Chapter 130 Not The Usual Rum

In the crowd, Fred and George exchanged glances, and a smile appeared at the corners of their lips.

Before they knew it, the two headed straight for the relaxed Professor Lupin.

"You look so handsome, Professor!" Fred approached and hugged him.

"Yes, this is the best disguise I've seen you wear!" George also came closer and embraced Lupin.

Fred and George laughed as if they were at a masquerade party. They exchanged some jokes with Lupin, gradually easing the atmosphere.

Behind them, other Gryffindor students also approached to hug Lupin.

Just before the embrace, the terrifying gaze of their professor made them nervous as if they were being led to their death. But afterwards, they displayed a sense of honor and pride like never before. Their fear of the werewolf faded, and even Colin took a picture of Professor Lupin.

Dumbledore, Fudge, and the other professors remained silent. They watched in silence as the Gryffindor students approached to hug Lupin in his werewolf form.

Except for Dumbledore, who had a faint smile on his face, all the others were astonished to witness a scene they had never seen before in their lives: a terrifying werewolf standing there silently with tears, and in front of him, young wizards lining up to hug him. Each whispered words of encouragement to Prof. Lupin.

It was absolutely overwhelming to witness an event akin to "One Thousand and One Nights" unfolding in real life.

They were setting aside discrimination and prejudices, believing in and embracing the werewolf with absolute confidence.

Only young wizards could do such a thing, and perhaps it could only happen at Hogwarts.

They all approached one after another. The last one was Ginny, whose tear-filled eyes were very red.

Needless to say, she had been the one who had cried the most among the frightened.

After learning that Evan and Hermione had been attacked by a werewolf, she was so afraid that Lupin had lost control and would attack Ron and Harry.

Now that she found out it had all been a misunderstanding, she felt truly ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Professor!" said Ginny as she approached to hug Lupin, her face completely flushed, "I shouldn't have shouted at you. I shouldn't have called you a monster. I hope you can forgive me!"

Ginny finished her words and hugged Professor Lupin tightly.

She then approached Hermione. Now, except for Ron, all the Gryffindor students were behind Professor Lupin and all chose to trust him.

Anticipation filled the air as all eyes were on Ron, who stood in a corner, waiting to join them.

As time passed, the anticipation on their faces gradually faded. All the Gryffindor students were truly surprised that he didn't approach. In fact, he didn't move at all. He stood alone in the corner with his head down, and they didn't know what was going through his mind.

Besides Ron, the students from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin remained in their places. None of them approached to hug Professor Lupin.

"Ron, what are you waiting for? Come on!" Harry said anxiously. That night, he had felt that Ron was acting stranger than ever.

"I can't! It's not safe!" Ron abruptly lifted his head and responded sharply. "He'll bite us. He's a werewolf!"

"Professor Lupin is safe!" Harry shouted angrily. "Didn't you hear what Evan said? The Wolfsbane potion helps him maintain his mind!"

"No, he attacked me..."

"Please, Ron!" Hermione also looked at Ron, her eyes shining with crystal tears. "Please, wake up! There must be a misunderstanding here!"

"I don't see any misunderstanding," Malfoy suddenly said, with a malicious smile on his lips.

"Only fools would believe in a werewolf, even if he were taking some kind of ridiculous potion!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry said fiercely. "Ron, what the hell are you doing? Are you just going to believe Malfoy's lies?"

"I only believe in my own eyes, Harry," Ron said monotone. "It did happen. It's not safe. Before you came in, the werewolf was ready to attack me. We should have him locked up in Azkaban."

Evan looked at Ron with surprise and felt that something was truly off.

Ron's behavior tonight had been too unusual. And he was the first to arrive at the scene, so his testimony was crucial.

Evan had made it clear enough to prove that Professor Lupin was innocent. He informed everyone that he was taking the Polyjuice Potion. All the Gryffindor students stood by the professor. They were Ron's family and best friends. Yet, Ron insisted on accusing Lupin. This was not the Ron Evan knew.

And then there was Lucius Malfoy, who had been standing sneering, with his plan to oust Dumbledore from the school.

That used to be impossible to achieve on any day. But it had become unusually easy that night. As long as it could be proven that Lupin was attacking students, Dumbledore would have to take responsibility. He would have to resign his position under the pressure of concerned parents, amidst the looming revolt of werewolves.

After all, it was he who hired Professor Lupin as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

This should be the basis of Lucius's conspiracy. But Evan did not believe it was that simple.

He did not know where Lucius had discovered Lupin's secret. After all, many people knew it.

It was not important. The key to Lucius's plan was to prove that Professor Lupin was as dangerous as other werewolves. For that to happen, Lupin should actually attack the students.

That was the only way Lucius's conspiracy would work.

If the student Professor Lupin was accused of attacking was a Slytherin, Evan would have understood that, fitting well with his idea of a possible conspiracy.

But the last person he expected to help Lucius was Ron. Everything seemed to point to Ron. With his recent behavior, Evan clearly felt that something was wrong with him.

It was the same feeling he had had the previous year when Tom Riddle controlled Ron.

Evan suddenly understood, Ron shouldn't be...

In the office, Harry felt betrayed hearing Ron's response.

It was similar to what he felt when trying to imagine his parents being betrayed by his best friend, Sirius Black.

Devastated, he burst into tears.

He wiped away the tears forcefully, feeling more anger in his heart than ever.

"You're lying. Professor Lupin didn't harm us at any point. He didn't attack anyone!" Harry shouted frantically.

"You should shut up, Potter. Stop yelling like a brainless troll," Malfoy said with a sly smile. "As I see it, Weasley is making the wisest decision! Anyone with a bit of intelligence would never take even half a step toward the monster beside you!"

Malfoy was right. Besides the Gryffindor students, no one had sided with Professor Lupin.

It meant they didn't trust him. They didn't believe he was safe in his werewolf form.

Everything Evan and the rest of the Gryffindor students had done had been in vain.