Chapter 371: Facing the Werewolf Head-On
Dudley and the others exchanged a glance, and at once they understood what Snape was driving at.
He was doing this on purpose, hoping someone would study the lesson on werewolves and, by putting the pieces together, realise that Professor Lupin was a werewolf.
"Professor Dumbledore probably forbade Snape from telling anyone outright," Harry murmured, keeping his voice low. "So Snape's trying to make us 'discover' what's wrong with Professor Lupin on our own."
"What he doesn't know," Harry went on, bitterness sharpening his whisper, "is that we already know Lupin's a werewolf. This won't make us grateful. It just makes his way of doing things even more disgusting."
"Gryffindor. Ten points," Snape said, looking at Harry with clear satisfaction.
"And if I catch you whispering in my classroom again, you will earn yourself detention."
Harry shot Snape a furious look, but he did not say a word.
"Now, everyone turn to page three hundred and ninety-four. Quickly."
Snape's drawn-out voice echoed through the classroom.
No one liked him, but no one dared argue. They did as they were told.
"Can anyone tell me," Snape asked in a cold, emotionless tone, "the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?"
"Oh? No one? How very disappointing."
His gaze swept the rows below.
Not a single hand went up. Not even Hermione's. She simply stared at Snape, her face unreadable.
Everyone knew Snape wasn't really looking for an answer; even if Hermione raised her hand, he would ignore her and go right on humiliating the class.
As the lesson dragged on, Snape asked several more questions, and still no one responded.
With no easy excuse to dock more points, he could only sneer at their ignorance while continuing the lecture on werewolves.
At last, the unbearable hour crawled to its end.
"Each of you will write an essay," Snape announced. "The subject: how to identify a werewolf, and how to kill one."
"Two rolls of parchment. Due Monday morning."
With that, he swept out, his face as hard as stone.
"He did it on purpose," Ron said.
"Obvious as daylight," Dudley replied, nodding.
"So what do we do?" Hermione asked, regret flickering in her voice. "After a lesson like that, won't everyone realise Professor Lupin is a werewolf?"
Professor Lupin was a genuinely good teacher—witty, clear, and impossible not to learn from. If word of his condition spread, he might never be allowed to teach at Hogwarts again.
"Probably not," Harry said with a helpless shrug. "Hermione, you can't expect everyone to think like you. Most of us just aren't that sharp."
Ron snorted with laughter, and the four of them headed out of the classroom together.
"I'm going to check on Professor Lupin," Dudley said. "Meet you in the Great Hall later."
"We'll come with you," Harry said at once.
"If you're there," Dudley replied, "Lupin might not tell me much."
"Fine," Harry said, subdued.
After parting from the other three, Dudley headed alone towards the staff quarters.
When he found Professor Lupin's room, he knocked.
A long moment passed before a faint, strained voice answered from within.
"Who is it?"
It was Lupin.
"It's Dudley Dursley, professor," Dudley replied.
"Dudley… I'm really not in any state to receive visitors. If you have questions, perhaps you could wait until I—"
"I understand it's a bad time," Dudley cut in, his tone steady but firm. "That's exactly why I've come. Professor, I believe we need to talk now."
Silence settled behind the door. Then, at last, the handle turned, and the tightly shut door opened with a soft creak.
Dudley stepped inside.
Lupin sat in a wheelchair a short distance away, looking terribly frail. His face was pale, his features drawn, as though the very act of staying upright cost him effort.
When he saw Dudley enter, he managed a thin smile.
"What is it?" Lupin asked.
"Professor, professor Snape took your class today," Dudley said.
"Yes, that was at my request," Lupin replied with a tired little smile. "As you can see, I'm not in great shape. It's an old problem acting up again."
"And today's topic was... werewolves," Dudley said bluntly.
Lupin's expression stiffened for a heartbeat.
"Well," he said with a soft, humourless chuckle as he recovered himself, "he certainly doesn't care to follow the planned curriculum, does he?"
"I think he did it so we'd work it out for ourselves," Dudley said, not bothering to soften the words. "That you're a werewolf."
Dudley's frankness left Lupin momentarily wrong-footed.
He had always known his secret might be uncovered one day, but he had not expected it to happen so soon.
"You... all right," Lupin said at last, defeat touching his voice. "So you've found out."
A faint bleakness settled over his face. Without the effort of pretending, he looked even weaker, sagging back in the wheelchair as though he scarcely had the strength left to speak.
"But it has nothing to do with Snape," Dudley continued. "I realised you were a werewolf on the Hogwarts Express."
Lupin gave a bitter smile.
"Professor Dumbledore warned me you had a knack for sensing Dark creatures," he said quietly. "I thought if I kept away from you around the full moon, it would be enough. I didn't expect you to see through me the moment we met."
"So why have you come?" Lupin asked, studying Dudley, a searching edge in his eyes. "Surely it isn't just to expose me to my face."
"No," Dudley said. "I only want this conversation to be honest, without pretence."
Lupin hesitated, then nodded once. "All right. If it's something I can say, I'll tell you."
"About Sirius Black," Dudley said. "How much do you know? I need everything about his past."
"Professor Dumbledore promised he would tell me everything, but he's been too busy lately. And I can't keep waiting. So I came to you directly. I hope you don't mind," Dudley added, his tone gentle.
It seemed Lupin had expected this. He did not answer immediately, but sat curled in the wheelchair, as though sinking into memory.
A long time passed.
At last, Lupin's eyes refocused, and he looked at Dudley.
"How did you know I have anything to do with Sirius Black?" he asked.
"Snape let it slip," Dudley said plainly. "He said you were the one who let Sirius Black into the castle."
"So it was him," Lupin said, nodding.
"Back at Hogwarts," Lupin began, voice low, "I, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Harry's father, James Potter, were the best of friends. The four of us were like you, Harry, Hermione, and Ron are now. Inseparable."
Dudley's eyes narrowed. Another name had surfaced: Peter Pettigrew.