After using the Blasting Curse to deal with the remaining few Matagots around them, Lyall also protected Granger and took care of the two on his side.

Without a moment's delay, Severus knew these cats were merely Greyback's means of buying time. Harry, Hermione, and the other children he had taken were surely hidden nearby!

They chased in the direction the werewolf had disappeared and soon discovered a man-made stone staircase carved into the sea cliff.

Following the stairs all the way up, they soon reached the end and found a cave entrance blocked by a massive boulder!

"Step back."

Severus raised his wand, then pressed its tip against the boulder.

"Sectumsempra!"

Lyall and Granger only heard a deafening 'boom' as the boulder, which is nearly eight meters tall, was instantly sliced to pieces!

As countless pieces of rubble fell and smoke and dust rose, Severus led the two of them swiftly into the cave.

However, it was clear they had still been delayed.

Aside from the tents and some personal items left behind, the cave was completely empty.

Lyall slammed his fist against the stone wall in frustration.

"Those damn mutts ran fast!"

Meanwhile, Severus ventured deeper into the cave. He quickly sensed no traces of Apparition left behind.

"They prepared in advance. They didn't escape by Apparition but likely used something like a Portkey."

"Can we track the destination?" Granger asked with a frown.

"It's possible, but not by us. We'd need professionals from the Ministry."

Severus straightened up and continued scanning the area, soon spotting something unusual.

Behind a pile of scattered tents near a rock, there was a palm-sized stone sheep left behind through Transfiguration.

However, the caster's Transfiguration was clearly rushed and crude. Most of the sheep retained its original stone features, with only a vague shape resembling a sheep.

If this had been presented in a Transfiguration class at Hogwarts, it would have been deemed utterly subpar, likely even costing house points under Professor McGonagall's scrutiny.

But on the sheep's head, there was a distinct feature: it had four horns!

"What does this mean?"

Severus picked up the poorly transfigured stone sheep. Even he couldn't discern whether this was a clue left by Lupin or what it might signify.

Instead, Granger said hesitantly after seeing the four horns on the sheep's head.

"Could it be the four-horned sheep from the Isle of Man?"

Severus and Lyall both turned to look at him.

"Have you seen sheep like that before?"

" "When Hermione was seven, I once took her and Jane on vacation to the Isle of Man. The island has two unique animals: the tailless cat and the four-horned sheep." Granger explained.

This answer made Severus and Lyall exchange glances.

"Remus lived on that island for a month when he was a child. His mother took him there!"

Finally, after hearing Lyall's addition, Severus concluded, "It's highly likely to be there! Lupin probably had his wand confiscated. He couldn't use advanced magic and could only leave such a hint in desperation!"

"Should we head there immediately?" Lyall asked.

"You take Robert and interrogate the werewolf I Petrified outside. See if you can dig up any useful information. After that, you and Robert go to the island first. He's been there before and knows it better than we do." Severus strategized, "I'll go see Kingsley first. He must have received my letter by now. To get the Aurors to act, we need to deal with the problem at the top of their chain of command."

Lyall and Granger naturally had no objections to this arrangement. Their actions had largely been coordinated by Severus.

"How long do you think it'll take before you can join us?" Granger asked finally.

"Tomorrow at the latest."

After giving a definitive timeframe, Severus used Apparition to disappear from the spot.

…

Ministry of Magic, Auror Office.

Kingsley, who was still sorting out the internal relationships among the Aurors and trying root out the mole, received the letter written by Severus before noon.

By the time he was halfway through reading it, his hands were trembling!

'This matter is too big!'

'If what the letter said is true, then...'

After Kingsley finished reading the letter, he immediately destroyed it, then stood up from his desk with a grave expression and hurried to the archives of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"I would like to apply for an investigation into the data of an Azkaban prisoner."

The wizard guarding the archives lazily noted down Kingsley's request.

"Who are you looking for?"

"A prisoner who has already died on the island. According to protocol, I don't need to specify a name."

"Alright then, Mr. Shacklebolt. Fill out this request form first, then go to the third room, second row in the archives. That's where we keep the records of prisoners who died in Azkaban."

After filling out the form as quickly as possible, Kingsley entered the archives and located the correct section.

A brief search later, he found exactly what he was looking for: [Barty Crouch, imprisoned November 1982, died March 1984]

He skimmed past the irrelevant details at the front of the file until he found the critical line: […After death, buried in the southeastern corner of Azkaban Island.]

Kingsley snapped the file shut and returned it to its place. His breathing had grown ragged, but his expression remained unreadable as he calmly walked out of the archives.

When he left, the wizard at the entrance was still sipping tea and reading the newspaper, completely oblivious to anything amiss.

Kingsley didn't return to the Auror Office. His mind was in turmoil, and he desperately needed to discuss this with someone… anyone.

After some thought, he realized there was only one man he could turn to: the very person who had sent him the letter.

Kingsley, who was worried, was about to head to the Ministry's owlery to borrow an owl and send a message when an Auror from the office suddenly approached him.

An Auror in an office suddenly found him.

"Shacklebolt, someone's here at the Ministry asking for you."

Kingsley stopped in his tracks.

"Who is it?"

"Professor Snape… well, I suppose we should call him Mr. Snape now."

The Auror sighed.

"He's quite popular these days. Half the Ministry's already greeted him. I remember last time he came, people were still avoiding him..."

The Auror hadn't finished speaking when he turned around and found that Kingsley had left in a hurry.

This made the Auror mutter under his breath.

"At this rate, even Gilderoy Lockhart can't compete with his reputation in the Wizarding World."

…

Taking the elevator, Kingsley made it back to the Auror Office in under five minutes, slightly out of breath.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw Severus sitting at his desk, casually eating pastries brought by a new junior Auror. Spotting Kingsley, Severus smiled and raised a hand in greeting.