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Chapter 381: Lupin and Black
Chapter 381: Lupin and Black
In the following days, there was only one topic of conversation throughout the school: Sirius Black, and the rumors of how he had broken into the castle grew more and more outlandish.
Gryffindor's Seymour Finnegan insisted that Black had transformed into a Dementor and snuck into the castle with the guards.
Luna, on the other hand, believed he was a portrait vampire, capable of moving freely between portraits in the castle.
The tattered portrait of the Fat Lady had been taken down and replaced with that of Sir Cadogan.
However, the Gryffindor students didn't seem too pleased with this change.
In the corridors, Kyle often overheard their complaints.
"That Sir Cadogan, he spends half his time goading people into dueling him..."
"Every time I want to enter the common room, I have to waste five minutes responding to his challenges... Because if you don't say anything, he'll keep provoking you."
"And he always comes up with these complicated and absurd passwords, changing them at least twice a day."
"I guess he's been cooped up on the eighth floor for too long."
"The corridor where Sir Cadogan used to be is usually deserted, and the other portraits' owners don't welcome his visits either," someone said.
"It's obvious, given his penchant for babbling nonsense, that he's not exactly popular," another student added.
...
In just a few days, Sir Cadogan had replaced Black as the hot topic of discussion among the Gryffindors.
"At least he's brave," Fred said with a laugh during one lunch.
"And I heard he volunteered for the job," George added.
They didn't particularly dislike Sir Cadogan, and sometimes even took pleasure in goading him until he jumped around in his portrait.
To be honest, Kyle was quite curious about Sir Cadogan as well, but he was only responsible for the Gryffindor common room and couldn't be 'poached' to work for Hufflepuff.
Just then, Harry entered the hall, but his expression looked somewhat unhappy.
Percy followed close behind, occasionally glancing around as if expecting a dragon to leap out from the corners and swallow Harry whole.
This strange behavior naturally drew the attention of others.
"Here he goes again... Mr. Bighead," Fred remarked, glancing at him briefly before turning away.
"What's going on?" Cedric asked curiously. "Why does Percy seem so tense?"
"It's because of Harry," George explained. "A few days ago, our mom wrote to us, asking us to keep an eye on Harry, and that's when he started acting like this."
"You probably all know about what happened between Black and Harry," Fred said, leaning in. "Our mom... or most people, for that matter, believe that Black's last visit to the castle was to kill Harry and avenge his master."
The others nodded.
"No wonder I've been seeing professors following Harry around lately..." Qiu realized.
"It's not just that," Cedric said. "Even during Quidditch practice, Professor Ho has been supervising."
"Percy probably sees himself as a professor now," Fred said with a smirk. "And this is the Great Hall. Black can't exactly hide under the tables here."
As he spoke, Fred bent down and pretended to look under the table, asking in a serious tone, "Mr. Black, are you under there?"
Harry's thoughts were likely similar.
Kyle saw him turn and say something, and only then did Percy back off slightly, still maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
The first period was Defense Against the Dark Arts.
After lunch, Kyle and Connor headed to class.
Today, Professor Lupin seemed a bit off; he appeared distracted, as if he had something on his mind. During the lesson, he often seemed absent-minded and mispronounced several students' names.
Eventually, he gave up on trying to continue the lecture and instead had the students pair up to practice the Expelling Charm against imps.
Until the end of class...
"Kyle, can you stay for a moment?" he asked. "I'd like to ask you something."
Once everyone had left the classroom, Kyle looked around... To be honest, he was a bit reluctant about being kept behind by Professor Lupin.
Fortunately, there weren't any closets or cabinets nearby, so there probably wouldn't be any Boggarts or other such things to worry about.
However, Professor Lupin didn't seem to notice Kyle's unease. He closed the door and hesitated for a long time before asking, "Did you see him that day?"
"Who?"
"Sirius Black."
"Yes, I did." Kyle nodded.
"What... what did he look like?" Professor Lupin asked quietly. "I mean, did he look like the photos in the newspapers?"
With those few words, his eyes changed expressions several times—anxious... disappointed... hateful... and fleetingly, concerned, but it vanished in an instant.
"You could tell it was a person, but there were differences."
Kyle thought for a moment before answering, "He was very thin, just skin and bones, unkempt, dirty, and with deep-set eyes... To escape the Dementors' pursuit, he must have endured a lot."
"He deserved it!" Professor Lupin suddenly slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "Thirteen years ago, he should have..."
As if realizing he had said too much, Professor Lupin abruptly closed his mouth and took a few deep breaths.
"Sorry, Kyle. Just treat what I said as ramblings, okay?" He forced a smile. "One last question: Where did you lose track of Black when you were chasing him?"
"It was where Professor Dumbledore found us," Kyle said.
"We later discovered a secret passage behind a tapestry leading to the fourth floor. I think he must have escaped through there."
Kyle spread his hands, "But we figured Filch probably knew about that passage too, so we didn't bother mentioning it to the professors."
"That's right, Filch does know about that passage... But we searched the fourth floor for several hours and found nothing."
Professor Lupin's eyes flickered, and he raised his head and said, "Alright, Kyle. Thank you for your time. You should head to your next class now.
Oh, and don't worry about being late. I'll explain it to your professor... What's your next class, by the way?"
"Potions..." Kyle said. "Are you sure you can stop Professor Snape from deducting points from me?"
"Umm..." Professor Lupin fell silent.
"I can help you make up for the points deducted in your next class."
(End of Chapter)
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