Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 219 City
The last week of this semester, I can go to Hogsmeade Village again—

Everyone was happy except for Harry.

Harry's unhappiness stemmed from more than just his inability to go to Hogsmeade.

Rather, it's because "Tiera" has disappeared again—

To be precise, Tyella refused Harry's company.

During team practice, Harry rode past a broomstick from the school; it was an old, slow, and wobbly one. He definitely needed a new one.

Although Harry's parents left him a large fortune, he needed to use that money until seventh grade, so he couldn't spend it recklessly except to buy gifts for Tyrell.

Harry had originally wanted to discuss with Tyella what kind of flying broomstick he should buy for the next term—

Although he didn't know why, Tyella seemed to have suddenly become very interested in Quidditch, so Harry wanted to hear Tyella's opinion.

But Tyrell refused Harry's invitation and hasn't shown up since last night.

Harry was somewhat indignant and a little upset about this. He didn't know why he was like this. To distract himself, Harry simply hugged the book "Classification of Flying Brooms" that he had borrowed from Wood and decided to spend the day learning about different types of flying brooms.

On the Saturday morning when everyone went to Hogsmeade, Tyella still didn't show up, and didn't even return to her dormitory that night. Harry said goodbye to Ron and Hermione, who were wearing cloaks and scarves, and then went up the marble staircase alone to return to the Gryffindor Tower.

Snowflakes began to fall outside the window, and Hogwarts Castle was very quiet.

“Hey, Harry!” Harry turned around halfway down the fourth-floor corridor and saw Fred and George peeking at him from behind a statue of a one-eyed, hunchbacked witch.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously. "Why didn't you go to Hogsmeade Village?"

“We came to give you a little holiday cheer before we left,” Fred said, winking mysteriously. “Come here, it’s time for you to join the big brothers’ gang.”

Fred nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue, and Harry followed Fred and George inside.

George gently closed the door, then turned around, a smile on his face, and looked at Harry.

“I’m giving you an early Christmas present, Harry,” George said, then with a flick of his wrist, he pulled something from his cloak and placed it on an empty table.

It was a large, square, very old parchment, with nothing written on it.

Harry thought it was another joke by Fred and George, and stared at it.

"What is this?" Harry asked. "Your new prank product?"

“This is the secret to our success,” George said, then took out his wand and gently touched the parchment, saying:
"I solemnly swear that I have done nothing wrong."

Fine lines of ink, like a spiderweb, immediately appeared from where the wand had just touched.

These lines converged and intersected, extending to every corner of the parchment; then words began to appear above the parchment, large, curved green letters: "The suppliers of magical pranksters, the gentlemen Moonface, Wormtail, Bigfoot, and Forks, proudly present the Marauder's Map, which details every aspect of Hogwarts Castle and its grounds."

However, what is truly noteworthy are the tiny ink dots that move along the map, each marked with a name in tiny letters.

Harry was greatly surprised and bent down to look closer. A small ink dot in the upper left corner showed Professor Dumbledore pacing in his study; Filch's cat, Mrs. Lorris, was wandering on the third floor, while the mischievous Peeves was hopping around in the prize room. Harry's eyes swept up and down the familiar corridors. Then, he noticed something else.

The map revealed a series of passageways he had never entered before. Many of these passageways seemed to lead to…

“That’s the way to Hogsmeade,” Fred said, pointing along a path. “There are seven of them. Filch knows these four…wait, wait?” Fred suddenly exclaimed in surprise, and Harry followed his gaze—

Harry saw a name that Harry recognized very well on the map, appearing in the passageway leading from the One-Eyed Witch statue to the Honeydukes candy store cellars—

Tierra Lohart.

A sense of betrayal welled up in Harry's heart.

……

After disembarking with the inhabitants of the Cold Plains, two toad-like creatures, seemingly emerging from a nightmare, appeared on either side of Tiera—

The two moon beasts each stretched out their tentacles from the front of their heads, climbing onto Tiera's arms and dragging her towards a tall, pointed peak in the center of the city, as if she were a prisoner.

Along the way, Tierra found everything so novel, so disgusting, yet so alluring that she couldn't help but want to take another look.

Every now and then a small group of slaves dressed like those dark-skinned merchants would be driven off a sailing ship, followed by a large swarm of toad-like, slimy creatures—some officers, some navigators, and some oarsmen.

Tiera observed that creatures nearly indistinguishable from humans had been preserved for tasks requiring little physical strength but far less honorable, such as cooking, fetching and carrying, and haggling with people on Earth and other planets. These creatures would certainly find it very convenient to move around on Earth, for by donning clothing, shoes, and headscarves, they would look almost identical to humans, enough to haggle in human shops without feeling embarrassed or having to offer any strange explanations.

Apart from the emaciated or diseased slaves, most of them were naked and were crammed into crates and dragged away from the port in heavy covered wagons pulled by incredible creatures.

Occasionally, Tiera would also see other creatures being unloaded and packed into boxes. Some of these creatures closely resembled the humanoids, while others were less so, and still others bore no resemblance whatsoever.

Without a doubt, these packaged creatures would be transported inland to be consumed and enjoyed by the cruel and terrifying moon beast nobles, officers, and priests.

Moon Beasts are creatures of unimaginable cruelty. They feed solely on living beings, but before consuming them, they spend considerable time torturing and tormenting them for amusement, seeking base pleasure from the suffering of other creatures. Once they've had their fill, they devour their "food."

They extract a special substance from the body and soul of "food" that they need.

Escorted by two moon beasts, Tiera approached the city whose appearance and smell were indescribable.

The city streets were lined with lanterns that glowed red, and slaves carrying torches patrolled the streets.

Soon, Tierra reached the end of the street, where there was a huge square, and behind the square was the mountain Tierra was heading towards.

Some kind of force was stationed in the square—

The procession included ten toad-like creatures and twenty-four human-like torchbearers—eleven on each side and one in front and behind—blocking every path leading from the square to the mountain peak.

As Tiera and the two two-monster escorting him approached the square—

One of the ten moon beasts guarding the square stopped them from advancing.

The moon beast that stopped them appeared to be an officer or nobleman; Tiera saw one of the moon beasts escorting him treat the other moon beast with utmost respect.

The two moon beasts intertwined their tentacles, communicating for a while in this way—

Then the high-ranking moon beast pointed to one of the passages guarded by humanoid slave creatures, seemingly instructing them to enter from there.

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(End of this chapter)