Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 93 Determining Location (3k)

at the same time.

As the afternoon sun shone on the Isle of Man ferry terminal, Lupin and Granger set foot on the island.

Thanks to Granger's meticulous design, old Lupin was dressed in a Hawaiian-style tropical outfit and wore a straw hat. No one could find any trace of a wizard in him; he looked exactly like a Muggle on vacation on the island.

"When I brought Hermione to this island for vacation two years ago, she wasn't so concerned about her front teeth."

Granger said with some emotion.

“I’ve never raised a son, but girls are more sensitive. Although Hermione usually appears very confident, Jane and I both know that sometimes she’s just using confidence as a disguise.”

Old Lupin was a little uncomfortable with his tropical shorts. He had pulled at the elastic band many times, not understanding why Muggles would like to wear such things.

“Kids are all like that when they’re young. As Remus grew up, he came to terms with some of the silly things he did when he was little. When he was in Hogwarts, his mother and I started joking with him about those old jokes.”

After sharing their parenting experiences along the way, once they were fully on the island, the two began to discuss the main topic.

“We can’t just sit here and wait for Severus to come back. The Isle of Man isn’t big, and I think we can do some research in advance.”

Granger spoke up.

Old Lu Ping nodded in agreement.

"Do you have any ideas?"

“We saw that group of people this morning. There were quite a few of them, and they had seven or eight children with them.” Granger had clearly been thinking about this on the way here. “If a group like that wanted to operate on the Isle of Man, there would be no way to hide or conceal themselves. And based on your performance, I can roughly deduce that wizards aren’t very good at disguising themselves as… what’s that word you’re referring to? Yes, Muggle.”

"So if they really are hiding on this island, they'll probably find a secluded place to hide, like they would find a seaside cave in Eastbourne."

As Granger spoke, he led old Lupin to a bird's-eye view of the Isle of Man next to the dock.

"The Isle of Man's permanent population is mainly located in our current location, in Douglas, the capital in the southeast, numbering over 20,000. If those people wanted a suitable place, they certainly wouldn't choose here."

“Besides these, there are the west coast town of Peel, the south town of Castletown, and the northern port town of Ramsey. These three places have a considerable population. In addition, Douglas and the surrounding areas of these four towns are basically home to the scattered farm population. So the remaining places are the locations they might choose.”

He swung his hand upwards, finally pinpointing the exact location in the middle and northern parts of the island.

"In the central mountains, the population is sparse due to the terrain. And in the north, because there is a large plain that is extremely suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry, and a considerable portion of the land has been bought up by large farm owners, there are not many people living there either."

Old Lupin was very convinced by Granger's analysis.

Compared to Muggles, many wizards have significant flaws in logical reasoning because magic, in most cases, does not require logic.

“I can go to Diagon Alley to rent a flying broomstick first, and then try to search as high as possible in the places you mentioned, but if those werewolves want to hide, they must have used a Muggle banishing charm on their camp. It’s impossible for anyone other than a wizard to find them.”

Granger nodded.

“I understand, that’s why I don’t plan to go with you. I’ll go to the local marine conservation organization and borrow their recent ocean tracking records around the Isle of Man. Since the werewolf chose to set up camp on the Eastbourne coast last time, it’s very likely that he will do the same thing when he comes to the Isle of Man.”

“Environmental organizations regularly send people to clean up garbage and monitor seawater along most of the coastal areas. Their records may be helpful to us.”

They were highly efficient; even without Severus, once Granger had confirmed the plan, the two immediately began their operation.

Old Lupin first Apparated to Diagon Alley, rented a flying broom from the broom shop there, then returned to the island, cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself and the broom, took off, and began searching the areas marked by Granger in the sky above the island.

Granger also found a clothing store, tidied his clothes, and then went to a local environmental organization, where he successfully obtained a borrowing permit by using his identity as a doctor.

When it got dark, Severus, after Apparating from Crouch's house and then riding a flying broomstick to the island to meet them, they reunited at an inn.

Hearing from Granger and old Lupin what they were doing on the island was the best news Severus had heard all day.

He could pick any two teammates and they'd be better than those pigs in the Ministry of Magic!

"Alright, gentlemen, let's summarize the intelligence we've all discovered."

Severus's expression was grave.

“Let me start with my story. After I found Kingsley, we went to Azkaban to verify the conjectures I had written to him. After that, we prepared to go to the home of Chief of Staff Crouch and arrest him and his son on the spot.”

"As a result, his son Barty Jr. had already taken control of his father, including Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf leader we encountered during the day. I tried to join forces with the Aurors to wipe them all out, but the plan ultimately failed due to internal problems within the Aurors."

"So the bad news is that the werewolves' power may have increased, and there's a chance that Little Barty will bring a group of dark wizards to join forces with those werewolves."

"As for the good news, after successfully escaping from Crouch's house, Greyback is likely no longer of any use to Barty Jr. They look down on werewolves, and using Greyback was most likely to create chaos in the wizarding world, increase the burden on the Ministry of Magic, and thus cause his father to relax his supervision of him." "Now that he has achieved his goal, he is more likely to abandon those werewolves and let them fend for themselves."

Granger frowned upon hearing Severus's words.

"This might not be good news either. If those werewolves are really abandoned, they might just give up and cause trouble, which would put the children in danger!"

“That’s a possibility,” Severus nodded. “But I know Barty. Even if he abandons those werewolves, he won’t be that ruthless. It’s more likely he’ll find an excuse to get them away temporarily.”

Old Lupin and Granger nodded in unison, then exchanged a glance, and Old Lupin spoke first.

“I rode my flying broomstick and followed the locations Robert marked to find the sun setting. I didn’t find anything in the mountainous area in the middle of the island, unless they had hidden in some cave again. And there were no traces of magic left in the farms to the north.”

"Until I reached the northernmost part of the island, there was a man-made forest. Something seemed off about that forest, like it had signs of a Muggle expulsion spell, but after I descended, I didn't find anything unusual."

Upon hearing this, Granger's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.

"Is the forest you're talking about in Cape El?"

"I'm not sure if this is the place name."

At this moment, Severus and Granger simultaneously pulled out paper maps of the Isle of Man, clearly indicating that they had prepared in advance.

"Here! At the northernmost point of the entire island, not far from the coast!"

After seeing the directions they pointed out, Old Lu Ping nodded with absolute certainty.

"Yes! This is it. We'll see the coastline in less than 6 miles!"

“I checked the records of the Isle of Man conservation organization!” Granger said excitedly. “There wasn’t much found near the coastline, but it’s still this man-made forest, which belongs to them on the island. But according to their organization’s records, the forest was originally about 80.3 acres, but that number has been decreasing in subsequent records! About half an acre of land has disappeared!”

“They actually surveyed for a long time but couldn’t find where the missing half acre went. They thought there was something wrong with the initial data! This is very strange, but if the werewolves had chosen a certain spot in the plantation as a secret camp a long time ago, then this makes sense!”

Severus clapped his hands and praised with great emotion.

"Guys! You guys are awesome! Even an Auror wouldn't be worthy to carry your shoes!"

The three of them immediately stood up. They all understood that now that they had a target, it was best not to delay and to go find it as soon as possible before nightfall!

As midnight approached, they began their operation.

While most of the residents of the Isle of Man were asleep and the neon lights of the red-light district and bar street were on, Severus and his companions arrived at the area they had discovered in the northern part of the island.

Not long after entering this man-made forest, Severus was the first to notice something amiss.

"Wait, wasn't the anomaly Lyle discovered during the day in the northwest?"

“Yes, the very edge of the Northwest!” Old Lu Ping said definitively.

"There does seem to be traces of magic here, but it also seems like some kind of magic has helped to cover up these traces."

Severus stroked his chin and pulled a small bottle of red liquid from the inner pocket of his robe.

"This is the blood of the Fire Ash Serpent. It's very troublesome to obtain, but it's extremely sensitive to magic, so it can help determine its nature."

As he spoke, he squatted down and poured the bottle of snake blood onto the ground.

Soon, a red liquid, as if it were constantly burning, spread across the ground like a spider web. Finally, the thin lines that extended outwards, like branches, stretched from the northwest all the way to the northeast!
“We’ve come to the right place! This is it! There’s a massive Muggle banishment spell here, stretching from west to east, covering an area of ​​nearly two acres!”

As Severus spoke, Granger and Lupin made eye contact with him.

"Are we just going to charge straight in like this?" Granger didn't know how to fight, especially against wizards.

"No! This place is too big. We can't be sure of their exact location. If we make a commotion, given their large numbers, they might use Apparition or the Portkey to escape!"
Severus shook his head, raised his wand, and gave instructions to old Lupin and Granger.

"I'll go to the Ministry of Magic and find a few reliable people. They can help us cast the Anti-Apparition Charm. You wait here for me for a few minutes, and be careful not to let them find out."

Old Lupin nodded and said to Severus.

"Don't worry, I'll use the Disillusionment Charm to hide Robert and me, and then I'll wait for you here."

Severus did not linger. He immediately used Apparition to go to the Ministry of Magic to find Kingsley, only allowing him to bring his men, and then quickly returned to the man-made forest.

(End of this chapter)