Chapter 372: Family [Part 2]
Chapter 372: Family [Part 2]
"Of course we came."
The slightly plump woman patted Carrel, her eyes filled with concern. "We heard that your team encountered trouble, so we immediately left the United States, but we couldn't find any news about you. I thought... I thought..."
She started to cry.
Carrel felt helpless in the face of the woman's tears. He fumbled for words, "Don't cry, Mom. Look, I'm fine..."
He glanced at his father for help, but the tattooed man sat beside him, asking sternly, "What exactly happened? Why were you exposed?"
Carrel asked in confusion, "Didn't Granwhite escape? Didn't he report anything?"
The tattooed man frowned, "Answer my question, Carrel!"
His tone was icy, making Carrel feel uncomfortable.
The slightly plump woman explained, "Granwhite was worried about leading the enemy to our base. He sent a message and then escaped to Africa, and we haven't heard from him since."
"He was being a bit too cautious. Dumbledore had already returned to the school," Carrel said, exasperated.
"Goodness, you met Dumbledore?"
The slightly plump woman exclaimed in fear, "How could this happen? Didn't the leader say that Dumbledore is probably the most powerful wizard right now? Why did you provoke him as soon as you arrived?"
Recalling the scene, Carrel shuddered at the memory. He swallowed hard, then began to recount what had happened—
"After arriving in Britain, Granwhite said he wanted to investigate the disappearance of the werewolf Will. Their last mission failed even with the use of gold dust... It was a strange failure, and Granwhite suspected there was a traitor among us."
"He said we needed to know which force was working against us, whether the British Ministry of Magic was involved, and how much information Will had leaked before we could proceed with the next step."
"Will had a diary... After the investigation, Nele discovered that one person was highly suspicious—"
"Before Will's disappearance, a werewolf named Remus Lupin helped him find a well-paying job and even received financial support from the other party, a substantial amount."
"And this Remus Lupin lives in Hogsmeade..."
"Dar was killed by the Eight-Eyed Spider, a creature native to Southeast Asia, and in Britain, there's only one place where a large number of them inhabit..."
Carrel's explanation was a bit disorganized, but the tattooed man already understood Granwhite's thoughts at the time. He spoke slowly, "The Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts."
"Yes," Carrel nodded. "That's what Granwhite said as well."
"He believed that everything was connected to that Remus Lupin..."
"And as a dangerous werewolf living so close to Hogwarts, he must have had the permission of the school's higher-ups."
"Klami suggested that as long as we could break the wizards' trust in that werewolf, we could force him to leave Hogwarts' protection and make it easier to deal with him."
"Moreover, the werewolves in Britain have formed some kind of mutual aid society and signed the Werewolf Conduct Code with the Ministry. Klami said that we need to remind the weak British wizards of the danger and brutality of werewolves, so we can help them 'awaken'..."
Carrel's mouth twitched slightly, and even as he repeated these words, he found the idea utterly absurd.
They wanted to disrupt the werewolves' relatively peaceful lives, incite discrimination and hunting of werewolves by wizards, and then 'help' the werewolves 'awaken'? Did the British werewolves really need this kind of 'help'?
But Carrel had no right to question. After Klami finished speaking, both Granwhite and Nele thought it was a good idea.
As he finished speaking, he deliberately observed his parents' expressions, only to find that they didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with this idea either.
Was he, who found this idea absurd, the one who was wrong?
"Did you use the werewolf hormone?" the tattooed man asked.
"Yes. Granwhite requested three vials when he left, and one was used on Remus Lupin. He transformed into a werewolf on the street..." Carrel replied.
"But..." The slightly plump woman furrowed her brows in confusion. "This incident doesn't seem to have been reported?"
Carrel lowered his head. "There are some powerful people in Hogsmeade, and at the time, Lupin was with a professor from Hogwarts..."
"So when the werewolf went on a rampage, it didn't cause any casualties."
"Nele and Klami took photos and even filmed it, but that night, Dumbledore suddenly found us..."
Carrel remembered how their car had suddenly stopped on the way to the Muggle town. The terrifying wizard stood on the road with icy eyes, as if he had been waiting for a long time...
He couldn't help but shudder, his face turned pale, his hands clenched into fists, and his eyes unconsciously showed fear and tension.
Except for the clueless Muggle driver, almost everyone in the car was terrified. They didn't think of resisting and instead shouted as they rushed out of the car to escape.
Both Granwhite and Nele could use the Disappearance Charm, so they managed to escape from that road for the first time—Klami only lost a finger—it was incredibly lucky.
But later, they realized that it wasn't luck; it was the beginning of a nightmare.
"We dared not rest or sleep. As long as we stopped for a few minutes, that person would appear..."
"So you took him to the base in France?" The tattooed man suddenly asked.
Carrel was taken aback, then explained, "That place is full of Muggles. Nele said that considering the Secrecy Act, Dumbledore would definitely..."
"Idiot!"
"Smack!"
The stinging pain on his face interrupted Carrel's words, and he stared blankly, his expression frozen.
The tattooed man suddenly flew into a rage, slapping him and then kicking him out of the room.
"Muggles! Muggles! You only know that those are Muggles, but why don't you think about why there are so many Muggles in the organization's base?"
The tattooed man roared, "Those are precious researchers, but because of you, they're no longer under the organization's control! Even our precious research materials were partially taken away. Do you know how big of a loss that is?"
Carrel's body trembled slightly, and he remained silent.
The slightly plump woman stopped the man who was about to strike again, her voice angry. "How can you hit a child? What does Carrel know? All the decisions were made by Granwhite! Why are you taking it out on the child?"
She knelt down and gently stroked Carrel's head, comforting him, "Don't be afraid, dear. It's not your fault. Please understand that your father couldn't control his temper. The French base suffered heavy losses, and the leader is furious. Your father is under a lot of pressure this time."
"The reason he rushed to this dangerous country in such a hurry was all because of his concern and care for you, Carrel... Can you forgive your father?"
Carrel lifted his head and looked deeply into his mother's eyes for a long moment before slowly nodding.
The tattooed man, his chest heaving, finally calmed down. He reached out and pulled Carrel up, then bent down to pat the footprint on his chest.
"I'm sorry, son."
The man's voice was low and hoarse as he spoke with self-reproach, "I was in a bad mood today, and I took my anger out on you, making you suffer."
Carrel lowered his head and replied, "It's okay... I know you didn't mean it."
Both the couple smiled with satisfaction, and the slightly plump woman even gave Carrel an emotional hug.
"Let's not talk about the French base anymore... Carrel, do you remember what your mission is?" the tattooed man asked.
Carrel nodded.
"Then why weren't you with Wade Grey when I saw you on the street today?" the tattooed man inquired, his tone calm.
Despite this, Carrel couldn't help but shudder.
This time, he didn't make excuses, such as being sorted into Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat, or that Wade Grey was often absent, making it difficult to find opportunities to reminisce and bridge the distance.
He also didn't mention that among those who had accompanied him was the boy savior of the magical world, and Carrel had deemed it necessary to build a good relationship with him. Furthermore, he could even join one of Wade Grey's organization through this connection.
Carrel knew that in his father's eyes, a mission not completed was a failure, and any excuse—even if he was actually engaged in more meaningful work—was unacceptable.
Orders were paramount.
"I'm sorry, Father," Carrel said, hanging his head. "I truly apologize for not meeting your expectations. I will definitely complete the mission; please give me some more time."
The tattooed man's jaw clenched as if he was about to lose his temper, but after being glared at by the slightly plump woman, he suppressed his anger.
He placed his palm on Carrel's head and said as gently as he could, "It's okay. Since you recognize your mistake, I believe you'll do better from now on... Carrel, don't let me down again."
Carrel nodded solemnly, trying to suppress the discomfort he felt from his head to his back.
The slightly plump woman clapped her hands happily.
"Alright, let's not talk about such serious matters anymore. Carrel, have you been struggling with the food at school? Your mother has prepared a feast for us; let's have a family meal together."
"Sure," the tattooed man laughed. "Since Carrel went to the training camp, we haven't had a proper family meal in a long time. Carrel, will it delay your return to school?"
This time, Carrel finally showed a genuine smile.
"No," he replied. "Today is Hogsmeade Weekend, and I just need to be back before dinner."
"You can't stay that long," the tattooed man said. "We have people watching in the village. If Wade Grey shows up, you need to find a chance to bump into him."
"Hmm," Carrel mumbled.
The smile on Carrel's face faded as he looked at the two people who didn't seem to notice his mood. Suddenly, he felt that the people before him were so unfamiliar compared to the parents in his memories.
It was all because of the damn British Ministry of Magic, who had discovered that their family was a group of vampires, forcing them to flee to this country.
Carrel didn't want to recall the hardships they had endured during their escape. It was only after they received the organization's protection that they managed to escape the pursuit.
The sudden change in his parents' temperaments was due to this unforeseen event; it wasn't their fault.
Only by completing the mission could the family live openly and honestly, and his parents would return to their former selves...
Carrel clenched the fork in his hand.
The slightly plump woman had already set a table full of delicious food—roasted beef, eel jelly, stew, seafood chowder, sausage and mashed potatoes...
The rich aroma filled the room, and the atmosphere finally became what a family should have.
...
"How could you be so foolish as to be ambushed by a blood-sucking bat?" Sirius asked as he directed a dinner knife to carve out holes in the pumpkins in the yard.
"Has your ability deteriorated to this extent?" he added with a hint of mockery in his tone, a cold glint in his eyes.
"What can I say?" Lupin replied with a bitter smile. "I might have had too much to drink and wasn't alert enough..."
In truth, he had sensed an approaching flying object earlier.
However, perhaps the alcohol had numbed his vigilance, and Lupin subconsciously assumed that the flying creature was Wade in his Animagus bird form, which was why he didn't dodge in time.
After all, in his mind, Wade's Animagus form was that of a bird.
By the time Lupin realized he was under attack, the syringe had already pierced his body, and the cold potion felt like a water gun shooting into his veins.
"Fortunately, Hagrid was there..."
Sirius looked at Lupin's pale face and swallowed the rest of his words. He turned to Harry and Wade, who had come to visit Lupin, and asked, "Did Dumbledore say anything?"
"I heard that the vampire who attacked Remus is dead," Harry replied hastily.
While Lupin was lying in the infirmary, Harry had sought out Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster, learning a portion of the truth.
"Professor Snape tested those hormones and believed they were a special type extracted from a werewolf's body, capable of triggering werewolf transformation," Wade explained.
"Although Remus recovered this time, if he's attacked again, the werewolf transformation might be faster and more complete, and there's a possibility he might never recover..."
Sirius clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. "That snot-nosed brat..."
"Sirius," Lupin warned.
"Alright, alright... Snape!" Sirius shook his head like a dog. "Although he provided some help this time, that guy is always good at intimidating others..."
"It's not just 'some help'; he saved me," Lupin said calmly. "If I truly become a werewolf... Sirius, remember not to hesitate when it's time to take action."
"Impossible!" Sirius growled. "Don't believe that snot-nosed brat's nonsense! I don't believe there's any problem we can't solve!"
Lupin managed a weak smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Harry pondered for a while before whispering to Wade, "Wade... Extracting hormones and such, that doesn't sound like a wizard's method, does it?"
(End of Chapter)
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