Hogwarts: I graduated before the system came

A clear sound of water came from the bottom of the well, splashing and carrying an empty echo.

Lupin looked at the strange scene in front of him in confusion, and the sound of water coming from deep in the passage puzzled him.

"Did they hit the underground river? That person is hiding in the underground river?"

he asked, his voice echoing through the empty shaft.

Douglas retracted his wand with a smug and cunning smile on his face.

"No, that's Falling Water. A composite spell. It creates a pool deep enough to act as a buffer, so we can jump in without getting smashed to dust."

He paused, then added, "Besides, it can also wash off any tracking magic or other gadgets that might be on your body."

He gestured to Lupin, as if inviting him to try an exciting game of diving.

Then Douglas jumped into the bottomless shaft without hesitation.

Lupin only saw a black shadow disappear into the darkness in an instant, and then heard a soft "plop" sound.

He waited a moment, but heard no sound of struggle or injury, only the calm ripples of the water.

He took a deep breath. Although he still had doubts in his heart, his trust in Douglas made him follow him and jump into the unknown abyss.

The cold well water instantly enveloped Lupin, and the impact force was cleverly dissipated. He fell into the water steadily without feeling any pain.

He quickly floated up from the water, shook off the water droplets on his head, and then he found himself in a dry mine tunnel with solid rock ground under his feet.

He looked behind him, at the entrance to the cave directly above the pool of water. The pool of water below him, created by the spell, was slowly dissipating and turning back into solid rock.

Not far away, Douglas had climbed out of the pool and was standing in the middle of the mine, looking forward.

The entire mine tunnel was illuminated by Douglas's self-created lighting spell.

At the end of the mine tunnel, a hunched figure huddled in a corner like a forgotten stone.

He was an old man, his life force as weak as a candle in the wind, and his presence was almost imperceptible.

He did not lie down, but leaned against an ancient stalagmite, as if it was his last support and so fragile that it could fall at any time.

His body was covered with hideous wounds, but these wounds did not bleed. Instead, they presented a horrible mixed state: half were charred marks caused by the spell, with curled skin edges and emitting a burnt smell; the other half were glowing with holy yet corrosive golden spots, as if burned by some sacred corrosive agent.

These two completely different forces left their marks on his body and tore at his life.

After getting rid of the discomfort caused by the sudden light in the darkness.

The old man's hands trembled as he raised a worn wand with difficulty and pointed it at his temple.

His eyes were cloudy, filled with desire for death and fear of the unknown, as if only by ending everything could he escape from this endless pain.

"Don't!" Lupin exclaimed.

But it all happened too fast.

Just as the tip of the old man's wand was about to touch his temple, Douglas's wrist trembled imperceptibly.

A silent variant of the disarming spell—the finger-snap spell—was cast with precision.

There was no chanting, no light.

A silent gust of wind, like a stone thrown by a naughty child, accurately hit the wand in the old man's hand.

"Clap."

The wand, stained with dried blood, flew out of his hand, hit the rock wall, and rolled into the shadows on the side.

This attack was more like an extremely sophisticated physical technique rather than standard magic. It was so fast that even Lupin could only see an afterimage.

The old man obviously had not expected this sudden change. His one eye was wide open, full of disbelief.

Having lost his last weapon, his body instantly went limp and he collapsed to the ground like a pile of rags.

"Ho...ho..."

Desperate gasps erupted from his throat like the rumble of an old bellows.

In the cloudy one eye, the desire for death was quickly replaced by a deeper fear of the unknown.

He curled up on the ground, his body shaking violently with fear and pain, like a dead leaf shivering in the cold wind.

He wanted to die, but he was deprived of even the right to commit suicide.

Douglas said softly, "It's a werewolf!"

Chapter 393: Lupin: Brothers. Family. How familiar, yet how distant.

Lupin understood and stepped forward immediately.

He knelt on one knee, lowered his body, and spoke softly in gentle Italian: "Don't be afraid, we are not enemies. I am also... one of your kind."

As he spoke, he deliberately released a trace of werewolf aura that came from his bloodline but did not carry any threat.

That smell had no effect on ordinary people, but to the old man in front of him, it was like smelling a familiar campfire in the snow.

The old man felt this breath, and his tense body relaxed slightly, but the intense fear and vigilance in his one eye were still fixed on Lupin and Douglas who was approaching behind him.

Douglas walked over with steady steps and took out a bottle of medicine emitting clear blue light from his arms.

"A palliative."

He spoke briefly, handed the crystal bottle to Lupin and signaled with his eyes.

"I modified this primary tranquilizing potion. It has minimal side effects and can help relax his tense nerves a little."

Lupin took the potion and carefully placed it close to the old man's cracked lips.

A refreshing herbal aroma filled the air, carrying with it a soothing power.

The old man turned his head away in resistance at first, making threatening grunts in his throat, but the pure aura of Lupin and the unadulterated sincerity in his eyes made the blood-red madness in the old man's eyes flash with a trace of struggle.

Finally, a frustrated whimper escaped his throat and he opened his mouth weakly.

The cool liquid medicine slid into the throat, and the old man's rapid breathing calmed down visibly, and his violently trembling body gradually eased.

Douglas then stepped forward and took out the whistle from his pocket:

"This is the Moon Speaker's keepsake."

He paused, his tone clear and firm:

"I'm Douglas Holmes, from Hogwarts."

"Holmes!"

These two words were like a thunderclap, causing the dying old man to suddenly straighten his upper body!

His cloudy single eye burst into a terrifying light as he stared at the whistle. He then suddenly raised his head to look at Douglas. His dry lips trembled as he squeezed out a few broken syllables from the depths of his throat:

"Moon Speaker...Mr. Holmes..."

He was so excited that his whole body was convulsing, tears and snot mixed together and flowed down his face. He struggled to reach out his hand, trying to grab Douglas's hand as if he was grabbing a life-saving straw, but it fell down powerlessly.

Seeing this, Lupin quickly added: "My name is Remus Lupin. If you know Douglas, you should also..." "New wolfsbane potion!"

The old man turned his head suddenly and roared with all his strength, his voice was sharp and piercing.

"Is it true?! It...it can really save us?"

This roar is an endless desire and also the final despair.

The roar was filled with endless desire and despair.

Lupin's heart was shaken. He reached out and pressed the old man's trembling shoulders firmly, his eyes filled with heavy pity and unquestionable promise. "It's true. Professor Holmes's new potion is far more effective than any other. It can completely eradicate wolfsbane, and... it's very cheap."

"……real……"

The affirmative answer was like a heavy hammer, completely shattering the old man's nerves that had been tense for decades.

He seemed to have all his bones pulled out and he collapsed. The grief, pain and despair that he had suppressed for half a lifetime suddenly burst out at this moment.

He no longer roared or struggled, but only let out a wild, beast-like whimper as if he had survived a disaster.

Turbid tears mixed with dust and dried blood, washed out two messy grooves on his weather-beaten cheeks.

After a long time, this belated outburst of anger gradually subsided.

The old man wiped his face carelessly with the back of his hand, which was covered with calluses and hideous scars. His voice was still hoarse, but it finally had a hint of life in it:

"My name is Aldo. I used to be a wizard."

He gasped, as if every memory was a torture.

"Many years ago, I was bitten in a damn accident. My family... my friends... everyone avoided me like the plague. Just when I thought I would be cleared out like garbage by the Ministry of Magic, or turned into a mad beast on a full moon night, the Ash Claw tribe... took me in."

When mentioning the Ash Claw, a complex light flashed in Aldo's one eye, with gratitude, nostalgia, but more of it was heart-wrenching pain.

"The Ash Claws...are different from those barbaric tribes entrenched in the deep mountains and forests."

He gasped violently, as if every word was tearing the wounds on his body, but his only eye flashed with pain and pride.

"In our tribe, we don't care about pure blood, and we don't care whether you are born or bitten!"

"The position of leader belongs to the virtuous and capable! We stand back to back, protecting each other with claws and teeth, and never questioning each other's origins!"

"Unlike those other shitty tribes."

He wanted to spit, but only coughed up a pool of blood foam, with deep hatred in his eyes.

"They treat those who are bitten as slaves, as cannon fodder, as tools that can be discarded at will! But in the Ash Claw, we are brothers and family!"

His voice trembled again with excitement, and the flame of memories burned in his one eye.

Deep in the mine, the air seemed to be frozen.

Aldo's last voice was a flame that still burned stubbornly after being repeatedly crushed by fate.

Lupin's thoughts were dragged into a bottomless vortex by this voice.

His kneeling position on one knee did not change, but his whole body seemed to be drained away in an instant.

Everything around him began to fade and blur. Douglas's calm profile, the old man's bloodstained face, the dancing light and shadows on the rock wall... everything became an out-of-focus background.

The cold stone floor seemed to chill him through his trouser legs and into his bones.

In his world, there are only those two words.

Brothers. Family.

How familiar, yet how distant.

Chapter 394 They even gave him a name - Moon Face.

Lupin felt a familiar warmth rising up from the depths of his memory without warning.

It was a complex smell of cheap honey after a prank, old parchment from the Restricted Section, and the burning applewood in the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room.

He seemed to be back in that noisy dormitory again, where James was dancing and demonstrating Quidditch tactics, Sirius was using a spell to make his quill do a tap dance, and Peter... Peter was looking at them with an adoring, pure look, holding tightly in his hand a piece of cauldron cake that had been squeezed out of shape.

He seemed to be back in that cold little house, the screaming shack on a full-moon night.

There was no fear in the air there, only three illegal Animagus.

James transformed into a stag, agile and elegant, using his hard antlers to drive away danger and dispel the darkness in his heart.

Sirius turned into a huge black dog, always grinning and rubbing his hand with his wet nose. The warm body temperature and silent company were his only comfort in the chaotic world after his transformation.

Even timid Peter turned into a tiny mouse, squeaking and whirling around him, trying to share his pain in his insignificant way.

Those full-moon nights, once the darkest curse in his life, became a strange secret ritual mixed with pain and warmth because of their existence.

They even gave him a name.

Moon face.

A nickname that is playful, yet full of the clumsy tenderness that is unique to young people.

Those were his brothers, his family.

It was the person he thought he could entrust his life to, share secrets with, and stand by with forever.

However, this warmth only lasted for a moment before it was completely extinguished by an icy cold current of betrayal.

The picture of memory suddenly shattered.

The warm common room was a ruin, and the air of Godric's Hollow was thick with the sweet smell of death. James collapsed in front of the door, and Lily collapsed beside the crib.