https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1668-A-War-with-No-Victors-One-Hundred-and-Eighteen-/12529447/
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Chapter 1669: A War with No Victors (One Hundred and Nineteen)
Chapter 1669: A War with No Victors (One Hundred and Nineteen)
As Lee Jordan had warned in his broadcast from the Wizarding Wireless Network, when the werewolf crisis fully erupted across Britain, the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic simply didn't have the bandwidth to rescue wizards under threat or offer any spare hands to provide assistance.
The Aurors' priority was to suppress areas with high Muggle populations to ensure that werewolves didn't cause large-scale chaos and irreversible disasters in the Muggle world.
Of course, there was another reason behind Kingsley's decision to prioritize Muggle areas: most wizards lived in sparsely populated areas, and even if there were traces of werewolves nearby, the damage those beasts could inflict was limited.
Moreover, any listener who had heard Lee Jordan's werewolf educational broadcast on the Wizarding Wireless Network should know how to protect themselves and their loved ones from the werewolf threat, unless they were extraordinarily foolish.
There might even be adventurous individuals who had secretly followed Jordan's advice and successfully taken down werewolves prowling near their homes.
In such cases, there was no need to prioritize those situations.
As for accidental mishaps?
Well, that was just plain bad luck.
After all, one could never be too careful.
Furthermore, even if they sent an owl to the Ministry of Magic for help, it would still take a long time for the Ministry to dispatch an Auror to resolve the issue.
Especially not tonight.
With werewolves popping up everywhere, the Ministry was already half-empty.
The Aurors had set out in their original squads of five to hunt down the werewolves that had suddenly appeared across Britain.
Trailing behind these Aurors were a group of unfortunate individuals tasked with the unpleasant job of cleaning up the mess.
However, the werewolf-hunting operation was not going smoothly.
Voldemort's remnants were deliberately throwing werewolves into large cities, causing quite a stir.
By the time Harry's squad rushed to the scene, several Muggles had already been bitten or killed, and the resulting chaos was a significant nuisance for the Aurors trying to hunt down the werewolves.
"We should go, Ron," Harry said, gently patting Ron's shoulder as he stood dazed at the scene.
"Oh," Ron replied, sounding a bit distracted.
"Are you okay?" Harry stopped and turned to look at Ron, his pale, absent-minded friend, silently sighing to himself.
"I'm fine," Ron assured him.
"He was bitten," Harry whispered. "Compared to becoming a werewolf, it's better to just die. It's a more peaceful end." Harry's soft voice offered comfort.
During their collaborative strangulation of a ferocious werewolf, Ron's explosion curse had accidentally affected a Muggle who had been bitten by a werewolf, blowing the unfortunate man's head to pieces.
"Should we head back?" Harry suggested.
Ron shook his head, refusing Harry's proposal. He wouldn't abandon his teammates and flee.
He hadn't done it in the past, and he wouldn't do it now.
"Trust me, no one wants to become that kind of monster," Harry continued. "Many people who are bitten by werewolves don't even want to live because they know they will endure immense pain as werewolves."
The veteran Auror leading the squad stopped and turned to face Harry and Ron, who had lagged behind. "What you did was a form of help, just a bit... special."
"I'll snap out of it," Ron said, his voice strained.
Despite Ron's assurance, the accidental killing had struck him hard. Even though he had participated in the fierce Battle of Hogwarts and gained ample combat experience as an Auror, this was the first time he had taken a life, and it had been a mistake.
"If you can't adapt, it's better to return to the Ministry," the leading Auror said, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Ron. He delivered two sharp slaps to Ron's face, his tone cold and detached. "If you don't want to be sent back to the Ministry, pull yourself together. None of us here have the energy to babysit you."
"Sorry," Ron mumbled, his head lowered. He knew he had become a burden to the team.
"You should apologize to yourself," the leading Auror snapped. "If you get bitten by a werewolf because of your distraction, you won't even have the chance to regret it." His gaze intense, he asked, "Tell me, do you want to go back, or do you want to continue hunting werewolves with us?"
"I want to stay," Ron said loudly.
"Good," the leader replied. "Then take care of yourself and don't hold your teammates back." He turned to address the entire squad. "I want to bring all of you back safely. Understood?"
"Understood," the squad chorused.
"Let's go. We're falling behind schedule."
In truth, similar cases among Aurors weren't uncommon, especially with the newer recruits who tended to be younger and less emotionally mature. It was normal for them to stumble and face setbacks from time to time.
If the mission had already been completed, the leader might have taken the time to counsel Ron.
But now, they had to rush to the next location to continue addressing the werewolf threat, leaving no room to tend to Ron's emotional state.
However, the use of tough love didn't always work, and after successfully neutralizing another werewolf without further incident, the leading Auror ultimately decided to leave Harry behind to take care of Ron instead of letting them slow down the squad.
"Sorry, Harry," Ron said, his eyes filled with pain as he realized that his friend had to stay back because of him.
"We're not Dumbledore or Albert," Harry said calmly, looking directly at Ron. "We're just ordinary wizards. What we can do is limited, so you can't expect me to deal with werewolves as effortlessly as Albert. Believe me, no one wants to see those accidents happen, but sometimes they're unavoidable. If you can't overcome this, I suggest you give up being an Auror and find another career path."
"What else can I do if not an Auror?" Ron asked, unable to imagine the merciless ridicule he would face if he gave up this prestigious job.
He couldn't bear those consequences.
"Then pull yourself together," Harry urged. "I know it's tough, but..."
"I will," Ron said, suddenly slapping himself hard across the face several times. After downing a bottle of energy tonic, he finally managed to regain his composure.
"Sorry for worrying you," he added.
"Let's go. They need us," Harry said.
Harry was well aware that even with all the advantages the Aurors had from the start, dealing with werewolves during the full moon was no easy task, especially when they had to act quickly to prevent Muggle casualties. Without Harry's reliable assistance, the other two newcomers could only provide limited help, unable to effectively restrain the werewolves. Fortunately, Harry didn't take long to rejoin the team.
(End of Chapter)
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