Lupin watched with satisfaction as the students swiftly assembled into two columns, one for boys and one for girls, under the orderly direction of Percy and Penelope, the Head Boy and Head Girl.
Then he turned to those two irrepressible brothers, George and Fred, his smile growing even brighter.
"I hear you recently composed a 'Hogwarts Song.' Here's your chance to lead us. Let's sing as we run and spread the pride and joy of Hogwarts along this road in the faint morning light."
"..."
"Percy, are you sure this isn't Professor Holmes in disguise?"
And so, at Lupin's urging, singing rose gradually from the group, a little scattered at first. Accompanying their steady footfalls, it swelled from soft to loud, like a magical melody crossing the boundary between reality and fantasy, echoing through every corner of River Kennet Port Road and waking the sleeping city...
Of course, above all, it drew sidelong glances from passing Muggles. Even drivers passing by rolled down their windows and called out with a laugh, "Keep going! You should be flying with magic!"
The youngsters in the group all rolled their eyes.
Sirius Black, a man who had weathered countless hardships, stood among the bustling, youthful Hogwarts crowd at that moment as though glimpsing his own long-lost youth through the curtain of time.
He gazed at those lively figures, their faces shining with an innocence and fearlessness untouched by the world. Their curiosity about the unknown world and enthusiasm for exploring it rekindled a blazing fire in his heart.
Moony-Remus Lupin-had experienced the world's warmth and cruelty, yet his eyes sparkled with a sly, warm light, with that boyish sense of humor...
For an instant, Sirius felt as though a lifetime had passed. Memories sealed away by the years quietly opened, like the first