The days at Hogwarts

Hagrid suddenly laughed a few times: "Of course this prophecy is false, just like Minerva said, unless there are two axemen standing at the door of the auditorium, ready to chop to death the first person who comes out."

Harry and Ron laughed together.

After leaving the castle, the cold wind carrying snowflakes blew, and Harry and Ron felt that there was ice-cold snow water in their bones, and even the moonlight of the full moon was bitingly cold.

They wanted to say goodbye to Hagrid right here, but they looked at Hagrid who was drunk and staggering as he walked. They decided to send Hagrid to the hut anyway.

After wading through the snow with his neck curled up, Harry recalled Snape's strange behavior and asked, "Hagrid, do you know what's wrong with Professor Lupine?"

"I don't know... maybe she has a cold or a fever. Remus always wears very little when the weather is so cold."

Harry thought for a while and whispered: "Could it be Snape? And Dumbledore also said that he was the one who prepared the medicine for Professor Lupin."

Ron's eyes suddenly widened and he began to think about this possibility.

"How is that possible?" Hagrid shook his dizzy head, "Why did Professor Snape want to harm Remus? Harry, you are starting to think wildly again."

Ron gestured to Harry, and the two of them made a tacit agreement not to mention the matter again. After sending Hagrid back to the hut in the wind and snow, Harry and Ron ran back to the castle as fast as they could and found an empty classroom. Start discussing.

"They had conflicts when they were in school. The old bat must not want Professor Lupine to have a wonderful Christmas." Ron said angrily.

Harry's mind flashed back to Snape's expression at the party, his awkwardness when he mentioned Professor Lupine, and those weird smiles.

After a moment, Harry made a decision: "We have to go see Professor Lupin!"

"I agree!"

The two climbed the stairs and arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office. The old wooden door was padlocked from the outside, indicating that Professor Lupine was not in the office. They went to the school doctor's office again, but there were not many young wizards staying at the school this year. Ms. Pomfrey also went home for the holidays. The door to the school doctor's office was locked, and Professor Lupin was not here either.

"Besides these two places, where else can Professor Lupine go?" Ron asked puzzledly.

Harry thought over and over again about Snape's weird smile, the weirdness of the professors and the principal, and so many doubts pressed in his mind that he became a little flustered. If he couldn't talk to Professor Lupin tonight, Harry felt like he wouldn't be able to sleep.

"The Marauder's Map!" Harry said suddenly. He took out a rectangular piece of old parchment from his arms. Harry pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I will not do bad things."

Thin lines of ink spread like a spider web, expanding into every corner of the parchment.

"Why didn't George and Fred give it to me? I'm their biological brother!" Ron complained again.

"Stop talking, help me find Professor Luping,"

Almost all the little wizards have gone home for the holidays, so the previously crowded name signs have become empty, so it doesn't take much effort to find people. The map shows that several professors are still in the auditorium, and Mrs. Norris is running in circles around the auditorium. , Trelawney was hanging around the eighth floor.

Harry and Ron were suddenly stunned. They saw where Professor Lupin was - actually in Hogsmeade!

A series of footsteps disappeared near the Whomping Willow, and the small black dot representing Lupine Remus was now in the Shrieking Shack.

Harry said hesitantly: "George and Fred said that there are seven secret passages in total. In order to prevent Death Eaters and Dementors, most of them have been blocked, except for the Whomping Willow... "

"Do you think Professor Lupine was imprisoned in the Shrieking Shack by the old bat, or did he go there on his own?" Ron asked in a low voice, "If he went there on his own, why would he give up delicious food on Christmas?" Where’s the food and the warm fireplace?”

Although Harry didn't want to think about that, having experienced Quirrell and Lockhart as two Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, they could not help but think more about it.

Harry and Ron looked at each other: "Let's go find him!"

"Agree!"

Chapter 344 Ron: Huh? ah!

At night, the full moon hangs high.

Edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Harry and Ron trudged toward the Whomping Willow in the snow, leaving a long series of footprints in the crystal snow.

"Honestly, this is the most tiring Christmas I've ever had..." Ron gasped, white mist with hot breath exhaled from his mouth and nose, and quickly dissipated.

"The Christmas holidays of the past two years have not been easy." Harry replied, looking at the Marauder's Map unfolded in his hand.

"There was Quirrell in the first grade, and there was the basilisk last year..." Ron's voice gradually trailed off. He turned away from the topic and leaned over to look at the map with Harry. "Moon face? What do you mean, Lupin?" When did the professor’s name change to Moon Face?”

On the worn and yellowed parchment, the small black dot that originally marked Lupine Remus was now replaced by a brief moon face.

Harry looked up at the full moon in the sky and was equally puzzled: "Moon Face? I know this is Professor Lupin's nickname, my dad is Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot, and the remaining one is Wormtail." "

"So when this map comes into your hands, it actually returns to its original owner, right?"

Harry pursed his lips and did not answer.

The two of them followed the map's guidance and headed straight for the Whomping Willow. The Whomping Willow is not too far away, only about half the distance from Hagrid's hut. You can get there by walking out of the castle, walking through the open space, and walking through the path between the greenhouse and the vegetable patch.

All the leaves on the branches of this magical plant fell off on the eve of the first snowfall, and they looked bare. Unlike other trees in the Forbidden Forest, there was no snow on the branches of the Whomping Willow.

When Harry and Ron arrived at the Whomping Willow tree, they happened to catch the Whomping Willow shaking its branches to clear away the snow. The long and hard branches shook rapidly, and the willow branches made a whistling sound like a whip, making a crunching sound, and the snowflakes fell to the ground and were smashed into pieces.

Ron was frightened for a moment. He didn't know whether it was because it was too cold or because he was frightened. He shivered and said, "Look on the map to see if it says how to deal with this tree. I don't want to be beaten into a pulp. "

"I remember both Loren and Professor McGonagall said that there is a knot on the Whomping Willow..."

Harry compared the Whomping Willow with the mark on the map, and was surprised to see that the little black dot marking Harry Potter suddenly turned into a little man. The little man came to the simple drawing of the Whomping Willow in three or two steps. In front of the willow, he jumped up and patted the knot on one of the branches of the Whomping Willow.

After looking at the directions on the map and then at the branches dancing like snakes, the two of them fell into silence in unison.

"We didn't catch it at a good time, right?" Ron muttered quietly, "If we come while it's resting, we can probably get past it."

Harry sighed in disappointment.

Just a few minutes after the two of them were at a loss to do anything about the Whomping Willow, Ron suddenly took out his wand and cast a levitating spell on a small stone under the root of the Whomping Willow tree, manipulating the stone to fly between the branches dancing like a snake. He got through and pressed on the knot.

The Whomping Willow suddenly stopped moving, as if it had turned into stone.

"Well done! Ron!" Harry looked at the Whomping Willow in surprise.

Ron was so proud that his eyebrows almost flew out: "I knew it would work, just like Quidditch!"

Within a few seconds, the two of them rushed to the root of the tree and slipped in through a dark hole.

……

Auditorium, long table.

After Harry and others left, several young wizards also left one after another. Professor McGonagall and Sybil broke up on bad terms, and the other professors also left after saying good night to each other.

Only Dumbledore and Snape were left.

The long table that was full of people not long ago was empty, and the colored lights in the hall were still bright, but these lights seemed a bit deserted now.

"Firecracker!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, handing the end of a large silver firecracker to Snape.

Snape gave him a flat look. He hadn't played with such childish things since the third year. But for the sake of the holidays...

Snape pulled reluctantly.

boom--

With a loud bang like a cannon, the firecracker exploded, revealing a large pointed witch hat with a stuffed vulture on top.

Snape turned his head in disgust, but Dumbledore didn't mind at all and put it on his head with a smile: "It's really interesting. We were the first to leave the banquet of thirteen people during the summer vacation, and now we stay here." Finally, what do you think, Severus?"

Dumbledore shook his head, causing the stuffed vulture on his hat to sway.

Snape: "..."

I feel even more blind.

Snape pursed his lips and said in a calm voice: "I didn't poison him, I just adjusted the formula of the wolfsbane potion."

Although Lupin's name was not mentioned, both of them knew who was speaking. Dumbledore waved the vulture stuffed on his hat comfortably: "Of course, Severus, I believe in you more than I believe in myself."

"..." Snape was silent for a moment and said, "Then maybe you should go take a look at those two little things. Don't say you didn't notice, Dumbledore, they went out again not long after they came back from outside."

"Oh, Severus, it's vacation time."

"I hope you can say the same thing when that guy reveals his identity." Snape sneered, "If those two little things find out that a certain gentle Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a werewolf, according to his weak and weak character , I probably can’t stay in school anymore.”

"I know, Severus..."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed and he spoke softly, "But I also believe that if Remus entrusts his secret here, it is like sowing a seed... When he starts wandering again, he will Never be lost again.”

"Why not Morgan and Granger?"

"I think it's probably because Harry doesn't know how to brew wolfsbane potion, and Ron doesn't care about the living conditions of werewolves."

Snape frowned: "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore did not answer, but shook the wizard hat on his head with great interest, causing the vulture specimen on the hat brim to sway.

……

Bah, bah—

Click, click——

As soon as Harry and Ron emerged from the dark tunnel, they heard strange noises coming from the attic.

The penetrating voice made Ron stiff. He trembled and whispered: "Do you think this sound is like a ferocious beast eating a human body? Professor Lupine... he... he can't have been killed. Alright?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Harry was also a little panicked.

Using the weak moonlight, they unfolded the Marauder's Map and confirmed that there was only Moon Face upstairs. The two of them became even more panicked.

Unfolding the invisibility cloak to hide their figures, Harry and Ron climbed up the stairs and finally saw the source of the creepy sound at a dining table -

Two triangular erect ears are on the top of the head, the back is arched, tough gray rigid body hair covers the whole body, and the thick and long tail is constantly sweeping. It was munching on something on the table, and the strange sound came from there. Its wheezing and wheezing sound touched the heartstrings of the two of them.

At the same time, the ferocious beast seemed to have noticed something. It turned its head. There were still broken bones and stubble between the teeth of its bloody mouth. The wolf shook its nose and sniffed, and looked at the hiding place with green eyes. Harry and Ron under the invisibility cloak.

"Damn it..." Ron slowly opened his mouth wide and his eyes gradually became dull.

If it's broken, it might as well be beaten into pulp by the Whomping Willow.

If it were eaten by a vicious wolf, not even the bones would be left, but it would all turn into excrement that cannot be taken into account!

To think that I, Ron Weasley, haven't taken over the team yet, haven't yet become a prefect, haven't yet become president, and yet I'm about to die on Christmas night!

Just as Ron was fantasizing in his mind, the evil wolf suddenly tilted his head and asked in a very familiar voice: "Harry?"

"Ah? Ah!"

……

On December 12, there were small snowflakes floating in the sky.

Grandpa Bates disappeared early in the morning, and he didn’t know where he went to play.

Wendell and Monica were invited to attend a client's banquet. They took out dresses and skirts from the closet and dressed up for a long time, then took them off, put on heavy down jackets and drove off. They said they would put them on again when they arrived at the place.

After all the trouble, Hermione and Loren were tired of watching, and they prayed silently for the poor adults.

For dinner, I had rice pudding made by Loren. I used the leftover beef and mutton from Christmas Eve to tear it into strips, pour it on the sour and salty tomato red soup, and put it into my mouth with a spoonful. The rice grains were filled with the aroma of meat and meat. The soup was so good that I swallowed it without chewing much.

Hermione thought she had done too much at first, but ended up finishing a large plate without even realizing it.

Inhaling to tighten her abdominal muscles, and glancing at Loren who was eating while reading a newspaper, Hermione calmly pressed her belly, then slumped in deflation.

No matter, it should be okay to indulge and eat a little more during the Christmas holidays.

The TV not far away was playing the evening news of a certain British broadcaster, which was similar to the Daily Prophet. Most of it was Christmas celebrations in various places, and there were also some funny stories about silly things done during the holidays.

But as one of the largest media outlets in the UK, it can be seen that a certain British broadcasting company is trying its best to make serious news.

Six o'clock news: "According to observations from the Greenwich Observatory, fragments of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 orbiting Jupiter are constantly approaching Jupiter. The discoverers of the comet-Eugene Shoemaker and Caroline ·The Shoemakers are convinced that when Shoemaker-Levy 9, captured by Jupiter's gravity, breaks through the extreme distance, it will hit the surface of Jupiter at an alarming speed. This will be a spectacle that has never been directly observed by humans... Many astronomical observations Physicists predict that the impact will occur next year..."

Loren finished the last spoonful of risotto, drank the last sip of coke from the cup, and let out a nice burp.

Hermione raised her eyes and glanced at the Coke bottle on the table. There was still less than half a cup left, but she felt her bloated belly again and could only look away sadly.

Hermione frowned and looked at Loren: "Drinking like this is bad for your teeth and bad for digestion."

"Well, then what?"

Without raising his head, Loren continued to read the stupid wizard jokes in the Daily Prophet.

Hermione felt even more uncomfortable.

Loren looked up after reading the newspaper. Hermione had already cleared up the messy kitchen and dining table with a wave of her wand, and was staring blankly at the remaining Coke with her hands in front of her belly.

"Don't worry, it won't be wasted." Loren picked up the Coke bottle and drank it, smiling casually, "Look, there's not a bit left."

Hermione's face was expressionless, her eyes following the Coke bottle.

"By the way, let's go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to buy mandrake blades. We've been waiting for news from Gringotts to no avail."

"..."

"If we encounter danger, we can just apparate away..." Loren noticed the silly-looking girl and asked hesitantly, "How is it?"