https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-380-A-Different-Transfiguration-Class-/13008049/
Chapter 381: Lupin and Black
Chapter 381: Lupin and Black
In the following days, the entire school had only one topic of conversation—Sirius Black. The stories of how he broke into the castle became increasingly bizarre.
Gryffindor's Simofinegan insisted that Black had transformed into a Dementor and infiltrated the castle alongside the guards.
Luna believed he was a portrait-vixen, a painting that could freely enter and exit the castle.
The damaged portrait of the Fat Lady was taken down from the wall and replaced with Sir Cadogan.
However, the Gryffindor students seemed less than pleased with this change.
In the corridors, Kyle frequently heard complaints from his fellow Gryffindors.
"That Sir Cadogan, he spends half his time provoking others to duel with him..."
"Before I enter the common room, I have to waste five minutes responding to his challenges. He won't stop provoking you if you don't reply."
"And he always comes up with passwords so complex they're almost absurd, changing them at least twice a day."
"I think he must have been cooped up on the eighth floor for too long."
"Sir Cadogan's previous corridor was usually deserted, and the other portraits' owners didn't welcome his visits," someone added.
"It's obvious why. He always talks nonsense, so of course, no one welcomes him."
...
Within a few days, Sir Cadogan had replaced Black as the new hot topic among the Gryffindor students.
"At least he's brave."
During lunch, Fred smiled and said, "No other portrait wanted the job, only Sir Cadogan was willing."
"And I heard he volunteered for it," George added.
They didn't particularly dislike Sir Cadogan, and sometimes they would even provoke him, causing him to jump and move around in his portrait.
To be honest, Kyle was also curious about Sir Cadogan, but since he was only responsible for the Gryffindor common room, he couldn't transfer to Hufflepuff.
At this moment, Harry entered the Great Hall, but his expression seemed less than cheerful.
Percy followed behind him, constantly observing the surroundings as if a dragon might appear from the corners at any moment and swallow Harry whole.
This strange behavior inevitably attracted the attention of others.
"Here we go again... Big Head."
Fred glanced at him and quickly turned away.
"What's going on?" Cedric asked curiously. "Why does Percy seem so nervous?"
"It's because of Harry."
George explained, "A few days ago, Mom wrote to us, asking us to look after Harry, and he's been like this ever since."
"You should all know about the situation between Black and Harry," Fred added. "Mom... or most people believe that Black's last visit to the castle was to kill Harry and avenge his master."
The others nodded in agreement.
"No wonder I've been seeing professors accompanying Harry recently..." Cho said, realizing the reason.
"It's not just that," Cedric said. "Even during Quidditch team practices, Professor Ho is there to supervise."
"Percy probably thinks he's a professor too," Fred said with a dismissive gesture. "And Black can't possibly be hiding under the table here in the Great Hall."
As he spoke, he bent down and pretended to look under the table, asking seriously, "Mr. Black, are you there?
"Would you like some steak?"
His comical appearance had many people in stitches, laughing uncontrollably.
Harry's thoughts were likely similar.
Kyle turned to say something, and Percy finally stopped following so closely, maintaining a distance that was neither too far nor too close.
The first class was Dark Arts Defense.
After finishing their meal, Kyle and Conna made their way to the classroom.
Professor Lupin seemed a bit off today, as if something was on his mind. During the lesson, he appeared distracted, mispronouncing students' names several times.
Eventually, he stopped teaching and instead had the students pair up to practice the Devilish Ejection Spell, used to counter the small demons.
As class ended...
"Kyle, could you stay for a moment?" he asked, "I have something to ask you."
Once everyone had left the classroom, Kyle looked around... To be honest, he was still somewhat resistant to being kept behind by Professor Lupin.
Fortunately, there were no closets or boxes nearby, so there was unlikely to be a Boggart or anything else.
However, Professor Lupin didn't 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 was he...like?" Professor Lupin asked quietly, "I mean...was he the same as in the newspaper photo?"
In just a few words, his eyes shifted several times, revealing tension...hatred...and a fleeting hint of concern.
"He could be recognized as a person, but there were differences."
Kyle thought for a moment and replied, "He was skinny, just skin and bones, unkempt, dirty, and his eyes were sunken... It seems he's had a hard time evading the Dementors' pursuit."
"He deserved it!" Professor Lupin slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "Thirteen years ago, he should have..."
Realizing he had said too much, Professor Lupin abruptly closed his mouth and took several deep breaths.
"Sorry, Kyle. Just consider what I said as nonsense," he forced a smile, "One last question, where did you lose track of him when you were chasing Black?"
"It was where Professor Dumbledore found us," Kyle replied.
"We discovered a secret passage behind that tapestry, leading to the fourth floor. I think he must have escaped through there."
Kyle shrugged, "But we thought Filch would know about that passage, so we didn't specifically mention it."
"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 to say, "Alright, Kyle, thank you. You've been kept long enough, go to your next class now.
Oh, and don't worry about being late. I'll explain it to the professor... What's your next class?"
"Potions class..." Kyle said, "Are you sure you can prevent Professor Snape from deducting points from me?"
"Umm..." Professor Lupin fell silent.
"I can help you make up for the deducted points in the next class."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
