Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

Lupin thought for a moment and said, "To be precise, the situation back then was very complex, and we cannot draw conclusions lightly..."

The question was asked by Ron, but Lupin answered it to Harry.

He knew that Harry was the key to the problem.

Harry's eyes dimmed noticeably when he heard Lupin say that; clearly, Lupin's answer reminded him of his parents once again.

Lupin, seeing Harry's expression, was naturally uncomfortable.

After all, he was a good friend of Harry's father back then. Although he was different from Sirius Black and wasn't Harry's godfather, their feelings for Harry were quite similar.

Because of his special status, he couldn't have much contact with Harry, but Harry was still James's son.

Seeing Harry's striking resemblance to James, Lupin was understandably upset.

"Eric said that Black was a good friend of Harry's father back in the day. Is that true, Professor?"

Hermione asked as well.

Upon hearing this, Lupin's face turned ashen, but he had no choice but to nod and acknowledge the statement.

Harry lowered his head and whispered, "Not only that, he was also my godfather... and yet he did that kind of thing..."

“Harry!” Lupin interrupted Harry anxiously, saying, “I know Black better than you do. There are many things about what happened back then that you don’t know.”

“I wanted to interrupt you when I heard your discussion earlier. No matter who told you about this, you don’t know the whole story.”

“In fact, I’ve spent far more time with Blake than you have, and I… I also know your father…”

Upon hearing this, Harry looked at Lupin, somewhat bewildered, only to find that Lupin wasn't looking at him, but rather staring at Eric beside him.

Eric remained calm, gazing out the window at the deepening night, offering no response to Lupin's reproachful look.

Lupin's words quieted the atmosphere in the carriage considerably. After a long while, Hermione asked softly, "Professor, do you know Black too?"

Lupin took a deep breath, looked at the trio opposite him again, and said, "That's right. Back then, I, your father James, Black, and a wizard named Peter were known as the 'Raiders League' at school."

"Back then, we were just like the three of you, very close friends."

“I am not only a witness to the events of that year, but also a good friend of your father.”

After saying this, Lupin breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Looking at Harry, he forced a smile and continued, "You and your father look so alike, like two peas in a pod."

Harry blinked, but ultimately didn't refute it. Instead, he looked at Eric, trying to get confirmation from him.

Eric nodded slightly and smiled, "Professor Lupin is indeed telling the truth."

"The four of them were all from Gryffindor back then, just like you."

"Furthermore, the professor is right, Harry, you shouldn't have preconceived notions, and you shouldn't be overly concerned about Black's affairs."

“I’ve made it very clear before, this is not something you can control.”

Ron exclaimed in disbelief, "Eric, how do you know so much? That's amazing!"

“Heh, many things are actually quite simple. Once something happens, it leaves a trace, but sometimes we just don’t notice it,” Eric explained. “I have a good relationship with old Tom from the Leaky Cauldron, and I’ve learned a lot about the past from him.”

"With a little simple thinking, one can uncover the so-called truth."

Ron nodded in sudden realization.

Lupin hesitated to comment on Eric's addition, feeling that Eric's presence was rather abrupt.

Does Eric's explanation make sense?

Of course not!

Lupin isn't stupid; how could he possibly believe that Eric only uncovered Blake's past through old Tom's connections?

Putting aside how tight-lipped old Tom was, there are many details in Harry's retelling of Eric's story that could only be known through firsthand experience.

This information cannot be fully understood solely through publicly available channels.

Since Eric appeared, Lupin has been unable to take his attention away from Eric.

This might be the primal instinct of a werewolf.

Lupin always felt that Eric was dangerous.

Eric is certainly not as mild-mannered as he appears on the surface.

But now that Eric was speaking up for him, after thinking about it, he still didn't stop Eric.

Anyway, Eric is at school, so if he has the chance, he can always investigate the other party slowly afterward.

This time, Lupin accepted Dumbledore's invitation to return to the school as a professor. Given his status, obtaining this position was not easy, and he did not want to waste this opportunity and cause trouble for Dumbledore before even entering Hogwarts.

Lupin said to Harry, "Harry, all I want to tell you is that it's all in the past. Black will be arrested sooner or later. Eric is right, you shouldn't keep thinking about it..."

"Then what should I do?!" Harry suddenly growled, his eyes already turning bloodshot and his voice becoming shrill. "Professor! I know everything now!"

"Blake can betray my parents, so why can't I hate him?"

"Isn't it true that he betrayed my parents? If not, why was he imprisoned in Azkaban?"

“I’ve dreamed about my parents more than once, you know, Professor, when I was feeling lonely and helpless.”

"Most importantly, from beginning to end, no one ever told me this!"

Harry practically yelled the last sentence.

This long-suppressed outburst caused the air in the carriage to almost freeze.

Ron looked embarrassed and didn't know what to say. His family background was completely different from Harry's, and he really couldn't empathize with Harry's experience.

Ron was aware of this.

Hermione could only pat Harry on the shoulder to comfort him.

Lupin looked at Harry's face with a blank expression. He wanted to defend Sirius, but faced with Harry's attitude, he didn't know where to begin.

Everyone has a different perspective on things, and Lupin naturally wouldn't think that what happened back then was really that simple.

Lupin was one of the people who knew Sirius Black best and was very familiar with his personality.

If you were to say that Sirius would betray James, he would be the first person to not believe it.

However, Sirius's betrayal is a fact based on the existing evidence. Furthermore, Peter's body has been lost, so even if he wanted to personally confront Sirius and get to the bottom of things, he couldn't do so, nor could he overturn the case based on the evidence.

Sirius Black admitted to his crimes during his trial before being imprisoned in Azkaban.

Even Dumbledore couldn't save Sirius.

But Lupin felt that things couldn't be that simple, which is why he disagreed with the claim that Sirius was guilty based on his personal subjective judgment.

Over the years, as a werewolf who has faced discrimination in the magical world, he has been looking for work while reinvestigating the events of that year, but unfortunately, he has come up with nothing.

But now it seems that it was precisely this attitude that made him ignore Harry's feelings.

Harry's subtext is quite clear.

He simply couldn't accept Sirius's behavior.

Children like Harry, who grew up in Dursleyan families, are most prone to becoming sensitive and insecure.

It's important to know that Harry has longed for the warmth of a family since he was a child.

He coveted what he couldn't get from the Dursleys.

So, for Sirius Black, who almost ruined Harry's childhood, Harry immediately placed him on the opposite side after learning of his existence.

Harry couldn't stand anyone defending Sirius.

After Harry finished yelling, the carriage fell silent again, with only Harry's faint breathing.

Lupin raised his hand toward Harry, as if to say something more, but remained silent.

Throughout the entire ordeal, only Eric failed to react to Harry's outburst.

He kept looking at them with a half-smile, as if he had expected this conversation to happen.

Chapter 36 Argument

Watching Hermione and Ron constantly comforting Harry, Lupin felt a lump in his throat.

He had been wandering around for years, and he had thought that Dumbledore would take good care of Harry, but now it seemed that this was not the case.

As a werewolf, how could Lupin not understand the feeling of being abandoned?

Being rejected, facing disdain and wary glances from others, and even being blatantly expelled...

Werewolves hold a similar status in the magical world to magical creatures like fairies, and are not even legally considered complete "humans."

The reason the wizards didn't completely drive the werewolves out was because the werewolves had the power and resources to cause even greater chaos.

Controlling the werewolves is clearly more advantageous for wizards than attacking or driving them away.

There is a natural barrier between wizards and these completely different creatures.

Furthermore, Lupin was unwilling to live with other werewolves and was unable to integrate into the social group of ordinary wizards, so for many years he could only wander alone.

In this respect, Lupin's living conditions were no better than Harry's, and perhaps even worse.

At least at Hogwarts, Harry could still get the support of friends and an environment that accepted him.

If anyone in this carriage could truly understand Harry's feelings, it would be Lupin and Eric, who knew everything.

Thinking of this, even Lupin felt a surge of resentment towards Dumbledore.

Lupin turned to Eric with a cold expression and said in a low voice, "I don't care who you are or how you know about Black, but you shouldn't have told Harry about this."

"Especially now that Blake is still at large."

Eric chuckled. "Really? Professor, do you think Harry has no right to know about his parents' past?"

“This isn’t about whether Harry knew or not! You’re hurting him!” Lupin exclaimed angrily.

“Oh? So the professor thinks that keeping everything from Harry is protecting him?” Eric said casually. “Or rather, it’s more accurate to describe it as control than protection.”

“This…” Lu Ping was speechless with anger.

Eric ignored Lupin's feelings, looking straight ahead, and said to himself, "Professor Lupin, believe me, I know better than anyone your feelings for Harry, even though you haven't seen each other for many years."

"But I must also be frank, this kind of feeling is like a tree without roots or a stream without a source; it is a completely hypocritical facade."

"Because all your emotions stem from your relationship with another person, Harry's father, more than a decade ago."