Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 537, Section 535: Midnight Talk (4k)

“I knew he was coming.”

Sheen looked through Crook Mountain's ginger-yellow fur and spoke gently.

"Gurgle—"

Crookshan grunted, seemingly believing Sheen.

“Krokshan, you’ve done well, but now is not the time. Where is he? Take me to him, okay?”

Sheen put Crookshank down from his shoulder, and the ginger-colored cat, as if on the same wavelength as Sheen, led the way.

Its fluffy tail swayed back and forth, and it quickly swung out of the castle.

It was already dusk. Sheen stepped onto the hazy green grass, feeling the thin evening mist rising from the Scottish Highlands.

In a corner, Crook Mountain stopped, let out a snort, and leaped to the side of a clump of trees.

The room was partially surrounded by dark, sticky walls, and a strangely familiar dark figure emerged from the shadows as if embarrassed.

"Go find it for me..."

Sheen put Crookshan's ear to his lips.

“...You’re too impatient, Mr. Blake.”

He turned his head again and spoke to the slightly fatter black dog.

An astonishing scene unfolded: the black dog leaped forward and transformed into a wizard in the blink of an eye.

His messy black hair hung down to his elbows, and if it weren't for the light in his eyes, which were sunken in their sockets, he would have looked like a corpse, being as thin as a rake.

If any wizard were here, they would probably scream in terror.

Because he is Sirius Black, a major fugitive wanted by both the wizarding and non-wizarding worlds.

"I'm sorry, I just..."

Sirius didn't meet Sheen's gaze; he glanced at the castle with a slightly flustered expression.

Hogwarts was peaceful and serene at dusk, and Sirius Black would not have disturbed the ancient castle if it weren't for that despicable traitor by Harry Potter's side.

"You're so eager to get rid of him, aren't you?"

Sheen spoke Sirius's mind.

He knew Sirius would break into Hogwarts soon, but he didn't know Sirius had come to scout the place so quickly.

It seems he has devised a meticulous plan to deal with Banban.

“You know… I’ve known all along that you know everything, but why…”

Sirius said respectfully, turning his gaze back to the dark, sticky wall.
"I haven't ruined any of your plans, have I, sir?"

You're overthinking it.

Sheen said calmly.

Sirius looked up at the words, and in his deep green eyes, he could only see a vast, desolate sea.

“I should have known, sir.”

Sirius's lips curled into a slight smile.

No one in this world can ruin the plans of someone who knows everything.

"Now is not the time."

Sheen added.

"When will that be..."

Sirius asked the question with restraint.

“You and I both know, Mr. Black, that Little Pettigrew is not the root of everything.”

Sheen was reluctant to reveal more, but he couldn't bear to leave Sirius in this tormenting state of confusion.

“I know, I certainly know, sir. That will be our great struggle.”

Sirius Black had a terrifyingly determined look on his face.

“The future is changing, Mr. Black. No wizard can guarantee that fate will follow its course…”

Sheehan recalled Professor Trelawney's prophecy—"He remains cunning"...

"We need to know more."

"what do you mean?"

Sirius seems to have grasped something.

"He will find him."

Sheen eventually revealed some of the truth.

Sirius's eyelids fluttered rapidly, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and swallowing became a difficult task at this moment.

“We must stop him, sir…we can’t let him…”

"No, sir, the horror of the unknown lies in our inability to cope with it."

Sheen said, his eyes slightly lowered.

Is it better to let Voldemort return, or to simply imprison Peter Pettigrew in Azkaban?
Sheen had already made his choice.

Rather than letting Voldemort become a truly hidden viper, lurking in the shadows and waiting to destroy the entire Hogwarts Castle, it's better to let the future remain largely unchanged.

Ultimately, all of this is built upon the immense power of personal magic.

If someone could defeat and truly kill Voldemort, they wouldn't need to devise a plan like Dumbledore did in the original books.

If no one can defeat and truly kill Voldemort, then the plan will most likely remain just talk.

From a very early stage, Sheen left himself no way out.

Harry is no longer Voldemort's Horcrux, the future has been changed, and Harry's eventual killing of Voldemort using "powers Voldemort did not understand" is no longer a predetermined ending.

From beginning to end, he had to face Voldemort...

Sheen gazed at the distant night sky, a deep black canvas filled with silent stars.

“When he returns, we will destroy all his defenses. I will defeat him, and then kill him.”

Sheen said.

His calm eyes held a profound sense of melancholy that Sirius could not comprehend.

Sirius didn't dare look him in the eye, just as he wouldn't dare look a god in the eye.

"Please be patient until then."

As Sheen turned around, Sirius called out to him in a very low voice.

"Sir, are we just going to let Peter...we're just going to...we're going to..."

Sirius asked cautiously, unwilling to give up.

“Oh, that’s alright, sir. Peter will help us find him, and of course, Peter will be very obedient.”

Sheen said thoughtfully.

"Are you ready?"

Sirius was taken aback, then asked curiously.

"Fairies have the oldest contract in the history of magic."

Sheen was stating a fact.

Sirius felt a sudden sense of relief.

Let Peter become their informant, infiltrate the Dark Lord's inner circle, and regardless of whether the Dark Lord notices his abnormality, they will be able to track down the Dark Lord.

As for Peter's life or death.

Believe him, no one wanted Peter to die a horrible death more than Sirius.

“You should go now. Although most people at Hogwarts won’t recognize you, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is Mr. Lupin.”

Sheen whispered a reminder.

“Lupin…he…”

Sirius pretended to ask a question, but ultimately swallowed his words.

His complexion worsened, and his lips twitched involuntarily, revealing yellow teeth.

"Please don't blame Mr. Lu Ping."

Sheen whispered.

"Of course...of course I am..."

Sirius's expression looked extremely unnatural.

After the explosion, everyone believed that he had betrayed James and Lily and sided with the Dark Lord.

But what about the facts?

If anyone were to ask him, they would receive the truth.

Would he be unwilling to tell Lupin—his former best friend?
Or perhaps he wouldn't want to tell Dumbledore what was hidden behind the surface?

They chose to believe his betrayal.

Of course, he couldn't be too critical.

"On that night, you were probably not the only one who lost everything, Mr. Blake."

Sheen peered into the hazy darkness of the night, and a simply dressed figure came into view. "Good evening, Mr. Moonface."

Sheen greeted him.

Good evening, Mr. Green.

Lupin looked at Sheehan with surprise, seemingly wondering why he knew that name.

Upon seeing the black-haired figure on the other side, he instantly understood.

His expression turned serious, and he immediately pulled Sheen behind him and took out his wand.

"You're here, Sirius..."

Lupin smiled, but his expression betrayed his deep wariness.

"Moon Face...are you here to arrest me?"

Sirius smiled unexpectedly.

“Crooked Mountain is a clever cat; it brought me here. Now, please leave, Mr. Green.”

Lupin spoke gently to Sheehan and complimented the large ginger cat that had jumped onto Sheehan's shoulder.

"Oh, come on, Moonface, do you think Mr. Green needs to avoid anything?"

Sirius let out a maniacal laugh.

"You'd better stay away from Mr. Green, Bigfoot."

Lupin's seemingly well-intentioned reminder actually revealed a dangerous smile.

There is absolutely no one left in this castle who can be allowed to have problems.

That must be Mr. Green...

Dumbledore had spoken with him long ago, and Mr. Green was their only hope.

Besides, Lupin knew perfectly well that if anything happened to the young wizard in front of him, one person would definitely go mad.

Severus Snape.

To be honest, Lupin never expected it to be this name.

"That's enough, Moon Face. If you want to catch me, you'll have to see how capable you are."

Sirius even had time to wink at Sheen.

It seems he was just playing a fun game.

“You should tell Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black.”

Sheen interrupted his game.

Next, Lupin witnessed a scene he could never have imagined.

The fugitive wanted by the magical world, the most capable assistant of dark magic, and his best friend whom he dared not recall, actually responded obediently after a moment of stunned silence.

"As you wish, sir."

Sirius said devoutly.

"This……"

Lupin's world was shaken; he seemed not to recognize the young wizard before him.

“Oh, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black will tell you everything. I think you’ve had your doubts all along, haven’t you?”

Sheen added.

What he said today is enough for him to have a week's worth of reserves.

"Oh, moon face..."

Sirius Black was no longer the madman he once was. He leaned against the tree roots, his eyes filled with a bewildered sorrow.

Some say that the world is so big that a person cannot travel all of it in a lifetime;

But some people say that the world is very small, so small that it only consists of the small space around us, and only a few scattered friends.

If they all like you, then the world likes you.

But what if they don't believe you at all?
Sirius gave a bitter smile.

He reached his withered, claw-like hand into his robe, pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, smoothed it out, and held it up for everyone to see.

That was a photo of Ron's family published in the Daily Prophet last summer. The one perched on Ron's shoulder was Ron's rat, Scabbers.

"Look at this, Moonface, don't you think there's something wrong with this mouse?"

Lupin cautiously took the photograph.

"My God."

Lupin looked back and forth between Banban and the photo in the newspaper, and called out softly,

"Its front paws..."

"It's missing a claw."

Sirius said.

"certainly,"

Lupin murmured, as if he had finally realized something.
"How simple...how clever...he cut it off himself?"

“Just before his transformation,”

Sirius said
"After I cornered him, he yelled so loudly that the whole street could hear me betraying Lily and James."

Then, before I could even cast the spell, he blew up the street with the wand hidden on his back, killing everyone within twenty feet—and then scurried into the gutter with the other rats…

"The largest piece of Peter's remains that they found was one of his fingers."

Lupin continued.

Do you know how long it lived?

Lupin asked Sheehan urgently yet with restraint.

"Ron said it has lived for twelve years."

Sheen said.

"Twelve years,"

Lupin murmured,

"How can a mouse live this long?"

Sirius remained silent, waiting until Lupin's eyes reddened slightly before letting out a soft hum:
"Are you going to tell me you've been doubting all of this?"

"I'm afraid I'm not qualified to say that..."

Lupin's throat tightened. He looked at Sheehan in disbelief, then glanced at Sirius out of the corner of his eye.

"Perhaps you shouldn't be so harsh on Mr. Moonface."

Sheen sighed.

That night, Harry lost everything, and so did Sirius.

What about Lupin?
His world is also very small, so small that it only contains a few friends who don't look down on him.

Two dead, one crippled, and one permanently imprisoned... This is what Lupin faced.

On that night when everything was lost, on that night when the rain was pouring down, how could one blame a fearful and sorrowful soul?

You can't expect him to stay rational and calm, just as rain can't wash away his tears.

"Ah, I forgive you, old buddy."

Seeing Lupin's bewildered arms and reddened eyes, Sirius decided to stop blaming him.
"Of course I'm sorry, I thought you were a spy too. You know, back then we couldn't trust anyone."

"Forgive me, Remus."

Sirius said.

"Not at all, Bigfoot, old buddy,"

Lupin's expression was complex, neither like crying nor laughing. As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves.

"Then please forgive me for thinking you were a spy, okay?"

"certainly.,"

A faint smile flickered across Blake's haggard face as he rolled up his sleeves.
"You have to help me, Moonface."

"Shall we take it down together?"

After Lupin finished speaking, he glanced at Sheen again. He was reluctant to let the young wizard hear too much, even though he thought the young wizard might know more than he did.

Otherwise, why would he be so close to Sirius Black?

"Oh, I'm afraid not."

Sirius broke the atmosphere.

Sheehan could clearly see Lupin's smile freeze on his face.

"That is?"

Lupin asked stiffly.

“We need to talk, old man. About… a bigger plan.”

Sirius said generously.

(End of this chapter)