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Chapter 671: Moon-Faced
Chapter 671: Moon-Faced
Having just finished a day's work, Lupin dragged his weary body back home and prepared a simple meal in the kitchen before flopping into his worn armchair.
Lupin looked exhausted, and as he rested his eyes, he recalled a letter he had received some time ago. In it, Headmaster Dumbledore had invited him to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.
Despite the position's ill reputation, Lupin was grateful for the headmaster's offer; it was undoubtedly a respectable job.
However, Lupin hadn't replied immediately, even though the headmaster had mentioned in his letter the issue of werewolf safety around students. Lupin didn't want to trouble Dumbledore, even though he knew that Professor Dumbledore was struggling to find a suitable Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Lupin was a dangerous werewolf, shunned and hated by the wizarding community, making it challenging for him to find suitable employment.
In fact, wizards were generally unwilling to pay werewolves, and one could even say they avoided any association with them for fear of unforeseen calamities.
Lupin's only option was to seek work in the Muggle world, but even that proved difficult. Despite his decent knowledge of Muggles, no company would hire an employee who needed to take leave for several days each month.
So, Lupin could only scrape by with odd jobs.
After a quick dinner and putting away the washed dishes, Lupin sat down to browse the Daily Prophet, his simple daily entertainment.
As he read the halfway point of the front-page article, Lupin noticed something rare—the headline in the Daily Prophet had changed. This only happened when there was a crucial, urgent message to convey; otherwise, the paper wouldn't replace its headline story.
"What's happened recently?" Lupin muttered as he reread the headline. But he was soon startled by the accompanying photograph. He immediately recognized the person in the prison uniform.
"This..." Lupin exclaimed, jumping to his feet so abruptly that he knocked over the chair he had been sitting on. Paying it no mind, he stared fixedly at the new headline in the Daily Prophet and quickly read the accompanying article.
Black had escaped! Sirius Black had broken out of Azkaban prison.
The Ministry of Magic was currently searching for him far and wide.
That night, Lupin couldn't sleep well. He couldn't understand why Black would choose this time to escape from Azkaban.
What was he trying to do, and how had he managed it? After all, no one had ever escaped from that notorious prison before.
In the following days, Lupin kept a close eye on the situation, his mind elsewhere even during work.
At some point, he heard a rumor: Black was looking for Harry, intending to kill him.
Later, Lupin read in the Daily Prophet about Harry Potter accidentally inflating his aunt, and he felt a sense of foreboding. The timing was just too terrible.
Lupin wrapped up his temporary job and went to the Leaky Cauldron to gather information. There, he secretly met with Harry.
Good heavens! Harry was the spitting image of James, with eyes like his mother's.
Lupin dared not look at Harry for too long. The fact that James and Lily's son was still alive was enough! Ordering the cheapest mug of mead at the bar, he exchanged a few brief words about Black with the landlord, Tom, before hurrying out.
Everyone was discussing the escape, and wanted posters of Black were plastered everywhere. People were fearful and anxious about the wizard who had escaped from Azkaban.
If any of the other dark wizards imprisoned in Azkaban had also broken out, half the wizards in Britain would probably be losing sleep at night.
Lupin hesitated, knowing that Sirius would find it difficult to harm Harry under Dumbledore's protection. But as a former friend of Black's, Lupin understood him better than most and knew that Black was very familiar with Hogwarts Castle. If...
Perhaps he should tell Dumbledore about Sirius being an Animagus! In the end, Lupin didn't do so, not out of a desire to keep Black's secret, but because he didn't want Dumbledore—the only one willing to accept and give him a chance—to know that he had once betrayed his trust by wandering around the school grounds with his friends on a full-moon night.
It was extremely dangerous for a werewolf to roam freely at night, and Lupin shuddered to think what would happen if he accidentally bit someone. So, he kept the secret, knowing he was too cowardly to reveal it.
Finally, Lupin wrote to Dumbledore, inquiring if Hogwarts still needed a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Professor Dumbledore replied promptly, accepting Lupin's application.
In recent years, the terrible fates of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers had directly led to no British wizard wanting to take up the respectable position at Hogwarts.
It was just too unlucky! Look at what had happened to the previous incumbents.
Professor Ronald Smith had gone missing without a trace, and no clues had been found. He was presumed dead.
Professor Quirinus Quirrell had died right there at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Even the famous Gilderoy Lockhart had recently been sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, where he was reportedly turned into a gibbering wreck, unable to recover his memory or magical abilities.
Who could guarantee that they wouldn't be the next unlucky victim?
Even if a wizard wasn't afraid of the so-called curse, they would still find the position too ill-omened.
After successfully applying for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Lupin prepared his lessons while also keeping an eye on Black's movements.
Lupin was well aware of the challenges of this particular subject. Even if Professor Dumbledore hadn't written to him describing the situation, he could have guessed.
Back when he was a student at Hogwarts, the teacher for this subject had changed every year, resulting in students learning bits and pieces without any continuity. And not all the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers had been reliable.
Fortunately, Lupin was more than qualified for the job.
He was proficient in Defense Against the Dark Arts, had undergone some Auror training, and had even participated in confrontations with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, giving him ample experience in combating dark wizards.
Only by throwing himself into his work could Lupin escape the guilt that plagued him.
If Sirius Black's target was indeed Harry, he would surely infiltrate Hogwarts, and Lupin would capture him personally and make him explain why.
Why had he become a traitor?! Lupin hadn't been able to stop him years ago, but now he would prevent Black from harming the last of the Potters and take revenge for James, Lily, and Peter with his own hands.
(End of Chapter)
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