Harry Potter: Magic and Guns

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After the brief incident in the Curse class, Harry began to focus on more serious matters.

He was preparing to meet with Fenrir Greyback.

Although Harry had not yet met Remus Lupin, he had a very positive impression of this close friend of his father. Unlike the cowardly traitor Peter or the reckless, loyal Sirius, Lupin, as a werewolf, had a kind and resilient heart.

He wasn't very good at expressing his emotions, but he always repaid others' kindness through his actions.

Dumbledore had allowed him, as a child, to attend Hogwarts. His identity as a werewolf was highly sensitive, but Dumbledore had done much to conceal it and had vouched for him. Because of this, Lupin had the opportunity to become a wizard, rather than living the life of a roaming outcast like other werewolves, resorting to petty theft and enduring public scorn.

Without Dumbledore, he would never have had the chance to meet good friends like James and Sirius. Although the two often caused trouble and acted recklessly, Lupin cherished those times deeply.

After finishing his studies at Hogwarts and completing his tasks with the Order of the Phoenix, Lupin had wandered the magical world alone, having lost his friends. The reason for this was that, as a young man, he hadn't fully realized the cruelty of the wizarding world. This cruelty didn't come from dark wizards, but from those who, while preaching "equality," consistently practiced discrimination.

He registered his werewolf status with the Ministry of Magic's werewolf registry, which was supposed to be a lawful procedure. The Ministry had an obligation to keep his identity confidential, but their corrupt bureaucracy quickly exposed him just a day after he had registered. As a result, Lupin could not find legitimate work, and had no one to rely on.

His friends had died, some had been sent to Azkaban, and his family had passed away. Even his father's former colleagues distanced themselves from him. He had lost everything.

Dumbledore was not a good leader. He had failed to recognize that his loyal Order member was now a homeless outcast. It wasn't until several years later that Dumbledore found Lupin again and gave him a task— to use his werewolf identity as a spy to explore the darker side of the wizarding world.

But Dumbledore had once again forgotten something: he forgot to provide Lupin with a wage that would allow him to survive. Just like before, this wizard, who understood human nature better than anyone, often overlooked the smaller, practical details while focusing on grand schemes.

However, Lupin didn't complain. He accepted the task as a way to repay the kindness Dumbledore had shown him. He owed the old wizard much, and he felt it was his duty to give something back.

The root cause of all his suffering was Fenrir Greyback. Years ago, Lupin's father had offended Greyback, and in retaliation, Greyback had entered their home and deliberately attacked young Remus, turning him into a werewolf and starting the tragic path of Lupin's life.

"Hagrid, if we're going after a werewolf, what should we bring?"

Harry, who was at Hagrid's house for a meal, was tearing into a giant piece of meat— probably at least twenty pounds. The tough texture told him it was from some magical creature, but given Hagrid's frequent consumption of such things, he wasn't all that surprised.

"A werewolf, you say?"

Hagrid, holding a massive barrel of liquor, mumbled, wiping the alcohol from his beard as he pondered.

"The full moon's in a few days. It's not a good time to go now."

"When werewolves transform, their sense of smell is sharper than a dog's, and they run incredibly fast. I might not even be able to catch up to them. If we were in the Forbidden Forest, I'd know the terrain and they wouldn't be able to escape, but if it's somewhere else, it'll be much more difficult."

A massive head suddenly pushed through the new window Hagrid had installed. Upon catching the scent of alcohol, Hagrid's pet dragon, Norbert, peeked his head inside.

"You've already drunk two barrels of pure malt whiskey today. No more for you, Norbert!"

With a stern wave, Hagrid brushed his dragon's head. Norbert, a fully verified male dragon, was affectionately but stubbornly pressing his massive head against Hagrid, making a noise like a dog whimpering and rubbing against him, as if trying to cuddle.

"Alright, alright, alright, there's just no dealing with you."

Unable to resist, Hagrid scratched Norbert's tough scales before grabbing half a barrel of liquor and pouring it into the dragon's mouth. In just a few seconds, Norbert had gulped down at least fifty liters of alcohol.

"Don't you dare sneeze!"

With lightning speed, Hagrid stuck two fingers into Norbert's nostrils. Sparks flew out, but no flames ignited the house.

"Go to sleep, now, go to sleep, good boy. You're still growing, so you need your rest."

With a firm slap on Norbert's head, Hagrid successfully induced a physical form of sleep, sending the dragon's massive head out the window where it landed softly on the grass below.

Through the window, one could just make out Norbert's enormous body, now over thirty meters long, currently housed in Hagrid's backyard. No one worried about him running off and frightening anyone; with his weight, Hagrid could spin him around by his tail like a playful circle. As long as Norbert didn't hit thirty to forty tons, he was still within the range Hagrid could easily handle.

Giants can hurl logs weighing tons at subsonic speeds—though Hagrid's strength wasn't quite at the giant level, it was still formidable.

Handling a juvenile dragon was nothing for him.

"Harry, you're going after a live one, right?"

Despite the distraction from Norbert, Hagrid didn't forget their previous conversation. After a moment's hesitation, he stood up, selecting a weapon from the wall of dangerous tools and picking the weakest option.

It was a blowdart tube, about the size of a water bottle, over a meter long, capable of firing a thirty-centimeter poisoned dart deep into a tree trunk.

Only someone with Hagrid's lung capacity could handle such a toy, which, compared to the massive crossbows or adult-sized arrows, was one of the gentler options.

"The werewolf's body is too fragile for anything too heavy. We'll use this. I'll go get some strong tranquilizers from the centaurs tomorrow. The closer we get to the full moon, the trickier it'll get, so we need to leave quickly."

"Then tomorrow morning, I'll ask Professor Sprout for a few days off. We'll try to catch Fenrir before Lupin arrives at Hogwarts."

"Sounds good. We'll meet at the edge of the forest tomorrow. It won't be easy finding a werewolf in such a vast forest, so we'll need some help from those little guys."

"Little guys?" Harry asked uncertainly. In Hagrid's eyes, every creature in the Forbidden Forest, no matter how dangerous, was a "little guy."

"When it comes to hunting, there's nothing better than a Thestral. They can easily smell blood up to fifty kilometers away and can even tell whether their prey is alive or dead. They also have incredible stamina."

"You can ride one. While you stay up high watching for the werewolf, I'll go down and break his limbs to capture him."

Hagrid flashed a pleased smile. Harry's invitation was like an enjoyable outing to him.

"By the way, you'll need to borrow a bag from Professor Kettleburn. It'll be tough enough carrying Fawkes with me, let alone a Thestral."

"I'll go do that now."

After tossing the cleaned bones into Fang's food bowl, Harry gave the dog a glance filled with resentment. With light footsteps, he pushed the door open and quickly ran toward the castle.

(End of Chapter)