Remus Lupin's Night

Hunts Point Community, Brooklyn, New York City.

The air was filled with the smell of diesel truck exhaust, which, mixed with the smell of industrial waste gas, smelled particularly sweet.

Hunts Point is usually dangerous at night, rife with gang fights, drug dealing, and shootings;

It was only because the Fire Dragon attacked this place, burning all the medicine and guns, that it became a little safer, and it was temporarily in the stage of street fighting.

Remus Lupin wore a tattered trench coat and kept his head down. He would only raise his head and force a smile when the elderly, women, and children greeted him.

He strode through a narrow alley, casually hiding the two unconscious people in a pile of garbage before pushing open a creaking wooden door and entering a gloomy corridor.

A musty, damp smell hit me. The walls on both sides of the corridor were mottled and peeling, as if telling the story of the erosion of time.

In the dim light, the cracks and stains on the floor were clearly visible, and the groaning of the wooden planks could be heard with every step.

He walked to his door, the lock of which was covered in scratches and dents, clearly having been forcibly opened countless times and offering almost no security.

Lupin had no such concerns; he had nothing left to lose.

As for the truly valuable things, he kept them all in his head, Muggle thieves simply couldn't steal them.

The room was so small it felt suffocating. You could see every corner at a glance;

A simple bed was placed against the wall, the mattress was as thin as paper, and the sheets and blankets were covered with stains that could not be washed off.

The pillow had completely collapsed, with an extremely flat arc on its surface, clearly bearing the weight of countless sleepless nights.

The room was small enough that Lupin saw the long-waiting visitor.

He was an old man wearing a light blue silk robe, with a long beard that reached down to his waist;

He also wore a wizard's hat with a sunflower decoration on the tip. Although the outfit seemed a bit eccentric, it didn't look out of place on the old man.

Lupin could hardly believe his eyes; his throat felt choked, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

"Remus, it's been a long time!"

An old, gentle voice appeared first, causing Lupin to tremble and regain his ability to speak.

"Dumbledore! What are you doing here... It's Headmaster Dumbledore Professor McGonagall!"

"Yes, she told me you were here." Dumbledore nodded, conjured up a table and chairs and a tea set, and began to brew tea for himself.

The aroma of tea filled the air, easily dispelling the musty smell in the room.

Lupin couldn't help but sniff, and then tried to hold his breath.

This was tea from the Gryffindor Common Room; he would never forget it.

It was precisely because he couldn't forget that smell that he didn't want to smell it again...

Whenever he smells this scent, it reminds him of that most beautiful time.

His thoughts would drift further and further away, back to that unforgettable night...

He returned from the north of England and learned of the sacrifices of James, Lily, and Peter, Sirius Black had been imprisoned in Azkaban as a traitor...

Good things are always fleeting, but suffering is long-lasting, just like his "Lycanthropy"...

"Sit down and have a drink!" Dumbledore invited, placing a box of muffins on the table. "We need to talk for a while."

Hearing Dumbledore's gentle voice, Lupin nodded, feeling as awkward as if he had just received an acceptance letter, unsure of how to face Dumbledore.

He still remembers his memories from when he was eleven years old, because that was the beginning of his wonderful life;

How similar it is now! Headmaster Dumbledore also showed up uninvited, eating muffins and playing with Gobstones with him.

Dumbledore wasn't very good at Gobstones, and after being sprayed with Stink Sap, they finally talked about getting him admitted to school.

To ensure he could attend school without worry, Dumbledore promised to hide his Lycanthropy Disease and prepare a house for him each month to help him through the nights of the full moon.

Whether it was the house itself, the secret passage leading to it, or the Whomping Willow planted at the entrance to the passage, everything was arranged by Dumbledore to minimize any potential accidents.

"You left without saying goodbye back then... I never expected you to come here." Dumbledore held out his teacup to Lupin. "I have good news for you!"

He pulled several Magical Photo from his pocket, pictures of Harry playing Quidditch. "Look! Harry's enrolled and even joined the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!"

Lupin took the Magical Photo, looked at Harry's face, and tears silently streamed down his thin face. "He looks so much like James... it's like they were made from the same mold!"

"Yes!" Dumbledore smiled, picked up a muffin, and handed it to Lupin. "And like James, he's become an excellent Seeker!"

"From then until now..." Lupin took the muffin and placed it on the teacup, his eyes still fixed on the Magical Photo, "No wonder he's James's son! Joining the Quidditch team in second grade!"

Dumbledore added, "He joined Gryffindor Quidditch Team after enrolling, at Minerva's strong recommendation."

"If James..." Lupin's lips trembled, but he didn't say it in the end, shaking his head somewhat forlornly.

"There's one more thing." Dumbledore reached into his pocket again and pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet, which featured a long-haired man with a haggard, skeletal appearance.

"The Daily Prophet... Black is still on the run..." Lupin read the headline, instinctively clutching the newspaper tightly.

"The Ministry of Magic confirmed today that Sirius Black is still at large, and he is probably the most wicked prisoner ever held in Azkaban..."

Lupin asked in a trembling voice, "He actually escaped from prison... when did this happen?"

"It's been almost a month," Dumbledore said. "We're still on the hunt... a lot of Dementor have been deployed, you know... they're Azkaban's guards."

His expression turned serious, and he took out his wand and waved it gently.

A puff of smoke rose from the tip of the wand, quickly spreading in mid-air and coalescing into a map of the British Isles.

"It's not like there's absolutely no trace of him; at least we can still track his movements..."

As several points of light lit up on the map one by one, Lupin's eyebrows furrowed more and more, almost forming a knot. "He actually managed to evade the Dementor ' pursuit..."

"Incredible, isn't it?" Dumbledore sighed. "As far as I know... when he was in Azkaban, he seemed to repeat a phrase even in his sleep..."

Lupin interrupted Dumbledore somewhat impatiently, "What will he repeat?"

"At Hogwarts ..." Dumbledore continued, "And over and over again... until the night before his escape was discovered, he kept repeating these words..."

"He's at Hogwarts?" Lupin's face turned ashen. "Harry's at Hogwarts! He's there for Harry! Isn't he!"