A conversation with Lupin

The lesson made it abundantly clear just how thoroughly Snape had prepared for Defense Against the Dark Arts. He explained in great detail how to identify werewolves, how to fight them, and how to avoid them.

Anyone who did not know better might have thought Hogwarts was planning to send them into battle against werewolves.

The truth was actually quite close to that. Snape was not picking a fight with Lupin on a whim.

Deep down, he had never trusted Lupin. He remained convinced that Lupin would let Black into the castle.

His suspicions were not entirely unfounded. Given Lupin's relationship with Sirius Black, it was quite possible that the two would work together from inside and outside the castle.

When Snape and Dumbledore had been loudly plotting in the Great Hall, they had actually intended Eli and Harry to hear them.

He wanted to put Eli and Harry on their guard.

Lupin was a werewolf, and an extremely unstable one at that. Every full moon, he would transform and go berserk.

That was why Snape had gone on and on about werewolves during this Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

He had all but grabbed Eli and Harry by the ears and shouted, "Lupin isn't human! Be careful around him!"

"I keep feeling that Snape was hinting at something!"

Hermione Granger hugged her books as she walked down the corridor with Eli and the others.

Eli glanced at Hermione Granger. Out of their entire group, she was the only one who had noticed something was wrong. She really was the cleverest witch.

"Hinting at something? More like plotting something!" Ron Weasley looked indignant. Not only had Snape ruined his favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, but he had also assigned an enormous pile of homework. Ron Weasley