Evidently, the Shield Charms cast by the group with their magic were unable to stop the gray wolf's attack. The two Shield Charms were instantly torn to shreds, and the Obstacle Curse hitting the gray wolf's head had no effect. Peter, with his short legs, was terrified and wanted to retreat, and the scene was chaotic.
Gary had no other choice but to resort to his wand.
"Protego, Protego, Protego!" Gary pointed his wand at Peter, shouting in his mind and chanting the spell without stopping.
He felt a tremor in his fingers, and the magic in his wand frantically converged towards the tip. Then, a beam of light flew out, and Gary felt as if all the energy stored in the entire wand had been completely unleashed.
This scorching energy directly struck the ground between Peter and the gray wolf, and the Shield Charm took effect.
However, this Shield Charm was completely different from those Gary had cast before. This Shield Charm was no longer transparent but a textured, dark iron color.
Peter, standing directly behind the Shield Charm, felt it most deeply. The Shield Charm before him was like a thick city wall, grand and solid, towering majestically.
The gray wolf was also startled, but it couldn't stop itself in mid-air and crashed into it head-on.
The gray wolf felt as if it had crashed into a pile of steel, incredibly hard. With just that one impact, it was dazed and saw stars.
Unwilling to give up, it gathered strength and charged at the Shield Charm again.
Then it bounced off at an even faster speed.
When it got up again, its eyes were full of apprehension.
Only then did Peter let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead, feeling as if he had walked away from death.
Alfrina and the others looked at Gary with a mixture of gratitude, envy, and disbelief at the powerful Shield Charm he had cast.
Fortunately, everyone's attention had been on Peter and the gray wolf earlier, so they hadn't noticed anything unusual about Gary's wand.
Gary quickly hid his wand in his robe sleeve to avoid being discovered.
The Werewolf stared at Gary. It knew that with this powerful Shield Charm, it would be impossible to succeed tonight.
The moonlight was finally obscured again by rolling dark clouds. A look of unwillingness flashed in the gray wolf's eyes, and its scarlet, frenzied gaze gradually became calm and gentle.
It glanced at everyone, turned around, and leaped, merging into the darkness after a few jumps and disappearing from everyone's sight.
"Phew…" James's tense shoulders relaxed. "You scared me to death."
Only then did the group, as if having escaped death, sit on the ground, relaxing their tense bodies.
"It's a good thing you were here, Gary," Alfrina said sincerely.
"That's right, Mr. Shafiq, you saved my life." Peter was teary-eyed, whether from being scared by the gray wolf or grateful for Gary's help.
"Thank you," Sirius hesitated for a moment, then also expressed his thanks, though his expression was not very good.
Gary said nothing, just nodded, and fell into his own thoughts.
Lockhart sat on the ground, hugging his knees, his eyes blank.
He still remembered that terrifying moment when the gray wolf pounced on him.
Its bloodthirsty and cruel eyes, its fangs glinting in the moonlight, its strong limbs—to him, that wolf was so powerful that he couldn't even muster a thought of resistance.
And it was such a wolf that was scared away by Gary Shafiq, who was only a year older than him.
Lockhart bowed his head, his clenched fists full of unwillingness.
He doubted his own abilities. Was he really that special?
He gave a self-mocking bitter smile.
"Let's go back to Hogwarts first, and then report the situation to Principal Dumbledore…" Alfrina began to organize everyone to leave this dangerous place.
Only Alfrina and Lockhart knew that the wolf was chained inside the Shrieking Shack. So who did all this?
James helped Sirius up, and everyone planned to return to the Shrieking Shack and follow the passage Alfrina had used earlier to get back to Hogwarts.
Gary followed behind the group, and seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he pulled his wand out of his sleeve and examined it carefully.
After casting the powerful Shield Charm, the wand's luster had become somewhat dull, feeling as if it was due to insufficient magic stored within the wand.
The groove at the tail end was still there, and Gary felt as if a gem was meant to be set into it.
The wand's width was slightly thinner than before. Gary pressed down on the wand's end, and it was not easily bent; it was harder than before.
He felt very strange. If the change in the wand's color was due to the wand core, then why would its hardness also change? Could it be that the wand core could even change the properties of the wand wood?
Gary couldn't figure it out. He recalled Ollivander's eccentric demeanor when he bought his wand.
His thirst for knowledge made him want to write to Ollivander immediately to inquire, but he also didn't want to expose this secret to others, even though Ollivander probably knew the answer from the start.
The group returned to the Shrieking Shack under the cover of night. They opened the trapdoor on the ground and climbed down.
By the time they returned to the third-floor corridor of Hogwarts Castle, everyone was exhausted. James and Sirius suddenly changed their minds and didn't want to go see Principal Dumbledore; they were afraid that Dumbledore would deduct points from Gryffindor.
Gary and Alfrina had a legitimate reason: they were afraid Lockhart would cause trouble. They were out exploring, and tonight wasn't a weekend night; a single violation of curfew could cost Gryffindor one hundred and fifty points.
Alfrina believed that Principal Dumbledore must be informed of this matter. A wolf, whose owner was unknown, was kept in Hogsmeade, posing too great a potential threat to students and villagers.
In comparison, the few points deducted for violating curfew were hardly worth mentioning.
The two groups discussed for a while. After some concessions, James, Sirius, and Peter rushed back to the Gryffindor common room to rest, while Alfrina, Gary, and Lockhart went to find Principal Dumbledore.
As they left, James and Sirius's faces were uglier than if they had eaten dirt.
Gary and Alfrina supported Lockhart as they walked upstairs to the Principal's office. Lockhart remained in a daze, seemingly lost in thought.
On the eighth floor, the Hogwarts Principal's office was located in the middle of the corridor, guarded by two stone gargoyles that appeared to be dozing.
As soon as the three approached, the two stone gargoyles opened their eyes, feigning obedience.
"Password," one gargoyle said, sitting upright, looking straight ahead without glancing at the three.
"…We have urgent matters to inform Professor Dumbledore about, please be lenient," the three naturally didn't know the password, so Alfrina stepped forward to explain.
The two gargoyles ignored her, merely shifting their bottoms, seemingly scratching an itch.
"…Professor Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore…" Alfrina slightly raised her voice.
"I'm here, Miss Greengrass," Dumbledore's voice suddenly came from behind the three. Turning around, they saw an old man with a white beard and white hair smiling at them.
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