For a while, no one spoke, the corridor was very quiet, and Evan thought they had already left.
Then, he heard a sound again. It was Hagrid's resonating, loud cry.
"Keep it down, Hagrid, you will wake up the two children inside" Professor McGonagall said sternly. "I know you are worried about them, but can you please calm down for a moment? It's been an hour since we came back from Hogsmeade, and you're still crying!"
Hagrid wiped his tears with his large handkerchief and tried to calm himself down. His sad cry was repressed into a moan, sounding even more uncomfortable.
Evan moved a bit, and Madam Pomfrey walked towards him from the end of the dark ward. He turned to look at her.
She took the largest piece of chocolate he had ever seen. It looked more like a small boulder.
"Ah, you're awake!" said Madam Pomfrey, vividly, putting the piece of chocolate on the table bedside Evan and starting to crack it with a small hammer.
"I have something to say to the Headmaster." Evan sat up in his bed.
"I don't think it's best for you. Both of you are absolutely exhausted, both physically and magically. You'd better lie in bed and wait until I think you're okay."
"No, this is very important." Evan remembered the ominous dialogue between Greyback and his Black Masked companion. It was obvious that they were planning on doing something really bad.
Evan jumped out of bed, as did Hermione. Madam Pomfrey wanted to stop them, but their voices had already reached those who were in the hallway, Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Hagrid. All five immediately walked into the ward.
"Evan, Hermione, how are you now?" Hagrid rushed in anxiously, hugging both of them tightly, with tears of sadness falling on his tangled beard. He sobbed and said, "It was all my fault, I drank too much and it took me a while to react after I heard the werewolf howl."
"We are all the same, Hagrid!" said Professor McGonagall. "We're all responsible for this matter. We should have responded more quickly."
"Who would have thought that in Hogsmeade, this kind of thing would happen on Christmas Eve? But now that we are here, you will not be bothered. You two better lie back down." Fudge turned to Pomfrey, asking her "Did they eat chocolate?"
"Wait a minute, Minister, I have something to say." Evan looked at Dumbledore and hurriedly said, "Those who attacked me and Hermione, they seem to be plotting something. They mentioned werewolves and Muggles…"
"Yeah!" Hermione hurriedly nodded. "There seems to be a gathering of werewolves, and they are going to attack Muggles."
"Kids, you must have heard it wrong." Fudge's expression changed when he heard Evan and Hermione, and he looked uneasy at both of them. "It must be that attack that made your brains confused, both of you. Greyback, that horrible monster, must have terrified you."
"I'm not afraid, and I'm not confused!" Evan said irritably. Fudge's indolent attitude bothered him so much.
He could feel that all the Minister wanted was peace of mind.
If it was true that there were werewolves that are plotting to attack Muggles, such a thing would surely bring panic to the entire magic world. It was much more serious than Black's Jailbreak.
After all, black was only one person, but werewolves were by the hundreds.
If what Evan and Hermione said actually were to happen, it would drive the angry crowds to submerge the Ministry with complaints. Fudge probably would end up losing his seat. This was certainly not something that he wanted to see.
"Kids, I know what you have endured" His lips moved up with difficulty to show a grudging smile. "What you need to do now is to stay in bed and rest until tomorrow morning. Then your minds will get back to being cle…"
"My head's very clear now, and I know what I'm talking about!" Evan said loudly, "Minister, the attack is far from over. Someone had planned for all of this from behind the scenes. Only Greyback came to Hogsmeade, and the other werewolves were…"
He did not finish his words when Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed his mouth with a large piece of chocolate.
He was stunned and she seized this opportunity to force him back to bed.
"Gentlemen!" said Madam Pomfrey with exasperation. "I must insist that you should leave. These two children are my patients. You shouldn't bother them!"
"Oh, I'm not upset. I'll tell them what happened." Evan desperately forced the large chunk of chocolate down his throat.
"Professors, what Evan said is true. I also heard the werewolf saying these things." Hermione followed quickly.
"For God's sake, you should hurry to lie back!" Madam Pomfrey turned and looked at Dumbledore and said hysterically. "Headmaster, please leave at once. These children need care. Is this the right place for this? In the hospital? I must insist…"
"I'm sorry Poppy, but I think it's necessary for Mr. Mason and Miss Granger to continue." Dumbledore said calmly, carefully staring at Evan through his pair of semi-circular glasses. "Cornelius, I think the information they gave is very valuable, and that Fenrir Greyback's actions tonight were very suspicious."
"Alright, alright, Albus, since you think so, then I'll…"
Fudge's words were not finished yet, and the ward's door was opened. Snape, who was in a black robe, and Lucius Malfoy, who also wrapped his body tightly in a black travel cloak, came in. Both men's faces were gloomy.
"Good evening, gentlemen!" Lucius' face had a cold smile.
"Malfoy, what are you doing here?!" Hagrid stood up and looked up at Lucius with his big, hairy head. He shouted angrily. "Get out and leave Hogwarts. You are not welcome here!"
"My dear friend, please believe me. If it wasn't an emergency, I wouldn't have come here. I am not too happy to be here either." Lucius looked at Hagrid disdainfully, smirking and saying, "And please be careful about your use of words. Three months ago, the Hippogriff, which you bred, attacked my son in your class. I had reason…"
"Okay, dear Lucius! That thing has been taken care of by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. They will give you a statement in due time." Fudge's hand wiped the sweat off of his forehead and he didn't want Malfoy to continue talking.
Thanks to the intervention of Newt Scamander and his association, the public opinion around the incident had been putting a lot of pressure on him, and there was no need complicate the matter anymore than that.
"Of course, Minister!" Lucius' eyes glanced at Dumbledore, and then swiftly turned back to Fudge. "That little mishap is not a big matter. In fact, I have more urgent things. I learned from the ministry that you were here and I asked Severus to bring me in. I hope that I'm not disturbing anything. Dumbledore, you don't mind that I hadn't notified you of my arrival, do you? "
"Of course not. Hogwarts is always open for people with goodwill. Come at any time you like." Dumbledore's voice sounded very polite, but sparks of anger could be seen in his blue eyes.
"Thank you for your understanding. I just heard from Severus that an unfortunate attack had happened in Hogsmeade. Two students were attacked by a werewolf that had suddenly appeared." Lucius' clod grey eyes blinked as he looked at Evan and Hermione.
Evan immediately understood that he was the one who had planned for all this.
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Evan suddenly realized that the one who was paying Greyback and his companion was none other than Lucius Malfoy.
As a former Death Eater, Lucius surely knew those guys, and only he had enough money to summon them.
The question now is, what does he want to do?
Evan couldn't see how this could ever be good for the Malfoy family. If it was ever discovered that he was the puppeteer behind the scenes, Lucius would be in great trouble.
"There's something wrong, there must be something I don't know about."
He hurriedly looked at Dumbledore beside him, who looked calm. Evan couldn't figure out what he was thinking.
"Those things really happened, but what does this have to do with you?" Dumbledore's blue eyes kept staring at Lucius.
"It has nothing to do with me, but it has a lot to do with this unpleasant news that I'm bringing." Malfoy said with a plummy accent. "It's so terrible. You may not have realized what happened."
"What happened?" Fudge asked subconsciously. He twisted his body and felt a little uneasy.
"A werewolf riot!" Lucius said slowly, and his tone was too calm for the words he was saying. "While Hogsmeade was being attacked by that werewolf, there were many other attacks in Muggle cities. On this unfortunate full-moon night, the werewolves spontaneously gathered and attacked the Muggles. Accurate numbers of casualties were yet to be determined, but before I came, it was said that over thirty people had been bitten. The injured Muggles had been rushed to the St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."
"What?!" Fudge's eyes widened and his face turned pale. "You are kidding, Lucius, how could there be werewolf attacks? No one has told me of this thing until now!" "
"These are my personal sources of intelligence, Minister!" Lucius said with a wink and continued, "My sources are very reliable. I don't think it will take long before the Ministry reports details to you."
"This is not possible. All werewolves are under the control of the Werewolf Registry. They cannot be…"
Fudge stopped suddenly. Just an hour ago, under his nose, a werewolf attack had occurred.
When Evan and Hermione mentioned this matter, he thought that it was just the rambling of two children, and was instinctively unwilling to believe that this would ever happen.
But now that Lucius Malfoy had also reported this to him, what Evan and Hermione were talking about was no longer just a conspiracy, the attack actually happened!
And it wasn't just one or two isolated attacks, it was a full out riot!
Fudge wished that someone would pop up telling him that this is just April Fools. He looked back at Lucius just to make sure that he was not kidding, but that fantasy of him was instantly shattered.
Whether he wants to believe it or not! There has been a massive werewolf attack indeed!
The ward was quiet and the mood was terrible. No one spoke. They were shocked with terrible news brought by Lucius Malfoy.
Evan was lying in bed with thoughts running through his head.
He analysed the whole situation with what information he had. Lucius Malfoy has summoned these werewolves to launch a large-scale attack on Muggles. How does this benefit him?
Obviously, Lucius' biggest goal is to drive Dumbledore away from Hogwarts. How would triggering a werewolf riot help him with that?
Hold on one second! Werewolves? Hogwarts? Professor Lupin is a werewolf!
He then thought that Lucius shouldn't know about Professor Lupin's secret.
However, Evan can never know that for sure. After all, there were many who knew that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. When employing him, Dumbledore told the other professors about the matter, and also told Cornelius Fudge, in order to get the consent of the Ministry of Magic.
Even if they did not trust Lupin, he did not take part in the attacks on Muggles.
In fact, he did not harm anyone. He was safe. This makes Lucius's action completely meaningless.
If he was to reveal the identity of Professor Lupin to the masses after such attacks, the most that he would be able to get with that was driving him away from the school. This wouldn't imply Dumbledore in anyway.
Unless! If he can find a way to prove that Professor Lupin also participated in this riot, he would…
Evan looked at Lucius. He had a smug smile on his face. Yet, Snape's face beside him was gloomy.
Just as Evan was about to say something, a large grey owl suddenly flew in through the window. It was a messenger of the Ministry of Magic. It went straight to Fudge.
He hurriedly took the letter out from the owl's mouth. He took the envelope apart and read it carefully. His face showed well just how bad it was.
"Dear Lucius, what you said has been verified. There really was a massive werewolf riot." Fudge's voice was not loud, but it rang through the quiet room. He turned and looked at Dumbledore, saying in panic "I'm sorry, Albus! I must get back to the Ministry as soon as possible to deal with this unexpected incident. If you can, I hope you would…"
He hadn't finished his words when he was interrupted.
The ward's door was opened again. And this time, it was Percy who went through it. He hurried in looking scared.
"Professor! Professor!" Percy gasped and looked anxiously at Dumbledore. He was so agitated that his voice trembled. "You have to see this Professor! A Werewolf has appeared in the castle. It is attacking students!"
Hearing his words, everyone held their breath as they looked at Percy in astonishment. The mood in the ward went extremely heavy.
Evan noticed that Lucius's face had an expression of triumph just for a second.
Snape, who was standing aside, actually looked a little surprised. But then his face went back to its disturbing state again.
.............. ......….
One hour before these events, Harry was sitting alone in the Great Hall.
He didn't know where Ron went, and they hadn't seen each other in the afternoon. As for Evan and Hermione, he heard Fred and George say they went to Hogsmeade. He didn't know what went wrong to make them be so late.
Before that, Colin and Ginny came in to invite him to sit along with them, but he refused.
He just wanted to be alone, he was so confused. All he wanted to think about was what Professor Lupin told him in the morning about his parents. He couldn't even remember how he got from Lupin's office to the Gryffindor Common room, and how he then reached the Great Hall.
He only knew that he was out of tune with the cheerful atmosphere around him. Besides him, everyone around were happily discussing the arrangements for Christmas holidays.
Harry was indifferent to all of that. Even when the news reached him from Hufflepuff's table that Evan and Hermione were dating, it didn't faze him at all.
He stared blankly at the plate in front of him, and all he thought of was his parents and Sirius Black.