After making the decision, the group immediately set out, planning to head to Hogwarts under the cover of night.
Harry also took out the Invisibility Cloak, planning to drape it over Blake once they returned to the castle.
Even though it's curfew now and there won't be many students around, it's better to be cautious before Blake clears his name.
What's more, there's still Filch in the castle.
The group returned to the passage.
But unlike the tense journey here, the return trip was much more relaxed.
Professor Lupin walked at the front, with Harry, Hermione, and Ron following behind, occasionally glancing back. Then there was Blake, clutching Peter's cage tightly.
Kai walked at the very back, preventing Peter from suddenly escaping the cage...although this was almost impossible.
If a rat could easily escape from his transformed cage, Kai would rather return the Merlin Knight Order's Second-Class Medal to avoid embarrassment.
The journey back was relatively smooth, everyone proceeding in an orderly manner.
"Hand over Peter Pettigrew." Blake suddenly said to Harry as they moved slowly through the passage: "Do you know what this means?"
"You're free," Harry turned back and said.
"Yes..." Blake said, "But I also... I don't know if anyone told you... I'm your godfather."
"Yes, I know." Harry said.
He heard Fudge mention it at the Three Broomsticks, but at the time he only felt it was a disgrace, making him feel sick.
But now, hearing this news, he felt a strange joy.
Finally, his life wouldn't only be the Dursleys as his family.
"Yes... your parents appointed me as your guardian." Blake said somewhat awkwardly: "Well... you might consider... if I clear my name... if you want a different home..."
Harry's heart pounded fiercely, almost as if he had received a second Hogwarts acceptance letter.
"You mean... live with you?" he said, and being so excited, he inadvertently bumped his head against a stone at the top of the passage.
"Of course, if you want to live with your aunt and uncle... I can also understand," Blake hurriedly said, sounding a bit hesitant. "I just want to..."
"Are you crazy?" Harry joyfully said, "I'd definitely leave the Dursleys' house. Do you have a house? When can I move in?"
"You want to?" he asked, "Really?"
"Yes, I really want to." Harry said.
Kai noticed that a genuine smile spread across Blake's haggard face, and the man seemed to have broken free from the decrepit mask, appearing at least ten years younger.
By this point, they had also reached the entrance to the passage.
Professor Lupin was the first to jump up, pressing a knot on the tree trunk.
This knot was somewhat like the Whomping Willow's switch; just pressing it would keep it quiet.
Afterward, the others also successively emerged from the passage.
Blake stood under the moonlight, spreading his arms, greedily embracing the night's breeze.
"Let's go quickly, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future..." said Harry, who was now eager to see Dumbledore.
They swiftly crossed the grounds, and the castle lights gradually illuminated...
But as they walked, Professor Lupin at the very front suddenly stopped, and Ron and Harry bumped into him.
"What's wrong, Professor Lu..."
Before Harry could finish speaking, he was abruptly pulled backward... Ron was similarly pulled.
It wasn't until now that they noticed Professor Lupin's body was uncontrollably shaking.
"Oh no... it's a full moon today," Hermione screamed: "I forgot to tell you, Professor Lupin is a werewolf!"
"What did you say?" Ron felt a chilling cold engulfing his body.
No need for confirmation, as by this moment, Professor Lupin's head had started elongating, with brown fur growing on his exposed arms.
"Why didn't you mention such an important thing earlier!" Ron's teeth were chattering.
"Run!" Blake said in a low voice, "Run, quickly!"
The three of them sprinted backward, but when Blake turned back, he was horrified to find that Kai was still standing there... busy rummaging through a box, nearly half his body immersed in it.
"You..."
He was about to say something when Kai waved a hand.
"It's fine, perhaps Harry hasn't mentioned that my Merlin Knight Order's Second-Class Medal was earned by defeating werewolves."
There was still some time before Professor Lupin completely transformed into a werewolf, and Kai calmly rummaged through his box.
Norbert... not advisable; releasing it would cause too much commotion, and Professor Lupin probably wouldn't endure.
Mandrake... werewolves probably wouldn't die from its effects, but Harry and the others are around, so let's pass on that.
Chomping Cabbage... not very suitable either.
After looking around, Kai finally found what he wanted.
A large bunch of vines was pulled out of the box; by this time, Professor Lupin had just turned into a werewolf.
The werewolf stood upright on its hind legs, its long snout opening and closing, emitting a series of terrifying growls.
A large black dog darted past Kai, biting the werewolf's neck and trying to drag it back, with the dog and werewolf clawing and tearing at each other...
Kai stared, momentarily taken aback, then quickly reacted, using his wand to fling the large bunch of vines at them?
"Summoning Charm!"
The vines crashed into them, and the sturdy tendrils immediately became restless upon being attacked, starting to twist and coil continuously.
Just like insects entrapped in a spider's web, in an instant, the werewolf and the big dog were tightly bound by the vines, unable to move.
The scene was momentarily awkward.
Especially Sirius, who suddenly felt like he was in the way.
"This is Devil's Snare, you should be able to escape, right?" Kai asked.
The big dog nodded, then relaxed its body and escaped from the vines.
The werewolf continued to struggle intensely, the vines around it growing increasingly tight.
"Where did you get that thing?" Asked Blake, who had released his Animagus form, in disbelief, "Your box isn't very big."
"Well... the inside of the box is slightly bigger than it appears." Kai gestured a little with his pinky.
Blake looked at the house-sized Devil's Snare in front of him, then at Kai's gesture, feeling speechless.
Is this a little bigger?
But Kai wasn't ready to explain much; he looked at the werewolf wrapped like a mummy and was worried about how to move him.
Perhaps try Mandrake?
The chances are very high that a werewolf won't die from Mandrake's cries, probably just fall unconscious, similar to the previous Eight-eyed Giant Spider.
Even if its resistance is higher than the Eight-eyed Giant Spider, there are over a dozen pots of Mandrake in the box; if one doesn't work, use two, and if that still doesn't work, add more, surely there will be a suitable amount for the werewolf.
Handling an unconscious werewolf becomes much simpler, just requiring a simple Levitating Spell to bring it to Dumbledore's Headmaster's Office.
The more Kai thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
But just as he conjured up several thick ear protectors, ready to give them to Harry and the others, he suddenly felt a chill around him, and the moonlight dimmed considerably.
With a jolt, Kai looked up sharply to see, far away, a "cloud" rapidly spreading along the lake's edge, flying fast towards them.