Chapter 324: A series of twists and turns, a whole night worked in vain?
"No, you can't do that," Hermione objected. "Professor Lupinis innocent."
"Miss Granger," Professor Snape's face darkened, "you've read the textbooks. Werewolves are indiscriminate. Killing him is the best option."
"You wouldn't dare!" Sirius roared. "Snape, if you dare, I will never let you off the hook!"
"Alright, you've scared me."
"Killing him is a bit much, but I wouldn't feel any guilt for crippling him." Snape sneered, then waved his wand, "Sectumsempra…"
"Expelliarmus!" x3.
Harry decisively waved his wand, disarming Snape before he could finish his spell.
But at the same time, two more bright lights followed, sending Snape flying into the Whomping Willow, where he slid down the trunk.
Snape fell unconscious, red blood trickling down his hair onto his face.
"You…" Aaron's eyes widened in shock. "Professor Snapehating you isn't without reason; you went too far."
"We attacked a Professor." Hermione whimpered, covering her chin in fear. "We're doomed."
"I won't help you this time. You made your mess, you clean it up," Aaron grumbled.
The Werewolf hasn't been dealt with yet, and you're attacking our own teammate, even knocking out the only Wizard who could openly suppress him. You must have a death wish.
Aaron quickly ran to the base of the Whomping Willow and helped the unconscious Snape into the tree hollow.
He didn't dare leave Snape outside at this point; an irrational Werewolf combined with a Whomping Willow that could awaken at any moment posed a significant life-threatening danger.
"Nice work," Sirius said to the three, then looked at Lupin, whose head and body were elongating. "No time, quickly untie me."
Harry immediately ran over and untied the ropes binding Sirius's hands.
Awooo!
The Werewolf howled at the moon, its fangs gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
Lupin had completely transformed into a Werewolf, his size nearly doubled, his body covered in white fur, and the ropes on his hands were easily torn to shreds by his claws.
"Leave him to me, you all run!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Sirius completed his Animagus transformation.
The large Black dog pounced on the Werewolf, wrestling with him, trying to drag him as far away as possible.
Accompanied by the howls of beasts, fangs and claws clashed continuously.
Pettigrew took advantage of the chaos, picked up Snape's dropped wand, and quickly touched his arm with it.
"Expelliarmus!"
Harry immediately disarmed him, but it was too late.
Pettigrew revealed a triumphant smile, his body shrinking at a visible speed. The rat with two missing toes scurried across the grass, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.
Harry was about to give chase, but the fierce roars nearby forced him to stop and focus on the battle between Lupinand Sirius.
In this wild struggle, the Black dog gradually lost ground, accumulating more and more injuries on his body.
Previously, Sirius and James could suppress the Werewolftogether, but now he was alone, and it was inevitably a bit overwhelming. Coupled with twelve years of imprisonment, which severely depleted his body and greatly reduced his fighting power, he was thrown off by the Werewolf in no time.
The Werewolf slowly approached Harry and the others. Seeing its cold eyes, the three felt their hearts in their throats.
Boom!
Crimson flames suddenly erupted from the tree hollow. The Werewolf sensed immense danger and instinctively chose to dodge, but was still forced back several meters by the scorching heatwave.
"Are you all idiots?" Aaron walked out of the tree hollow, looking speechlessly at the three. These people were clearly not strong, yet they loved to play high-stakes games and wouldn't run even when they had the chance.
"Roar…"
Sirius ran back, biting the Werewolf's arm and drawing him away.
"Black!" Harry anxiously chased after him, seeing the Werewolf throw the heavily injured large Black dog onto a rock and raise his long arm, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.
In his desperation, Harry picked up a stone and threw it at the Werewolf's head.
The Werewolf turned his head and let out a roar at Harry.
He quickly walked up to Harry, and just as he was about to attack, a wolf howl came from a distance.
Werewolves respond to the calls of their kind. After only a moment of hesitation, he gave up his attack and ran in the direction of the sound.
Harry had a narrow escape. Before he could recover, he heard the mournful howl of the large Black dog.
Sirius had reverted from his Animagus form. He had several deep wounds on his body, but he didn't care, staggering down the hillside.
Pettigrew had escaped, and he had to catch him, otherwise his name would not be cleared.
Seeing this, Harry anxiously chased after him. He knew what Sirius was worried about, but in Sirius's current state, let alone chasing Pettigrew, he might even be counter-killed by Pettigrew if he wasn't careful.
"Should we go and see?" Hermione asked Aaron with some trepidation.
"What about Professor Snape?" Aaron said sarcastically. "Thanks to you all, he's currently unconscious!"
"And me!" Ron weakly raised his right hand. "You can't leave me behind! And Sirius wouldn't hurt Harry, right?"
"That's right," Aaron nodded, but his expression suddenly became serious. "But *they* will."
Hermione and Ron exchanged puzzled glances, then followed Aaron's gaze, their faces instantly turning pale.
Countless dark figures were flying from the distant sky. At least a hundred Dementors had been attracted by the battle between the Werewolf and the Black dog.
"What do we do?" Ron anxiously asked. "Hermione, think of something!"
"I don't know what to do either," Hermione said bitterly. "They'll definitely execute Sirius as a murderer and an escaped convict. Even at Hogwarts, only Dumbledore and a few Deans could possibly drive away so many Dementors, but we don't have time to notify them."
"If you hadn't knocked out Professor Snape, there might have been a turning point, but now… Harry will have to pay the price for him, and for what you've done."
"What a time to be making sarcastic remarks!" Ron said angrily. "Sirius is innocent; he's been in prison for twelve years already!"
Aaron was silent for a moment, then let out a helpless sigh and walked towards where the Dementors were gathering.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.
"To save them! Although your attitude makes me very angry, it's truly inexcusable to stand by and do nothing."
"But those are hundreds of Dementors; you can't drive them away."
"How do you know I can't drive them away?" Aaron smiled meaningfully. "I also know the Patronus Charm. Although I'm not as good as Dumbledore, I'm definitely much stronger than Harry Potter. I can only say I'll do my best. With a bit of luck, maybe I can save both of them."
As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling white light emanated from a distance.
The Dementors were scattered by the brilliant light, fleeing in all directions.
"A Patronus Charm?" Aaron couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "A Patronus Charm not weaker than mine? Is there someone else there?"
"It's Harry, it must be Harry!" Ron said excitedly. "This is definitely his most successful one yet!"
Hermione also cried tears of joy. "Let's go see."
"You go if you want, I need to look after Professor Snape," Aaron said indifferently, walking back into the tree hollow by himself.
Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. "You hold on for a bit, I'll go get Harry and the others, and then we'll take you to the School Hospital."
Ron nodded. There was nothing else they could do now.
Just as Aaron brought Professor Snape out, Hermione ran back, panting.
"Where are they?" Aaron asked, a bit puzzled.
Hermione's face was bitter. "The Dementors ran off, but they attracted the attention of the Ministry of Magic. Before I even got there, I saw them take Sirius away."
"What about Harry?" Ron asked.
"He's unconscious. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll see him at the School Hospital."
"Life is full of ups and downs," Aaron shrugged, and just as he was about to say something, a white shadow darted out of the bushes.
"Abey, you've arrived just in time. We have two injured people here who need you."
Abey looked at the unconscious Snape and Ron's injured right leg, proudly puffed out its chest, and walked up to the two.
A white magic circle appeared above Snape's head, and soon he groggily opened his eyes.
"Professor, you're awake."
Snape came to his senses, and remembering the reason for his unconsciousness, his face turned particularly grim. "Damn it, Potter, Weasley, and Granger, I won't let you off the hook."
Hermione and Ron instinctively shivered, and after a moment of silence, nervously said, "We're sorry, Professor Snape."
"Heh heh!" Snape looked at the two contemptuously. "You Gryffindors are just like this, always stirring up trouble. I truly admire your courage, daring to appear before me. Guess how Professor McGonagall will punish you? Laying hands on a Professor—no student has ever been so egregious before."
The two silently lowered their heads, quietly accepting Snape's accusations, not daring to refute in the slightest.
"Where's Potter? And where did Lupin and the others go?"
"Uh… Professor, they're all out of immediate danger," Aaroninterjected. "However, Pettigrew escaped in the chaos."
Snape froze for a moment, then a sneer appeared on his lips. "So, they worked all night for nothing, did they?"
"Not exactly. Just now, the Ministry of Magic took Sirius, and Potter was also taken away."
"That's truly good news," Snape stood up. "I suddenly feel my head doesn't hurt as much."
"Professor, I suggest you go to the School Hospital first. Your wound still needs to be bandaged."
"Understood."
"Aaron, my, my leg." Ron looked at Abey expectantly. "Could it help heal this too?"
Aaron rolled his eyes, then gave Abey a meaningful look, and only then did it look at Ron's injured leg.
White light appeared, and after half a minute, Ron felt the pain in his leg lessen significantly, and he could even manage to walk without assistance.
Seeing that it was mostly healed, Aaron picked up Abey.
"Huh? It seems it's still a little short of being fully recovered."
"It only recently awakened this ability, and continuously healing two people is quite a burden for it. You should be content that you can walk. The rest can be left to Madam Pomfrey; a few days of rest should bring a full recovery."