“Professor, why would I want to find Black?!” Harry asked slowly in a skeptical tone. “He escaped from Azkaban to kill me, didn’t he? He came to find me and get his revenge for Voldemort, isn’t that the case?”
“Yes, that’s the way it is.” Prof. Lupin’s expression was somewhat unnatural. He subconsciously avoided Harry’s gaze.
“But that is certainly not the whole truth. I can feel that you are hiding something from me!” Harry continued staring at Professor Lupin.
“There’s nothing at all……”
“Professor, I’m not a child anymore!” Harry said quickly, “You once told me that you were my father’s friend, and that you were also very familiar with Black. You must know something! Why does Black want to kill me? Why do you want me not to look for him?”
Hearing Harry, Professor Lupin went silent for a moment, then said: “Harry, there are things that I shouldn’t tell you. I don’t have such qualification.”
“So you just avoid me and say nothing, as if I were a fool!” Harry took a deep breath and said in a lost, sad voice. “Professor, when the Dementors approached me, I saw and heard something, you know?”
Professor Lupin shook his head and looked worried.
“I could hear my mother screaming and entreating Voldemort. If you heard my mother screaming like that before being killed, you wouldn’t forget it.” Harry’s eyes were red “I can feel it, Professor; Black has something to do with my parents’ death! Malfoy once told me: “If I were you, I would choose revenge. I would find him by myself!”…”
“Harry, Malfoy was talking nonsense…” Hermione said worried.
“No, he must have known something.” Harry shouted, looking back at Professor Lupin. “Please Professor, tell me the truth, for my parents!”
Professor Lupin’s expression was very sad. Harry’s words greatly touched him. He looked at Harry and vaguely seemed to see his former friend, James.
“I need to talk to you alone, Harry!” Lupin sighed. “You’re right. We shouldn’t keep 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 stood in the dark hall following them with their eyes anxiously.
“Evan, what do you think Professor Lupin would say to Harry?” asked Hermione.
“Anything about his parents’ past is possible.” Evan thought for a moment and didn’t know how much Lupin was going to tell Harry. He was afraid that Harry wouldn’t take it well at that time.
“Well, can you wait for Harry in the Common room? I still feel that there’s something wrong.” Hermione said in an uncertain tone. “Ron and I will go to Hogsmeade to buy everyone’s Christmas gifts.”
“I’m going to look for Scabbers!” Ron, who hadn’t spoken yet, suddenly talked, with a dull and monotonous tone.
“Ron?!” Hermione wanted to tell Ron not to worry about his rat and that it would be back by itself.
But when she saw Ron’s appearance, she hesitated and said nothing.
Because of Crookshanks, she felt very awkward dealing with the rat’s issue.
“I’m going to look for Scabbers!” Ron repeated again, not caring about Evan and Hermione’s reaction, he then went back to the tower.
Under the torchlight, his silhouette seemed extremely gloomy and strange.
Evan frowned and looked at Ron. The latter’s behaviour was too unusual today. Whether it was when facing Snape or Professor Lupin, he was too calm and different from the Ron that he knew.
And how did Ron know that the parchment was the Marauder’s Map?!
“What’s the matter with Ron?!” Hermione said in surprise.
“I can’t go to Hogsmeade alone. There are so many things to buy. I won’t be able to handle it!”
“If you do not mind, I can accompany you, Hermione,” Evan suggested.
“No, Evan, you will be discovered by professors.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve been there many times and I’m very familiar with the Hogsmeade stores. I just have to avoid being noticed by Filch.” Evan picked up the schoolbag in his hand. “Moreover, Harry’s invisibility cloak is still here.”
“But…”
Hermione was hesitant. She knew that Evan had been to Hogsmeade many times before, and that unlike Harry, Evan didn’t have to worry about Sirius Black and the Dementors.
Since there was not much risk, and he would not be discovered by professors, it seemed that she had no real reason to oppose it.
Although it might violate school rules, Hermione was no longer as strict as she used to be when she first entered school. After all, she couldn’t even count the times that she violated the rules herself.
Hermione’s also had a strange feeling deep down in her heart that she could not tell.
She hoped that Evan could accompany her to Hogsmeade, especially on Christmas Eve.
“I’ll take the secret passage beneath the one-eyed witch statue on the third floor, Hermione.” Evan said in a relaxed tone. “The secret passage leads to the Honeydukes Sweetshop. You can wait for me there. See you soon!”
Evan left the hall and quickly walked behind the one-eyed witch statue on the third floor. He looked around in the hallway and didn’t find any one besides him.
“Dissendium!” Evan gently knocked on the stone witch.
The hump on the statue immediately opened just wide enough for a small person to slide down to the hidden passageway.
Evan climbed into the hole and then moved forward.
Compared with this narrow secret passage, he preferred the more spacious one behind the large mirror on the Fourth floor. He passed through that passage to Hogsmeade last semester.
But just a few days after the start of the school year, Fred and George told him that the secret passage collapsed and was completely blocked. Now, among all the routes in the castle that lead to Hogsmeade, the one he’s taking now was the only one left that’s unknown to Filch.
Evan slipped a long way forward. This road was just like a stone slide. Then he fell into a cold, damp land.
He stood up and looked around, and found only darkness.
“Lumos!” Evan raised his wand.
The path in front of his eyes was curved, it was no different from a rabbit’s tunnel.
Evan hurriedly walked, and because of the unevenness of the ground, he was staggering from time to time. He held his wand in front of him all the way.
About an hour later, Evan reached the bottom of a broken stairs, and found that the stone steps stretched out to where he could not see.
He rested for a while, gasped, and began to climb upwards. One hundred, two hundred steps, Evan climbed the stairs, putting all his attention on his feet. After over three thousand steps, he slammed into something hard.
It was a floor door. Evan pushed it open and climbed out.
When he came out of the floor door, he smelled a strong odor of blood, as if there was a dead body hidden in the cellar.