Journey to the Unknown Abyss

After sending off Dumbledore's owl, Dewey stood before the mirror.

"Don't always keep such a gloomy face, Black; smile, be a little more amiable. Children like amiable elders. Think about living with Harry Potter; he calls you godfather. Think of his hair like James', his eyes like Lily's. Being with him means you have family, doesn't it? Isn't that worth being happy about? You both have a bright future, and soon, you will be able to clear your name, my friend. Come on, be happy, smile."

Dewey, transformed into Lupin, practiced walking earnestly, replicating the professor's weary posture and his gentle yet firm gaze one-to-one to ensure he was indistinguishable from the real Lupin.

This was crucial.

He must not reveal anything out of character at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore was a master of Legilimency.

He wouldn't use Legilimency on people at every turn—that was an extremely offensive thing to do.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't use it at all.

Therefore, Dewey had to maintain his persona. As long as he didn't show any flaws that would shatter his character, Dumbledore wouldn't suspect him. Based on Sirius Black's narrative, Dewey had summarized and distilled several key points about Lupin.

He would center his transformation around these points.

"A gentle yet firm expression."

"An air of perpetual weariness."

"Adoration for Dumbledore."

"Guilt toward Snape."

"Cowardice for disapproving of your bullying of others yet failing to stand up and stop it."

"And poverty."

Dewey muttered to himself, standing at the mirror. His tone of voice was already identical to Lupin's, which made Sirius Black feel an indescribable sense of discomfort.

Because he knew that Lupin would never speak like this.

Even if the inflection and tone were the same, Lupin simply wouldn't say such things.

"Shut up, Dewey."

Sirius retorted without looking up.

"Snape, he deserved it. You think his Levicorpus—I remember you know it too—what do you think it was created for? To play pranks on his good friends? Not at all. He and his group of Slytherin friends went around calling people Mudbloods and bullying other young wizards. When he was busy tormenting others, did he ever feel remorse? Hmm? When his group of Pure-blood Family friends called Lily a Mudblood, did he ever feel guilty toward anyone? No! He didn't. Lupin only saw us bullying him, but when he was bullying others, Lupin didn't see a thing!"

Sirius sneered grimly: "We were simply returning to him what he had once done to others. Besides, Lupin never stopped us either! Is your character study perhaps a bit flawed?"

He looked at Dewey suspiciously, showing his distrust.

Dewey stared back at Sirius, wearing an expression of indignation.

He curled his lip at Sirius.

"I shouldn't be talking to you about this. You don't understand art at all. Talking to you about this is like playing the lute to a cow; it's a waste of time."

Sirius ignored Dewey after that.

He was busy packing.

There was a lot for him to prepare.

Brewing Polyjuice Potion takes twenty-one days. Among the ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion, two are quite rare.

However, this did not affect Sirius Black.

Unlike the Weasley family, who were not well-off, the Malfoy family, whose secrets were leaking everywhere, or the Gaunt family, whose lineage was nearly extinct, the Black Family was quite powerful among the Pure-blood Family lines. Their entire family practiced male primogeniture; women could not inherit the Black Family estate.

They were very wealthy.

Every generation of the Blacks was in Slytherin.

Pure-blood supremacy.

Black was the exception.

He was in Gryffindor.

The family line reached Sirius's generation with two sons: one was Sirius Black, and the other was Regulus, an outstanding Slytherin student who had believed in the Dark Lord but later betrayed him.

Regulus betrayed the Dark Lord, sought out a Horcrux, and was stripped of his life by that Horcrux.

In other words, Sirius Black is the last legal heir to the entire pure-blood Black Family.

He possesses the collections, connections, and channels accumulated by the Black Family over generations.

Acquiring certain items is not difficult for him.

Polyjuice Potion is a subject taught in the fifth-year Potions class at Hogwarts. Sirius is a bit rusty at brewing, so he is working hard at it; he cannot always purchase the finished product—that would expose him sooner or later. He has chosen to buy finished potions while brewing them himself.

From this moment on, he is Dewey's logistics support.

Unlike Dewey, his next destination is not Hogwarts; he is heading to Hogsmeade Village.

There, the Shrieking Shack awaits.

He will brew potions in the Shrieking Shack and exchange supplies with Dewey, as there is a secret passage there that leads directly into Hogwarts.

"You have two days left before you head to Hogwarts. I think you should be on your way."

After their recent conversation, Sirius does not really want to continue interacting with Dewey.

Having undergone special training for nearly a week, Sirius has already disclosed all the information he knows.

There is no more information to be had.

The road ahead is one that Dewey must walk alone.

Dewey glanced at his suitcase.

This battered suitcase has been enchanted with several spells, making it as light as a feather. More importantly, it contains a vast space divided into three levels.

Lupin is kept in the deepest level, while the other two levels are filled with numerous cabinets containing various treasures.

Poisonous frogs, voodoo artifacts, giant spiders, and a mix of common and rare magical creatures—these are all smoke screens, Dewey's teaching aids. What he truly needs to hide is the real Lupin.

He must constantly trim Lupin's hair to use in the Polyjuice Potion.

I hope he won't blame me when he goes bald.

Dewey touched his own temples and added, "I think Lupin and I have one thing in common."

Dewey looked at his reflection in the mirror: "Lupin and I are both equally destitute. By the way, Sirius, how many days do you think the Ministry of Magic's pursuit team can maintain their enthusiasm?

I'll bet you one Galleon that in a week, these babies will be heading home to suckle at their mothers' breasts."

Dewey chuckled, a somewhat manic expression appearing on Lupin's face, causing Sirius to shake his head in disapproval.

"Just leave already!"

He could not stand to see such a perverted expression on his old friend's face.

"Fine, fine, it's just leaving, isn't it? I'll be off soon."

The Floo Network in London has been restricted, so even Dewey cannot travel through it. He has no close friends, so Dewey took out Lupin's money and counted it carefully.

No matter how he counted, Lupin only had twenty-one Galleons, sixty Silver Sickles, and a few Knuts.

"I take back what I said," Dewey muttered, "Your friend, Mr. Lupin, is much wealthier than I am. I don't even have a single Galleon."

He bid farewell to Sirius and stood by the roadside platform, extending his wand.

He took one last look at the disappearing Sirius Black and let out a strange laugh.

"An adventurous journey makes one's heart race, doesn't it, Dewey?"

After the laughter died down, Dewey transformed completely into Lupin.

He extended his wand and waited for a while—or perhaps a very long while. He had a watch on his wrist, though it did not look like a Muggle creation.

He had to keep a constant eye on the time, as he needed to drink the Polyjuice Potion every fifty minutes. This forced him to constantly learn to perceive the passage of time over these past few days. He held out his wand, and after a long wait, a triple-decker bus rumbled out of the void.

It barreled toward Dewey, who nimbly jumped backward to dodge the vehicle.

The bus screeched to a halt right in front of Dewey.

He looked up and saw the bright, bold letters on the side of the bus.

Knight Bus.

A young man with prominent ears and a face full of pimples opened the door, looked at Dewey, and said casually, "Hi, was it you who summoned us?

The Knight Bus, at your service.

Tell us your destination, and we can take you anywhere on land.

It's only eleven Silver Sickles, no matter where you're going, the price is the same!"