A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 219 An Opportunity for Explanation

When the word "werewolf" suddenly popped into Felix's mind, things that seemed illogical before suddenly made sense.

Lupin had always given him a strange feeling, which he assumed was due to Snape's words influencing him. Now it seemed that wasn't the case; he had actually detected some characteristics of the werewolf's untransformed form: its pupils, its hair, and the faint aura of a dark creature.

Unfortunately, Felix didn't even consider that possibility.

Furthermore, Lupin has always given the impression of being in poor health, but when is this impression most obvious? Around the full moon! Especially in the last two days, all that talk about not getting better from a cold is just an excuse... It should be right after the full moon.

Mrs. Pomfrey's cooking skills are not that bad.

"It's so obvious! How could I not have noticed? The clues are right in front of me." Felix looked at the information he had written on the parchment, comparing it line by line—

"Lupin was impoverished because he had no legitimate job, and in order to conceal his identity, he had to be prepared to move and change his identity at any time."

"He must have extensive experience in concealing his identity, but once is a coincidence, twice is a chance, but what about three or four times? For a werewolf, the abnormality will be noticed by those around him within a few months, because no amount of excuses can change one fact: werewolves always disappear during the full moon!"

"His animosity towards Fudge, the Minister of Magic who had only been in office for a few years, stemmed from Fudge's amendment to the Werewolf Registration Act—he linked the werewolf registry to the wolfsbane potion; without registration, one couldn't purchase the potion. This also explains why Lupin came to Hogwarts this year; he couldn't obtain the potion that allowed him to maintain his sanity during his transformation under the full moon from anywhere else."

It's important to know that werewolves' transformation is extremely physically demanding. Before they have the wolf venom potion, they will attack anyone they see in a frenzy. Even if they are locked in a cage, they will go berserk and lose their minds, pounding and tearing at any obstacles in their path.

The aftereffects of this behavior are severe and often last for three or four days, or even a week, depending on individual constitution.

With the wolfsbane potion, werewolves were much more comfortable. They could maintain their sanity during the full moon, find a secluded place to hide themselves, and return to normal the next day—at most a little tired, but they could hold out without giving themselves away. This was a thousand times better than being recognized as werewolves.

Felix recalled that two weeks before the start of the semester, Snape was called back early by Dumbledore. He said in a bad mood that it was to brew a "disgusting" potion. Besides the Wolfsbane Potion, what other possibility was there?

Felix couldn't help but smile. It was hard to imagine Snape being forced by Dumbledore to brew potions for someone he hated.

Severus's expression must be hilarious!

There are also some small details worth noting.

For example, Snape once told him, "You'll be surprised by Lupin's true nature," which was probably an allusion to his werewolf identity.

Before the opening banquet, when Professor McGonagall introduced Lupin, she deliberately avoided mentioning Snape. This meant that Professor McGonagall was aware of the conflict between them, in other words, she also knew about Lupin's werewolf identity.

Who else knows?

Dumbledore must have known this, even...

Felix calculated the timeline and realized that when Lupin started school, Dumbledore was already the headmaster, so Lupin's attendance must have been with the headmaster's permission.

The entire plan was actually driven by Dumbledore; he probably wouldn't have delegated it to anyone else, but would have personally gone to persuade them...

To bring a werewolf wizard to Hogwarts, a series of protective measures must be prepared for him—including the location for his werewolf transformation, as well as care and treatment after the transformation.

Felix had no idea about the former. Theoretically, he could have chosen any abandoned classroom. With Dumbledore's abilities, he could have used various silencing spells to mute the screams that young Lupin made when he transformed.

Hagrid once said that many werewolves, ostracized by the wizarding world and disheartened, preferred to live with their packs. But young Lupin couldn't possibly make that choice. The most likely explanation is that his parents locked him in the house, using silencing charms to prevent the neighbors from hearing him…

"Thinking about it this way, could Lupin have a huge psychological trauma from the Silencing Charm?"

As for the latter, Lupin himself admitted that Mrs. Pomfrey helped him a lot when he was in school.

Felix suddenly thought of an interesting question: Did Harry's father, James Potter, as well as Sirius Black and Peter Pediru, know about Lupin's werewolf identity?

"He must know," Felix mused silently. "Otherwise, Lupin wouldn't be so nostalgic about that time." He recalled the smile on Lupin's face as he recounted his school days, his eyes seemingly sparkling.

This made Felix even more confused, not about Lupin, but about Sirius Black.

Based on the information he pieced together, this person's behavior showed a clear sense of inconsistency, which even reached an abnormal level.

As a teenager, Black was a Gryffindor with a strong sense of justice, and he strongly rejected Slytherin and even his own family, although judging from some of the forbidden records Felix saw, he seemed a bit dim-witted...

After graduating, Black joined the Order of the Phoenix almost immediately, becoming a key force in the fight against Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters. From this perspective, he was a fearless warrior.

When did Black begin to change? Was it the inability to resist the power of family ties, being moved by his large family of Death Eaters? Or was it when Voldemort captured him during an operation and threatened him with death and his family? Or was it simply that he couldn't bear the torture of the Cruciatus Curse?

"Could it be like this? After experiencing pain, courage turns into cowardice..."

Felix suddenly felt annoyed; if things went as he expected, he hated the story.

Especially when he saw that the Longbottoms had been driven mad by the Death Eaters and had not revealed any information, this stark contrast made him extremely conflicted.

If he were in this situation, what would he choose? Would he betray his best friend for some reason?

"The assumption is simply not true," he muttered after thinking for a long time.

Felix was suddenly disheartened to realize that he hadn't made a single close friend during his school years. For the first three years, he was busy studying and fighting. In the middle of his fourth year, he completely ignored everything around him in order to practice spells. By the end of his fifth year, everyone was looking at him with awe.

"Speaking of which, during my school years, several Slytherin girls gave me chocolates, but I suspected they were cursed, so I threw them away."

"Did I miss something?"

Felix pondered his past experiences, and after a long while, he chuckled to himself.

"I'm really quite bored, but... Sirius Black, whether it's for the books in the Black family mansion or to confirm whether you harbor a vile soul, I'll give you a chance to explain."

There will only be two updates today. The main storyline of this school year is approaching, and in addition, a climax plot that the author has conceived is also coming soon. The author will take the time to sort it out in detail.

(End of this chapter)