章節 288: 0287 Intense Fighting
Harry stood there in a daze, forgetting to move.
"But--" Hermione managed to maintain some basic sanity. She looked at the moon in the sky, her voice trembling with fear, "It's not a full moon today, if if I remember correctly!"
"The virus in Greyback's teeth disrupted the balance of magic in his body!"
Snape's voice almost squeezed out from between his teeth. His greasy hair was soaked with sweat, sticking to his cheeks. His wand swung so fast that it left afterimages. Every time it struck, several werewolf's bodies were torn apart or bounced back by an indestructible barrier.
The deafening roar seemed to burst people's eardrums. The dying wails and howls of the werewolves were far more terrifying than any sound Harry had ever heard. Now, he finally understood why even Professor Watson, with his bold teaching style, didn't dare to let younger wizards deal with werewolves!
At this point, both sides were fighting with bloodshot eyes.
It turned out that Greyback had given orders to his subordinates not to harm the young wizards of Hogwarts, but at this point, the werewolves had lost their sanity, and his orders were not as effective as before.
"Get down, Harry!"
Sirius suddenly leaped up, stepping on the shoulder of a werewolf about to fall, and leaped across the distance to tackle Harry to the ground. They rolled on the ground for a few rounds, crashing into the lower body of a werewolf before stopping.
"Harry!"
Ron's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground along with Malfoy. Facing the ferocious pack of werewolves, Hermione was drenched in sweat, trembling as she raised her wand, but her mind was blank.
Whoosh!
Immediately after, the werewolves pinning Harry down were all sent flying. Sirius gave up using his wand to fight the werewolves and transformed into his Animagus form. He shielded Harry with his body, and a trickle of blood from the cut eyebrow stained his gray eyes red. He snarled at the approaching werewolves, ready to pounce.
At the moment when Harry was released, Snape's breath almost stopped, the color drained from his face, and his chest only rose and fell again when Sirius sent the werewolves flying.
Snape's body shook uncontrollably, his lips parched, but his eyes nearly spat fire, his reason prevented him from leaving Hermione and Ron, though he didn't realize his expression was more ferocious than ever before.
Thick, foul-smelling black smoke billowed from Snape's wand tip, obscuring the night sky. The nauseating smoke grew against the wind, turning into black pythons that entwined the approaching werewolves. The smoke-formed pythons clearly possessed incredible toxicity and corrosiveness, the werewolves they ensnared screaming in agony before their bodies visibly melted away like snowmen near a fire.
The thick scent of blood and the gruesome scene made Hermione and Ron vomit, and the spell that killed over twenty werewolves also greatly exhausted Snape. He staggered, seeing double of everything before him.
The werewolves had lost nearly half their numbers, but they still had sufficient forces, and Hagrid's motorcycle was still behind the wall formed by the werewolves. It seemed their chances of breaking through were slim!
Sirius protected Harry under him, glaring fiercely at his surroundings with a savage look. The ferocious aura and larger size than ordinary werewolves temporarily intimidated the approaching werewolves, but it was only temporary. These vicious dark creatures surrounded Sirius and Harry, trying to find a weakness.
Lying on the ground, Harry looked up at the large black dog just inches away, looking at his horrifying wounds, He was speechless for a moment.
Snape was also at his limit, but the intimidating power of his dark magic from earlier made the werewolves hesitate to approach for the time being.
Hermione, Ron, and Draco's lives now depended on Snape. For the first time in his life, Ron began to pray for Snape, hoping he could hold on a little longer. Hermione gathered her courage and tremblingly asked.
"Professor, what can I do for you?"
Snape was slightly surprised by Hermione's concern. He lowered his head and looked deeply into her eyes, filled with concern and tears. Then, as if being burned, he looked away, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.
Greyback and Remus had already left the battlefield. Their fight resembling that of two rabid dogs. Wherever they went, soil flew and blood splattered. Thick beech and pine trees were uprooted, resembling the aftermath of a hurricane.
Hagrid still had a few werewolves hanging onto him. If it weren't for his unique bloodline and extraordinary resistance to werewolf venom, Hagrid would not have escaped tonight.
Despair filled the hearts of everyone on the Hogwarts side. There were simply too many werewolves, and they were powerless to break free.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a rumbling sound came from a direction in the Forbidden Forest, catching everyone's attention. It was a rhythmic and numerous sound of hooves. Harry reacted the fastest, flipping out from under Sirius's belly and exclaimed in joy,
"It's the Centaurs!"
Harry was right. The arrivals were the elite warriors of the Centaur tribe, led by Firenze, Ronan, and Bane. They stood on the outskirts of the battlefield, raising their hooves and staring in shock at the brutalized wolf corpses hanging from tree branches, vines, and the ground.
"What's going on, Hagrid?" Bane angrily paused his hooves and said in a stern voice, "I thought you came to find the lost young wizard, but instead, you're at war with these despicable creatures in the Centaurs's territory!"
"It's a long story, Bane!" Hagrid wiped the blood off his face and said panting, "Anyway, it wasn't Hogwarts who started this. Weren't you looking for trouble with the werewolves? Why did Greyback target us?"
"Somebody deliberately misled us—"Firenze vigilantly stared at the ugly werewolves on the outer circle and said with a deeper meaning, "We found the lost member of our tribe, but it wasn't the werewolves who kidnapped him. It was a transfigured sculpture. This is a wizard's trick. We suspect it was a diversion, to kidnap the foals while our best warriors were away."
Firenze's silver-maned horse body shimmered in the moonlight,
"We prepared to rush back to the tribe as quickly as possible, but we heard the commotion here on the way."
More than twenty centaurs, who were not much shorter than Hagrid, held spears and stared at the werewolves with unfriendly eyes, making the wolf pack restless.
"Thank God—"
Ron, drenched in sweat, finally regained his ability to speak. His face was pale, and a tremendous sense of fear had pierced through his mental defenses. He spoke with a mix of crying and laughter,
"I thought we were done for. Aren't we lucky?"
"Can't you see, Ron—" Gritting her teeth, Hermione said, "Somebody has orchestrated all of this. We've fallen into a trap."
"Are you talking about Pettigrew, that rat—" Ron asked in a dazed manner, "But Black and Lupin said he was the traitor who betrayed Harry's parents—"
Hermione was used to Ron's slowness, and while the werewolves were still intimidated, Harry, supporting the barely standing Sirius, came to Snape's side.
Although there were only a little over twenty centaurs, each one was an elite warrior of the tribe. Their combat power was not inferior to the remaining werewolves. Therefore, without direct orders from Greyback, the werewolves did not dare to launch an attack recklessly.
"Firenze—"
Harry urgently wanted to say something, but before he could, Firenze, who had avoided the encirclement of the werewolves and came to their side, did not give Harry a chance to speak. He calmly said,
"You should return to the school now, Harry Potter. The battlefield belongs to the centaurs next. We have endured these despicable dark creatures for long enough. It's a good opportunity to drive them out of the Forbidden Forest."
"Just you try!"
As Firenze's words fell, on the other side, Greyback and the transformed Lupin finally determined the winner. In their duel as werewolves, it was foreseeable that Lupin would lose. His entire body was covered in horrifying bite marks, and in the most severe place, a chunk of flesh had been torn off.
Lupin's head and two elongated arms hung down, and no one was sure to confirm whether Professor Lupin was still alive.
"You lowly mules actually dared to drive us away!"
Greyback's fangs dripped with blood. As he approached, the werewolves quickly gathered behind him, staring at the brutally killed comrades in the forest. Every word Greyback spoke carried a strong bloody scent,
"Alright, alright, the losses are severe, aren't they? But it doesn't matter. Werewolves have strong vitality, and we will soon recover—"
"Remus" Sirius shouted in anger, calling out Lupin's name. Greyback laughed bloodily, holding onto the back of Lupin's head like displaying a trophy to everyone,
"Don't worry, folks. This despicable traitor isn't dead yet. I still have a lot to talk to him about. But, tonight's commotion has indeed exceeded expectations. Hmm, if possible, I would like to invite all of you to leave with us. After all, we still need to negotiate with old man Dumbledore."
Upon hearing that Lupin was still alive, Sirius calmed down slightly, but his eyes were filled with deep hatred as he stared at Greyback.
Greyback's words, almost taunting, made the centaurs furious. They clawed their hooves restlessly, only one command away from charging.
"We retreat—" Unexpectedly, Snape coldly said.
"Do you think I'm a coward, Snivellus? I won't abandon Remus!" Sirius immediately turned his head and glared at Snape.
Harry also didn't want to retreat. He, like Sirius, would never give up on Professor Lupin. and there was still the matter of Peter Pettigrew to resolve.
But Harry had seen the carnage; He knew that besides making the people protecting them helpless, he was useless. Sirius was the same. His face was as pale as paper, and he had at least eight bloody holes on his body, still bleeding. These were the wounds he received when he fought the werewolves in his Animagus form.
"The motorcycle's coming!"
Snape raised his wand high and shouted. Not far away, a motorcycle rose from the ground, broke a few vines, and stopped in front of them. Snape, who was already at his limit, swayed for a moment after casting the spell. He looked like he was about to fall, but in the end, he endured the dizziness and spoke to Harry and the others with an unquestionable tone,
"Get on the bike!"
No one had any objections about whether Harry and the other young wizards should leave. And so, all the kids rushed onto the bike.
"You should go back too, Sirius!" Hagrid said to Sirius, "Only you know how to use this bike properly. I'll stay behind to help the centaurs drive away the werewolves and save Remus."
Sirius, who had just mocked Snape for being a coward, naturally didn't want to leave. However, with just one sentence, Snape completely shattered his stubbornness,
"You fool, are you going to make another stupid decision like you did twelve years ago?"
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