"When did this happen, Filch?"
Lupin's face darkened for some reason, and he stared at Filch's eyes with a piercing intensity.
"Two weeks ago–"
Lupin's heart sank, this was after Bryan had searched the tunnel under the Whomping Willow.
Filch wrung his hands nervously, looking afraid that he had failed the task that Director Watson had given him and worried about being targeted. He rambled on about how hard he had tried to find the parchment, but to no avail. He claimed that he had always kept a close watch on the confiscated items from the students, and the only reason he couldn't find it was that some troublemaker had sneaked into his office.
"It must have been Peeves!" Filch said indignantly, "Can you please talk to Director Watson for me, Professor Lupin? He surely has some tricks to get rid of that crazy ghost from Hogwarts."
Harry and Ron lowered their heads involuntarily, feeling sorry for Peeves, who had been blamed for Fred and George's prank for no reason. They knew that Peeves had nothing to do with the parchment, and that they were the ones who had taken it from Filch's office. And seeing their guilty looks, Hermione snorted through her nose, looking displeased. She hesitated to look at Lupin, as if she wanted to reveal the truth, but after a series of intense and complicated inner struggles, she said nothing. She was torn between her loyalty to her friends and her respect for Lupin, who had been kind and helpful to them.
To their surprise, Lupin did not follow Filch's lead, and remained silent, making them feel suffocated. This silence was so long that Harry had to whisper his name several times before he came to his senses.
"Oh, I'm fine, Harry–"
Lupin turned his head and smiled apologetically at Harry, but his smile was very ugly. It was forced and strained, and did not reach his eyes. And as he turned his head, he glanced at Tom, who was squatting on the desk and looked a bit restless.
"I'll pass it on to Watson–"
Lupin nodded at Filch, and took a breath. He suddenly asked, "Has Headmaster Dumbledore left again?"
After getting a positive answer, Lupin clenched his fist in his sleeve. He turned around and looked at the three of them, and said in an unusually firm tone,
"I've thought about it carefully, and the origin of this broom is indeed very suspicious, Harry. Since Professor Watson is not in Hogwarts, I suggest you take it to Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick. They are also experienced wizards, and if there is something wrong with the broom, they should be able to figure it out–"
Lupin's words made the three of them look puzzled, but before they could figure it out, Lupin pushed them roughly to Filch's side with a gloomy face.
"Please escort these three children to the Great Hall, Filch, and hurry up–"
Lupin did not give them time to ask questions, and urged them repeatedly, until he saw them go down the stairs in the middle of the corridor, and then withdrew his gaze.
Huh– Remus took a deep breath, and turned back to the room, closing the office door with a click. He leaned against the door, and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.
Although he knew that Bryan had set up a complete defensive spell for his office, Lupin still took out his wand and cast all the sealing spells he knew on the rusty door handle. These spells could only be lifted in one situation, and that was when he died. Lupin faced the door with his head down, and no one could see his expression.
Tom on the desk saw Lupin's actions clearly, and tilted his head to look at the window, then at the fireplace, and finally, his gray eyes fixed on Remus at the door, and he sighed softly. He knew what Lupin was doing, and why he was doing it.
The fireplace crackled and burned, and from time to time, the remaining moisture in the dry wood was rapidly turned into expanding steam by the scorching heat, and the exploding firewood splashed out star-like sparks to the outside world. They embraced the world with great heat, but they didn't go far before they lost their light and heat, leaving only the soulless ashes floating in the office–
A deep blue light crossed the distance of the entire office, and Tom wrapped in the blue light slowly floated in the air, followed by a dazzling flash, like a fast-forward shot of a tree growing, a slightly meaty and skinny head grew out, followed by the body and limbs. A moment later, a man wearing an old wizard's robe, with hair as tangled as seaweed, appeared in the office.
Remus and Sirius's eyes met in mid-air, and they looked at each other, one was a fugitive on the run from the law, and the other was a werewolf who had finally found a short-lived place to stay.
The once spirited friends, twelve years later, had become rotten and withered. They had lost their youth, their innocence, and their trust. They had nothing to say to each other, only silence, resentment, and hatred.
There was no greeting, no scolding, and after a long time, Remus's face turned pale and he slowly raised his wand at Sirius, and said calmly, "Bryan's clothes don't fit you very well, Sirius–"
At this moment, all the anxiety, regret, and resentment disappeared from Sirius's heart, and the only thing left was exhaustion.
"Yes–this is Watson's old robe, he's a bit taller than me."
Sirius nodded, and pursed his lips, showing a bitter smile that could barely be called a smile.
"You're still so attentive, Remus, you found out my identity with just a small flaw."
Lupin's wand in his hand trembled slightly, and the blood pumped to his brain by his heart still made him feel a bit dizzy, but he tried his best to adjust his breathing and keep himself awake. He had not slept well for days, and he had just gone through a painful transformation under the full moon. He was weak and vulnerable, but he could not afford to let his guard down.
This was not easy, especially for him who was in the weakest period due to his transformation.
"I'm not as good as I used to be–" Lupin's eyes gradually hardened, "otherwise I should have realized something was wrong sooner. But I was lucky enough to figure it out. Yes, Filch helped me a lot, besides you, who else knows where the Marauder's Map ended up. I mean, among the people who are still alive."
Sirius's body also shook a bit, but this was immediately interpreted by Lupin as wanting to resist, and his attitude became tougher. He stretched his wand forward and shouted,
"Don't move, Sirius, raise your hands and put them where I can see them!"
There was no other choice for Sirius. He knew that Lupin would not listen to him, and that any sudden movement could trigger a curse. He had to play along, and hope for a chance to explain.
"Don't get excited, Remus–"But, Sirius didn't raise his hands, he looked upset, "If you're willing to listen to me for a few words, Remus, I can explain to you, although this is not what I intended."
"I do want to hear your explanation, Black–"
Lupin stepped closer to Black, and stood in the middle of the office, pointing his wand at his former friend's eyes, and said, "I think it's better to start with what happened recently. Yes, let's start with how you persuaded Watson to cover for you. Oh, let me think, yes, I almost forgot, you were born in the noble pure-blood family of the Blacks, and you have a lot of money, and Viper- Huh, I have to admit that I was wrong again, he is indeed a scum who can give up his principles for money!"
'Who is Viper?' Sirius felt a bit confused, but at this time, this confusion was obviously trivial.
"Actually, Bryan Watson is more noble than you think, Remus–"
Sirius said with a strained face, "I did try to use galleons to make him let me go, but he refused!"
"That's surprising–" Lupin sneered, this kind of smile was rare on his face, "then what did you use to buy him off?"
"It was–" Sirius was about to answer subconsciously, but he realized that Lupin had misunderstood, so he said angrily,
"It's not what you think. Don't get excited, Moony, either listen to my explanation quietly, or write a letter to Watson and ask him to come back, he knows everything, he can prove it for me!"
"Don't say that name, Black, you're not worthy!"
Lupin suddenly roared, and he stepped over to Sirius, grabbed his collar and pressed his wand hard against Sirius's forehead.
"You want to call Watson back!
Huh? For what? Ah, yes, you know he's powerful, you know I'm not his match, you want him to kill me, don't you, Black!"
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