"After all, Lupin was appointed by Albus himself to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. I think he can be trusted…" Professor McGonagall frowned, not quite agreeing with Snape's decision to keep Lupin in custody.
"I wouldn't be so sure. After all, Lockhart and Chino were both appointed by Dumbledore himself, and it's not the first time he's made a mistake…" Snape raised his eyebrows, reminding everyone of how incompetent the previous two Defence Against the Dark Arts professors had been.
McGonagall didn't know how to respond to Snape, and the other professors hesitated.
Snape's analysis made a lot of sense. There were signs that someone inside the castle was helping Sirius Black, and Lupin, Black's best friend, was the most likely suspect!
Lupin was keenly aware of the stares and wanted to defend himself, but sighed, knowing that nothing he said would clear his name.
"I don't believe Professor Lupin did that!" Harry exclaimed.
Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, but Harry repeated himself, willing to believe that Lupin had not helped Sirius.
"Potter! You'd better think before you speak! We're all busy trying to keep you safe…" Snape said with a scowl.
"You also said it was for my own safety, didn't you?" Harry interrupted Snape. "Then I'm willing to trust Professor Lupin, so you can't lock him up!"
Snape, shaking with anger, was about to lash out at Harry when the other Gryffindor wizards, encouraged by Harry's speech, rallied around him.
"Yes! I don't think Professor Lupin would do that either!"
"I would like to believe Professor Lupin!"
"So are we!"
…
"Thank you, thank you!" Lupin was touched to see the students who believed in him and stood up for him.
Ivan was no longer silent. He knew that Lupin had nothing to do with Sirius's infiltration, and he could not be blamed for it.
"Professor McGonagall, we can't jump to conclusions without evidence. Every student knows the Gryffindor password, so Professor Lupin may not have given it to Black…
As for why Black received a wand…"
Do you have to ask? Of course I gave it to him!
Ivan grumbled to himself, but kept his expression neutral as he continued his analysis. "It's been a while since Black escaped Azkaban. Maybe he got it from some wizard in the outside world…"
"I take it you did not lose your wand, Professor Lupin?" Ivan asked Lupin, who nodded and held out his wand.
It was a cherry-wood wand about twelve inches long, orange-yellow on top, dark brown on bottom, straight and oval at the end…
When she saw the wand, the Fat Lady shook her head, indicating that she had seen Bright holding not this wand, but a wand with a slightly curved base, easy to spot…
Ivan then asked all the young wizards and witches to take out their wands to check that none of them were missing, and then asked the Fat Lady to identify them.
After the Fat Lady shook her head one last time, Snape snapped, "That doesn't mean anything! Maybe Lupin accidentally got hold of a second wand somewhere and gave it to Black. How else would you explain the note?"
"You're not going to tell me some Gryffindor cadet tried to kill Potter and handed Black a note?" Snape scoffed.
However, a faint voice suddenly came from the crowd.
"It's… it's me. That note is probably mine, Professor!"
They all turned to see Neville shaking and raising his hand slowly, as if he were ready to burst into tears.
"Mr. Neville Longbottom…" Snape looked at Neville in disbelief, his eyes narrowing. "Did you just say you gave the note to Black?"
McGonagall and the others stared at Neville in shock. Nobody could believe that the normally timid Neville would do such a thing!
Harry also found it strange that Neville would help Black. Why? He remembered that he had never offended Neville, and that Neville was the one who shouted the loudest when Black was found sneaking into the dormitory…
"No… it's not that… it's…" Poor Neville was left stammering under everyone's gaze…
"You left that note by mistake, didn't you?" Yvonne asked, trying to help her out. She had guessed as much when the Fat Lady told her that Black had come into the dormitory with a note.
This was because it was Crookshanks who stole Neville's note, allowing Sirius to get his orders.
"Yes…yes!" Poor Neville nodded quickly, indicating that he had left it behind, as Ivan had said.
It dawned on the young wizards that Neville's poor memory had long been known, so they did not suspect anything…
Snape didn't look happy. His plan to hold Lupin in custody was ruined, and he had no choice but to take it out on Neville.
"Mr. Longbottom! Black nearly had it because of your mistake! And you must be amused that all of us are gathered here in the middle of the night to deal with it."
"Fifty points have been deducted from Gryffindor!" Snape ordered mercilessly.
Neville's body shook and he nearly burst into tears. He had only seen sixty or seventy points in the Gryffindor Points Pool this morning…
Professor McGonagall shook her head but did not comment. Although Neville was not entirely to blame for Sirius's break-in, there was still a part of the blame, and it would not be too much to deduct fifty points as a warning.
With Lupin temporarily cleared of suspicion, the professors proceeded to search the castle as planned.
The three Heads of House had even more important tasks, such as informing students from other Houses to go to the Great Hall.
McGonagall led the students to the Great Hall, where they were expected to rest for the night.
To Ivan's bewilderment, Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen after all this time…