The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

Before Malfoy could utter the word "beast," Buckbeak's feathers bristled, and a flash of insulted rage appeared in its orange-yellow eyes. It raised its forepaws, stretched its head forward, and let out a deafening screech—

As a first-time professor, Hagrid lacked experience in handling unexpected events. Although he spoke up to stop Malfoy in time, he was a step too slow in his actions.

Fortunately, Julien's reaction was unusually quick, perhaps because he was familiar with the story.

When Malfoy spoke, his wand had already sprung into his palm, but instead of pointing at Buckbeak, he pointed at Harry: "Impedimenta!"

An invisible barrier unfolded before Malfoy, and at the same time, Buckbeak's claws swept across—

"Bang!"

The barrier shattered, and Malfoy was thrown backward, tumbling awkwardly out of the danger zone. Luckily, Buckbeak's claws only tore the hem of his robe, not his chest.

"Enough!" Hagrid rushed forward, using his body to block Buckbeak and Malfoy. "Back up! Everyone back up!"

Julien slowly lowered his wand, feeling the tremor of magic within his body. The attack hadn't drained him much of his power, but he was worried about Buckbeak's condition—the hippogriff was trembling violently, filled with rage.

"It's alright, Buckbeak," Hagrid gestured with his hands to Buckbeak, "It's all right now." He then pulled a dead ferret from his pocket and tossed it to Buckbeak.

Malfoy, having scrambled to his feet, saw the mocking looks from the young wizards around him and, enraged, exclaimed, "I'll write to my father! How can there be such a dangerous creature in the school, completely disregarding the lives of the students?"

"Yes, I will write to my father too. Good heavens, Draco, are you alright?" Pantheon of Slytherin also rushed over anxiously to check on Malfoy's condition.

Julien walked toward Hagrid, the half-giant who was crouching on the ground, soothing the still trembling Buckbeak with his enormous hands.

"Professor Hagrid," Julien said, "I suggest we end the class early today. Buckbeak needs rest, and Malfoy—"

He glanced back at the platinum-blonde-haired boy brushing dust off his robe. "He needs to go to the school clinic for a check-up. As a 'caution' measure."

Hagrid looked up at Julien with gratitude in his eyes: "Thank you, Mr. Black. You're right..."

"Hagrid!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran over.

"I'm sorry, I messed up this lesson." Hagrid looked at the three of them with some guilt.

"No, it's not your fault. It's all Malfoy's fault. We're all here, and we can all testify for you," Harry said urgently.

Ron immediately chimed in, "That's right, Julien was fine just now; it was entirely Malfoy's fault for his attitude. Right, Julien?"

"That's true. But Malfoy's father..." Julien nodded slowly, but didn't finish his sentence.

"Yes, I'm afraid old Malfoy might use the power of the Board of Governors to do something underhanded." Hermione immediately agreed, "Last year he used the Chamber of Secrets incident to make things difficult for Headmaster Dumbledore."

Hearing this, Hagrid's head throbbed even more. "I'm not worried about myself, but I'm afraid of dragging Dumbledore down with me. And poor Buckbeak too."

---

As the students left in twos and threes, Julien took one last look at Buckbeak. The hippogriff was also looking at him, its orange-yellow eyes no longer scrutinizing, but trusting and expectant.

"We will save you," Julien said in a voice only Buckbeck could hear. "And we will save all the souls that have been wrongly imprisoned."

"What are you muttering about?" Liria asked, turning her head.

"Did something happen when you were riding the hippogriff?" Elizabeth asked at the same time.

"I just saw memories of a hippogriff."

"What? You said you saw Buckbeak's memories?" Lyria asked, somewhat surprised.

"No, not Buckbeak, but the memories of the Hippogriff race—they are the origin of the Dementors, at least the first ones."

"What!" the two women exclaimed in unison again.

Julien said in a low voice, "Let's go to the Black Lake, I'll tell you."

……

Liria's silver-white hair no longer always wore a long braid like when she first enrolled; it now mostly draped over her shoulders, with a natural sheen like that of the springs of the North.

Throughout Yu Lian's narration, she maintained a slightly open mouth, her clear, icy blue eyes still slightly moist.

Elizabeth Rozier, however, frowned deeply. More rational than Liria, she weighed the possibility of them going to the island—now called Azkaban—to complete their mission.

"According to you, there are far more Dementors on the island than expected. So when should we make our move?"

“Not now,” Julien said. “When Sirius Black actually shows up at Hogwarts and finds what he’s really looking for, more Dementors will probably be diverted—that’s our chance.”

"How did you know what Blake was looking for?" Liria asked astutely.

"I know a little more than you think," Julien said with an awkward smile, finally adding, "and right now, the most urgent thing is to rescue Buckbeak, who is our guide."

"Didn't it never go to that island either?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, the journey back there is imprinted in its genes, just like migratory birds that fly south can always return to their hometown."

What are genes?

"Uh, in Muggle terms, it refers to something imprinted in one's bloodline, it's not important."

"So you're saying Buckbeak is in danger?" Lyria asked, concerned for the poor creature.

"In the original story—I mean, according to the conventions of a pure-blood family like the Malfoys—they would definitely use this as an excuse to cause trouble. Buckbeak might even be executed because of what happened today."

"What?! Execution?!" Elizabeth and Lyria exclaimed simultaneously.

Liria excitedly said, "Since this is possible, let's let Buckbeak escape first."

"No, no, if we just let Buckbeak go, it will implicate Hagrid and Dumbledore if the Ministry of Magic comes and they can't find it. Trust me, I have a way."

Julien knew, of course, that in the original story, Hermione and Harry went back in time only to release Buckbeak after Fudge and the executioner from the Ministry of Magic had seen it. Meanwhile, Dumbledore and Hagrid were with them the entire time and had no opportunity to "commit the crime."

"Of course we believe you, but we still can't believe Sirius Black would actually appear at Hogwarts."

"I think it's not impossible that he could escape from Azkaban and end up at Hogwarts."

As dusk fell, two groups of people returned to the school's auditorium, chatting as they went. One group consisted of three young wizards, and the other group also consisted of three young wizards.

In a corner unseen by them, a large black dog gazed at the castle lights with eyes burning with madness and hope.

Unbeknownst to him, three third-year students were planning something even crazier than his escape—to infiltrate Azkaban and heal the world's wounds.