Chapter 105 The Hidden Truth
"Professor, why would I want to find Black?" asked Harry slowly, with a skeptical tone. "He escaped from Azkaban to kill me, right? He came to find me and seek revenge on behalf of Voldemort, isn't that so?"
"Yes, that's right." Professor Lupin's expression was somewhat forced. He unconsciously avoided Harry's gaze.
"But that certainly isn't the whole truth. I feel like you're hiding something from me!" Harry continued to stare intently at Professor Lupin.
"There's nothing at all..."
"Professor, I'm no longer a child! You once told me you were a friend of my father's and that you also knew Black very well. You must know something! Why does Black want to kill me? Why don't you want me to search for him?"
Upon hearing Harry, Professor Lupin fell silent for a moment, then said, "Harry, there are things I shouldn't tell you. I don't have the authorization."
"So you simply evade me and say nothing, as if I were a fool!" Harry took a deep breath and spoke with a lost and sad voice. "Professor, when the Dementors approached me, I saw and heard something, you know?"
Professor Lupin shook his head, looking worried.
"I could hear my mother screaming and pleading with Voldemort. If you had heard my mother scream in that way before she was killed, you wouldn't forget it." Harry's eyes were red. "I can sense it, professor; Black has something to do with the death of my parents! Malfoy once told me: 'If I were you, I would seek revenge. I would find him on my own!'..."
"Harry, Malfoy was talking nonsense..." said Hermione, worried.
"No, he must have known something." Harry shouted, looking back at Professor Lupin. "Please, professor, tell me the truth, for my parents' sake!"
Professor Lupin looked very sad. Harry's words deeply moved him. He looked at Harry and vaguely seemed to see his old friend, James.
"I need to talk to you alone, Harry." Lupin sighed. "You're right. We shouldn't hide it from you. If his son doesn't know about Sirius, James will be disappointed."
Lupin led Harry to his office. Evan, Hermione, and Ron remained in the dark hallway, watching them anxiously.
"Evan, what do you think Professor Lupin will tell Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Anything about his parents' past is possible." Evan thought for a moment and wasn't sure how much Lupin would reveal to Harry. He was worried that Harry might not take it well at that moment.
"Well, can you wait for Harry in the Common Room? I still feel something is off." Hermione spoke in an uncertain tone. "Ron and I will go to Hogsmeade to buy Christmas gifts for everyone."
"I'm going to look for Scabbers!" Ron, who hadn't spoken yet, suddenly spoke, with a dull and monotonous tone.
"Ron?!" Hermione wanted to tell Ron not to worry about his rat and that it would come back on its own.
But seeing Ron's appearance, she hesitated and said nothing.
Due to Crookshanks, she felt very uncomfortable bringing up the topic of the rat.
"I'm going to look for Scabbers!" Ron repeated, regardless of Evan and Hermione's reaction, then headed back to the tower. In the torchlight, his silhouette seemed extremely dark and strange.
Evan frowned and looked at Ron. The latter's behavior was too unusual that day. Whether facing Snape or Professor Lupin, he was too calm and different from the Ron he knew.
And how did Ron know that the parchment was the Marauder's Map?!
"What's wrong with Ron?!" Hermione said, surprised.
"I can't go to Hogsmeade alone. There are so many things to buy. I won't be able to handle it!"
"If you don't mind, I can accompany you, Hermione," Evan suggested.
"No, Evan, you'll be caught by the professors."
"I don't think so. I've been there many times and I'm very familiar with the shops in Hogsmeade. I just have to avoid being seen by Filch," Evan grabbed his school bag. "Besides, Harry's invisibility cloak is still here."
"But..."
Hermione hesitated. She knew that Evan had been to Hogsmeade many times before and, unlike Harry, Evan didn't have to worry about Sirius Black and the Dementors.
Since there wasn't much risk and he wouldn't be caught by the professors, it seemed like he really had no grounds to object.
Although he might be breaking the school rules, Hermione was not as strict as she used to be when she first entered the school. After all, she couldn't even count the times she herself had broken the rules.
Hermione also had a strange feeling deep in her heart that she couldn't explain.
She hoped that Evan could accompany her to Hogsmeade, especially on Christmas Eve.
"I will take the secret passage under the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor, Hermione," Evan said in a relaxed tone. "The secret passage leads to Honeydukes sweet shop. You can wait for me there. See you soon!"
Evan left the corridor and quickly walked behind the one-eyed witch statue on the third floor. He looked around the corridor and found no one but himself.
"Dissendium!" Evan softly tapped the stone witch.
The hump on the statue immediately opened enough for a small person to slide through the hidden passageway.
Evan squeezed into the hole and moved forward.
Compared to this narrow secret passage, he preferred the more spacious one behind the large mirror on the fourth floor. He had used that passage to Hogsmeade last semester.
But a few days after the start of the school year, Fred and George informed him that the secret passage had collapsed and was completely blocked. Now, among all the routes in the castle leading to Hogsmeade, the one he was taking was the only one Filch was unaware of.
Evan slipped forward. This path was like a stone slide. Then he landed on cold, damp ground.
He stood up, glanced around, and saw only darkness.
"Lumos!" Evan raised his wand.
The path in front of his eyes was winding, resembling a rabbit hole.
Evan walked hastily, stumbling occasionally due to the uneven ground. He kept his wand in front of him all the time.
An hour later, Evan reached the foot of some broken stairs and realized that the stone steps extended beyond his sight.
He rested for a while, panting, and began to climb. One hundred, two hundred steps, Evan ascended the stairs, focusing all his attention on his feet. After more than three thousand steps, he collided with something hard.
It was a door in the floor. Evan pushed it open and emerged.
When he emerged through the door in the floor, he detected a strong smell of blood, as if there was a hidden corpse in the cellar.