The werewolf raced through the night.
Jon ran ahead, toward the other side of the Forbidden Forest.
Saying he wasn't afraid would be a lie… but there was no choice. He couldn't just stand by and watch Harry and Hermione get eaten alive by Lupin! At least he had prepared some methods to deal with werewolves.
Jon didn't venture too deep into the Forbidden Forest—its depths held even more terrifying creatures.
The werewolf was quickly closing the distance; its speed far outmatched his own.
Jon raised his PSM pistol and fired silver bullets at the charging beast… Several bullets struck true, slowing its pace just a little.
But unlike the legends, the silver bullets didn't deal any fatal damage.
When his last bullet was spent, Jon shoved the pistol back into his pocket. About forty yards still separated him from Lupin.
At the same time, he pulled a packet of herbs from his backpack.
"These are the spells you taught me, Professor!" Jon muttered to himself.
He aimed his wand at the herb packet.
"Waddiwasi!"
The packet shot forward like a cannonball, flying straight at Lupin.
Jon quickly followed up, raising his wand again.
"Diffindo!"
Before the bundle could strike Lupin, its outer layer split apart as if ripped open, scattering pieces across the ground.
The Brokshia sap inside soaked into the soil, while Devil's Snare spores slammed into the earth and began to grow rapidly in the night.
The transformed Lupin, now fully a werewolf, stepped straight into the Devil's Snare "trap."
The vines lashed around him instantly, wrapping tight and spreading fast.
The werewolf thrashed desperately, trying to break free from the cursed plant… but the more one struggled against Devil's Snare, the tighter it constricted.
Seeing Lupin bound fast, Jon finally let out a breath of relief.
Werewolves—mindless magical beasts—turned out easier to handle than he had imagined.
He turned to leave, but stopped after only a few steps.
He looked back at the werewolf, still struggling frantically.
The Devil's Snare continued to spread—this dark night in the Forbidden Forest was its perfect breeding ground. It would never let prey escape, tightening its grip until its victim was strangled to death…
Jon noticed several vines winding around Lupin's neck, twisting tighter and tighter. The werewolf howled in pain.
"I can't leave!" Jon suddenly realized. If he walked away now, Lupin would be strangled to death by the Devil's Snare.
That wasn't right… Lupin was still a friendly werewolf. He couldn't just let him die like this.
But if he freed him, Lupin would only attack again—and ordinary spells had no effect on a werewolf in wolf form…
As Jon hesitated, something nudged against his back.
...
"Buckbeak?" Jon exclaimed in surprise.
Buckbeak, the hippogriff, had broken free from the chains Jon had bound him with and flown to his side.
An idea struck Jon. He gently patted Buckbeak's beak and asked cautiously, "Can I ride you?"
Buckbeak lifted its head proudly, granting silent permission.
Jon hurriedly pulled from his backpack a large bag of dog food he had bought a year ago. Tearing it open, he scattered the kibble across the ground.
Buckbeak came closer, sniffed at it, then left with a disgusted snort.
Jon stroked Buckbeak's head with one hand while clambering onto its back by way of its wings… Buckbeak suddenly spread its wings, nearly unseating him.
"Not too high!" Jon cried quickly. "Just a little above the ground!"
Buckbeak, docile as ever, lifted them to the level of the treetops.
Jon seized the chance, raising his wand at the Devil's Snare binding the werewolf.
"Incendio!"
A burst of red flames roared across the air. Devil's Snare feared fire and light above all, and under the blaze of the Fire-Making Charm, it began to wither and shrink.
Within seconds, Werewolf Lupin had broken free.
"Wooo!" He let out a savage roar at the hippogriff overhead.
Fortunately, Jon kept Buckbeak aloft, preventing it from swooping down into a fight.
The werewolf's attention soon shifted, caught by the scattered dog food on the ground. It bounded over and began to devour it greedily.
It worked… Jon let out a deep sigh of relief.
With his belly full, Lupin would not wander back toward the castle. The matter had been resolved peacefully.
Suddenly, the hippogriff surged forward, flying straight toward the direction of the Black Lake. Caught off guard, Jon nearly slipped off its back.
He clung tightly to Buckbeak's neck just in time.
Still, he had to admit—flying on a mount was far more comfortable than on a broomstick. No need to wrestle for control, no fear of slipping off a narrow handle, and no Bludgers to dodge out of nowhere…
A few minutes later, Jon landed back beside the Whomping Willow.
Dumbledore appeared at his side almost immediately.
"It looks like you've taken care of the werewolf," Dumbledore praised. "Well done."
"Thank you, Professor… Did you catch Peter?" Jon asked quickly.
"I'm sorry, Jon. I won't lie to you…" Dumbledore answered calmly. "In the end, I chose to let Peter Pettigrew go."
"You let Peter go?" Jon was stunned. "Isn't he the real culprit?"
But Dumbledore clearly didn't wish to linger on the subject. His expression grew solemn as he looked toward the lake and raised his wand—
Jon finally noticed the swarm: at least a hundred Dementors, a dark mass gliding across the ground toward the lakeshore.
On the shore lay Sirius Black, unconscious and returned to human form, while Harry and Hermione—wands raised in vain—were both collapsing from exhaustion.
"It seems I won't need to intervene," Dumbledore said with a quiet sigh, lowering his wand..
A Patronus had already appeared.
It was a mature deer—or more precisely, a silver doe. From this distance its pointed ears looked faint, blurred by the night.
Hundreds of Dementors, driven back by the Patronus, fled in panic.
"Severus may have just made the most painful decision of his life," Dumbledore said with sympathy, shaking his head. "He has just saved the two people he hated most."