On Thursday, in his first class after returning, Professor Lupin not only canceled the 21-page Werewolf paper that Professor Snape had assigned to the students, but also made up for the points that Professor Snape had unjustly deducted from Gryffindor.
Hermione's complexion finally improved, but she always looked at Lupin with a scrutinizing gaze, and whenever Ron asked her why, she would pretend to be profound and remain silent.
Following Hermione's advice, Harry approached Professor Lupin after class, before the students had completely dispersed, and asked, "Professor, do you know Sirius?"
Lupin raised an eyebrow, pausing as he packed his things. "Have you heard anything, or seen anything?"
Harry shook his head and said, "Many people have told me to be careful of Sirius. Even Dumbledore and Director Lorne sent Dobby to protect me. The information I've received is that Sirius sided with Voldemort, killed my parents, and is now trying to escape from prison to kill me."
"But that's not scientifically sound," Harry suddenly became urgent. "So I want to understand my father's relationship with him, to understand what happened before, to see if we can convict him outright or find other clues."
Lupin smiled and said, "Hasn't the Ministry of Magic already convicted him?"
"He is innocent in my eyes for now," Harry's gaze suddenly turned icy, "But if I find out he was the one who killed my parents, I will kill him with my own hands sooner or later."
Lupin had finished packing. He waved his wand, and the box automatically jumped up and locked itself.
"You've come to the right person, Harry. No one in the world knows them better than me."
Lupin casually pulled over a stool, seemingly prepared for a long lecture. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had also wanted to find stools, but Professor Lupin was already eager to begin, so they simply sat on the floor and listened attentively.
"When I first met your father, James Potter, he and Sirius had already been best friends for many years. Their relationship was extremely close; they grew up together, and their bond was so strong it was practically a life-or-death friendship..."
Lupin rambled on, knowing Sirius was innocent, and his heart naturally sided with him without hesitation. He portrayed the friendship between James and Sirius so beautifully that he himself didn't even realize that Peter Pettigrew wasn't even mentioned in the story.
"Oh, right, and Peter Pettigrew," Lupin belatedly realized, "He's also a member of the Marauders, he... he was the one I introduced to James and Sirius."
At this point, Lupin suddenly sighed deeply. Recalling the past always evokes many feelings and regrets, even for a powerful wizard.
Harry, sitting cross-legged, raised his hand and asked, "So what do you think? As a friend of all three of them, how do you view Sirius, compared to others?"
"Him?" Lupin smiled faintly, "He's very loyal. When he was around, I never got into a fight with anyone."
Harry didn't get the answer he wanted, and his brow furrowed. Just as he was about to ask again, Professor Lupin suddenly stood up. "Excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Let's talk another day."
"Wait a minute, Professor Lupin," Harry suddenly called out to Lupin, "Did you not let Hermione and me practice Boggart back then because we were too cowardly?"
"Anyone who asks that question isn't a coward, Harry," Lupin stopped and turned back. "Don't be so self-deprecating. There simply wasn't enough time that day. If I have any concerns, it's that your imagination of the You-Know-Who might have frightened the rest of the class."
"But that's not what I'm most afraid of," Harry persisted. "I don't know what's wrong with me, but every time I encounter Dementor, I'm powerless to fight back. I can't even cast a single spell. Do you have any ideas, Professor?"
Lupin was about to refuse when he suddenly remembered Sirius's words of advice.
"I do know a spell for Dementor, and perhaps I can teach you," Lupin said mysteriously, "But Harry, a magical artifact I left in the castle years ago is missing. I'm busy searching for it and don't have time to teach you."
"What props? Perhaps we can help?" Hermione responded excitedly when she heard that Professor Lupin wanted to take her and Ron along.
"Alright, I might as well tell you. It's a map that shows the location of everyone in Hogwarts," Lupin even prepared an explanation for Sirius's exposure. "It was created by us, the Marauders, so our names often appear on the map. Consider it a little Easter egg left for future generations."
"No wonder--"
Ron was about to blurt out, "No wonder I could still see Peter Pettigrew and Sirius on the map. It turns out they were the other two creators. The Marauder's Map couldn't display their locations correctly. What my two brothers saw was just an Easter egg left by the creators."
But before he could finish his sentence, Harry elbowed him in the chest. Ron immediately realized his slip of the tongue and stammered, "No wonder, no wonder, no wonder what..."
Fortunately, Professor Lupin didn't mind. He waved and left the classroom without looking back.
Ron breathed a sigh of relief, "Great, the Marauder's Map isn't 100% accurate. Peter Pettigrew isn't in my bed. I've been worried for days that I'd wake up and see someone. I've had insomnia for days."
"Come on, Ron, what I envy most about you is your sleep quality," Harry joked with a grin.
Hermione steered the conversation back on track. "But how are we going to get the Marauder's Map from George and Fred? It doesn't belong to them, and the owner is searching everywhere for it. How can we get the Marauder's Map into our hands?"
"Robbery or theft," Ron said matter-of-factly, then quickly explained after feeling the death stares from Harry and Hermione, "Don't worry, it's a family tradition. They took a lot of my things when I was a kid."
Harry smiled mysteriously and pulled a Galleon from his pocket.
Ron gasped. "You're going to flip a coin to decide who's right, me or Hermione? I choose the word."
Harry: "..."
Harry did indeed toss a coin, but it landed in Fred's hand instead.
He glanced at George, then immediately chuckled and said, "You're too kind, Harry. We were just thinking of giving it to you as a Christmas present."
Despite saying that, Fred's hands didn't stop moving at all. He stuffed coins into his "in-only" coin purse, and the number displayed on it immediately changed from positive to negative.
"What is this?" Ron asked.
"This is our savings," George explained. "The number represents how many Galleon we're still short of a Magic Mobile Phone; a negative number means—"
"We need one," Fred immediately replied.
"Damn it! It's worse to see them make money than to lose it," Ron grumbled, muttering to Harry. "I'd rather just steal it. Next time you can give me half the price, Harry, I'll definitely get their stuff for you."