Hogwarts: I graduated before the system came

"Roar!"

Greyback gave a growl of utter impatience and abandoned all attempts.

He poured all his strength into his next attack, like a black cannonball, to crush Lupin completely.

opportunity.

A cold light flashed in Lupin's eyes.

At the moment Greyback pounced in front of him, countless full-moon nights torn apart by pain flashed through Lupin's mind.

A complex look of fear and pity flashed across his friends' eyes.

I flashed through my mind, curled up in a dark corner, decades of self-loathing and endless struggle.

All the pain and humiliation, at this moment, turned into the last fuel supporting his shaky body.

It was never just Greyback he wanted to defeat.

It is also the weak self in the past who was cursed and trapped for life.

He didn't dodge.

Instead, he faced the fishy wind and crashed into Greyback's arms in an almost self-destructive manner.

Greyback was ecstatic.

In an instant, he threw this ignorant guy to the ground.

dusty.

He pressed Lupin's chest with his knees, opened his bloody mouth that was big enough to crush bones, and aimed it at Lupin's fragile neck.

This is his favorite posture to finish off his prey.

He wanted to slowly and savor the wonderful music when the other person's larynx was broken.

The werewolves of the Ash Claw let out a cry of despair.

Marco could hardly control himself and rushed out of the mine.

However, Douglas just stood there calmly, looking at Lupin who was pinned down under him, without any movement.

It was like watching a fight whose ending was already known.

Just as Greyback's saliva-covered fangs were about to pierce the skin.

All the pain and struggle disappeared from Lupin's eyes.

All that was left was the absolute, icy coldness of the Siberian permafrost.

He did not push away the huge monster that was pressing on him.

Instead, he used all his strength, and his legs, like two giant pythons, locked Greyback's waist from below.

At the same time, his hands, like two red-hot tongs, swiftly clamped Greyback's jaw from below.

Greyback was stunned.

He never thought that the prey would give up all defenses before dying.

A cruel smile that he had never seen before flashed across those cold eyes.

Lupin used up all his life's hatred, his life's unwillingness, and his life's strength.

He suddenly exerted force from his waist, and his entire body was like a spring stretched to the limit, thrusting upward fiercely!

At the same time, his hands, which were holding the opponent's jaw, moved in completely opposite directions, exerting all his strength.

拧！

"Crack!"

A crisp, soul-shaking sound of bones breaking suddenly exploded in the deadly silent valley.

That sound drowned out everything.

Greyback's movements froze in an instant.

His eyes, full of violence and arrogance, widened in disbelief.

Then, all the spirit quickly faded away like a popped balloon.

Finally, it turned into a dead, blank gray.

Lupin loosened his grip.

Slowly, he climbed up from under Greyback's body, which was as limp as mud.

He was covered in blood and couldn't tell whether it was his own or the other person's.

His chest heaved violently like an old bellows, and he gasped for breath, drawing the cold air from the valley into his hot lungs.

The entire valley was silent.

All the werewolves looked at the blood-soaked figure standing alone with a mixture of awe, fear, and fanatical worship.

A legend has come to an end.

Another legend begins.

Great revenge.

But there was not a trace of joy of victory on Lupin's face.

There is only one feeling, endless emptiness after finally waking up from a long nightmare.

He looked at Greyback's body on the ground and seemed to see his own cursed and painful past.

That shadow was buried forever in this foreign land by his own hands.

Douglas stepped forward slowly.

He picked up the wizard robe that had fallen to the ground, dusted it off, and then gently put it back on Lupin's shoulders.

"Welcome back, Professor Lupin."

he said calmly.

Lupin raised his head and looked at Douglas with an extremely complicated look in his eyes.

He won.

But he was also very clear that he could never go back.

He was no longer the gentle, kind, and always slightly melancholic Remus Lupin.

The wind in the valley carried away the last muffled sound of broken bones.

The smell of blood stuck to my throat, salty and astringent, with the taste of rust and mud.

Douglas's eyes moved from Lupin to Greyback's dozen or so men.

They huddled together, their bodies shaking like sieves, their tattered clothes soaked with sweat, sticking to their bodies greasy.

Just as Douglas raised his wand, the leading werewolf, whose face was still covered in blood, felt his legs go limp and he fell to his knees.

"Wait! Don't kill us! We are British!"

He shouted incoherently, trying to grasp at straws.

"We're British, just like you! We're students at Hogwarts, too!"

The other werewolf also came to his senses, knelt down, and cried in his voice.

"Yes! Before... before this damn curse! We were all wizards! It was Greyback who made us do this!"

One of them, who looked older, even mustered up the courage to take two steps forward on his knees, forcing a smile on his face that was uglier than crying.

"Holmes, Douglas Holmes, is that you? I'm Terry, Terry Boots, from Hufflepuff! Your senior! Four years older than you. I even ate the little dessert you made. Don't you remember? For the sake of Hogwarts, for the sake of Hufflepuff..."

He spoke continuously, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and begging.

Douglas said nothing.

Hufflepuff.

This word brought a little warmth to his cold thoughts.

He has seen too many people go astray.

Slytherin's ambition, Gryffindor's impulsiveness, and Ravenclaw's pride can all push people into the abyss.

But Hufflepuffs… they were different.

A true Hufflepuff will always be loyal and fair even when pushed into a desperate situation.

Their tenacity may turn into paranoid revenge, but they will not find pleasure in torturing the weak.

And the person in front of me...

Chapter 428 You have defiled everything you once stood for

Douglas's gaze was fixed on his face, and countless fragments of memories rushed back.

He saw it.

That was a real Hufflepuff, four years older than him.

There are a few freckles on my face, and I feel a little embarrassed when I smile.

In the kitchen, he praised Douglas' cooking skills in surprise.

The scene changes.

Young Terry joined the Ministry of Magic, but one night while on a mission, he ran into the fangs under the moonlight.

He saw the fear in Terry's eyes after he was bitten.

I saw the evasive looks from my colleagues and the cold notice of dismissal from my boss.

I saw the doors his family closed and the curtains his friends drew.

He saw Terry curled up in the corner of the Leaky Cauldron, listening to the gossip of the wizards around him... those words of "monster" and "dangerous goods" pierced the Hufflepuff's heart with holes.

Faith was worn away bit by bit.

Then Greyback found him.

The monster did not give him sympathy, but gave him a twisted ending.

He was not given the antidote, but was given a reason to vent his anger.

"They're afraid of you," Greyback's voice rang in his ear. "Then make them more afraid. Power is the only thing you can be loyal to."

loyalty.

This word has changed its meaning.

He saw Terry's hesitation and struggle, and finally, after being hit by a stone by the wizard child again, the light in his eyes was completely extinguished.

He gave his loyalty to the new wolf pack.

His tenacity is no longer used for endurance, but for violence.

Douglas saw the reluctance and trembling in his eyes when he first took action.

Then, there was the second numbness.

The third time, proficient.

Until the end, he laughed wildly and rushed into a wizard's house with his werewolves, dragging innocent people like him into the darkness. The expression on his face was not much different from Greyback's.

He was no longer cursed.

He himself became a curse.

The last trace of warmth belonging to memories in Douglas' eyes also disappeared.

This person did not lie.

He had been a Hufflepuff.

And this is even more tragic than a lie.

The light in the valley suddenly dimmed, as if it had been drawn away by his cold will.