Chapter 237 The Innocent Sirius
Chapter 237 The Innocent Sirius
Chapter 238 The Innocent Sirius
While Professors Siron and McGonagall were working on their papers, Professor Lupin had already returned to his Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
A moment later, the door opened again, and Professor Lu Ping came out first. After confirming that no one was at either end of the corridor, he waved to the person behind him.
A black dog, almost half a person's height, walked out of the office and followed closely behind Lupin downstairs.
After lunch, the students, having eaten and drunk their fill, preferred to stay in their dormitories to rest and play a couple more games of Wizard's Chess before afternoon classes, so the castle was almost deserted.
This was exactly what Lupin wanted to see. He jogged all the way to the first-floor lobby, and just as he was about to leave the castle, a cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the corner.
"Aww!"
Mrs. Lorris blocked Lupin's path, looking at him suspiciously, as well as the big black dog following behind.
Especially the black dog; Mrs. Lorris smelled a familiar scent on it—very faint, not obvious, but it evoked a not-so-pleasant memory.
Instinctively, Mrs. Lorris arched her back, baring her sharp teeth and claws at Sirius.
"Oh damn, this cat probably doesn't remember you." Lupin lowered his voice and asked in as low a voice as possible, "I said before that what you did was really going too far by shaving its fur, sticking owl feathers on it, and hanging it outside the tower."
"Look at you now, you've been out of school for over a decade, and Mrs. Lorris still recognizes you!"
The black dog blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.
Okay, he did do those things, with James.
Although Mrs. Lorris was just a very young kitten back then, she was just as annoying as she is now.
Every time he and James went out at night, they would be bothered by it. In a fit of anger, he and James plotted a revenge operation - they shaved all the hair off Mrs. Lorris, glued on some feathers they had found, and put it on the Astronomical Tower to pretend it was an owl.
It wasn't until two days later that the frantic Filch finally found it.
But that was over a decade ago. Is this cat really that vengeful? Besides, he and Jaime were punished back then, locked up for a whole week, spending their days either cleaning the castle or scrubbing cauldrons that had been abandoned for who knows how many years.
Speaking of Filch, he's here too.
"Mrs. Lorris, who have you caught this time!" He strode over from the other side of the corridor.
However, upon seeing that the person standing there was Professor Lu Ping, a clear look of disappointment appeared on his face.
"Is it you?"
“Yes, it’s me,” Lupin said. “Mr. Warden, I don’t think there’s any rule at Hogwarts that forbids professors from leaving the castle at noon.”
"No, Professor Lupin," Filch said, his tone completely lacking the respect he showed to the other professors.
"That's good," Lupin said, patting the black dog's neck beside him and leading it around Mrs. Lorris. He casually remarked, "It's not quite up to par with ordinary animals, but it's good for teaching first-year students."
Filch kept his eyes on Lupin until he walked out of the castle, at which point he revealed a look of disgust.
"Hmph, the professor is putting on quite a show." He snorted and turned into a side corridor. "Let's go, Mrs. Lorris, it's time for your lunch."
Meanwhile, Lupin, having left the castle, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Mrs. Lorris couldn't speak, and Filch didn't suspect anything, otherwise they would have been in trouble.
The two did not go directly to the Screaming Shack via the Willow Tree, as it was still daytime and doing so would likely be seen by the people inside the castle.
So Lupin took Sirius to the Forbidden Forest.
This place is far enough from the castle and large enough to be a perfect temporary hideout. Besides, it's perfectly normal to have a stray dog in the Forbidden Forest; even if someone sees it, it won't arouse suspicion.
To Lupin's surprise, Sirius seemed to know the area better than he did. After wandering around the Forbidden Forest for a while, Sirius led him to a simple thatched hut.
That's not right either.
Lupin glanced at the dry straw on the ground; it looked more like a doghouse than a thatched hut.
"I've been living here since last year." Sirius Black returned to his original form and sat skillfully on the straw.
"What on earth is going on?" Lupin finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "You actually have a home in the Forbidden Forest, and you also have Siren Ollivander. How did he know about you? What's your relationship?"
"You're asking too many questions, Remus," Sirius said. "Well, even if you hadn't asked, I was going to tell you anyway."
"I met Siron a few months ago. He's also an Animagus, so when we first met,
He knew I was a wizard and recognized me.
"Wait, wait, what did you just say?" Lupin interrupted Sirius. "Sirlen is only thirteen, isn't she—Animagus?"
"Yes, I didn't want to believe it either, but I saw him turn into a cat with my own eyes," Sirius said with a wry smile. "Not only that,..."
He was also a wizard with a talent for prophecy—"
Sirius told Lupin everything that happened that day, including how Lupin later sold him the wand and gave him the Marauder's Map.
As Lupin listened, his doubts only grew.
He only listened once and found too many unreasonable points, the most unreasonable of which was Xilun's request.
He said he wanted something from Black's old house, which is why he helped Sirius.
At first glance, this statement seems fine; it's just a matter of mutual benefit, which is perfectly normal.
But how did Celen know that what he wanted was in the Blake family's old house?
Like most old pure-blood families, Black rarely allowed outsiders to set foot in their old house; even he and James had never been there.
Not to mention that after Sirius was imprisoned in Azkaban, Black's old house was completely cut off from the outside world, and no one could enter it anymore.
If that's the case, how could thirteen-year-old Xilun know what was there?
Lupin became increasingly puzzled as he thought about it, and the matter of his prophetic talent was also full of illogical points, practically riddled with loopholes.
But Sirius Black, and perhaps only Sirius Black himself, would find this very reasonable.
Seeing that Lupin remained silent, Sirius couldn't help but ask, "Remus, what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing." Lupin shook his head, not revealing his discovery.
After all, it seems that Sirius Black also wants to help Sirius, and that's enough.
As for whether he had any other motives, we'll have to wait and see. Lupin looked at Sirius's "innocent" face and felt a wave of exhaustion, so he couldn't help but rub his forehead.
Why would he need to know these things?
MM Racing