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Chapter 791: Gryffindor Never Backs Down from Courage
Chapter 791: Gryffindor Never Backs Down from Courage
"Go to Hagrid's to catch mice?"
Both Harry and Ron found this task a bit odd. While they were aware of the mouse problem in Hagrid's hut, something about this errand seemed peculiar.
"Do you want to come with us?"
Hermine picked up Crookshanks, who was sitting on her lap, and began stroking the cat with the comb Albert had given her for Christmas, casually asking Harry and Ron.
"Hmm, it's been a while since we last visited Hagrid too." Harry turned to Ron and asked, "Shall we go?"
"Of course," Ron nodded.
Ever since the Buckbeak incident, the trio had stayed away from Hagrid to avoid any suspicion.
Now that some time had passed since the Buckbeak affair, they assumed that no one was paying particular attention to it anymore. This seemed like a good opportunity to pay Hagrid a visit and also inquire about what had really happened.
The trio had always been curious about how Albert had made Buckbeak disappear and where he had hidden the Hippogriff.
Hermine had even asked Professor McGonagall about it, but the Disappearance Spell obviously didn't work that way, or at least not to the extent that Professor McGonagall knew of.
After a brief discussion, the three friends decided to wait until after dinner to visit Hagrid so that they wouldn't miss their dinner and go hungry in the evening, which was never a pleasant experience.
Hermine found Albert having his dinner, "Do you want to come with us to find Hagrid?"
"I still have something to do. I'll be there later." Albert gave Lee Jordan, who was about to say something, a silencing look and continued eating.
After Harry and the others had walked away, Albert turned to Lee Jordan and asked, "How's your progress with the Patronus Charm?"
"I've got it!" Lee Jordan proudly puffed out his chest.
Fred and George teased, "It's definitely a gorilla!"
"Yeah, it's a gorilla," Lee Jordan said, a little glum that Albert had guessed it right again.
"Barely made it," Albert muttered.
"What do you mean, barely?" Lee Jordan asked, confused.
"Isn't the plan from last time about to start?" George asked in a lowered voice, suspecting that Albert's question about Lee Jordan's Patronus Charm had something to do with this.
"When is it starting?" Fred wasn't stupid either, and he immediately guessed what was going on after George's hint.
"Later," Albert said.
"Later?" Lee Jordan was still a bit bewildered, not quite understanding the situation. Was the plan to capture Black, the black dog, about to begin?
"Do you think that guy is hiding at Hagrid's now?"
George, being the most meticulous of the three, immediately realized something. Albert had once mentioned that Peter Pettigrew's Animagus form might be a rat.
Where that valuable old rat was hiding was now obvious.
So, Albert asked Hermine to take her cat to Hagrid's place to drive out Peter Pettigrew.
Then, by using Peter the rat, they could lure in Sirius Black, and thus capture them both in one go.
But would this really work?
The three friends quickly dismissed the idea, knowing that Albert was shrewd and would never attempt something unless he was certain. The recent Hippogriff escape incident was a testament to that.
"I remember Professor Lupin..." Fred said in a low voice.
"It's a full moon tonight," Albert reminded them.
At this time, Professor Lupin was probably in his office, enduring the painful process of transforming into a werewolf.
"Well, it fits!"
The three friends looked at each other and nodded, indicating that they understood.
In fact, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were wrong. It wasn't that Albert's previous prediction had come true, but that he intended to make the prediction come true.
"You guys go back and get ready. Use this to keep an eye on Harry and the others. It's not our turn to take the stage yet."
"Where are you going?" George asked in confusion as he took the parchment and three strange badges from Albert, "And what are these?"
"This thing can block the tracking of the Marauder's Map."
"Now I understand why we couldn't find Albert's dating location before. This guy already knew how to block the Marauder's Map," George said as he put the map in his pocket and handed the badges to Fred and Lee Jordan.
Albert was planning to visit Professor Lupin and give him a hint, as well as discuss the matter of lifting the werewolf curse.
When he knocked on the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Professor Lupin was sitting at his desk, having his dinner.
"Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Anderson?" Lupin was surprised to have a visitor at this hour.
"Yes, there is something," Albert said, looking at the slightly pale-faced Professor Lupin. He cut straight to the chase, "Professor, have you ever heard of the Human Restoration Charm?"
"What kind of magic is that?" Lupin looked at Albert with a puzzled expression, realizing that Albert's visit at this time must be related to something else.
Albert calmly explained, "It's a spell that can help werewolves regain their human form."
Professor Lupin's expression darkened instantly as he understood the implication of Albert's question. He knew that Albert was aware of his werewolf condition, but he soon accepted it, realizing that Albert was too clever. All it took was observing his leave of absence to make an educated guess. Albert's previous attempt to persuade him to resign early was likely influenced by this knowledge as well.
"Does such a spell really exist?" Lupin put down his fork and asked gently, "I've never heard of a similar spell before. Otherwise, werewolves wouldn't be so feared by everyone."
"Gilderoy Lockhart mentioned the Human Restoration Charm in his book, 'Wanderings with Werewolves'," Albert said.
"That's just a work of fiction, and I've heard..." Lupin trailed off, not wanting to say that Gilderoy Lockhart was a fraud in front of Albert.
However, Albert didn't share this sentiment. He shrugged and said, "Yes, he's a fraud, always passing off others' stories as his own."
Lupin was left speechless by Albert's blunt statement, his mouth hanging open in surprise.
"The Human Restoration Charm did exist at one point," Albert continued, looking at the stunned Professor Lupin. "An old Armenian wizard once used it against the Wagga Wagga werewolf in Australia."
"So, the spell has been lost," Lupin said, thinking that Gilderoy Lockhart deserved the fate he had brought upon himself.
"You could say that," Albert replied. "Last year, I obtained the old wizard's notes from Lockhart and reconstructed the spell, but I haven't tested it on a werewolf yet." Albert explained the reason for his visit.
Lupin fell silent. He now understood why Albert had come to see him—he intended to use him as a test subject! Although Lupin wasn't fond of the idea, he didn't immediately reject Albert's proposal. He understood the significance of the Human Restoration Charm and how important it could be for werewolves.
If it truly worked, it could render dangerous werewolves harmless."
As for the Wolfsbane Potion, that thing is really too expensive, werewolves simply can't afford it."
At this moment, someone knocked on the door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, interrupting the brief conversation between the two.
"Come in," Lupin said loudly.
The door opened, and Snape walked in, holding a steaming goblet in his hand. When he saw Albert, he narrowed his eyes.
"Ah, thank you, Severus." Lupin smiled at Snape, "Would you mind placing it on the desk?"
Snape set down the steaming goblet, his eyes shifting between Albert and Lupin. He pursed his lips and said quietly, "You should drink it straight away, Lupin."
"I will drink it after dinner," Lupin said.
"If I were you, I wouldn't stay here for too long." As Snape turned to leave, he added, "I think you know why."
As the door closed again, Albert withdrew his gaze and glanced at the goblet that Snape had brought for Professor Lupin, saying quietly, "Wolfsbane Potion... Drinking too much of this stuff will be harmful to the body, and it will also reduce one's lifespan, won't it?"
"You know about that?" Lupin asked curiously.
"Of course, I was involved in improving the Wolfsbane Potion." Albert calmly stated something incredible, "Initially, this potion was too expensive and too difficult to brew, so almost no one paid attention to it. After several generations of improvements, we have this current version, which has reduced the cost by more than half, is easier to brew, and has quite an objective effect. However, the toxicity of the potion is quite high, and it can have detrimental effects on the body."
Despite its ability to render werewolves harmless and maintain their sanity, the Wolfsbane Potion was itself toxic.
As one of the improvers of the Wolfsbane Potion, Albert was naturally well aware of this. If one drank too much of it, it would be harmful to the body, and even more deadly was how expensive it was.
"Oh, I almost forgot, you're the champion of the Magic School Potion Competition." Lupin's expression quickly returned to normal, and he now finally understood why many professors held Albert in such high regard.
"However, to be honest, this stuff is really hard to drink." Professor Lupin couldn't help but complain.
"That's because it wasn't originally meant to be drunk." Albert spoke with a strange tone, "This potion was created to win the Merlin Medal. How many werewolves do you think can actually afford such an expensive potion? Even after the improvements, the cost of the Wolfsbane Potion is still beyond what most people can bear."
"You're absolutely right." Lupin nodded, feeling that what Albert said made a lot of sense. He suddenly asked, "What about the Human Restoration Charm?"
"It's a very complex charm, and it belongs to the advanced metamorphosis field of magic." Albert calmly said, "To be honest, many of my friends think that I should take this opportunity to win the Merlin Medal."
Was it still about the Merlin Medal?
Lupin fell silent.
However, he didn't actually think there was anything wrong with that.
"He's really an overly mature student."
Sitting behind his desk, Lupin gave a bitter smile. He didn't have much reason to refuse, and his intuition told him that he should agree to Albert's suggestion, even if the other party was clearly aiming for the Merlin Medal. But this was true, and the importance of the Human Restoration Charm couldn't be denied.
"Do you intend to try this charm on me right now?" Professor Lupin asked in return.
"Of course not now, I won't take that risk." Albert stood up and said, "Let's wait until the summer vacation. If you're willing to help, you can consider it a job, and I'll pay you a substantial amount of galleons."
It was normal for Lupin to hesitate, as it involved using himself as a test subject. Even though Albert indicated that the charm would be harmless even if it failed, and he was willing to offer a large sum of galleons as a token of gratitude for his cooperation.
"If you're willing to help, I can also tell you another secret that I discovered recently, a secret that may be related to Black." Albert added mysteriously, seeing that Lupin wasn't speaking.
"What secret?" Lupin agreed.
"I once saw the name Peter in Hogwarts Castle." Albert's statement was astonishing.
"What?"
Lupin stood up in surprise.
"That thing is actually quite useful. You took away Potter's Marauder's Map so that he wouldn't go after Black for revenge, right!" Albert looked at the Marauder's Map that Lupin had placed aside with a smile, and before Lupin could speak, he continued, "Before the Marauder's Map was given to Harry, I had used it myself. I once saw the name Peter in the school, and as far as I know, Black once blew up a wizard named Peter."
"Thank you." Lupin said gratefully.
"You're welcome."
After Albert turned and left, Lupin also forgot about his dinner and carefully examined the Marauder's Map for the name Peter, but he couldn't find Peter's name among the many names.
Had Peter already left Hogwarts?
That shouldn't be the case. If Black was still waiting outside to ambush him, he wouldn't have been able to escape the castle.
As Lupin slumped back into his chair, he saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneaking out of the castle towards Hagrid's hunting cabin.
Professor Lupin frowned, staring at the Marauder's Map in his hand, and checked it again. He didn't think Albert would deceive or play tricks on him, as there was no need for that, and he wouldn't do such a thing.
He must have missed something.
But what could it be?
Lupin regretted not asking more clearly, feeling that Albert must know some secrets.
"If Peter is really still alive..." Lupin's heart was full of conflict. He knew he had to do something, perhaps he should confess everything to Dumbledore.
However, Lupin was afraid to let Dumbledore know that he had once failed him, and that guilt would completely consume his heart.
"Be brave, you should be braver, Lupin. Don't keep running away."
Lupin slapped himself on the face and muttered, "Harry has no family left, he can't lose his godfather too.
Lupin decided that when he recovered the next day, he would find Albert and ask him what he knew. He had to figure out if Peter was really still alive, and then go to Dumbledore and confess what he knew. Only Dumbledore could help Black out of this predicament.
(End of Chapter)
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