Chapter 222: The Howling of the Wolves
Lupin had visibly cheered up recently.
It was hard to tell if it was because he'd reconnected with his parents after so many years, or because of the influence of Ms. Tonks, who was sent by the head of the Auror Office, Scrimgeour, to keep an eye on Professor Lockhart.
Lockhart suspected it was both.
Because whenever he asked Ms. Tonks to assist with a magical experiment, Lupin would readily come to help as well, even neglecting the werewolf pups being chased by Acromantulas deep in the Forbidden Forest.
Of course, this wasn't necessarily the arrival of love. There were too many invisible barriers between Lupin and Tonks: their identities—one was a young Auror with a promising future, the other a marginalized werewolf cursed by the public.
Their ages—Tonks was the niece of Lupin's good friend, Sirius Black, and Tonks' mother, Andromeda, was only nine years older than Lupin. But the most significant barrier was their mindset.
Tonks was filled with an unimaginable passion for life, always full of energy and rebellious spirit. Lupin, on the other hand, always appeared listless, with a seemingly gentle and kind smile that masked his retreat from the world.
As Lockhart put it, in a conversation with Grindelwald and Professor Kettleburn, it was a classic case of "he runs, she chases."
Everyone was happy to see Lupin's change, even if it was a small one.
Lockhart could tell that Lupin really wanted to look after Harry. Whenever he was called to the 'Duel Club' to teach the kids, his attention would often be on Harry, wanting to give guidance to his good friend's orphaned son.
But Lupin wouldn't actively approach Harry on his own. He had too many concerns: his identity as a werewolf, the distrust of other Order of the Phoenix members, and the lingering suspicion that he had once been a spy. The prejudice of people's hearts was like a great mountain; it didn't move for emotion. Some things were hard to change.
Lupin, who had always lived so cautiously, didn't want to test people's limits. The instinct he had developed since childhood drove him to avoid any actions that might touch on others' sensitive nerves or test their trust.
So, he gradually began to integrate into the small circle of 'Mushroom Hut' neighbors.
Lockhart, Grindelwald, and Professor Kettleburn—these three were too much alike in their "don't care," "just watching," and "love a good show" attitudes.
It must be said that birds of a feather flock together, and fate was sometimes so strange, bringing these four together. They had moments of mutual dislike and moments of mutual respect. It was lively but not particularly warm, yet it gave Lupin a special sense of ease. He had never felt so comfortable with others before.
Lupin even had to admit that even during the best times of his life, with the kind-hearted Potters who always stood up for him, and Peter Pettigrew who idolized him, he had never felt this kind of ease. Everyone had a "you might as well be a boar for all I care, and I'll still be disgusted but I'll talk to you anyway" attitude, which was incredibly relaxing for him.
Well, if only they didn't argue every day.
"Stupid! Gilderoy, you're an idiot! And you're teaching others? I think you're just leading them astray!" Grindelwald never missed an opportunity to mock Lockhart. He watched with a pained expression as Lockhart directed Tonks to change her hair color. "Aren't you afraid of being led into a ditch by this charlatan?"
What could Tonks say? One was Professor Lockhart, whom the entire Auror Office was wary of. The other was Grindelwald, whom every Auror Office in the world was wary of. She couldn't afford to offend either of them!
"Heh," Lockhart sneered, seeing Tonks' state plummet. "Anyone can find fault. What solution can you offer?"
Professor Kettleburn chuckled to himself, knowing that Lockhart was goading Grindelwald into helping. He could tell that Lockhart was a bit stuck on the magical experiment and was hoping for someone knowledgeable to assist.
And who was more qualified?
Gellert Grindelwald's achievements in human Transfiguration were more than enough to give him the authority to offer advice.
"Many stupid people are like this; they rely on their natural talent and their magical bloodline, never striving for more," Grindelwald said, his disdain for Tonks' performance clear. "Being a Metamorphmagus is just a starting point, a very good one, but you treat it as the end of your abilities?"
"You're just using your ability to transform into an old lady to go undercover and get intelligence, just wasting time in the Auror Office? You have no ambition whatsoever!"
Still not satisfied, he turned to Lupin and sneered, "And you, you're also an idiot. You must know that everything fate bestows, whether good fortune or disaster, is an opportunity for a wizard, but you only know how to hide from it. You don't know how to seek your own opportunities. Like this, don't even talk about controlling your own destiny; you're destined to be crushed by your own misery!"
In the middle of his rant, he looked at Lockhart and rolled his eyes. "And you, you're an idiot, too. You think you understand my magical philosophy just because you learned a little from my notes on The Manipulation of Lightning? You're far from it! The parts about me in your book He Who Must Not Be Named: A Pure-Blood Supremacist With a Muggle Father? are simply too full of contempt!"
"I hear some people call you a master wizard? Ha, have master wizards become so worthless in this day and age?"
Lockhart smiled as he watched Grindelwald show off. He didn't mind being insulted, as long as the old man came out with some useful knowledge afterward. If he didn't, well, then it was time to settle old and new scores. He'd pull out his wand and fight, since Dumbledore wasn't around!
"Watch carefully!"
Grindelwald stood with his hands behind his back, a look of unbearable arrogance on his old but well-groomed face. He casually twisted his neck.
Then, his head began to change rapidly.
It quickly swelled, and gray-white fur sprouted. His mouth and nose elongated, and his long snout was filled with fangs.
"A werewolf?!?" Tonks gasped in surprise.
Not just her; everyone was stunned.
The Grindelwald in front of them wasn't undergoing a full werewolf transformation. It seemed that only his head had turned into a wolf's head; even his neck was still a human's.
He bared his teeth slightly at the shocked group, his lips curling up, and then he tilted his head back and opened his wolf's mouth.
"Aoooooowww~"
As a long and powerful howl echoed, the azure sky began to fill with swirling dark clouds. The clouds gathered, and the bright day instantly turned as dark as night.
In the dark sky, a full moon appeared.
As the moonlight fell, everyone could feel a unique sense of cold stillness.
"This is Transfiguration. Do you understand?"
"This is the assertion of one's own will, making heaven and earth obey me. Do you understand?"
He looked at Lockhart, his wolf's mouth still moving. "Do you know what a magical bloodline resonating with space and time is? Do you know why Parseltongue can command all snake creatures?"
As he spoke, he tilted his head back again and howled with a long, powerful sound.
"Aoooooowww~"
With this howl, everyone could feel the moonlight begin to change. It was a very unique sensation, as if the moonlight had become a physical presence. The distant mountain wind swiftly became a serene night breeze, and it seemed as if the entire world was turning upside down. Everything was lying dormant, and something mysterious was reawakening.
"No...!"
Lupin suddenly cried out in alarm, instinctively trying to Apparate away, but in his panic, he forgot that Apparition was forbidden at Hogwarts. By the time his sharp mind realized this, it was too late.
In the moonlight and the call of the howl, his body rapidly transformed. It felt like a small mouse was running amok in his head. His limbs quickly stretched out, and his spine ripped through his clothes as his body swelled.
"A werewolf!!!"
Tonks gasped again, staring blankly at Lupin, a strange sense of excitement mixed in with her shock. "A werewolf~"
Lockhart and Professor Kettleburn looked at her with odd expressions at her strange tone.
Tonks' face immediately turned beet red with embarrassment.
"You people!" Grindelwald cursed irritably. "Can't you show me some respect?"
"Wow, that's amazing!" Professor Kettleburn quickly clapped, looking very excited. His two fake hands clapped together, making a wooden clacking sound.
"Merlin's saggy beard, this is incredible! The Alpha, without a doubt, you are the Alpha! A true Alpha!" Lockhart buttered him up shamelessly.
Can't a person just show off in peace?
Huh?
Grindelwald had been locked up in Nurmengard for decades without anyone to talk to. Now that he was finally out, he'd run into this bunch of clowns, and he was quite annoyed.
Fortunately, Lupin's werewolf transformation was finally complete and he was there to cheer him on.
At a time when the full moon was at least half a month away, Lupin had transformed into a werewolf under Grindelwald's magic. He tilted his head back and howled at the moon in the sky.
"Aoooooowww~~~" "Aooowwwwww!" "Aoooooowww~~~"
Lockhart could clearly feel the call of a kindred spirit, a surge of excitement similar to finding an old friend in a foreign land, a lonely heart instantly filled with camaraderie.
He couldn't help but watch this scene with a sense of wonder.
However, before Grindelwald could show off again, a series of howls came from the distant Forbidden Forest.
"Awoooooo!" "Awooooo!"
The sound was sharp and desolate, the terrifying wildness startling countless animals in the Forbidden Forest to run and birds on the trees to fly away.
"!!!"
"Another werewolf?" Tonks was stunned. Were there so many werewolves at Hogwarts? Wasn't this place known as the safest place in the world? In a place where so many young wizards lived, there was more than one werewolf! If her boss knew about this, he'd probably go crazy.
Grindelwald's eyes narrowed, one of his wolf eyes quickly twisting and transforming into a unique one. His eyes flickered.
"There's another werewolf in the Forbidden Forest? That's not a pup's howl, is it?" Professor Kettleburn said, blinking in confusion.
The transformed Lupin immediately howled in response, causing the werewolf in the Forbidden Forest to charge towards them. Its movement was very loud.
"Stay alert!" Professor Kettleburn resolutely pulled out his wand, warning Tonks and taking a very cautious stance.
Only Lockhart heard the howls and suddenly began to laugh.
He laughed maniacally.
"Hahahaha...!"
"Tom! You were hiding in Hogwarts after all!"
Lockhart yelled in excitement and charged towards the direction the werewolf was running from in the Forbidden Forest. Before Professor Kettleburn and Tonks could call out in alarm, his body began to swell. Gray-black wolf fur sprouted from him, and his body rapidly expanded.
As he ran, his body grew bigger and bigger, directly transforming into a four-meter-tall giant werewolf. Terrifying black flames swirled around him, and his eyes were filled with scarlet malice.
"A werewolf!" Tonks and Professor Kettleburn were both stunned.
Grindelwald was stunned too. He blinked and then cursed irritably, "You! You were laughing at me just now, weren't you? Alpha, my foot. You were completely unaffected by my magic just now!"
He was so annoyed!
He was finally in the mood to show off, and this young man couldn't wait a moment to steal his thunder.
Damn it!
Why had the world become like this!
Young people these days are truly despicable!
"Aoooooowww~"
The giant werewolf that was Lockhart roared up at the sky. The black mist swirling around him burned and surged like flames, and black fiery Basilisks writhed out of it. The werewolf's long, outstretched arm shook violently, and his sharp claws glowed with a jade-green light.
"Hiss~"
This time, Grindelwald was truly shocked. He felt the surge of magical energy from Lockhart. What did he feel? The Killing Curse, Fiendfyre, and the explosive power of a deeper exploration of the werewolf curse. So this was what Dumbledore meant when he said Gilderoy Lockhart wasn't a Dark Wizard and that was enough!
Ha, Albus, why don't you come and see what 'not a Dark Wizard' looks like?
If this isn't a Dark Wizard, then who is?
Grindelwald found it all absurd. How could a Lockhart with so much boiling malice and resentment possibly cast a Patronus Charm successfully?
It made no sense!
......................
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