"Good job, Hagrid!" Professor Kettleburn shouted, waving his fist, "Just like that! Smash its waist! Break its waist, hit its nose! Bash its head!"
The Weasley Twins stared wide-eyed at the usually gentle and cute little old man, feeling like they hardly recognized him.
But Hagrid didn't do any of that; he grabbed the werewolf's tail, held down its furry head, and then seemed at a loss about what to do next.
The werewolf whimpered and growled, its claws continuously scraping the cobblestone road.
"Oh dear! Soft-hearted kid!"
Professor Kettleburn urgently patted George's back, shouting, "Take me over there! I'll deal with that beast!"
George wasn't scared at all. He carried Professor Kettleburn on his back and ran over, with Fred quickly following.
The old professor raised his magic wand.
"Wait, professor." Hagrid hurriedly stopped him, "This is—"
A flash of fire suddenly cut off Hagrid's words.
Still dressed in pajamas and wearing a pointed nightcap, Dumbledore suddenly appeared on the streets of Hogsmeade, and Phoenix Fawkes flashed and disappeared from the spot.
Dumbledore looked around at Hagrid, the werewolf he was holding down, and the surrounding situation, then asked, "Thank you, Hagrid, Silvanus; is anyone hurt?"
Hagrid thought back carefully and shook his head.
"How could there not be?" Professor Kettleburn said irritably, "Aren't you hurt?"
Hagrid wiped the dirt and blood off his face with the back of his hand and said carelessly, "It's nothing; Nobeta made it worse before. Dumbledore, this werewolf..."
Dumbledore raised his palm, signaling him to stop, and then said, "Take him to The Hog's Head Inn and wait for me—"
"Alright." Hagrid agreed.
He lifted the werewolf high above him, perfectly avoiding getting scratched or bitten by its claws or teeth. The werewolf seemed dissatisfied, struggling and roaring angrily.
This level of resistance was like Fang (Hagrid's hunting dog) throwing a tantrum to Hagrid. He reassured kindly, "Don't worry. I'll let you down when you return to normal."
"Howl—"
The werewolf was ungrateful, growling angrily.
When Hagrid reached The Hog's Head Inn, he saw the innkeeper, cloaked in gray in the middle of summer, standing outside. Upon seeing Hagrid carrying the struggling werewolf over, the innkeeper's expression soured.
"I..." Hagrid hesitantly explained his purpose, "Dumbledore asked me to wait for him here..."
The gray-haired wizard looked even more annoyed. He said coldly, "Don't bring such things into my inn; you'll scare all the guests away!"
"Oh..."
Hagrid thought it made sense, but he still had to wait for Dumbledore, so he stood next to the inn, holding the werewolf in a strange pose.
Werewolf: "Awooo—"
Innkeeper Abeforth: "..."
"Fine, come in." Abeforth said helplessly, "How did such a clever person like him end up with a dummy like you working for him?"
...
Watching Hagrid leave, Dumbledore called again, "Silvanus!"
"What?" Professor Kettleburn replied warily, "I'm no longer a school professor; you have no right to criticize my actions!"
"I'm not here to criticize you for anything." Dumbledore replied calmly, "Please help escort these two Weasley gentlemen back to school; tonight is not the best time for them to be wandering around outside."
Although Kettleburn only had one arm and half a leg left, Dumbledore did not seem to consider his disability as he asked him to escort the Weasley Twins.
Professor Kettleburn didn't mind, muttering, "That's alright—lucky Minerva isn't here."
He waved his magic wand, and a flattened wheelchair rolled and flew over from who knows where, stopping in front of him.
Professor Kettleburn tapped the wheelchair with his magic wand, returned it to its original state, and then said, "Put me down, child."
George said nothing, placing Professor Kettleburn back into the wheelchair, while Fred took the blanket caught on the armrest and draped it over the professor's knees.
"Let's go, kind children." Kettleburn said.
The wheelchair started moving, and Fred was a bit reluctant to leave, but with Dumbledore there, they chose to be good children.
George took the initiative to push the wheelchair, and after they walked a distance away, he turned back and saw some shop owners from the village gathering around Dumbledore, the headmaster speaking gently with them.
"Professor, what happened? Can a werewolf transform on a non-full moon night?"
Tonight was a waning moon, just a half-circle. Moreover, the moon hadn't even appeared yet!
"Would you believe me if I said I don't know either?"
Professor Kettleburn said, equally puzzled, "I was home watching Flow Mirror safely, when a crazed werewolf broke in, followed by Hagrid—that reckless guy stepped on my wheelchair, almost got me grabbed and bitten by the werewolf!"
"So...if we want to know what happened, we have to ask Professor Hagrid." Fred nodded, summarizing.
"Exactly!" Kettleburn added, "Of course, Dumbledore, although he arrived last, probably knows something too."
...
"Don't look at me like that; I don't know how this happened either."
Facing Abeforth's inquiry, Dumbledore said calmly, "If you give me time to investigate, I might come up with an answer for you."
"Hmph!" Abeforth snorted angrily, "You'd better get them out of here quickly! I don't want any trouble associated with this, and you haven't troubled me enough with this kid before?"
He lifted the dirty curtain and walked out.
Dumbledore paused at the door, then walked in.
The patrons of The Hog's Head Inn ran when they saw the werewolf. The remaining two or three were driven out by Abeforth, leaving only them inside.
Hagrid had tied up the werewolf to avoid self-injury, wrapping its claws with a towel.
Dumbledore waved his magic wand, making the werewolf fall asleep, and then said, "Tell me what happened, Hagrid."
"Professor, I don't know how this happened..."
Hagrid said bewilderedly, "I was just having a drink with Lupin at Three Broomsticks, talking about how to be a professor..."
"Everything was fine when we parted, then after only a little while... I swear it might have been two minutes... then I heard screaming..."
"No need to be anxious, Hagrid; this isn't your fault."
Dumbledore used his magic wand to part the werewolf's dense gray fur, his eyes darkened.
The broken metal syringe was hidden in the fur, impossible to notice without a close look.