Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

Upon hearing this news, Harry thought he would be nervous, but instead he had a feeling of "I see, that makes sense".

Ever since he saw the name Peter Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map, he has been looking for related information.

When he learned that this person was a close friend of his parents, he already had a bad feeling.

He had never heard of this person before, because in everyone's mind, Peter Pettigrew was already dead.

The report described how "people all over the street" witnessed his death.

But the fact that he appeared on the map so quietly and disguised himself as a rat in Ron's house for so long can only prove that there were other hidden circumstances surrounding his death back then.

Because of Peter Pettigrew's "death" back then, others believed that Sirius Black betrayed Harry's parents.

If Peter Pettigrew had stood up and told the truth, Sirius Black might have had a different fate, and people would have heard a different version of the story from him.

Harry once had such expectations in his heart and had related dreams.

For some reason, he just felt a strong sense of kinship with Sirius Black.

He was extremely angry when he learned that the man was the murderer of his parents.

When he learned that there might be more to the story, he seemed very expectant, and he had high hopes for Sirius Black from the bottom of his heart.

He had asked Hermione and Lin Xia what was going on.

The two gave slightly different answers, but the core idea was the same.

Dreams are actually another extension of one's own thoughts.

Wizards' dreams are different from ordinary people's dreams; they may subtly foreshadow the future.

With this question in mind, he kept searching for the answer until this moment.

Harry finally learns the truth about what happened back then from Sirius Black.

Compared to Harry's dazed state, incoherent speech, and stunned expression upon hearing the truth, Hermione responded with remarkable sharpness:

"That's just your side of the story. You're a prisoner in Azkaban, and many wizards believe you're the murderer who betrayed the Potters."

If I remember correctly, Peter Pettigrew is dead. All your claims are unverifiable; how can we believe you?

Hermione deliberately omitted the fact that she also knew about the names on the Marauder's Map.

She also put in a lot of effort in finding information about Peter Pettigrew; half of the information Harry knew came from her.

However, she still deliberately said it to trick Sirius into revealing information.

Sirius Black pointed at the mouse that was desperately trying to get into Ron's arms and said excitedly, "Go attack it and see if it turns back into its original form!"

The mouse Banban, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, sensed something, sprang out, and rushed in another direction, but was blocked by an invisible magic wall.

These magic walls were all imprisoning spells set up by Lin Xia using a staffless spell.

Because it is a silent and staffless spell, the power is not great, but it is more than enough to withstand a mid-level wizard.

Unless a wizard has already reached a high level, they can break through easily.

However, even Lin Xia did not expect that Peter Pettigrew, who had been disguised as a mouse, was actually so powerful.

Years of disguise had clearly weakened his body, yet he moved nimbly when breaking through the magic wall, rushing out as easily as puncturing sheets of paper.

The isolation magic she set up did not hinder him in any way, and could not even withstand it for a second.

Seeing this, Lin Xia raised an eyebrow.

She was certain that Peter Pettigrew was still maintaining the strength of a high-level wizard, a strength he had only achieved after more than a decade of disguise.

How strong would he have been at his peak more than a decade ago?

Could it be that Peter Pettigrew was the most powerful among those people back then?

Hermione reacted the fastest, immediately drawing her wand and aiming it at Scabbers, unleashing spell after spell, but they all hit the ground and were perfectly dodged by the rat.

Ron and Harry realized what was happening and joined the fight, casting spells on the rat.

But this mouse was very perceptive of danger and, thanks to its agile physique, always managed to evade their attacks.

If it hadn't been too slow to react to Ron's magic, it might not have been hit at all.

Suddenly, a loud voice rang in the ears of all the young wizards, accompanied by a flash of magic—

"Stabilizing spell!"

The rat, Spotted, was hit head-on and suddenly froze in place, motionless.

Everyone looked over in astonishment and discovered that Professor Lu Ping had entered at some point.

"Professor Lupine?"

The young wizards gasped in surprise as Professor Lupin and Sirius exchanged a glance, and the next second, they embraced each other excitedly.

Judging from their appearance, the two seem to have known each other for a long time!
Lin Xia interrupted their excited greetings: "I once saw four signatures on a map: Moon Face, Worm Tail, Big Foot, and Pointed Fork."

"You all know Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew are familiar with Harry's parents. Could it be that you were once a group of four at Hogwarts?"

Harry suddenly realized something, "The Marauder's Map? Could it be that you guys created the Marauder's Map?"

He had used Marauder's Map before and even encountered Lupin along the way.

Lupin saw the map in his hand and even helped him call Professor Snape away.

Harry was worried that Lupin would ask about the map in his hand, but Professor Lupin seemed uninterested in the map and didn't ask at all.

It was only when he brought up the fact that he had seen Peter Pettigrew's name on the map and asked if he knew who this person was that Professor Lupin's expression changed slightly.

At that time, Harry didn't understand what Professor Lupin's expression meant, but now he understands that it was the astonishment of seeing a familiar face come back to life.

Lupin said, "The Marauder's Map was developed by the four of us: Porter, Black, Peter, and me. Maps never lie. When I learned that Peter Pettigrew's name was on the map, I knew that things back then were not so simple."

He paused, then continued, "Black also hid in Hogwarts with my help. We've been looking for Peter, but he's been hiding too well."

Sirius seemed to remember something and looked at Lupin with some concern: "Tonight is the night of the full moon; you shouldn't be out."

Lupin could feel the restlessness in his heart, but he tried his best to suppress it.

"I saw something unusual at the window and came out without thinking. I felt that tonight was the best time to resolve everything."

"Shouldn't one go out on a night of full moon?"

Hermione frowned, somewhat unable to understand their conversation. She suddenly thought of Professor Lupin's most frightening sight in the mirror: the moon.

Who could be so afraid of the moon?

Unless the moon makes them exceptionally sad, or drives them to madness!
Hermione's eyes widened suddenly, and she exclaimed incredulously, "A werewolf! You're a werewolf!"

That's why you're afraid of the moon, that's why he told you you can't go outside on a full moon night, and that's why your codename on the Marauder's Map is "Moon Face!"

Hermione reacted quickly, connecting all her usual doubts and finding answers to her questions.

No wonder Lu Ping disappears every fifteenth of the month; he doesn't need to change his schedule at all, because the school never schedules classes for him on those two days.

No wonder Snape focused on the werewolf chapter when he taught them Defense Against the Dark Arts.

No wonder Snape was so hostile to Lupin, no wonder every professor at the school was not very familiar with Lupin, and he always seemed to be all alone.

So there's a reason for all of this.

Professor Lupin, he's a werewolf!
Hermione felt completely deceived!

Professor Lupin was her favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but he turned out to be a dangerous werewolf who deceived her.

Not only him, but Hogwarts deceived all its students!
Lupin calmly said, "I was very young when I was bitten. My parents tried everything, but at that time it was hopeless."

The potion Professor Snape prescribed for me was recently discovered. It makes me safe, as long as I take it a week before the full moon.

When I transform, I retain my sanity. I can curl up in my office, be a harmless wolf, and wait for the full moon to pass.

“However,” he paused, looking around, his eyes surprisingly filled with sadness.

"Before the discovery of the wolfsbane potion, I would transform into a full-fledged wolf every month. It would have been impossible for me to attend Hogwarts, and other students' parents would not have been willing to let their children come into contact with me."

Later, when Dumbledore became headmaster, he was very compassionate and said that with certain precautions, there was no reason not to let me come to the school.

At this point, Lupin sighed and looked at Harry: "I told you before that this Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. Actually, the school planted it specifically for me when I came to Hogwarts."

And this house... the tunnel that leads here was opened for my use. Every month on the night of the full moon, I would be secretly sent out of the castle and brought here to transform.

I planted that tree at the entrance of the tunnel so that no one would encounter me if I posed a danger to anyone.

After Lupin's explanation, Hermione calmed down, and the other young wizards gradually calmed down as well.

Although it was a full moon night, the professor in front of me was telling his story with a very clear mind.

Harry listened intently, not understanding why Lupin was telling them about the past, but he really wanted to hear the stories.

Even he himself didn't understand why he was so curious.

No one noticed that, under the immobilization spell, Panpan suddenly twitched his fingers.

However, its fingers were so tiny that Lin Xia could only detect them by constantly activating the Extrasensory Spell and amplifying her five senses.

No one else reacted.

“During my school days, my transformation was terrifying. Becoming a werewolf was extremely painful. I would try to stay away from people when I felt like biting them. If I couldn’t control myself, I would scratch myself.”

The villagers, hearing the noises and screams, assumed they were the sounds of ferocious ghosts. Dumbledore encouraged people to spread these rumors, and even now, although the house hasn't echoed with such sounds for years, the villagers still dare not approach it.

As Lupin finished speaking, he glanced at Sirius Black, a faint smile flickering in his sorrowful eyes.

"But, apart from the transformation, I was happier than ever before. For the first time, I had three good friends: Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and your dad, James Potter."

"Ever since they discovered I was a werewolf, they have all trained in Animagus, and it took them nearly three years to achieve that."

Harry, your father and Sirius are the brightest students in the school. They are lucky because Animagus could easily go astray and make a terrible mistake, which is why the Ministry of Magic needs to keep a close eye on those who want to do so.

Peter needed a lot of help from Sirius and James to transform, and by the time we were in fifth grade, all three of them could transform, each able to turn into any animal they wanted.

"But how does this help you?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

Lin Xia understood without waiting for Lu Ping's reply.

She sometimes experiences similar sensations when using Animagus.

Lin Xia said, "He is a werewolf. It is very dangerous to have him as a human companion. Werewolves will attack humans when they see them."

However, if you accompany him in animal form, the werewolf will ignore you; werewolves don't attack small animals.

At this point, Lupin looked at the mouse, who was frozen in mid-air, and stared at him intently.

“Every month, they would slip out of the castle wearing James’s invisibility cloak. Peter could transform into the smallest animal, like the mouse in front of us. He could crawl under the lowest branch of the Willow of the Beatlings, press down on the tree’s scar, and freeze it in place.”

With them by my side, I'm not in so much danger. My body is still that of a wolf, but when I'm with them, my mind doesn't feel so wolfish anymore.

"Lupin, hurry up!" Blake roared.

He kept staring at Banban with a terrible longing on his face, as if he were eyeing a food that could save him.

"We've come to the point, Sirius, we've come to the point... Now that we've all transformed, all sorts of incredibly exciting possibilities are unfolding before us."

We soon left the Screaming Shack and wandered around the school grounds and village at night. Sirius and James could transform into very large animals that could intimidate me when I was a werewolf.

I don't think any student at Hogwarts knows the grounds and Hogsmeade Village as well as we do, so we made a Marauder's Map and signed it with our pseudonyms.

Sirius Black is big-footed, Peter is a worm-tailed cat, and James is a fork.

"But this is also very dangerous. What if he bites someone while you're running around in the dark with a werewolf?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Lupin said heavily, “More than once, there were several near-biting incidents. Back then we were young and ignorant, and we often made fun of such things, only caring about our own cleverness.”

But I felt guilty. I felt I had let Dumbledore down. None of the other headmasters were willing to accept me; only he believed in me.

He had no idea that I had broken the rules, which were made by him for my safety and the safety of others. He also didn't know that I had led three classmates to illegally become Animagus.

So I sat down to plan next month's adventure, and I kept trying to forget this guilt.

At this point, Lupin's voice carried a hint of self-loathing.

"Throughout the year, I've been struggling with whether or not to tell Dumbledore that Sirius Black is an Animagus, but I didn't because I was too cowardly."

Looking back now, if I had spoken up sooner, perhaps that nightmare wouldn't have happened to Sirius Black, and the real culprit could have been found in time!

Sirius stared at Peter and couldn't wait to utter a spell.

He wants him dead! (End of Chapter)