Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 564: Chapter 180: Werewolf

”Dumbledore?” Hearing this name, Maurice immediately became excited and shouted loudly, ”I know Dumbledore! He’s the strongest wizard in the world!”

”Yes, indeed.” Vid smiled slightly, ”Have you ever met Dumbledore?”

”No, never.” Maurice shook his head and said, ”I’ve only heard my dad talk about him sometimes when he reads the newspaper to us.”

As they spoke, he turned around in Vid’s arms to look at the castle gradually fading into the distance.

In the morning light, Hogwarts looked very beautiful, draped in a thin mist with the rising sun casting a pale golden glow on its towers and stone walls.

Students rushing to class and breakfast were weaving in and out of the castle, young figures flitting past windows, and a faint sound of laughter and playful banter could be heard, making the ancient castle come to life with energy and vitality.

Maurice’s eyes revealed unabashed envy.

”Vid, can I not study here?” he asked softly.

Vid was silent for a moment, then said, ”Students at Hogwarts receive their acceptance letter at the age of eleven.”

”Eleven? I’ll be an adult by then.”

Maurice sighed, resting his head on Vid’s arm, staring unblinkingly at the castle.

Vid had reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and the air around felt a bit cooler.

He was just about to find Hagrid to ask him to take the two-year-old little one back, when suddenly he saw a figure step out from behind a tree in the dark forest, looking at him silently and somewhat cautiously.

Unlike Lupin, who could still blend into normal human society, this person’s eyes, nose, and ears looked very much like those of a real wolf. His complexion was pale, his eye sockets were deep, his hair was so messy it looked like a wild man’s, his clothes were tattered, and he was even barefoot.

He had a bow and arrow slung over his shoulder, a curved knife and dagger strapped to his waist and legs, and he held a dark shotgun, the barrel pointing towards the ground without any intention of raising it.

Vid stopped, looked at the person named Lucas Holden, and shook the young wolf, ”Maurice, is that your father?”

”Huh?”

Maurice was trying his best to take in every detail of Hogwarts, and upon hearing this, he was stunned, turned his head, saw the man in the forest, and was immediately frightened, rolling out of Vid’s arms.

”Dad... Dad...”

Maurice lowered his head timidly, tucked his tail and softly said, ”Sorry... I... I shouldn’t have run off...”

With a hoarse voice, the man said, ”Maurice, come back.”

”...Okay.” Maurice reluctantly turned back to look at Vid and the castle behind him, and unwillingly walked towards the Forbidden Forest.

Most of his wounds were healed, but he still appeared somewhat weak. The man waited until he walked slowly to his side, leaned down to scoop him up and checked him over.

”I’m fine.” Maurice didn’t like being turned this way and that, and with his little paws, he pushed his father’s hand away and said shyly, ”Vid had the school’s doctor treat me.”

”Vid, is it?” The man looked at Vid and said, ”Thank you for saving my son.”

Vid looked into his amber eyes, nodded and said, ”You’re welcome. Take him home, I need to go to class as well.”

”Wait!” The man suddenly shouted, then said, ”Be careful, kid. Recently, quite a few vampires have shown up in the forest. They asked me to help lead the way and have also contacted the Acromantula tribe.”

Vid was taken aback, first raising his eyebrows at the mention of Acromantulas, then after a moment of silence, he asked, ”Does Professor Dumbledore know about this?”

”Of course.” The man smirked and said in a mocking tone, ”He allowed someone as tainted by blood as me to live in the Forbidden Forest, as a return, we naturally serve as spies for him.”

Vid tilted his head slightly at his tone, frowned and said, ”Sorry, it sounds like Professor Dumbledore provided aid to your family, but I couldn’t help feeling... you seem quite dissatisfied with him?”

”...Dissatisfied?” The man let out a cold laugh, ”No, I hold him in awe. But Dumbledore? He let everyone down time and time again!”

Vid thought of the story of ’Favors breed resentment’, and his expression turned completely cold as he asked, ”What do you mean?”

The man squinted his eyes and said, ”You’re still a student, kid. In your heart, you probably feel your headmaster is truly great, trustworthy, and you can rely on him at any time. But after you graduate...”

His voice suddenly stopped, his nostrils flared, and his teeth clenched with a gnashing sound.

After a while, he spoke again, ”After you graduate, you’ll see the corruption, inefficiency, and procrastination of the Ministry of Magic, always making a mess of everything. Discrimination and prejudice are rampant, criminals roam free, while honest people get sentenced to Azkaban for buying a second-hand magic wand...”

”You know there are huge issues, and you know there’s someone who can surely fix it... at least improve some of it. You plead with him again and again and again! Once! Then again! You plead for him to step forward! But he keeps refusing!”

”As long as Dumbledore nods, without having to do anything, the position of Minister of Ministry of Magic would be handed to him!”

”But Dumbledore? He’d rather watch a greedy fool take that position than leave Hogwarts!”

”Tell me kid, given this situation... how can you feel grateful to him?”

The werewolf asked, but then he looked at Vid’s still somewhat childlike face, let out a bitter laugh, and wiped his face.