https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-382-When-Dealing-with-a-Child-Words-Should-Be-More-Tactful/13441606/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-384-The-Technique-of-Batch-Transfiguration/13441608/
Chapter 383: Poor Neville
Chapter 383: Poor Neville
"Professor Lupin is, after all, a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor personally appointed by Albus. I believe he should be trustworthy", Professor Mcgonagall frowned, not entirely agreeing with Snape's decision to imprison Lupin.
"That's not necessarily true. Remember, Lockhart and Quirrell were also personally appointed by Dumbledore, and he's not exactly known for his perfect judgment", Snape raised an eyebrow, reminding everyone of the incompetence of the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors.
Snape's words left Mcgonagall at a loss for a response, and the other professors also hesitated.
It had to be admitted that Snape's analysis was quite reasonable. Various signs indicated that someone in the castle was helping Sirius Black, and Lupin, as Black's former friend, was the most likely suspect!
Lupin keenly noticed the gazes of everyone and wanted to defend himself, but he ultimately sighed. He knew that no matter what he said, he couldn't clear his name.
"I trust Professor Lupin! He didn't do it!" Harry suddenly spoke up loudly.
Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, but Harry repeated his statement, affirming that he was willing to believe that Lupin had not helped Black.
"Potter! You had better think carefully before you speak! We are all working hard to ensure your safety", Snape said with a dark expression.
"You said it's for my safety, right?" Harry directly interrupted Snape, "Then I trust Professor Lupin, so you can't lock him up!"
Snape was so angry that he trembled. Just as he was about to rebuke Harry's statement, the other Gryffindor young wizards, inspired by Harry, began to voice their support.
"Right! I also believe Professor Lupin wouldn't do such a thing!"
"I trust Professor Lupin!"
"We feel the same way!"
"Thank you, thank you all!" Lupin was deeply moved by the students who were willing to believe in him and stand up for him.
Ivan, who had remained silent, now spoke up. He knew that Sirius Black's infiltration had nothing to do with Lupin, and he couldn't let Lupin take the blame. He addressed Mcgonagall.
"Professor Mcgonagall, without evidence, we can't jump to conclusions. Every Gryffindor student knows the password, so it's not necessarily Professor Lupin who gave it to Black."
"As for how Black obtained a wand—"
Of course, it was me who gave it to him!
Ivan silently grumbled to himself but maintained a calm demeanor as he continued his analysis. "Black has been on the run for some time. He might have stolen a wand from a wizard outside."
"Professor Lupin, your wand hasn't been lost, has it?" Ivan looked at Lupin, who nodded and produced his wand.
It was a cherry wood wand, about twelve inches long, with an orange-yellow upper half and a dark brown, straight lower half, ending in an oval shape.
The Fat Lady shook her head, indicating that the wand she had seen in Black's hand was different, with a slightly curved base, making it easily recognizable.
Ivan then had all the young wizards present their wands to confirm that none were missing and asked the Fat Lady to identify each one.
After the Fat Lady shook her head for the last time, Snape impatiently said, "That doesn't prove anything! Maybe Lupin accidentally obtained a second wand and gave it to Black. How else do you explain the note?"
"You wouldn't dare suggest that a Gryffindor student wanted to kill Potter, so they slipped Black a note, would you?" Snape sneered.
However, at that moment, a weak voice suddenly came from the crowd.
"It's me, that note might be mine, Professor!"
Everyone turned to look, and they saw Neville trembling, slowly raising his hand, his expression as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment.
"Mr. Neville Longbottom", Snape looked at Neville in disbelief, his eyes narrowing, "You just said that you gave the note to Black?"
Mcgonagall and the others looked at Neville with expressions full of astonishment. No one could believe that the usually timid and meek Neville would dare to do such a thing!
Harry was also very puzzled. Why would Neville help Black? Why? He remembered that he had never offended Neville, and when Black was discovered in the dormitory, Neville was the one who screamed the loudest.
"N-no, it's not like that", the poor Neville, under everyone's gaze, stammered and couldn't get his words out.
"That note was probably dropped by you accidentally, right?" Ivan helplessly explained, as he had guessed this when he heard that Black had entered the dormitory with a note, thanks to the Fat Lady.
Because in the original timeline, it was Crookshanks who had taken Neville's note, allowing Sirius Black to smoothly obtain the password.
"Yes, yes!" the poor Neville quickly nodded, indicating that he was indeed as Ivan had said, just accidentally dropping it.
The young wizards finally understood. Everyone knew that Neville had a poor memory, so they didn't suspect anything further.
Snape looked very displeased. With this, his plan to imprison Lupin had fallen through. He could only vent his anger on Neville, scowling as he spoke.
"Mr. Longbottom! Because of your mistake, Black almost succeeded! We all had to gather here in the middle of the night to deal with this, and you must find it very amusing, don't you?"
"Gryffindor loses fifty points!" Snape declared without mercy.
Neville's body trembled, almost breaking into tears. He had seen this morning that the Gryffindor Points Board only had around sixty or seventy points in total.
Professor Mcgonagall saw this and shook her head, but said nothing. While the incident with Sirius Black entering the dormitory couldn't be entirely blamed on Neville, he did bear some responsibility, and deducting fifty points as a warning wasn't too severe.
With the suspicion temporarily lifted from Lupin, all the professors proceeded with their plan to search the entire castle.
The three headmasters had more significant tasks, including notifying the students from other houses to gather in the Great Hall.
Mcgonagall led the students here to the Great Hall to meet up. The search might take the entire night, so they would have to rest there for the day.
What puzzled Ivan was that, after such a long time, Headmaster Dumbledore, as the head of the school, was still nowhere to be seen.
(End of Chapter)
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