svetikya Chapter 146 The Torn Portrait and the Fat Lady's Escape
Chapter 146 The Torn Portrait and the Fat Lady's Escape
Chapter 147 The Torn Portrait and the Fat Lady's Escape
Picking up where we left off, Lupin recounted his past, and Hermione, after scrutinizing him for a moment, declared with certainty that there was something fishy about what he was saying.
Ron was startled. He processed Lupin's words again, then asked, bewildered, "Hermione, are you overthinking this? Professor Lupin's words weren't wrong, were they?"
Hermione raised her hand to shield Harry and Ron behind her, squinting as she said, "He has too many questions, he's a complete liar!"
"Since you were able to determine that the three of us were stronger than your contemporaries, it means you possessed self-awareness when you transformed into a werewolf!"
"I've never heard of a werewolf being able to think like a human after transforming!"
These words were like a wake-up call. Upon hearing this, Ron exclaimed, "That's right! Professor Lupin just said that the werewolf, capable of killing more than a dozen students, was only in a state of irrationality."
Harry frowned. "Does Uncle have anything to say?"
"Well, Hermione, you really are the most perceptive young wizard I've ever met."
Lupin raised his hands, adopting a humble and submissive posture. "When I became a werewolf, I did retain my self-awareness; otherwise, I wouldn't have only thought of running away when faced with the three of you attacking me."
"However, the reason I was able to remain conscious was because I drank the wolfsbane potion."
Listen, dear reader: It turns out that the werewolf group gradually increased in number, and every full moon, they would transform into wolf bodies and cause trouble.
Throughout history, heroes have often shown compassion. A cunning potion master, having thoroughly explored the mysteries of the universe, concocted a wolfsbane potion. While this potion could not suppress the transformation, it could lock in a sliver of clarity in the mind, allowing the werewolf to retain full awareness even after its bones and fur had been replaced.
If one drinks this elixir seven days before the full moon, one can howl at the moon without going mad, and though transformed, one's heart remains steadfast. Truly, one's wolfish form remains unchanged, one's courage endures the vicissitudes of life with composure!
After Lupin finished speaking, Harry's thoughts shifted, and he exclaimed in surprise, "So, the guy who concocted the wolfsbane potion with Uncle is Snape?"
Lupin nodded dejectedly and said, "That's right, I gave most of my salary to Professor Snape to buy the raw materials for making the wolfsbane potion."
"This stuff is really expensive."
As the saying goes, "Words must be spoken to be understood, and wood must be drilled to be penetrated." Now that Lupin had spoken frankly, Harry and the others were all relieved.
"No! You're still lying!"
Hermione suddenly spoke again, asking sternly, "When you were in school, you lived in the dorms and had to go to the empty Shrieking Shack to transform during the full moon. But now you have your own private office, why don't you take care of it there?"
"And wasn't that wolf howl we heard when we arrived tonight yours? Since you can maintain a clear sense of self, why would you make that sound?"
Harry and Ron pondered for a moment, both looking suspicious, and turned to look at Lupin.
"Oh... Hermione, you're being a little too perceptive."
Lupin rubbed his face and mumbled, "I was bitten by a werewolf when I was four years old because my father offended Fenrir Greyback, and he wanted revenge on my father."
"When I was young, I thought turning into a werewolf was disgusting, but after doing it many times, I gradually developed a different kind of feeling. Roaring at the moon felt really good..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ron, who was already stunned, finally murmured after a long while, "So... you came to the screaming booth tonight specifically to vent?"
"Congratulations, Ron, five points added to Gryffindor."
Hermione nodded. "I have one more question."
"Merlin's beard," Lupin sighed. "Hermione, please ask all the questions at once. I have nothing left to hide."
Hermione blushed slightly and coughed lightly, "If I remember correctly, werewolves only turn back into human form when the full moon ends."
After saying that, she pointed to the sky, "But the moon is still very round, so why can you turn back into human form?"
"Ah, that's simple. A full moon doesn't last all night; it's just that the subtle changes are hard to discern with the naked eye."
"If you observe the moon with a telescope now, you'll find that it has actually changed a little bit."
"This is also why ancient prophets always kept a few werewolves by their side; werewolves themselves were a highly sophisticated astronomical instrument."
Harry merely snorted, "What werewolves? Anyone who dares to speak disrespectfully to my second uncle will first have to eat three hundred of my ring-wielding knives!"
"Thank you, Harry," Lupin said with a smile. "I was actually quite afraid that once you knew I was a werewolf, you would distance yourself from me."
Upon hearing this, Harry pounded his chest loudly and roared in a booming voice, "Second Uncle, you look down on me far too much! How could a man as upright as me do such a disloyal and unfilial thing?"
"Please, sir, be magnanimous. You see me serving you plump chickens and ducks every day. If I were to lack even the slightest bit of filial piety, I'd get boils on my lips and pus oozing from my feet!"
Hearing Harry's words, Lupin felt a burning sensation in his heart, as if his lungs were being fried in boiling oil. Even this seasoned man, who had weathered many storms, was moved by these heartfelt words, his ears burning, and he could only manage a few coherent words.
"Ahem! We need to get back to school quickly, or Professor Dumbledore will get worried."
After Lupin returned to the Shrieking Shack and changed his robes, he called Harry and the others over, lifted the rug, and pulled open a trapdoor.
"This is a secret passage that Professor Dumbledore helped build, leading directly to the outside of Hogwarts Castle."
Harry frowned upon hearing this. "So, that sly bird Black also knows this path?"
"...Of course, he did know, which is why Professor Dumbledore allowed Dementors to be stationed in the school."
Having said that, he cast a glowing spell and jumped down.
Harry and his two companions followed closely behind, and after walking for about an hour, they came to a wooden door.
Ron was about to step forward and grab him when Lupin grabbed his wrist and shook his head, saying, "Don't be so reckless, Ron. We're currently inside the Willow."
"If you just go out like this, the best outcome will be that you'll spend half a month lying in the school hospital."
Ron was startled. "This leads to the Willow of the Beating Man?!"
"Professor Lupin, how did you get to school?"
"Ah, this brings us to the topic we didn't finish discussing on the train."
"Peter's Animagus is a rat, and if we want to get through the willow, he'll run up to the trunk and press a scab on it."
"That was the key to calming down the man-beating willow."
Having said that, Lupin tapped his wand, causing a pebble on the ground to transform into the shape of a mouse, which then disappeared in a flash.
Ron, looking at the rat with spotted spots, sighed and said, "If only Spots were still here."
"I shouldn't have given it a whole bottle of aphrodisiacs."
Lupin blurted out, "That skyrocket?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he realized what he meant and hurriedly said, "Oh, sorry, Ron, I was just thinking about having that stone rat press the scab."
Ron waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright, Professor Lupin. That's what everyone calls him now."
Lu Ping felt ashamed and said no more. He told the stone rat to press the scab over, then pushed open the door and left.
He escorted Harry and his two companions all the way to the Gryffindor common room. When they arrived, they saw three deep, piercing knife wounds, the silk fabric torn and curled like fangs. The vermilion color had faded completely, and the fat lady who should have been sitting there was nowhere to be seen, leaving only an empty picture frame, casting a sinister, ghostly aura on the wall!
A strange tale unfolds: A mural of violence appears, a hidden killing field lurks within the academy. Hogwarts, once a place of splendor, is now a mask for bloodshed! And what becomes of the fat lady? Find out in the next chapter.
(End of this chapter)