Goodbye, Professor Lupin

Thursday.

With three days left until the end of the semester, it was another In the Heat of the Sun.

The door to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor's office was open, and the room was empty again. The books on the shelves had been removed, leaving only some students' report cards and homework records, as well as some handwritten teaching schedules for each grade by Lupin, which were materials he left for the next professor.

There was only half a bottle of ink left on the desk, with a frizzy quill pen leaning against the bottle opening, all alone.

The water tank that once housed Grindylow, Kappa the Water Monkey, and other small monsters has been emptied. Underneath the tank is Lupin's old leather trunk, which is open on the ground and filled with odds and ends and a few clothes.

Lupin pressed the tea canister forcefully into the pile of clothes, then laboriously closed the box.

Thump thump thump—

Hearing the knock, Lupin looked up at the few young wizards crowding the doorway and gave a gentle smile, "Good morning, Harry, Loren, Hermione, and Ron... If you're here to ask about your grades, I'm sorry, but Professor McGonagall and I have agreed that we can only reveal them on the last day of the holidays."

Harry and Ron felt a lump in their throats and couldn't speak. Although they had known for months that Professor Lupin would be leaving, they still felt sad when the moment of parting actually arrived.

"I heard you're leaving soon, Professor..." Hermione said softly, her voice trembling slightly.

"Yes, I asked Headmaster Dumbledore to arrange a carriage, which should already be waiting for me outside the school gate."

Lupin said with a smile, pulling a black scale pendant from the pocket of his leather jacket on his left breast and shaking it. "Don't worry, I brought sandwiches made in the Kitchen, chicken legs, Hagrid's Rock Cake, and lots of sweets and snacks from Headmaster Dumbledore... Look, with the scales Loren gave us, we won't go hungry for months."

Lupin's witty remarks were so poorly executed that even Hermione felt a lump in her throat and couldn't say a word.

"Professor, shouldn't you wait until the Year-End Feast is over before you leave?" Loren said softly. "Many students want to thank you at the banquet."

"Please thank them for me. It has been a very enjoyable year of teaching... And please convey my apologies for not being able to say goodbye to them in person."

Lupin packed his suitcase, stood up, and looked around the office, just like when he first came here a year ago; everything seemed like yesterday.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if trying to memorize the taste of Hogwarts.

Lupin turned to the young wizards and smiled, "Mind if you give me a ride, my dear students? How about to the school gate?"

"Certainly!"

Harry said impatiently, a sense of panic rising within him. If this farewell was just a silent journey, he would regret it for a long time to come.

Loren and the others nodded in silence.

Lupin picked up his old suitcase and, after the others left the office, gently tapped the door of the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor's office with his toe.

Classes were over, there were hardly any people in the Castle, and they didn't run into anyone. They simply walked out of the Castle.

The June sun is bright and scorching, as if it wants to shine from the eyes into the heart, leaving the heart empty and unpleasant.

The soles of my shoes made a soft rustling sound as they stepped on the soft grass, and the scent of unknown flowers and the aroma of grass and soil lingered around my nose.

Lupin seemed to enjoy the sunny day. He broke the silence first, speaking in a gentle voice, "Harry, do you remember Boggart?"

"Certainly!"

Harry answered immediately, his face hardening as he rattled off a long explanation. "Boggart is a Transfiguration creature that can read a wizard's mind and transform into what they fear most. The spell to deal with it is the Boggart Banishing Charm —'Humming Riddikulus,' which transforms the Boggart into whatever the caster deems most comical... Also, the more people there are, the easier it is to deal with the Boggart, because it doesn't know what to transform into..."

"Relax, Harry ..." Lupin chuckled. "I was just reminding you to review ' Riddikulus ' later. You always use the Patronus Charm against the Dementor created by the Boggart. Don't forget there are easier ways... Perhaps one day your deepest fear won't be Dementor anymore. Don't panic when you encounter Boggart."

Harry's tense face gradually relaxed under the admonition, finally turning into a look of utter disappointment. "I will, Professor."

"Don't call me professor anymore, I've already resigned, haven't I?" Lupin gazed at the distant Greenhouse and continued, "Loren, I saw your Patronus on the Hogwarts Express, but I haven't seen you summon it at school since. You were worried about attracting too much attention, weren't you?"

"Yes, Professor," Loren replied.

"Actually, the size of the Patronus can be controlled. It involves some tricks. I left a notebook in my office..." Lupin said slowly, "You can all try to practice changing the size of the Patronus, using Patronus radiance to conceal Patronus form, and using it to Patronus messages. If you don't understand anything, you can ask other professors..."

The explanation of the Patronus continues until the middle of the path, where you can see the location of the Whomping Willow" if you look to the right.

Lupin didn't stop, glancing at it a few times before passing by the Whomping Willow.

"Hermione, you are a smart and hardworking child, and I have no other advice for you. However, you always apply the knowledge in the book in a rigid and rigid way in practice, which may limit your potential... In the future, you might as well break away a little and forget what is written in the book."

"I will, Professor."

"Ron ..." Lupin looked at the red-haired little wizard who suddenly turned to look at him and couldn't help but chuckle. "You have great talent and you're very smart. Don't always compare yourself to those guys. They have many areas where they can't compare to you. You need to discover your own strengths."

Ron looked up at him with a long face and said, "I just can't find it!"

Lupin laughed even harder, "At least I've discovered a few things where you're better than the other three!"

"Where?" Ron looked at him expectantly.

Lupin raised his eyebrows, then changed the subject. "I'll tell you next time we meet."

"Professor!"

The group burst into laughter.

The somber atmosphere of farewell was broken by the shout, and the scene began to liven up. Loren took the lead in recounting the events of the past year, saying that Kappa was like a water monkey, that only a fool would be fooled by Hinkypunk, and that Red Cap was a bully who preyed on the weak...

When they arrived at the school gate, they found that several professors were already waiting there.

Beneath the flying pig-carved doorposts, Dumbledore stood with his hands clasped behind his beard, smiling as he watched them approach. Beside him were McGonagall, Flitwick, and Professor Sprout, who were talking. Even Professor Snape had arrived, standing to the side with a cold expression. Hagrid was by the roadside in front of the carriage, whispering to the horse pulling it.

Lupin paused, put down his suitcase, and quickly went forward to say goodbye to the professors. Out of politeness, Loren and the others did not come forward.

They saw Lupin smiling broadly as he spoke with the four people in front of him, until he finally stood before Snape and was met with that cold face, at which point he paused slightly.

Loren and the others lowered their heads, focusing intently on their toes, but their ears were all perked up. However, they still couldn't hear what the two were saying. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw Snape seem to chuckle again before finally taking out a black cloth bundle, which Lupin nodded and accepted.

About ten minutes later, Lupin returned and picked up his old leather suitcase.

"Alright—goodbye, Harry, Loren, Hermione, Ron." He said with a smile, "I believe we will meet again, and I know you believe so too."

Then, he nodded to the group one last time, smiled, quickly walked out of the school gate, exchanged a few words with Hagrid, got into the carriage, and drove away.

On this day, the best and most satisfactory Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Loren and his classmates had ever encountered left Hogwarts.

On such In the Heat of the Sun.

The sound of the axles and wheels rolling over the gravel road made the silence of the carriage even more pronounced.

In moments of solitude, Lupin's mind was suddenly filled with the faces of more young wizards—those who had left a deep impression on him over the past year:

Neville Lomberton of Gryffindor, Seamus Finnigan, the Weasley family siblings...

Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, Padma Patil from Ravenclaw...

Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff, Justin Finley, Ernie Macmillan...

The Astoria Sisters of Slytherin, Theodore Nott, Draco Malfoy...

He wanted to give each of them some advice, but he could only leave it for later.

The carriage quickly left the wilderness and arrived at Hogsmeade Street. It continued along the deserted street, exiting the Post Office on the Central Avenue and turning onto a side street, stopping in front of a small bar by the roadside.

The bar looked very old and smelled faintly of foul odor. A dilapidated wooden sign hung on a Scabbers bracket above the door, depicting a severed pig's head with bloodstains soaking through the white cloth wrapped around it.

Lupin stepped off the carriage carrying an old leather trunk, and a wizard wearing a black pointed wizard's hat and a black veil covering his face quickly came to greet him.

This was a short, stout wizard with a stubble beard. Long, messy ginger-yellow hair peeked out from under his hat brim. He walked with short, bow-legged gait, and as he approached, a strong stench of smoke and alcohol wafted from him.

"Remus! Remus Lupin ..." he said in a low voice, his tone carrying an unsettling undertone, "It's been many years since we last met, hasn't it? I never imagined you'd be back at the university as a professor. Dumbledore must have been really good to you, hadn't he? I mean, he never thinks of people like us except when he needs us. The last time I saw you was in Albania ..."

"Don't say that, Mundungus." Lupin's face was expressionless. He glanced at the sign of the Hog's Head and asked in surprise, "Why did you arrange to meet here? I remember you've been banned from entering this place since 1975."

"That's why I dare not show my face..." Mundungus Fletcher said, glancing back cautiously, afraid the bar owner would spot him. "Come on in, I've got everything ready. Going to United States, right?"

"What did Dumbledore tell you?" Lupin asked as he followed him into the bar.

"You know him. He didn't tell me anything, he just asked me to prepare the Portkey and a fake identity for you."

The bar reeked of mutton. Thick grime covered the bay windows, blocking out almost all the light, and candle stubs burned on the rough wooden tables.

There were many customers with their faces completely covered, making Mundungus seem quite inconspicuous compared to them. When the bar owner glanced at them as they passed the bar, it almost startled Mundungus.

Fortunately, the boss ignored them, and the two of them went up to a dirty, small room on the Second Floor that smelled very filthy.

Lupin placed the suitcase on the table and paced back and forth, looking around the room to make sure there were no eavesdropping objects or magic.

"I was going to prepare an United States identity for you, but I don't think you can imitate their accent, so..." Mundungus took out several passports and Ministry of Magic identification documents, "You pick one and see which one is suitable. Wizards and Muggle over there often deal with each other, and it will be very troublesome without these things."

Lupin took the documents and slowly looked through them.

"Watch your movements. Your Portkey might be detected when you enter the country. Don't get entangled with the American Magical Congress. Ever since the International Confederation of Wizards decided to hold its meeting there, their patrols have become much tighter, like annoying hounds..." Mundungus said. "Tell me what you're going there for, Remus. Maybe I can give you some advice, what do you say?"

"No need," Lupin refused without looking up.

"Oh, well... I don't know what you're going there for, but if you get caught, you'd better tell them your identity. For Dumbledore's sake, they won't pursue you any further."

"I understand." Lupin put all the documents into his pocket. "Leave the Portkey with me, you can leave now."

"Leave it to you?" Mundungus repeated, his eyes widening in surprise, his swollen, bloodshot eyes looking somewhat frightening. "I thought... well, well, leave it to you."

Mundungus muttered a few words, then lifted his coat and pulled out a tattered shovel, placing it on the table. "I thought I could start a human smuggling business in the future..."

Goodbye, Remus, may Merlin protect you.

Mundungus left in dissatisfaction, still complaining about Dumbledore's stinginess as he pushed open the door.

The short, stout, bow-legged figure disappeared from Lupin's sight. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "Still as unreliable as ever..."

He picked up the broken shovel-like Portkey from the table, but instead of using it, he put it in his suitcase.

His journey from Hogwarts to here was merely a deliberate illusion. Anyone trying to track him down would only start with Mundungus and fall into a vicious cycle.

He will then Apparition to the border and enter the United States by ferry.

He had already packed a sufficient amount of Mandrake Leaf and the improved Wolfsbane Potion into a cloth bag, giving him ample time to investigate the conspiracy within the Werewolf community and liberate some of his fellow Werewolf ahead of schedule.

Bang!

With a loud popping sound, Lupin Remus disappeared into a room on the Second Floor of the bar.

Five minutes later, the owner of the Hog's Head saw through Mundungus's disguise, punched him several times, and threw him out.