Chapter 85 Hermione's Concerns
In the auditorium, four long school tables were stacked against the wall, and hundreds of purple sleeping bags were spread out on the floor. Not a sound could be heard, and everyone seemed to be asleep.
Under Percy's gesture, Evan slipped into a sleeping bag near the door.
The magical ceiling resembled the night sky, filled with stars. In the dim starlight, Evan saw a slender white origami crane silently flying from the corner of the wall. It hovered in the air and landed precisely in front of him.
The paper crane made a soft noise and transformed into a silver note with Hermione's delicate handwriting. "What were you doing, where have you been for so long?"
The writing was slightly scribbled, revealing the girl's concerns.
Evan pondered for a moment, retrieved his wand from the sleeping bag, and pointed it gently at the paper. The black letters vanished like mist, reassembling into new words.
"I went to look for Crookshanks. I found him on the lawn beside the Forbidden Forest!"
He then used his wand to tap on the paper again. It quickly folded itself into a paper crane that flew back to Hermione.
"Thank goodness you found him! But you didn't have to leave the castle. It's too dangerous. Black could be lurking in the school. You could run into him at any moment."
"Don't worry, I just overheard Dumbledore speaking with Snape. They never found him throughout the castle. Dumbledore believes he's gone."
"How could he do it? He couldn't sneak into the castle so silently and discreetly! The castle was magically built to prevent intruders from sneaking in. Surely he wasn't invisible or flying. Perhaps it's some sort of transformation, using something like the Polyjuice Potion we used last semester or..."
Seeing Hermione's response note, Evan felt he couldn't discuss this topic further. Otherwise, with her intellect, it wouldn't be long before she guessed that Black was an Animagus.
It wasn't appropriate to reveal Black's identity prematurely.
"I don't want to talk about it, it's almost midnight. Why have you stayed awake so late?"
Hermione's face turned red upon Evan's question. Luckily, the auditorium was very dark, so there was no need to worry about being seen.
She couldn't tell Evan that she was waiting for him to return. It was too embarrassing! She hesitated for a moment and touched the note with her wand.
"I was worried that Harry kept saying he saw the black dog again. It was an omen of an unknown death, but obviously it was absurd! And you, being away for so long, so I thought..."
"This little issue is nothing. You forgot that Harry and I also entered the Chamber of Secrets last semester. We defeated the basilisk and Voldemort."
"That's why I was worried. I fear you might go to Black alone. Promise me, Evan, not to do more dangerous things, alright?"
Upon reading Hermione's letter, Evan felt a strange emotion. Though she spoke vaguely, he could sense her fragile heart hidden beneath her strong demeanor. At that moment, Hermione was like any other girl. Girls couldn't help but worry.
He didn't know how to reply.
Whether it was the current situation or Voldemort's return, Evan had a long road ahead filled with dangers and challenges. He couldn't do anything without fearing it might go wrong.
Evan sighed, looked around, and seeing no one paying attention, decided to do something...
In the darkness, Hermione nervously awaited Evan's response, while Harry and Ron around her emitted gentle snores.
Gazing at the stars on the ceiling, her mind unconsciously recalled last year, when the basilisk in the Gryffindor common room leaped at them.
Evan ignored himself and embraced her, turning his back to the Basilisk.
This image repeated in Hermione's mind. She knew she would never forget that for the rest of her life.
Suddenly, she felt something approaching her. Hermione looked up and was surprised to see Evan's sleeping bag silently sliding towards her.
As Evan reached where Hermione was, he reached out to tap her sleeping bag, to reassure her.
Unexpectedly, his hand found another small, soft, and cold hand in the darkness.
The next moment, Evan noticed that his hand was firmly held.
The other hand trembled slightly but seemed unwilling to let go.
At that instant, in the secret passageway beneath the Whomping Willow towards the Shrieking Shack, Lupin was carefully advancing. With his wand emitting a faint light, he inspected his surroundings.
He never imagined he would have the opportunity to return there and walk again through the secret path he once traveled countless times.
Everything was as it used to be. It felt like he had returned to his old days at Hogwarts over two decades ago, the best days of his life.
Before going to Hogwarts, Lupin never had friends.
When he was four years old, his father offended Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf. In retaliation, the werewolves attacked him. Since then, Lupin became a werewolf.
Because of this identity, everyone shunned him. Wherever he went, he faced discrimination. Lupin still remembers asking his father why he did it, but his father said nothing, just held himself, silently weeping.
At that moment, Lupin secretly vowed never to cry again, no matter what he faced.
Before he turned eleven, his life was dull and colorless.
Lupin thought he couldn't go to Hogwarts like other children, and that other parents wouldn't want their children near a werewolf. But then, Dumbledore gave him hope.
Dumbledore ordered a willow to be planted on the school grounds and used it to conceal the passage to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade.
Every time he had a full moon night, he went there.
It was to protect the safety of the other students because after his transformation, he became very brutal, and the people of Hogsmeade heard noises and screams, thinking it was a fierce spirit. Dumbledore encouraged spreading such rumors to keep people away from the Shrieking Shack and thus protect everyone's safety.
Lupin still remembers the days when he feared his classmates knowing his identity. He kept this secret from everyone.
With every full moon, he had to pretend to his classmates that he was visiting a sick mother or something similar.
Then he came here alone and turned into a brutal monster in the Shrieking Shack, hitting, smashing, and howling in the cabin.
Although he tried to hide it, several classmates quickly guessed the truth of the matter.
At that moment, Lupin felt he was definitely doomed and would surely be expelled from Hogwarts and return to a colorless life.
But James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black accepted him and became his first friends in life. They even studied becoming Animagi for that purpose. After the fifth year, they would stay with him every full moon night.
They were with him during those years at Hogwarts. With their presence, Lupin did not feel bad about becoming a werewolf.
He has always wished that time would freeze in those moments.