Private Affections

Dumbledore patted Kane on the shoulder. "You can go back to sleep. I'll search the place."

Kane might enjoy taking a jab at Dumbledore's harebrained ideas now and then, but on this matter, he trusted him completely.

Kane was about to return to his little tent when something odd occurred to him.

Shouldn't he tell Lupin about Sirius Black's nighttime intrusion?

Not long after, Lupin, who was apparently still awake, opened his eyes blearily.

"It's only five o'clock. Something's wrong. Have the Dementors broken in?" Lupin asked, staring in confusion at Kane beside his bed.

"Not the Dementors. Sirius Black broke in."

Lupin sat bolt upright, blinking in disbelief. "Are you hurt?"

"I subdued him, but someone seems to have rescued him."

"Did he attack you?" Lupin skipped the details and went straight to what mattered.

"With a Stunning Spell."

Lupin breathed a sigh of relief at Kane's answer. If Sirius Black really was Voldemort's lackey, he certainly

wouldn't have used such an inefficient spell.

Perhaps his suspicion was right, then, and Sirius Black had slipped into Hogwarts tonight just to see Harry?

It was an absurd way to go about it, but on second thought, it was exactly the sort of thing someone as foolish as Sirius Black would do.

"So you have a lead?" Kane asked, watching Lupin's expression suddenly turn calm.

"There might be one rather risky way. Perhaps on next week's trip to Hogsmeade," Lupin said quietly.

"Hogsmeade..." Kane thought it over and realized Lupin wanted to search the area around Harry. He shrugged helplessly. "If you can convince Harry to give in to the Dursley Household, good luck. I doubt it."

"He doesn't necessarily have to give in, does he? Hogwarts has plenty of secret passages. You could try taking a less conventional route." Lupin