at Sirius. "What do you mean by that?!"
Sirius struggled to his feet, staggered towards the liquor cabinet, rummaged through it, found a bottle of liquor, opened it, and chugged it down. He let out a long sigh, turned back to Lupin, and said, "Grindelwald promised these things back then. So many voices rallied, pushing Grindelwald to the position of wizarding leader, hoping he would lead wizards to create that free world."
"Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald and imprisoned him, but he could not overcome the people's clamor, so Voldemort reappeared."
"I know what justice is, and I don't want to see a war between wizards and Muggles, but I also know how difficult things are for Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix."
"Without Grindelwald, there would be Voldemort; without Voldemort, there would be others, one after another. But there is only one Dumbledore. Once you fail, there will never be another Dumbledore."
Sirius's voice was a little hoarse, and his eyes were deep and unsettling. "I just hope that if Dumbledore really fails, and we, his staunch followers, also die, my good friend Lupin, a poor werewolf, can also have the chance to live in that new era."
"After all, everyone knows that Voldemort promised the werewolves that he would no longer let them be bullied—"
Boom!
A violent impact reverberated throughout the hall.
Lupin lunged forward, grabbing Sirius's collar menacingly and slamming his head against the liquor cabinet behind him, trembling with rage. "Why are you always so self-righteous!"
Sirius Black looked at him with a bitter smile. "That's just how I am, you know that. I always make choices that I think are right."
I always make the same mistakes. I keep making the same mistakes.
Was he wrong?
wrong!
But he always makes mistakes because he wants to do the right thing.
And so he became so tormented.
Pain was constantly devouring his soul, making him look so gloomy.
However, his unique magical bloodline prevented this pain from eroding his soul, causing his heart to ache even more.
Sirius Black exuded a strong aura of unease.
Lockhart stared intently at the scene before him, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Then he saw Harry looking at them helplessly from the corner of the stairs, thin, sad, and in pain.
Perhaps, this is what wizards are like.
If one is born ordinary, lives an ordinary life, one's abilities will mostly be ordinary as well.
Every wizard who truly embarks on the path of magic carries within them a fairytale-like life, whether joyful and dreamlike or painful and bizarre.
Magic quietly blossoms within it.
Lockhart sensed it; magical fluctuations were beginning to appear within Lupin's body.
The magical bloodline, suppressed by the 'elevator,' remained silent, yet it clearly emitted such intense magical power from the depths of its soul.
Almost there!
Just a little bit more!
Lockhart could feel the oppressive feeling of that boiling magic having nowhere to go and not knowing where to escape.
So he gently pulled his wand from his wizard's robes, aimed it at Lupin from a distance, and with a thought, moved the wand toward the flames in the fireplace beside him, casting Soul Fire.
The flames in the fireplace exploded, the two colors of the flames intertwining and illuminating the scene.
Lupin was staring angrily at Sirius, his anger mixed with sorrow, and finally he could only let out a painful cry.
He released Sirius's collar, took a step back, and prepared to turn and leave.
But at that moment, his body began to convulse and tremble. Strands of silver-gray hair emerged from his skin, then disappeared as if in a phantom, only to reappear a moment later.
Sirius's expression changed, and he immediately shouted, "Lockhart, watch out!"
He quickly patted himself down, his expression changing drastically. Unable to find the wand, he hurriedly looked at the sofa, only to see Harry in the far corner.
"Harry, run!"
He shouted, and suddenly heard a series of wild, panting breaths behind him. He turned around alertly and was shocked to see Lupin rapidly transforming into a silver-gray wolf.
"Run! Go find Longbottom and the others next door!" Sirius shouted anxiously at Harry again, his body twisting rapidly as he transformed into a large black dog. He nimbly positioned himself between Lupin and Harry, watching Lupin warily.
Finally, Lupin's transformation was fully realized.
It had transformed into a giant silver-gray wolf, almost as big as a tiger.
Yes.
Wolf!
It's not a wolf!
The wolf did not attack Sirius, but looked down at its own body in confusion, then raised its paws and looked at its paws together in confusion.
This is·
Sirius Black reacted with incredible speed, tensing his body and lunging onto the sofa. When he transformed back into his human form, he had already grabbed his wand.
Blocking Lupin's view of Harry, he called out with a mixture of confusion and anticipation, "Remus?"
The gray wolf looked up at him, as if to speak, but only a deep, beastly sound escaped its lips.
"Anihugs?"
Sirius asked in confusion, "I warned you not to try to contact Annihugos, it could have unforeseen consequences!"
"Not Anighugus!" Lockhart explained, finishing his drink and standing up with a grin. "It's one of those magical creatures that guard wolf cubs! Remus, what do you think?"
Lupin looked up, his wolf eyes reflecting Lockhart and Sirius's figures, and nodded slightly.
"Haha~" Lockhart exclaimed excitedly, "Looks like I guessed right!"
Sirius was completely baffled. "What on earth is going on?"
"Simply put, the soul was tainted by wolf venom and connected to the purest magical blood cave of wolves in the river of time. When it desperately craved power, it naturally emerged."
Lockhart gave a brief explanation, his eyes filled with amazement at Lupin, "This is the true manifestation of the wolf's magical blood cave, not some intermediate state like werewolves!"
"Remus, can you sense the magic within you?"
Lupin moved around in this unfamiliar body and nodded slightly.
"Nice!"