Eleven Silver Sickles.
Dewey winced at the price. He picked up his suitcase and climbed onto the Knight Bus before him. This three-story bus was a form of public transport for witches and wizards, a fast way to travel between cities, offering help to any witch or wizard in trouble.
Not everyone could Apparate, use the Floo Network, or fly on a broomstick.
There would always be people who needed the Knight Bus.
Dewey came to the first floor. There weren't many witches and wizards there—in fact, he was the only one.
There were no seats on the bus, only beds, six to a floor.
Brass bedposts and pink curtains—Dewey found the colors quite interesting.
Unfortunately, he was Professor Lupin at the moment, so he couldn't loudly praise the manly pink.
He sat on a bed.
Stan Shunpike stood beside him and said cheerfully, "Oh, welcome aboard the Knight Bus. Where are you headed?"
"London."
Dewey spoke softly, capturing Professor Lupin's refined, gentle manner to perfection. Shunpike said, "Oh, London? OK, Ernie, take us to London."
He shouted the order. The driver, Ernie, muttered, "All right, no problem."
The Knight Bus driver was a middle-aged man with thick glasses. Dewey glanced at him, then paid him no more attention.
Shunpike showed no sign of leaving. He stood nearby and struck up a conversation with Dewey.
"What's your name?"
He asked Dewey.
"Lupin."
Dewey continued speaking softly. He noticed the newspaper by Shunpike's hand and cut off the young man's next question, pointing at it. "May I have a look at that?"
"Of course, Lupin. It's a very interesting paper. The whole thing's about two fugitives."
He handed Dewey the Daily Prophet. On the front page, Dewey saw two men. Sirius Black was glaring at him, his hair still a tangled mess. As for the other man, Dewey was looking around in every direction. He looked even worse than Sirius.
Seeing his own photograph come to life right in front of him felt strange.
"Two dangerous men, aren't they?"
Shunpike snorted. "Two lunatics who escaped from Azkaban. Who knows what they'll do next?
"I heard they attacked some Ministry of Magic employees in London not long ago. Terrifying, isn't it?
"These stubborn troublemakers—why didn't the Ministry have the Dementors finish them off when they were first put on trial?
"Now they've escaped, and everyone's on edge."
Shunpike rambled on. Dewey smiled, folded the newspaper, and handed it back to him.
"Yes, you're right."
In the brief glance he'd taken just now, Dewey had seen that yesterday's paper was packed with wanted notices for him and Sirius.
People were clearly much more interested in Sirius.
A member of a Pure-blood Family, a friend of Harry Potter's parents, and someone who'd been famous ever since he was young.
Compared with Dewey, people were more than happy to keep their eyes on Sirius.
"Minister for Magic Fudge Asks Dumbledore to Capture Fugitive; Dumbledore Politely Declines."
"Sirius Black's Unknown Past—Rita Skeeter Reveals the Story of His Life."
"Dewey Jones—A Vile Opportunist, a Ruthless Death Eater, a Pathetic Sycophant."
"Mr. Lucius Malfoy Speaks on the Weaknesses of Azkaban."
The rest was just comments from Ministry officials. Dewey had no interest in any of it.
Going along with Shunpike's remarks, he said, "Yes. Perhaps dying at the hands of a Dementor would have been the best end for them."
Shunpike was delighted to hear his opinion echoed. He stood beside Dewey and became even more animated.
He wasn't really interested in the news.
To him, it was just news—something far removed from his life.
Besides, whether it was Sirius or Dewey, neither of them would attack the two-man Knight Bus crew, would they?
He was just an ordinary bus conductor.
What would they gain by attacking him?
Dewey's friendly face and kind manner made Shunpike eager to chat. He spoke to "Lupin" as if they were old friends. "All right, the fare for this trip is eleven Silver Sickles, but if you pay fourteen, you can get some chocolate as well. And if you pay fifteen, you'll get a toothbrush and a hot-water bottle, too. You can choose any color you like."
He kept pitching the different deals to Dewey. Dewey thought it over carefully, then shook his head.
Chocolate made his blood surge.
Poverty made him tighten his belt.
*I'm Professor Lupin now.
*Remus John Lupin. I'm a kind, gentle, well-read man. I can't use my wand to steal things, even if they're obviously overpriced.
But chocolate really is delicious.
Dewey wrestled with himself for a moment, then quickly came to his senses.
"No," Dewey said. "Eleven Silver Sickles is all. I probably don't need those other things."
He planned to buy himself some chocolate in London, where it would be much cheaper.
More money down the drain. What a drag.
Dewey could only curse his luck.
Shunpike didn't seem bothered that he hadn't sold a deal. The amount he sold didn't seem to have any bearing on his wages.
The young man was in good spirits. He looked at Dewey's face and changed the subject. "Hey, Lupin, what happened to your face?"
"An expedition in the countryside," Dewey said, spreading his hands. "I was scratched by a huge dog. Have you ever seen a dog as big as a bear? I have. It left me with a scar I'll never forget."
Dewey chatted with him while Ernie drove recklessly. The bus never obeyed traffic laws; it careened wildly through the streets, covering about a hundred feet every time it appeared or vanished!
Whether they were streetlamps or trash cans, the bus never swerved around them. They had to get out of its way.
Even large obstacles would bounce aside to avoid the bus's headlong charge. According to Shunpike, they'd reach London in four hours.
"But you'd better be ready," Shunpike told Dewey. "The Ministry always sends people aboard to check along the way, especially when we get close to London. They're always acting as if we're about to bring two Azkaban prisoners right into the city.
"If you ask me, it's just needless worry. What do you think, Lupin?
"How could two prisoners possibly be brazen enough to take our bus to London?
"Ministry people have too much time on their hands."
Dewey nodded in agreement. On the way, he kept an eye on the time and took a little Polyjuice Potion after forty-five minutes.
"What are you drinking, Lupin?" Shunpike asked curiously.
"Alcohol," Dewey said. If anyone else asked, he would say it was a potion.
Night fell. As the bus neared London, it stopped.
Someone climbed aboard. Lupin raised his head casually and saw Mad-Eye Moody coming up the steps.
His Magic Eye swept around the bus. Dewey remained calm and stood up.
"Moody," he said.
"Lupin?"
Mad-Eye Moody hadn't expected to run into Remus Lupin here. He strode over and asked, puzzled, "What are you doing in London?"
Dewey took out a letter and handed it to Mad-Eye Moody.
Mad-Eye Moody opened the letter. Dewey watched him lower his head, though his Magic Eye remained fixed on Dewey.
Even as he read, he never loosened his grip on his wand.
Dewey's heart remained still as a pool.
Mad-Eye Moody's Magic Eye was indeed powerful. It could see through the Invisibility Cloak, one of the Deathly Hallows, but it couldn't see through Polyjuice Potion.
Dewey had become Lupin, inside and out.
Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody knew each other. They'd worked together before. As for whether Moody knew Lupin was a Werewolf, even Sirius didn't know; Dewey suspected Moody didn't know either.
"Don't expect that man to have any feelings. He's used Dark Magic as often as some Death Eaters."
Sirius had said that once.
Mad-Eye Moody glanced at the letter. It was an appointment letter inviting Lupin to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. It bore Hogwarts's seal and Dumbledore's signature. It couldn't be forged.
"So Dumbledore went to Black Mountain to find you. That must have been quite a challenge. You're the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"
Mad-Eye Moody handed the letter back to Dewey. "He'd originally asked me to take the job, but as you can see, I'm rather busy this year."
He chatted with Lupin amicably for a bit, then told him to be on his way.
Dewey's guess had been right. The Magic Eye couldn't see through Polyjuice Potion.
Mad-Eye Moody probably didn't know that the real Lupin was a Werewolf, either.
After Mad-Eye Moody left, Dewey put away the appointment letter and saw Shunpike staring at him in shock.
"Lupin—no, Professor Lupin, why didn't you tell me you were going to teach at Hogwarts?
"I can't believe I spent all that time talking with a professor!"
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