Lupin

By the afternoon, Roy, who had spent the whole day playing Wizard's Chess, was beaming. It seemed he had won more than he had lost.

"Goodbye, Will!" Sylvia, standing beside Roy, said goodbye to Will. She knew he could not stay at her house as a guest forever.

Besides, school would start in just over ten days, and they still had plenty of time together at Hogwarts.

Will waved goodbye to Sylvia and Roy. His gains over the past few days had been extremely plentiful, more than enough to cover his expenses at Hogwarts, so he was in a very good mood.

For the remaining days of the holiday, Will planned to grind some Dark Magic experience. With just over ten days left, he had to make the most of his time. Once he returned to Hogwarts, grinding Dark Magic experience would not be so easy.

It was winter, and the sky was already growing dim. Breathing in the biting winter air, Will worked out his next steps, toying with the silver "Wizard's Eye" in his hand.

For the first time in a long while, he felt relaxed. For one thing, his money problem had been resolved, so he no longer needed to worry about it; for another, the existence of "Vincent" at least proved that he had become a true Grand Wizard in the future.

His path was the right one. He just did not know whether his future self had figured out what "Distorted Knowledge" was by then.

Will walked toward the Leaky Cauldron at an unhurried pace.

The sound of an argument coming from a secluded, dark little alley caught his attention.

"Gentlemen, I have no intention of pestering you. Even if you sold me fake medicine, I won't keep troubling you over it..." There was a hint of embarrassment in the man's low voice.

"What do you mean, we sold you fake medicine?! How dare you call the Werewolf Potion I invented fake?!"

"Merlin's beard, that's not what I meant at all."

"Carlo! This fellow is trying to slander you!" A shrill voice drifted out of the alley, piercing Will's ears enough to make them uncomfortable.

"Sir, I have absolutely no intention of slandering you."

"Then why did you say drinking my potion did nothing? Are you questioning me, Carlo Regan? Are you questioning a Potions Master?"

"That potion worked. It worked very well-" The man sounded somewhat helpless, as though he did not want to get entangled with them any further.

"Then you should buy more potions. Five Galleons a bottle isn't expensive, is it?"

"The bottle I bought last time already cost me all my savings. Sir, for Merlin's sake-" The man's voice sounded very restrained.

"Even Merlin's socks won't help you. Locke, search him! Find every bit of money he has!"

No sooner had he spoken than a thin man rushed out of the alley. Despite the December weather, he wore a thin, shabby coat covered in patches. Quite a few wrinkles had already crept onto his sallow face, and white strands were mixed into his untidy brown hair.

Will thought the man looked very familiar. Combined with the mention of werewolves and the other information, a name flashed through his mind-Remus Lupin.

The best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Harry Potter had encountered during his school years.

"Run, boy!" Lupin had spotted Will too and was about to grab him when a spell suddenly flew past his hand from behind.

Four odd-looking men emerged from the mouth of the alley. Only then did Will realize that this alley seemed to be another passage into Knockturn Alley.

The fat, dwarf-like man in the lead clutched a filthy wand. "Stop, werewolf! If you don't pay, the slow-acting poison in the potion will kill you!"

When the few passersby nearby heard "werewolf," they all moved away, as though afraid they might catch it through the air.

Lupin did stop, but his eyes swept between Will and the fat dwarf several times, as though he wanted to protect Will.

The short, fat dwarf spotted Will then too. His bean-sized eyes darted over Will, and naked greed appeared on his ugly face.

Will recognized him now. This fat man was called Carlo Gentus. Around this time last year, he had extorted Will while Will was disguised as "Vincent," after which Will had blown one of his hands to pieces with Confringo.

It looked as though he had teamed up with a few others to run a scam. Werewolf Potion, was it?

"Boy, this has nothing to do with you. Hand over all your money, and we won't do anything to you." From Will's clothes, Carlo knew the boy came from either wealth or status. Either way, the people behind him were surely beyond Carlo's ability to provoke. If he only took a little money, he could still get away. As long as he did not hurt the boy, nothing should happen.

Will did not answer. He reached toward the inside of his clothes as though taking something out. Watching him, Carlo thought the boy knew what was good for him.

Instead, Will seized the moment to flick his hand sharply, revealing the wand hidden in his sleeve.

"Stupefy!"

He had not used Confringo because that might get him recognized, and he could not openly kill someone in Diagon Alley as "Will Behrens."

The Stunning Spell struck Carlo squarely between the eyebrows, and he crashed to the ground like a winter melon.

The other odd-looking wizards, who looked like crosses between magical creatures and humans, aimed their wands at Will and were just about to cast.

Suddenly, the man they had just been extorting whipped out his wand and cast spells in rapid succession.

"Erecto!"

"Avis!"

"Oppugno!"

A stone slab rose in front of Will, separating him from the wizards. Birds of every color rushed into their faces, blocking their vision, and who knew where their spells went.

Then hundreds upon thousands of pebbles transformed from snowflakes rained down on their heads and faces. Empowered by magic, the pebbles struck with astonishing force, leaving the wizards bloodied and sprawled on the ground almost instantly.

The wizards were already stunned. They had never expected a child by the roadside to take down their leader, much less that the penniless werewolf they had just been extorting would reduce them to such a sorry state with a few spells.

"Come on, boy!" Lupin grabbed Will, and the two raced away. None of the passersby dared stop them, letting this "werewolf" run off with the little boy.

The two ran all the way to the far end of Diagon Alley. Lupin let go of Will, and both of them panted heavily. Neither was in very good physical shape.

"Boy, go on. Don't tell anyone you saw me." Lupin waved Will away. He did not want to frighten the boy.

"Sir, thank you for saving me. I still don't know your name."

Looking into the boy's eyes, Lupin took a few breaths, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

But after only a few steps, he swayed and collapsed onto the snow.

The corner of Will's eye twitched as he remembered what the fat dwarf Carlo had said about slow-acting poison in the potion.

Had that bit of exercise made the poison act faster and killed him right here?