Chapter 372: Family [Two-in-One]
"Of course we came."
The slightly plump woman stroked Carlyle, saying with a pained expression, "I heard something happened to your task force, so we left America immediately. But we couldn't find out where you were. I thought… I thought…"
She started crying.
His mother's tears left Carlyle at a loss. He frantically said, "Don't cry, Mom. See, I'm perfectly fine…"
He shot a pleading glance at his father, but the tattooed man sat beside him, asking sternly,
"What exactly happened back then? Why were you exposed?"
Carlyle asked, baffled, "Didn't Grant White escape? Didn't he report it?"
The tattooed man frowned, "Answer my question, Carlyle!"
His tone was icy, making Carlyle feel a bit uncomfortable.
The slightly plump woman explained from the side, "Grant White was worried about leading the enemy to our base. After sending a verbal message, he fled to Africa and hasn't been heard from since."
"…He was overly cautious then. Dumbledore had already returned to school," Carlyle said, exasperated.
"Oh my goodness, you encountered Dumbledore?"
The slightly plump woman said in horror, "How could this happen? Didn't the leader say Dumbledore is probably the most powerful Wizard right now? Why did you provoke him as soon as you arrived?"
Recalling the scene, Carlyle still felt a lingering fear. He swallowed, then recounted what had happened earlier—
"After arriving in Britain, Grant White said he first wanted to investigate the disappearance of the Werewolf Will. Their last mission failed even with the use of gold dust… It was a very strange failure, and Grant White suspected someone had betrayed them."
"He said he needed to know what forces were opposing us, whether the British Ministry of Magic was involved, and how much information the missing Will had leaked before we could proceed with the next step."
"Will had a diary… After investigating, Nile found one person to be very suspicious—"
"Before Will disappeared, he found a well-paying job through a Werewolf named Remus Lupin and had received a considerable amount of financial assistance from him."
"And that Remus Lupin lived in Hogsmeade…"
"Dar was poisoned to death by an Acromantula, and Acromantulas are native to Southeast Asia. There's only one place in Britain where a large number of Acromantulas reside…"
He spoke somewhat disjointedly, but the tattooed man already understood Grant White's reasoning at the time. He slowly said, "The Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts."
"Yes."
Carlyle nodded, "Grant White said the same thing."
"He believed that everything was linked to Remus Lupin… And for him, as a dangerous Werewolf, to live so close to the school, he must have had permission from the school's high-ranking officials."
"Kramie suggested that if we could break the Wizards' trust in that Werewolf, we could force him out of Hogwarts' protection, making him easier to deal with."
"And British Werewolves had formed some kind of mutual aid society and signed a 'Werewolf Code of Conduct' with the Ministry of Magic. Kramie said we needed to remind these weak British Wizards of the danger and brutality of Werewolves so that we could help the Werewolves awaken…"
Carlyle's mouth twitched slightly. Even as he recounted it, he found the idea absurd.
They would go and disrupt the Werewolves' currently peaceful lives, cause Wizards to discriminate against and hunt Werewolves, and then they would "help" the Werewolves "awaken"?
—Did British Werewolves really need such "help"?
But Carlyle had no right to question. After Kramie spoke, both Grant White and Nile thought it was a good idea.
Now, after he finished speaking, he deliberately observed his parents' expressions, finding that they didn't seem to find anything wrong with the idea either.
—Was he, who found this approach absurd, the one who was wrong?
"You used Lycanthropy hormones?" the tattooed man asked.
"Yes. Grant White applied for three doses when he left. One of them was used on Remus Lupin; he transformed into a Werewolf on the street…" Carlyle said.
"But…" the slightly plump woman frowned in confusion, "this incident wasn't reported, was it?"
Carlyle lowered his head and said, "Hogsmeade has some powerful figures, and at the time, Lupin was accompanied by a Hogwarts professor… So, there were no casualties after the Werewolf rampage."
"Originally, Nile and Kramie took photos and recorded videos, but that night, Dumbledore suddenly found us…"
Carlyle remembered how their car suddenly stopped halfway while they were driving to a new Muggle town, and that terrifying Wizard stood on the road with icy eyes, as if he had been waiting for a long time…
He couldn't help but shiver, his face pale, his hands clenched tightly into fists, his eyes involuntarily showing fear and nervousness.
Except for the oblivious Muggle driver, the few people in the car were almost scared out of their wits. They didn't even think of resisting, shouting and rushing out of the car to escape.
Grant White and Nile could Apparate, so they successfully escaped from that road the first time—only Kramie had a finger dismembered—it was incredibly lucky.
But afterward, they realized that wasn't luck, but the beginning of a nightmare.
"We didn't dare to rest, didn't dare to sleep. As soon 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.
Carlyle froze for a moment before defending himself, "There are Muggles there. Nile said that, for the sake of the Statute of Secrecy, Dumbledore would definitely…"
"Idiot!"
*CRACK!*
The stinging pain on his face interrupted Carlyle's next words, leaving his eyes wide and his expression blank.
The tattooed man suddenly erupted in fury. After slapping him, he stood up and violently kicked Carlyle away.
"Muggles! Muggles! You only see them as Muggles, but why don't you wonder why there are so many of them at The Organization's base?"
The tattooed man roared, "Those were valuable researchers, but because of you, they slipped from The Organization's control! Even some of our precious research materials were stolen. Do you know what a huge loss that is?"
Carlyle's body trembled slightly, and he remained silent.
The plump woman stopped the man, who was about to strike again, and said angrily, "How can you lay hands on a child? What does Carlyle know? Grant White made all the decisions! Why are you taking your anger out on a child?"
She knelt down and gently stroked Carlyle's head, comforting him,
"Don't be afraid, Mommy knows it's not your fault. And please understand that your dad couldn't control his temper — the French base suffered heavy losses, and the leader is furious. Your father is under a lot of pressure coming here this time."
"And the reason he rushed to this dangerous country was out of concern and love for you. Carlyle… can you forgive Dad?"
Carlyle looked up, gazed deeply at his mother, and after a long while, slowly nodded.
The tattooed man, his chest still heaving, took a deep breath and finally calmed down. He reached out, pulled Carlyle up, and even bent down to brush off the footprints on his chest.
"I'm sorry, son."
The man's voice was low and hoarse. He blamed himself, saying, "I was in a bad mood today and took all my anger out on you. You've been wronged."
Carlyle lowered his head and said, "It's okay… I know you didn't mean it."
Both husband and wife showed satisfied smiles, and the plump woman even gave Carlyle a heartfelt hug.
"Let's not talk about the French base anymore… Carlyle, do you still remember what your mission is?" the tattooed man asked.
Carlyle nodded.
"Then why weren't you with Wade Grey when I saw you on the street today?" the tattooed man asked.
His tone was calm, but Carlyle still trembled involuntarily.
This time, he didn't try to explain that he had been sorted into Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat, and that Wade Grey was nowhere to be found all day except during classes, making it hard to find an opportunity to reminisce and bridge the gap.
Nor did he mention that among those he had been with earlier was the Wizarding World's young Savior. Carlyle had decided it was important to get on good terms with him, and through him, he could join a club that Wade Grey was organizing.
He knew that in his father's eyes, a mission not completed was simply not completed, and any reason—even if he was actually doing more meaningful work—was just an excuse.
Orders came first.
"I'm sorry, Dad." Carlyle said, head bowed. "I'm truly sorry I didn't meet your expectations. I will definitely work hard to complete the mission. Please give me a little more time."
The tattooed man's jaw tightened, as if he was about to explode, but after being glared at by the plump woman, he suppressed his anger.
He placed his hand on Carlyle's head and said as gently as he could, "It's okay. Since you can acknowledge your mistake, I believe you'll do well in the future… Carlyle, don't disappoint me again."
Carlyle tried to control the discomfort spreading from his head down his back and nodded solemnly.
The plump woman clapped her hands happily.
"Alright, alright, no more serious talk—Carlyle, you haven't been used to the food at school, have you? Mommy has prepared a big meal for you. Let's have dinner as a family, shall we?"
"Great," the tattooed man said with a smile. "Since Carlyle went to the training camp, we haven't had a proper meal together in a long time—Carlyle, will it delay you getting back to school?"
This time, Carlyle finally showed a genuine smile.
"No," he said. "Today is Hogsmeade Weekend. I just need to be back before dinner."
"You can't stay that long," the tattooed man said. "We have someone watching in the village. If Wade Grey appears, you need to find an opportunity to 'accidentally' run into him."
"…Okay."
The smile vanished from Carlyle's face. He responded dully, looking at the two who weren't paying attention to his emotions, and suddenly felt how unfamiliar these people were compared to the parents in his memories.
—It was all because of the damned British Ministry of Magic, who discovered their family's Vampire identity, forcing them to flee to America.
Carlyle didn't want to recall the hardships of that journey. They only escaped the pursuit after receiving protection from The Organization.
His father and mother changed so much because of that upheaval… It wasn't their fault.
Only by completing his mission could his family live openly, and his father and mother would return to their old selves…
Carlyle secretly tightened his grip on the dinner fork.
The plump woman had already laid out a table full of delicacies—roasted beef, jellied eels, stew, seafood chowder, sausage and mashed potatoes…
A rich aroma filled the air, and the atmosphere in the room finally became what a family's should be.
...
"How stupid, to be ambushed by a bat!"
Sirius, while directing a table knife to carve a pumpkin in the yard, said with great dissatisfaction,
"Has your skill deteriorated this much?"
His tone was sarcastic, but his eyes held a cold glint.
"What can I say?" Lupin said with a wry smile. "I might have been too drunk at the time; I wasn't prepared…"
In reality, he had actually felt a flying object rapidly approaching him beforehand.
But perhaps the alcohol had dulled his alertness. Lupin instinctively thought the approaching object was Wade, transformed into a bird, which was why he didn't dodge in time.
After all, in his mind, only Wade's Animagus was a bird.
By the time Lupin realized he was being attacked, the syringe had already pierced his body, and the cold liquid shot into his bloodstream almost like a water gun.
"Good thing Hagrid was there too..."
Sirius swallowed the rest of his sentence, looking at Lupin's bloodless face, and asked Harry and Wade, who had come to visit Lupin:
"Did Dumbledore say anything?"
"I heard the Vampire who attacked Remus is dead," Harry quickly said.
While Lupin was in the Hospital Wing, Harry had approached Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster, and had thus learned some of the truth.
"Professor Snape tested those hormones and believes it's a special hormone extracted from Werewolves that triggers Lycanthropy."
Wade added, "Even though Remus recovered this time, if he's hit again, the transformation into a Werewolf might be faster and more complete, possibly even irreversible..."
Sirius "tsk"-ed, complaining, "That greasy git..."
"Sirius," Lupin warned.
"Alright... alright... Snape!" Sirius shook his head like a dog and said, "Even though he offered a little help this time, that guy is always good at intimidating people..."
"It wasn't 'a little help,' he saved me." Lupin simply said calmly, "If I truly become a Werewolf completely—Sirius, remember not to hesitate when the time comes."
"Impossible!" Sirius growled, "Don't believe that greasy git's nonsense! I don't believe there's any problem that can't be solved!"
Lupin managed a faint smile, neither refuting nor agreeing.
Harry pondered for a long time before quietly asking Wade, "Wade... extracting hormones and all that, that's not a Wizard's method, is it?"
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