Hogwarts: I graduated before the system came

"Isa... She's always like this, worrying about me. This time, she heard from some sources about the miracle of your improved wolfsbane potion."

"She told me that Professor Holmes is not only a great pharmacist, but also a wise man worthy of trust. She said you are...very trustworthy. She rarely believes in someone so firmly."

Douglas raised the corner of his mouth: "She should have said more than just that!"

Marco hadn't expected Douglas to be so direct. His personality was similar to his sister's. After sizing Douglas up again, he said:

"Indeed, Isabella told me that the mysterious wizard who brought disgrace to the entire Church a few years ago was you. She said that you are the only ray of light we can grasp in our despair."

"If even you can't help the Ash Claw, then we...will truly be doomed."

Lupin looked at Marco with a sympathetic look. Since Isabella could be an Auror at the Ministry of Magic, it meant that their family did not have werewolf blood... The only thing left was...

Marco saw Lupin's expression and explained:

"Actually, my situation... is a bit special. I wasn't born a werewolf, but when I was very young, around five or six years old, I was unfortunately... bitten by a mad werewolf."

Hearing this, Lupin clenched his fists involuntarily, feeling the pain he felt.

"That must be...very hard."

"Yes." Marco's voice was a little hoarse, but with a sense of happiness:

"I'm lucky. Although my parents are just ordinary wizards, they violated the Ministry of Magic's strict Werewolf Quarantine Act to protect me. They hid me secretly at home and told others that I was weak and sick and needed rest."

"Those days were... very difficult. Every full-moon night, they would do everything they could to lock me up. I was under tremendous pressure and fear."

"Until I was twelve years old, my identity was exposed by accident."

There was a flicker of pain in Marco's eyes.

"I remember it clearly. It was Isabella's birthday, and we had quite a few guests. I couldn't control myself, and something unusual happened before the full moon... That chaos nearly led to a disaster."

"In order not to implicate my parents, to prevent the entire family from being disgraced because of me, and to prevent Isabella from growing up in fear, I chose to leave."

His voice carried a weight that came from a lifetime of experience.

"I wandered all the way and eventually arrived at the Apennine Mountains, where I joined the Ash Claw tribe. Here, no one will question your past. Every member is a soul searching for a home in despair."

“Although I left home, my parents and Isabella never really gave up on me. They always treated me as a child who was traveling far away.

Over the years, Isabella has tried every possible way to secretly provide me with whatever help she can through various covert channels, such as some urgently needed medicines or intelligence about the movements of the Vatican and the Ministry of Magic."

"Last time, the attack by the St. Benedict Wolf Hunter Order was too sudden and fierce. The tribe suffered heavy losses and was almost at the end of its rope.

It happened that Isabella contacted me through secret channels at that time and told me that you, Professor Douglas Holmes, had made great achievements.

"Isabella's original idea was to try to buy some of your improved wolfsbane potion from you to solve my urgent problem first."

Marco's face showed a complicated expression, a mixture of gratitude and helplessness.

"But she knows my character. I have regarded Ash Claw as my home, and these people are my relatives.

As a leader, I cannot abandon my tribe at this critical moment, just for my own safety."

"So, after discussing it, we finally decided to take the liberty of sending you a letter asking for help, hoping to invite you to come and find a way out for the entire tribe."

Chapter 401 My sister will never betray me!

Marco looked at Douglas with an earnest and firm look in his eyes.

"It's not that I'm being arrogant and unwilling to go and ask for help in person. It's simply because, in my current status, I simply can't leave the Apennines."

"The Vatican's spies are everywhere, watching us too closely. If I show up, not only will I be in danger, but I might also bring disaster to the tribe."

"Moreover, even if I could manage to avoid the eyes and ears of the Church, it would be impossible for me, as a werewolf, to successfully enter the British wizarding world and visit you."

"Finally, it was Isabella who came up with a solution. She said that perhaps she could try to formally invite you to visit through Deputy Director Lorenzo in the name of the Italian Ministry of Magic.

This will not only conceal your activities but also provide you with a certain degree of official protection. However, we didn't expect that the development of the matter would be even more difficult than we anticipated."

Marco's voice gradually became lower, and the majesty of the wolf leader seemed particularly profound in the flickering firelight.

The tribe members whispered outside the cave.

There were children crying and wounded soldiers suppressing their cries of pain.

These sounds were like sharp daggers, each one reminding Marco that they had lost too much.

He stared at the stone wall, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes.

Douglas keenly caught that hint of guilt.

The atmosphere in the cave became heavy due to Marco's frankness, but it also had a sense of sincerity.

The bowl of bitter mushroom soup seemed to be tainted with a touch of complex human touch because of this story.

Lupin held the bowl of soup, and the heat filled his eyes.

His heart was in turmoil at the moment. Every word Marco said was like a stone thrown into the deep pool of his memory, causing ripples.

Bitten at a young age, he struggled with the pain of his parents' unwavering support. He chose self-exile to avoid implicating his family, but ultimately found a home among a group of his own kind, shouldering a heavy responsibility...

This is so similar to his life trajectory!

However, Marco chose to sharpen his claws in the mountains and become the alpha wolf protecting the pack.

He himself was once depressed in the quagmire of self-loathing until the light of Dumbledore and his friends pulled him out.

He looked at the resolute-faced werewolf leader in front of him, and a complex emotion arose in his heart, a mixture of sympathy and admiration from the bottom of his heart.

The air was frozen in silence, with only the crackling sound of the burning bonfire echoing in the empty cave.

At this moment, Douglas gently put down the ceramic bowl in his hand.

"knock."

The light sound was particularly clear in the cave, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly breaking the brief warmth.

"It seems you guessed it." Douglas' voice was flat.

Marco's head shot up, confusion flashing in his eyes.

Douglas met his gaze calmly, with a faint curve at the corner of his mouth, but there was no warmth in that curve.

"I'm talking about how the attackers found you."

Marco instantly understood the subtext of that statement and he stood up abruptly.

The tall figure cast a huge, oppressive shadow in the firelight.

"My sister would never betray me!"

There was a hint of offended anger in his voice, like a beast whose reverse scales had been touched.

Douglas remained calm, even his sitting posture did not change.

He raised his hand, palm down, in a soothing gesture, telling Marco to calm down.

"I haven't told you who it is yet, haha."

He chuckled, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Of course I know she won't betray you."

Douglas raised his eyes, looking through the flickering firelight into Marco's angry eyes.

"But you overlooked one point. She works for the Italian Ministry of Magic. Her every move is under the surveillance of certain interested parties."

"Especially when she starts asking about a famous person from England who improved the wolfsbane potion."

Marco's face turned pale instantly.

Douglas' tone was very flat, as if he was stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

"Isabella is a smart girl, but sometimes she gets confused when she cares too much."

"The security measures she left behind to contact you actually make it easier for someone with ulterior motives to track her."

The air in the cave seemed to freeze.

Marco sat down slowly, his voice hoarse:

"So, the Benedictine raid... led them to us through the traces left by Isabella?"

Douglas did not answer yes or no directly, but picked up the bowl of slightly cold soup and took another sip, as if savoring the bitterness.

A trace of pain and deep self-blame flashed in Marco's eyes.

Douglas put down the bowl and slowly raised a more fatal question:

"The Order of Saint Benedict, with their strict discipline and ruthless methods, inflicted heavy casualties on you in our last encounter, correct?"

Seeing Marco nod, Douglas continued to ask:

"What about this time? You suffered heavy losses, but according to you, no one died. Don't you think... that's a bit suspiciously merciful?"

Marco was completely stunned.

The tragic battle scenes of that day replayed uncontrollably in his mind.

The attackers' attacks were indeed fierce, and the weapons they used were of the unique style of the Order of St. Benedict—arrows coated with silver powder, and magic spells that flickered with faint holy light.

but……

He thought about it carefully, and the tactical coordination of those people seemed a little chaotic, even unfamiliar.

They were more like a group of hastily assembled rabble, fighting with the advantage of equipment and ferocity, unlike the last army that was well-disciplined and coordinated as one.

Yes, not really!

They suffered heavy losses that time!

This time, although there were many serious injuries, no one died.

"Their goal, from the very beginning, wasn't to completely wipe you out."

Douglas's voice became cold and clear, like stones knocking on ice on a winter day.

"To be more precise..."

He paused slightly, allowing the chill to spread completely throughout the cave.

"They followed the traces Isabella left behind to contact me and found you."

"From the very beginning, your tribe was just a tool used to scare the prey in this hunting game..."

Douglas looked into Marco's eyes and spoke the last word clearly.

“…grass.”

These words are more hurtful than the most vicious curse.

It was like an invisible, poisonous thorn that pierced deeply into Marco's self-esteem.

They are wolves.

It is the proud Ash Claw of the Apennines.

They dealt with the Church, fought against vampires, and survived in desperate situations, without ever lowering their proud heads.

But now, someone told him that the bloody battle in which they paid a heavy price and almost wiped out their entire clan was just an insignificant disturbance on someone else's chessboard.

All their sacrifices and struggles were just to alert the real prey behind the grass.

Marco's fists were clenched so tightly that they crackled, and his knuckles turned white from the excessive force.

But the anger in his eyes was gradually replaced by a deeper fear and confusion.

"why?"

He almost squeezed out these two words from between his teeth.

"Who is it? The Vatican? What do they want to do?"

Chapter 402 My Help Comes at a Price

"No, not the Vatican." Douglas shook his head.

Douglas turned around and glanced at Marco.

“Someone wants me to come to Italy.”

"To be more precise, they want to create some interesting stories between me and the Holy See."