Unlike Tver and the others, who were idling away their time in the office, Lupin's mood was anything but relaxed.
Determined not to leave regrets in his teaching career, he had been throwing himself into grading papers lately, carefully reviewing each student's performance and offering tailored advice on how to improve. Of course, this was also because Tver's inventive approach to slacking off had left him with no alternative.
He worked straight through until evening. During a short break, he found himself absentmindedly picking up the Marauder's Map that lay nearby.
"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
He had paid close attention to the map earlier, but after searching for a long time without finding anything, he had forced himself to let it go and focus on preparing the students' final exams.
Still, just one quick look wouldn't hurt, would it?
Thinking of how Tver shamelessly allowed himself to slack off, Lupin instantly found a perfectly reasonable excuse to relax for a moment.
And it was that single glance that made him realize something was very wrong.
Harry and the others had run to Hagrid's hut. The problem was that Peter Pettigrew's name was overlapping with theirs, right at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Then, almost immediately, Sirius Black's name appeared, running together with Ron into the Whomping Willow's secret passage.
And then they vanished at the end of the tunnel.
Lupin grabbed his wand and hurried out of his office.
Even though the map didn't mark anything beyond that point, he knew exactly where the passage led: the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade.
In his haste, he not only forgot to take the map with him, he also forgot to close the door.
…
On the other side, Harry and Hermione followed Ron's trail, jogging through the Whomping Willow's underground passage.
"Where does this lead?" Hermione asked, unable to hide her nerves.
Urgency was written all over Harry's face. His uneasy gaze flicked between the pitch-black end of the tunnel and the walls on either side. The only thing that offered him any comfort was the sight of Crookshanks' tail guiding them ahead.
"I don't know. The map only shows part of this passage. Even George and Fred don't know where it ends," he said.
"But if I had to guess, it probably leads to Hogsmeade…"
Harry's heart jumped.
Crookshanks' tail disappeared, replaced by a faint glimmer of light and a small opening ahead.
They emerged into an abandoned house coated in dust. The furniture was broken and rotting, and the windows were boarded up, letting in only a few thin strands of sunlight.
"The Shrieking Shack."
After a brief look around, Hermione recognized it, her clear thinking bringing a measure of calm back to her. Harry nodded in silence, and the two of them drew their wands at the same time.
There was a loud creak from the floor above their heads.
Moving in practiced unison, they stepped cautiously up the dark staircase, one after the other, until they reached the door of an equally decrepit room.
Harry took a deep breath.
Bang!
He kicked the door open and rushed in.
"Ron?"
In the corner of the room stood Ron alone, except for the rat in his hands. Scabbers was struggling frantically, squealing as he tried to escape.
"Harry, behind you!" Ron shouted in panic.
Harry spun around at once, wand leveled firmly at the shadows. Hermione followed suit, her wand trained in the same direction.
The figure in the darkness didn't flinch. Calmly, he reached out and closed the door.
As he did, he stepped fully into the light.
His eye sockets were deeply sunken, his skin completely drained of color, waxy and cracked, like a corpse dragged back from the grave after years of decay. He stretched his lips into a savage grin, revealing a mouthful of filthy yellow teeth.
Sirius Black!
"Expelliarmus!"
He whipped Ron's wand through the air with startling speed, his movements far too agile for someone who looked like him.
Harry reacted instantly.
"Protego!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Sirius's face. It had been twelve years since he last fought with a wand, and having his Disarming Charm blocked so easily left him both startled and oddly pleased.
"Expelliarmus!"
Hermione didn't hesitate. She spun and fired a Disarming Charm straight back at Black.
"Protego!"
Once again, a Shield Charm intercepted the spell.
But this time, the caster was someone else.
It was Lupin, who had rushed in just in time.
After blocking the spell, Lupin and Black locked eyes in silence under Harry and Hermione's stunned gazes.
"I never imagined you'd end up like this…"
Lupin studied Black's current state, his voice heavy with emotion, as though his thoughts had been pulled back twelve years, or even further. Back then, Black had been the most high-spirited of the four of them, and without question the most handsome.
Now he looked neither fully human nor ghost, a shell of what he once was.
"People change," Black said lightly, shrugging. "Just look at Harry and the others. Third years, and they already have combat skills like that."
He smiled, the same gentle smile Lupin remembered so well, and opened his arms toward him.
But Lupin didn't return the embrace, even after lowering his wand.
"Tell me. Did you switch people back then?"
"Yes," Black said with a sigh.
"Then why did you keep it from me?"
"That was my mistake. I thought I was clever. I trusted the wrong person…"
Black's expression dimmed. At that moment, Lupin finally stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight embrace.
"Professor?!" Hermione stared at the scene in disbelief. "Why? Why are you helping Black? After everything, after how much we trusted you!"
"The truth isn't that simple, Hermione," Lupin said quickly.
"The truth is that you're a werewolf!" Hermione shouted, her eyes red with hurt.
"When did you figure it out?" Lupin asked quietly.
"Professor Snape taught us a lot about werewolves, and everything lined up with you!"
"And," Harry stepped up beside Hermione, "during the summer, Professor Fawley asked Cedric's father about your whereabouts."
"We asked Mr. Diggory for help. That's how we confirmed it for sure."
"Ah, yes…" Lupin shook his head with a bitter smile. "If it hadn't been for Tver, I would've died that summer."
"Then why didn't you expose me?" he asked, forcing a faint smile.
Harry hesitated. "Well… Professor Fawley said you shouldn't judge someone based only on appearances. That kind of judgment is always incomplete."
"But clearly, you betrayed his trust, and Dumbledore's as well!" Hermione snapped.
"Have you ever thought that you're judging Black the same way?" Lupin said gently as he put his wand away and walked toward them.
Hermione lifted her wand again, but Harry stopped her.
"We'll trust you one last time," he said. "Tell us what really happened back then."
After everything he'd been through over the past two years, he'd learned to be patient. At the very least, he now had the composure to wait.
"It was Peter Pettigrew. You remember seeing his name on the map, don't you?"
Lupin reached into his pocket, only to realize that in his rush, he'd forgotten to bring the Marauder's Map at all.
"No matter what, someone who should've been dead was right here in this room!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Suddenly, an urgent voice rang out from the open space by the doorway.
...
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