Lupin

Harry felt very embarrassed. In front of Ginny, his idol, he felt like a little baby being held tightly in Mrs. Weasley's arms.

His pockets were stuffed with freshly baked ham pies, making him feel as if he had a hot water bottle strapped to his groin.

Fortunately, Ron and Draco had already disappeared into the green flames and did not witness this scene.

"Harry, you should go." Mrs. Weasley wiped her eyes.

Harry couldn't help but tear up as he looked at the Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, and even Percy.

He could never get enough of looking at it; it was a place he called home, just like Hogwarts, where his family was.

Harry forced his head to turn towards the fireplace. "Grimmauld Place, Number 12!"

The feeling of Floo Network was so wonderful that it even made him briefly forget the sadness of leaving the Burrow.

He felt as if he had been sucked into a giant water pipe.

His body seemed to be spinning rapidly... the whistling sound beside him was deafening... he tried desperately to open his eyes, but the swirling green flames made him dizzy... something hard hit his elbow, he clenched his arms tightly, but he still kept spinning... now it felt like cold hands were patting his cheeks... he squinted through his glasses and saw a series of fireplace doors flash by blurrily, and he could vaguely glimpse the room outside the fireplace... the delicious food from lunchtime churned in his stomach... the chicken pie in his pocket seemed about to fall out... he quickly closed his eyes, praying for it to stop, and then—he fell face down onto the soft carpet.

It didn't look like a carpet; it looked more like a stack of blankets, which Sirius must have prepared beforehand.

Harry adjusted his glasses and tried to look around.

This is also the kitchen, completely different from the Burrow. It's luxurious and spacious, and there's even a long wooden dining table nearby that can be used as a bed—enough for the entire Weasley family to sleep in!

"Harry, are you alright?"

"That's not what I'm thinking."

"Thank goodness for this blanket."

"Hello Harry," said Ron, Draco, Sirius, and another unidentified man.

The man looked quite young, but his light brown hair was already streaked with gray. Although he was wearing what could be described as a luxurious coat, it couldn't hide the signs of hardship on his face.

"Hello, I am Remus John Lupin."

"You can just call me Remus, or Lupin," he said gently, noticing Harry's gaze.

What's wrong?

"Who are you?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I get tortured once a month," Lupin said in a casual tone, as if he were talking about what to eat for dinner. "I'm Werewolf."

Draco and Ron couldn't help but take a few steps back, then moved a few more, seemingly blocking the only way for Lupin and Harry to meet.

"Hello," Harry said politely, unlike Ron and the others.

He believed in his father, believed in Sirius, and naturally, he trusted their friends as well.

You have two good friends!

"I knew it, no wonder he's James's son." Sirius hugged Harry with satisfaction, giving him a strange look.

Harry felt as if he were looking at a departed friend who had returned, rather than his godson.

Lupin's eyes had a similar look, and his face showed a hint of surprise, the surprise of being accepted back by a friend.

Ron and Draco's performance seemed to have completely disregarded him.

"How nostalgic! James—no, Harry."

"You know, Harry, when I was a child I was deliberately bitten by Werewolf Werewolf Fenrir Greyback and turned into Werewolf."

"And it was because of Dumbledore that I was able to enter Hogwarts."

"Do you know the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade?" Lupin suddenly asked.

Harry and Draco shook their heads, while Ron nodded.

"You don't think of James in this respect. He sneaked off to Hogsmeade with us during his first year," Sirius sighed.

"Its name is also related to me, and Dumbledore was behind the spread of this rumor," Lupin said with a hint of reverence.

"Hey, didn't James and I also lend a hand?" Sirius said discontentedly, while carefully omitting the name.

"We haven't gotten there yet," Lupin said gently. "Becoming Werewolf is very painful. When I want to bite someone, I stay away from people, so I bite and scratch myself. The noise and screams that the villagers hear make them think they are hearing the sounds of particularly ferocious monsters."

"I heard that even now, despite the fact that this house hasn't made that sound for many years, the villagers still dare not approach it," Lupin said with a mischievous smile.

"So that's it? So there are no ghosts then." Ron, who was an expert in all sorts of gossip and esoteric knowledge, sighed in disappointment.

"Yes. Those were the most painful days of my life. But with Hogwarts and my friends by my side, it wasn't so bad."

"To avoid your father and the others finding out that I'm Werewolf, I make up all sorts of stories during my monthly disappearances. I tell them that my mother is sick and I have to go home to see her. I also tell them that my uncle died and I need to have a funeral, etc."

"But your father and the others still found out, but they didn't distance themselves from me."

"In fifth grade, they learned to transform into Animagus and become animals."

"That way, even when I'm in Werewolf form, they can stay with me." Lupin smiled happily.

"So, Peter turned into a mouse," Ron suddenly said.

Lupin looked embarrassed and puzzled. He didn't know how Ron had guessed that Peter's Animagus was a rat, and why he had mentioned him at this time.

In remembering James, he mentioned the name of the traitor who killed him.

For the first time, he looked Ron seriously and began to doubt whether this was really Arthur and Molly Weasley's child.

"He knew because I mistook his rat Scabbers for Peter at Hogwarts."

"It's embarrassing, I never said that." Sirius made a face.

"Why can they be with you in your wolf form when they transform into animals?"

"What is my dad?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"Werewolf are only dangerous to humans."

"There's a Whomping Willow in the secret passage to the Shrieking Shack; it only came to Hogwarts because of me."

"Peter can become the smallest animal, so that he can crawl under the branches of the Whomping Willow' and press the knots that keep the tree still."

"That way they can use the secret passage to get to the Shrieking Shack and find me."

"Sirius and James transform into very large animals, which can intimidate Werewolf."

"Harry, you can guess from his nicknames: your father is Prongs and Sirius is Padfoot," Lupin said with a smile.

"My dad is a deer, right? Only deer have antlers that look like forks, but I don't know exactly what they are," Harry said after a moment of thought.

"A stag," Lupin said.

"So that's what a buck means? What kind of deer is it?" Harry was speechless.

"Typical Ravenclaw, James is a moose, the largest kind of deer," Sirius said with a laugh.