An owl was rented from Eastbourne to send a letter to Kingsley.
Without any delay, Severus imdiately took Lyall and Granger to the seaside cliff called Beachy Head.
The area had already been completely sealed off by Muggle police, with all tourists prohibited from entering. anwhile, a group of Aurors remained inside to handle the aftermath.
So of the Obliviators are gathering the Muggles who had witnessed the Dark Mark the previous night to erase their mories of the incident.
When Severus and the other two arrived, they chose not to alert these Aurors.
Many among them were familiar faces who had recently crossed paths, or even wands with Severus. Those assigned to deal with last night's events were clearly under Robards' command.
Moreover, though Severus couldn't figure out how a certain soone had broken free of the Imperius Curse, if they had managed to tip off the werewolves once or twice, they could certainly do it again.
Engaging with the entire Auror Office at this point would be unwise.
They would have to wait until Kingsley received his letter and began addressing the issues within the Ministry before they could expect any real assistance from the Aurors.
After avoiding the Aurors on the cliff, the three began searching the area.
Of course, this search primarily relied on Lyall. Their only hope now was that Lupin might have left behind so aningful clue for them to discover.
However, as it turned out, it was Severus who ultimately found the valuable lead.
"See that rock down there?"
He pointed to an inconspicuous reef below the cliff, which was battered by the waves.
Hearing his words, Granger and Lyall both looked over. On the reef, they could just barely make out a moon with a smiling face, roughly the height of a person, carved into the stone, or perhaps marked with sothing else!
The image itself was unremarkable, only resembling a child's doodle. Even Lyall couldn't discern any aning behind it.
"It was left by Lupin." Severus said with absolute certainty.
"How do you know?" Lyall couldn't help but ask.
"Lupin must have told you that during his school days, he had three best friends." Severus said calmly, though Ghost Snape inside him wished he could cast a Muffliato on himself.
"The four of them were inseparable, forming a group called the [Marauders], and each of them gave themselves a nickna. Lupin's was [Moony]."
Granger looked at Severus curiously.
"Were you also one of the four?"
Hearing this, Severus couldn't help but laugh.
"If their leader or that mangy mutt heard you say that, they'd hate you for life, Robert."
"Did I say sothing wrong?" Granger stroked his chin, quickly piecing it together with his sharp mind, "You had a feud with them?"
"During a full moon, when Lupin went outside the school to transform, they tried to lure to him, hoping Lupin would kill ."
Severus said it casually.
Granger's eyes widened, and Lyall stared at Severus in shock.
"No need to be so surprised. Foolish, reckless youngsters often don't understand the consequences of their actions." Severus reassured them, "Later, their leader, afraid things would spiral out of control, saved . While I bear so responsibility for the situation, the real bla lies with that black dog. Lupin was innocent. He had no idea what was happening."
Severus swiftly steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"Let's head down. If Lupin resorted to leaving a mark like this, it ans he truly had no other options. Very few people know about the nickna 'Moony'. He's treating this as a last-ditch effort."
Seeing that Severus didn't seem to hold a grudge over the past, Granger and Lyall exchanged glances. With a sigh, Lyall spoke up, "Even if Remus didn't an it, I still owe you an apology on behalf of my son."
Severus simply patted him on the shoulder, "It's fine, Lyall. What's between us? We're all mates, so why would I hold a grudge against your son? Once we rescue Lupin, have him thank , his Uncle Snape, in person. Is there any need to dwell on the past?"
Lyall pointed at Severus, shaking his head with a wry smile.
The three of them didn't linger on the cliff for long. Soon, they found a path leading down to the shore.
From above, spotting the marked reef had been easy, but once they reached the bottom, it wasn't so simple.
They wandered back and forth for quite a while before finally, around 10 a.m., they rediscovered the reef with the smiling moon!
Directly opposite the rock, hidden behind the cliffside, was a winding path leading deeper in.
Just as Severus and the others discovered this path, five wizards in gray robes, most sporting thick, unkempt beards, erged from it!
This sudden encounter left both sides montarily stunned!
But in the next instant, Severus was the first to react.
Without hesitation, he cast a Shield Charm on Granger beside him, then raised his wand, its tip glowing crimson!
"Lyall! We take them alive! Robert, don't hold back! Feed them bullets as you please! Killing these beasts isn't against the law!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The werewolf wizards reacted a half-beat slower, but by the ti Severus spoke, all five of them had snapped to attention!
They weren't complete amateurs, either, as instead of fleeing imdiately, they drew their wands, ready to fight back.
However, the mont the red beams shot toward them, the first one dropped instantly!
Severus's spellcasting was very fast!
Almost as soon as the incantation left his lips, his wand had already reacted.
The werewolf at the front fell first, followed by Lyall's Disarming Charm… though by the ti his spell fired, the werewolves had already started moving. One threw himself sideways to dodge!
Another one turned his attention toward Granger, the only one not holding a wand but instead gripping sothing long, thick, and utterly unfamiliar.
It was obvious that he hadn't fully processed Severus's initial shout, nor had he picked the right weak link.
Among the three of them, Granger was the only Muggle… but the most dangerous!
Facing the werewolf charging at him with a raised wand, Granger's face was extrely grim.
Holding the gun barrel with one hand and opened the safety with the other, he aid at the werewolf's chest, put his finger on the trigger, and finally squeezed it without hesitation!
Bang!
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