With these thoughts in mind, the group headed to the Great Hall for lunch.
Chapter 420: Welcome to Hogsmeade!
In response to Harry's complaints, Ron was the first to agree, feeling that Professor Snape's class was far inferior to Professor Lupin's.
Ivan didn't respond, as Harry had accidentally guessed correctly. Hermione remained silent, lost in thought.
At that moment, another voice suddenly echoed through the corridor.
"Not so fast, Potter! I bet you weren't paying attention in Professor Snape's class. There might really be a Werewolf lurking in the school, maybe even someone you're close to!"
Everyone turned to see Malfoy, with his two cronies, strutting over confidently.
Malfoy first glanced at Harry with disdain, then turned to Ivan with a self-assured expression. "Just wait, Hals. I'll find the evidence before you do!"
Malfoy's smug demeanor and words left Harry and Ron completely bewildered, but Malfoy paid them no mind, leaving his parting shot and walking away.
"Does Malfoy really think one of us is a Werewolf? That's absurd!" Ron exclaimed.
Harry nodded, certain that none of his friends were werewolves. None of them regularly took the Wolfsbane potion or disappeared on full moon nights.
Hermione, however, seemed to have a thought. She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, turning to Ivan and seeing him shake his head.
The young witch understood that Ivan had known about Professor Lupin's Werewolf identity all along and swallowed her words.
Ivan wasn't surprised that Hermione had figured out Lupin's identity. In the original timeline, Hermione had deduced it from various clues. It was even more likely now.
But the fact that Malfoy had guessed it left Ivan astonished.
Could it be that his influence had spurred Malfoy to become more astute?
Ivan recalled the conversation he had with Malfoy a while back. At the time, he hadn't fully understood Malfoy's intentions, but now everything was clear.
Fortunately, it seemed that Malfoy hadn't found any conclusive evidence, just suspicions about Lupin being a Werewolf. Otherwise, he would have already reported it to the Professors.
Thinking about this, Ivan felt a headache coming on. He didn't want Lupin to be exposed and lose his position as a Professor, as had happened in the original timeline.
However, Ivan couldn't think of a way to stop Malfoy from investigating Lupin.
Malfoy wasn't Peter Pettigrew; using the Obliviate spell on him would be extremely risky.
Ivan didn't know when Malfoy had started suspecting Lupin. If he erased the last few months of Malfoy's memory, even a fool would notice something was off!
Even if Ivan was confident he could do it subtly without raising suspicion, who knew if Malfoy had shared his suspicions with others.
If Lupin's Werewolf identity was discovered and no other culprit found, he would be the first suspect in the attack on Malfoy.
Lucius, in his fury, would likely use his influence to frame the incident as an assault on a student, leading to Lupin's imprisonment in Azkaban.
After much thought, Ivan decided the best he could do was provide Lupin with genuine Wolfsbane potion in the future. This way, Lupin wouldn't need to take monthly leave, reducing the chances of discovery and buying as much time as possible.
With these thoughts in mind, the group headed to the Great Hall for lunch.
After complaining for a while, Harry, who was going to Hogsmeade later, quickly put the unpleasantness of the class behind him. He hurriedly finished his meal and then returned to the dorm to fetch his Invisibility Cloak.
Ron rummaged through his trunk for some spending money. Although he only had a few Sickles, he solemnly took out half and put it in his Wizard robe pocket.
Of course, Ron didn’t forget his most cherished pet, Scabbers!
Notably, Scabbers didn’t want to leave the safety of the Gryffindor dormitory and wander outside. He clung to the pillow with his tiny paws, protesting loudly and making a terrible racket.
Ron was quite embarrassed by this, feeling at a loss, and considered leaving Scabbers in the dormitory.
"Stupefy!"
A red light shot out, hitting the grayish-black rat. Scabbers’ eyes widened, and with a squeak, he fainted!
"There, problem solved", Ivan slowly put away his wand, satisfied.
He had been worried that Scabbers might escape on the way, but now this issue was perfectly resolved!
Ron opened his mouth, looking at Ivan with a strange expression, but ultimately said nothing. He also felt that his pet rat had been acting a bit neurotic lately, and a nap during the outing might be good for him.
"Let’s go, I can’t wait anymore!" Harry, who had already changed clothes, grabbed a handful of Galleons and looked at Ivan, saying excitedly.
Ivan nodded, and the three of them left the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was already waiting outside, still trying to persuade Harry to stay at the school.
"We have to go outside eventually. Harry can’t hide in Hogwarts Castle forever. A true Gryffindor shouldn’t fear anything!" Ron said with conviction.
Hermione glared at him, annoyed. Bravery and recklessness were not the same thing, and it didn’t mean courting death.
Amidst this noisy atmosphere, Ivan led the group to a secluded corridor on the fourth floor of the castle, stopping in front of the Hunchbacked Witch statue.
"Separate left and right!" Ivan tapped the statue with his wand.
With a soft rumbling sound, the statue’s hump opened to the sides, revealing a narrow, dark passage, wide enough for a slim person to crawl through.
"Come on in!" Ivan said, then was the first to crawl in and drop into the dark space below.
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Harry, looking at the dark entrance, couldn’t help but comment.
"Well, it is bad. If you’re caught outside, Professor Mcgonagall will definitely take a hundred points from us!" Hermione rolled her eyes but followed in right away.
Harry and the others followed Ivan, moving through the passage under the dim light of the Lumos spell.
After what seemed like a long time, just as Harry was about to speak up because his legs were getting tired, Ivan suddenly stopped and tapped the ceiling with his wand, pushing open a Trapdoor.
Bright light poured in through the opening, making Harry and the others squint their eyes. Ivan jumped up first and turned to them.
"Come on up, this is it—welcome to Hogsmeade!"
(End of Chapter)
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