Goodbye, Professor Lupin

The second Thursday of August happens to be the day of the full moon.

The sun, still glowing like a salted egg yolk, hadn't completely set. Loren, pulling Hermione's suitcase, turned back and waved casually to the three parents following behind. "Go back now. We'll write back on time."

Monica stopped, nodded to the two of them with a slight smile, and fixed her concerned gaze on them.

Wendell looked unhappy, following closely beside Monica. He looked up at his daughter, then at Loren beside him, and curled his lip in displeasure.

Bates continued to follow behind, nagging, "Be careful when you use magic to leave. A few neighbors come out for a walk around this time... Even though you always say there's no danger, you should still be careful. Think things through... Hermione, this guy isn't very bright, so please take good care of him."

"Yes, I will," Hermione replied obediently.

Loren couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly. He suspected that these two people were speaking ill of him to his face, but he had no evidence.

After a moment's hesitation, Loren decided not to confront them directly. He turned to Monica and gave her a bright smile, "Mrs. Granger, I will take good care of Hermione and make sure she doesn't stay up all night reading or do anything reckless."

Wendell rolled his eyes at him, while Monica smiled gently, patted his hair softly, and said in a tender voice, "Thank you then. Hermione needs this kind of care. Please keep an eye on her for me, make sure she goes to school properly, doesn't stay up too late studying, and goes outside to look at the greenery and get some fresh air on weekends..."

"Mother..."

Hermione's cheeks felt a little hot.

Monica tilted her head to look at her, touched her hair, pinched her cheek, and then hugged them both tightly.

Loren paused for a moment, then promised in a muffled voice, "Don't worry, I will definitely do it."

"Okay, that's all for now. Remember to write to us."

"Um."

The three parents stopped at the bottom of the steps by the door, looking at them with eyes as gentle as the setting sun.

Hermione sniffed, noticing Loren watching her, and glared at him with a tense expression. "Who asked you to supervise and take care of them?"

Loren smiled slightly and, ignoring her awkward expression in front of her parents, took her hand.

The wand swept across the last rays of the setting sun, producing a booming sound that shook the very fabric of space.

Little Whinging, Privet Drive.

The Second Floor bedroom of the Dursley house.

Harry lay flat on the bed, his eyes wide open, staring straight at the ceiling. His expression gradually shifted from anticipation to listlessness, his tired mind almost blank.

Loren's letter said someone would come to pick him up today, but the day is almost over and he still hasn't heard anything.

In the cage next to her, Hedwig's big, round, amber eyes blinked incessantly, her mouth stuffed full of frog meat, and she occasionally let out a muffled croak.

He had been lying here for almost a week, staying in this bedroom all day long, only going out to move around when he needed to use the toilet. Uncle Vernon had installed a small Trapdoor under the door, and Aunt Petunia would bring in food three times a day.

He could leave at any time, but every time he picked up his wand and walked to the door, he would come back.

For a long time, Harry was restless and unable to concentrate on anything. He would pace back and forth in his bedroom, and sometimes he would be completely listless, lying in bed for hours on end, his mind a jumble of thoughts, yet unable to untangle them.

After the Dementor attack that night, Harry received two letters. Mr. Weasley and Sirius Black both told him to stay at the Dursley house and not go anywhere. But whether he stayed or not was not up to him. What really made him stay was Aunt Petunia, or more accurately, Howler sent to Aunt Petunia.

The letter spontaneously combusted because it wasn't opened in time, and the unfamiliar, terrifying voice left only one sentence. "Remember my last..."

What's the last one?

Who would write Howler to Aunt Petunia Muggle, a Muggle?

Every time Harry heard Aunt Petunia's footsteps approaching, he wanted to ask her about that Howler, but he'd rather ask the doorknob...

A series of footsteps approached.

The voice was heavy; it belonged to the obese Uncle Vernon.

"Um?"

Harry's ears twitched, and he got up from the bed, turning to watch his Uncle Vernon push open the door to his bedroom.

"We need to go out."

"Excuse me, what did you say?"

"What we mean is, your aunt, Dudley, and I are going out."

"All right."

"You are not allowed to leave your room when we are not here."

"OK."

"Don't touch the TV, the stereo, or anything of ours."

"OK."

"..."

Then, heavy footsteps emerged from the room, the door slamming against the frame with a thud. The footsteps gradually descended the stairs, and a few minutes later, the car engine roared to life, slowly accelerating out of the Dursley house ' yard.

The only sound in the empty house was the gurgling of water from the pipes. As darkness fell, Harry lay on the bed, seemingly numb, his mind blank, his heart filled with anxiety.

Suddenly, a clattering sound came from the Kitchen downstairs.

A few minutes later, Harry stood on the stairs, looking at the seven or eight wizards below in the Entrance Hall, and fell silent.

Why are there so many people?

"4 Privet Drive... this is it..."

Loren glanced at the doorplate, breathed a sigh of relief, and pulled Hermione forward. Before they could knock, the slightly ajar door quietly opened.

The room was neatly furnished, and the not-so-spacious space was crowded with people.

A group of wizards crowded at the far end of the Entrance Hall, their silhouettes illuminated by the slightly worn light bulb. Leading them was Alastor Moody, next to whom was their familiar Professor Lupin, and a woman watching them with great interest. Several people behind them craned their necks.

Loren and Hermione's expressions became somewhat subtle for a moment.

"Long time no see, Loren, Hermione." Remus Lupin walked up with a smile. When he saw him in New York, he was in much better spirits. Although his face showed signs of exhaustion, his eyes were calm and bright, and he had a bright smile on his lips.

"Long time no see, Professor Lupin."

"Harry is upstairs packing his luggage. We can leave once he comes down..."

As they spoke, Loren and Hermione learned about the wizarding team that had come to escort Harry today.

Nymphadora Tonks, Aurors member of the Ministry of Magic, and also the infamous Metamorphmagus Witch Loren's memories, is the youngest member of the team with violet hair, fair skin, and Winky black eyes.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Head of Auror Office, was dark-skinned, very tall, bald, and had a deep, slow voice.

As for Ephias Elphias Doge, Dedalus Dego, Emmeline Vance Vance, Sturgis Podmore, and Hestia Jones, there were too many of them and their names were too long to remember. They were all marked by Loren as ordinary members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Leading the group was Mad-Eye Moody, who had long, gray hair and a bald patch above his right ear, apparently plucked by Little Crouch. last year. One of his eyes was small and black, sparkling like a pearl, while the other was large and round, flashing with an electric blue light. A large piece of flesh was missing from his nose, and he was currently squinting his two asymmetrical eyes, staring at them suspiciously.

"Can you guarantee it's them, Lupin?" Moody roared. "If we bring back two Death Eater impersonating them, we'll be in big trouble. We'd better ask them some questions—"

"Something only I know..."

Tonks drawled out her words, sounding somewhat sarcastic, and tossed her violet hair. "She does this to everyone she meets. If I hadn't forged the lottery winning letter to trick the Dursley, they probably would have been given a bottle of Veritaserum! I can't take it anymore. You can question her all you want, I'm going upstairs to check on Harry."

Watching Tonks run briskly up the stairs, Hermione was momentarily confused, scratching her head in bewilderment as she looked at Professor Lupin in front of her.

"Mad-Eye just saw Harry and seemed suspicious, which is why Tonks said that...it's all for safety." Lupin watched her nimble figure disappear upstairs and smiled at the two of them, asking, "So, is there any secret that only we know?"

"We once suggested you use Animagus to treat Werewolf Disease." Loren paused, then couldn't help but ask, "How were the results of your implementation among the Werewolf pack?"

"The situation is a bit complicated, but overall it went smoothly." Lupin gestured to Mad-Eye to indicate that the verification was complete, then patted Loren on the shoulder. "There are too many people here, let's talk outside. Anyway, we'll be leaving on broomsticks in a bit."

"Riding a broomstick?" Hermione, somewhat puzzled.

"The Floo Network is under the Ministry of Magic's surveillance. Harry hasn't passed the Apparition test yet, and we don't have the right Portkey."

Lupin glanced back to make sure the people inside couldn't hear them, then quickly added, "Mad-Eye wants to find out if there are any traitors among them. Only we and Dumbledore know about this operation. We have enough time to travel and deliver the message. If we are attacked, it means that there are traitors among them..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Loren and Hermione understood what he meant. They instinctively wanted to look into the crowd, but immediately restrained themselves.

Loren tactfully said, "Let's talk about the Werewolf instead. Is the plan going smoothly?"

"The ideas and plans are feasible, but implementation is very difficult." Lupin leaned against the wall by the door, looking up at the clear, cloudless night sky. "Most of those infected with Werewolf Disease have not received normal magical education and know nothing about the principles and applications of Transfiguration. It is very difficult to teach them from scratch. Fortunately, Dumbledore contacted Ilvermorny for us, and they have set up special Teaching Class for Werewolf."

"The extremely rarer group of Muggle Werewolf are even more troublesome. They lack Magic Power and cannot learn Animagus. The American Magical Congress contacted the Muggle Government to establish a special hospital and also provided substantial financial assistance. They managed to get through the Full Moon Night with large doses of sedatives, which made things relatively easy. However..."

Lupin rubbed his temples, his fatigue visibly evident. "They requested some limited research, and we were worried about the Werewolf Disease being leaked, so we signed complicated Magical Contract with every hospital employee, which made things very troublesome."

Loren and Hermione fell silent upon hearing this; these phenomena were not unexpected.

There are countless similar novels and movies. Not to mention the Werewolf Disease, which is not very contagious, even the Coronavirus, which was completely out of control, could be studied and spread many years later...

After pondering the principles and transmission routes of Werewolf Disease for a moment, Loren shook his head slightly. "Don't worry too much. The infectivity of Muggle Werewolf has been weakened. Without an understanding of the basic principles of Magic Power, they won't be able to research anything."

"That's right. We consulted many experts on Fantastic Beasts, Healer, and Werewolf researchers to confirm that the risks were manageable before we agreed. Otherwise, we wouldn't dare to take the risk..."

Lupin sighed and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, I stayed there for too long and these things kept getting on my mind. I'm sorry to have made you all worry... Let's not talk about that anymore. Let's talk about the Dark Lord. I still don't understand why that person suddenly came back to life, and why the Ministry of Magic still doesn't have any solutions."

"Well..." Loren shrugged. "It's a long story, and the situation is a bit complicated. I can only tell you what I can. You'll have to ask Dumbledore for the specifics yourself. It all starts with Crouch father and son ..."

A few minutes later, one wizard after another, led by Moody, came out of the house and onto the Dursley house' beautifully manicured lawn. When the Metamorphmagus Witch reappeared, she was now dressed in a bubblegum pink.

Harry was overjoyed to see the two of them, his excitement barely concealed. However, in front of all the wizards, he suppressed the urge to rush over and shout, instead giving them a wink. "We'll talk when we get there..."

"If only there were some clouds to cover the clear night sky."

Moody muttered something, his blue magical eyes scanning the surrounding sky as he gruffly gave orders. "We'll fly forward in tight formation. Tonks, break the wind; Lupin, watch the ground; the rest of you, stay back. Under no circumstances can we lose formation, understand? If any of us get killed along the way, we'll come back to retrieve the bodies after the mission. If we're all dead, you fly east; someone will come to meet you..."

The conversation created a somewhat somber atmosphere. Aside from Tonks happily tying Harry's empty trunk and owl cage to her broom, if Loren Legilimency on her at that moment, he could have heard her humming a little tune in her mind:

I thought I was going to be stuck with a tough job hauling goods, but it turned out to be easy and enjoyable!

Once the time was right, Tonks and Harry, who had been hidden by the Disillusionment Charm, mounted their brooms and took off one after the other, hovering in the air and looking down to wait for Loren and Hermione to join them.

"I have a small question..."

Hermione raised her right hand and whispered, "Loren and I don't have brooms..."