Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 381: Lupin and Black

For the next few days, there was only one topic of conversation throughout the school: Sirius Black. The stories about how he had broken into the castle grew increasingly wild.

Seamus Finnigan from Gryffindor insisted that Black had snuck in disguised as a Dementor… right among the guards. Luna, on the other hand, believed he had been posing as a painting of a goblin that could come and go from the castle at will.

The torn portrait of the Fat Lady was taken down and replaced with that of Sir Cadogan. But the Gryffindor students didn’t seem pleased with him. In the corridors, Kyle constantly overheard them complaining.

“That Sir Cadogan, he spends half his day challenging people to duels…”

“Every time I go to the common room, I have to waste five minutes answering his challenges… because if you ignore him, he just keeps taunting you.”

“He also keeps coming up with the most absurdly complicated passwords—and changes them at least twice a day.”

“I think he’s probably been stuck on the eighth floor too long,” someone commented. “The corridor where Sir Cadogan used to be was pretty much deserted, and none of the other portraits wanted him as a neighbor.”

“Of course, no one wants to put up with someone who only ever talks nonsense,” another agreed.

...

Within just a few days, Sir Cadogan had replaced Sirius Black as the main topic of conversation among Gryffindor students.

”At least heʼs brave,” Fred remarked with a grin over lunch one day. ”No other portrait would take the job, but Sir Cadogan jumped at the chance.”

”And I heard he volunteered,” added George.

They didnʼt truly dislike Sir Cadogan; in fact, sometimes they even taunted him on purpose just to watch him bounce excitedly in his portrait. Kyle, to be honest, was also a bit curious about Sir Cadogan, though the knight was only responsible for guarding the Gryffindor common room and couldnʼt exactly transfer over to Hufflepuff.

Just then, Harry entered the Great Hall, looking a bit glum. Percy trailed after him, glancing around nervously, as if half-expecting a dragon to leap out from behind a pillar and devour Harry on the spot. His odd behavior quickly caught everyone’s attention.

“Oh, here we go… ‘Big Head’ Percy’s at it again,” Fred muttered, rolling his eyes before looking away.

“What’s going on?” Cedric asked, intrigued. “Percy looks extra jittery.”

“It’s because of Harry,” George explained. “Mum wrote to us the other day, asking if we could keep an eye on Harry. And since then, Percy’s been acting like this.”

“You all know the situation between Black and Harry,” Fred leaned in. “Mum—or, well, just about everyone—thinks Black broke into the castle to get to Harry, to avenge his old master.”

The others nodded in understanding.

“No wonder I’ve seen a professor trailing Harry around lately…” Cho mused.

“Not only that,” Cedric added. “Even during Quidditch practice, Madam Hooch has been keeping a close watch.”

”Percy probably fancies himself a professor too,” Fred said with a shrug. ”But really, this is the Great Hall; Black isnʼt about to jump out from under the table.”

He bent down, peering dramatically under the table with a straight face. “Mr. Black, are you here? Fancy a bit of steak?”

His ridiculous antics made several people laugh, including Harry, who managed a smile. Kyle noticed Harry mutter something to Percy, who finally allowed a bit of distance between them, though he still kept a watchful eye.

The first class that day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. After breakfast, Kyle and Kanna headed to the classroom together. Today, Professor Lupin seemed a little off, as if preoccupied. He kept losing track of the lesson and mistakenly called out the wrong studentsʼ names several times. In the end, he abandoned the lecture altogether and had the students pair up to practice the Boggart-Banishing Spell.

Just as the lesson was ending, Professor Lupin called out, ”Kyle, could you stay for a moment? I’d like to ask you something.”

As the others filed out, Kyle glanced around… To be honest, he felt a bit uneasy staying behind with Professor Lupin. Thankfully, there were no wardrobes or suitcases in sight, so there didn’t seem to be any chance of encountering a Boggart or anything else quite as unsettling.

Professor Lupin didn’t seem to notice Kyleʼs unease. He closed the door and, after a long pause, asked, ”Did you see him the other day?”

”Who?”

”Sirius Black.”

”Yes, I did,” Kyle replied with a nod.

”What was he like...” Professor Lupin’s voice dropped to a low tone. ”I mean… did he look like the pictures in the newspapers?”

In that brief question, his expression shifted multiple times—nervousness, disappointment, a flicker of hatred, and then, just barely, a trace of concern.

”You can tell itʼs the same person, but there are differences.” Kyle thought for a moment before continuing. ”He’s incredibly thin, just skin stretched over bone. He’s filthy and unkempt, with sunken eyes… he looks like he’s suffered a lot, probably to avoid getting caught by the Dementors.”

”He deserved it!” Professor Lupin suddenly slammed his fist on the desk, his face full of anger. ”Thirteen years ago, he should have…”

As though he realized he’d said too much, Lupin quickly shut his mouth and took a few deep breaths.

”Sorry, Kyle,” he forced a smile, ”just pretend I was talking nonsense.” He paused, then asked, ”One last question—where did you lose Black before?”

”It was where Professor Dumbledore found us,” Kyle replied. ”Later, we found a hidden passageway behind the tapestry that leads to the fourth floor, so I think that’s how he escaped.”

Kyle shrugged. ”But we figured Filch knew about that passage, so we didn’t bother telling the professors.”

”Yes, Filch does know about that passage... but we searched the fourth floor for hours and found nothing.” Professor Lupin’s eyes narrowed slightly before he looked up again.

”Alright, Kyle. Thank you; we’ve taken up enough time. Go on to your next class. Oh, and don’t worry about being late—I’ll speak with the professor. Which class do you have next?”

”Potions…” Kyle said hesitantly. ”Are you sure you can keep Professor Snape from taking points off my score?”

”Er…” Professor Lupin hesitated, then managed, ”I’ll help you earn the points back in our next class.”