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When Lynn pushed open the door to the ward, the slight "creak" was exceptionally clear in the silence.
On the hospital bed, Lupin was turning his head, seemingly trying to reach the water glass on the nightstand, but his movements appeared clumsy and difficult due to the restraints on his body.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Lupin turned his head with some effort. His face appeared even paler and more haggard than usual at this moment.
"Good evening, Professor." Lynn walked a few steps closer and greeted him in a normal tone.
Lupin tried to return the smile, but as soon as the corners of his mouth moved, a sickening aftertaste of potion surged up his throat.
"Good... urgh... evening, Mr. Lynn." He quickly covered his mouth, waited for two seconds, and then lowered his hand somewhat awkwardly.
Lynn's gaze quickly swept over Lupin.
Lupin was almost wrapped into half a mummy by bandages, especially around his chest and arms, which were astonishingly thick; faint traces of blood could still be seen seeping through.
His left arm was in a sling, his right leg was in a splint, and he leaned against the raised headboard in an extremely uncomfortable position.
This didn't look like a state where one could move easily, no matter how you looked at it.
"Professor, what happened to you?" Lynn sat down in the chair beside the bed, his tone carrying both concern and inquiry.
Lynn wondered if Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts position really was cursed. Setting aside the previous two years, Lupin had been teaching for less than half a year and had already been seriously injured twice.
Lupin's expression was slightly unnatural. He subconsciously moved his bandage-bound body, which tugged at his wounds, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch slightly from the pain.
"It's nothing serious... I just... well, while patrolling near the Forbidden Forest, I ran into a bit of trouble and was... scratched by a Vampire.
Madam Pomfrey has already treated it. It looks serious, but it's actually just superficial; I'll be fine soon."
Lynn looked at Lupin, who was wrapped up like a zongzi and struggling even to speak, then at his effort to maintain a calm expression, and remained silent for a full two or three seconds.
"Professor, has anyone ever seriously told you that you are truly stubborn?"
Lupin: "..."
He was rendered speechless by those words, and his bloodless face seemed to flush a bit... most likely out of irritation.
Lupin opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but the facts were right before him, making any excuse seem pale and weak.
Ultimately, he chose a strategy commonly used by Professors when facing overly "blunt" students—shifting the topic and attempting to take control of the conversation.
Lupin cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound authoritative as a teacher.
"Ahem... let's not talk about that for now. Lynn, why are you in the School Infirmary? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
Lynn blinked. "Oh, I'm fine. I just blew up three puppets and felt a bit overexcited, so Madam Pomfrey told me to stay for observation overnight."
"Blew... blew up three puppets?" Lupin subconsciously repeated.
An unbelievable picture pieced itself together. An expression of disbelief appeared on Lupin's face.
"It... it was you?! Tonight, outside the Castle, you eliminated all those... those 'Puppets' sent by Lennus?!"
There was another sentence he didn't say: this was already far beyond the scope of an "outstanding student" in Dumbledore's words!
Lynn didn't mind Lupin's shock; his attention was caught by the name the Professor had blurted out.
"Lennus?" Lynn tilted his head and threw out a triple-question. "Who? Is he the one who made and controlled those puppets? You know him, Professor?"
Lupin instantly realized he had let something slip. His expression changed, he avoided Lynn's gaze, and stiffly turned his head toward the window, adopting a "refusal to answer" posture.
The atmosphere became a bit cold for a moment.
A few seconds later, Lynn suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but carrying a teasing tone that made one's philtrum itch.
"Professor, you... wouldn't want your identity as a Werewolf to be known by the other students in the school, would you?"
Lupin's back stiffened abruptly. To be honest, he felt threatened.
He took a slow breath and turned his head back.
"Lennus... he wasn't always a Vampire. At least, not the kind of... monster you see now."
"That's it?" Lynn raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly unsatisfied with such a brief answer.
Lupin glanced at Lynn. "Young man, have some patience."
He adjusted his breathing.
"That was many years ago... an accident. I was fighting a rogue Vampire; the battle was intense, and we fought from the wilderness all the way into a nearby abandoned manor... that happened to be Lennus's home at the time. He was, at the time, a Wizard who was obsessed with Alchemy and lived somewhat in seclusion."
"Lennus and I teamed up to defeat that Vampire. But at the end, in the chaos, Lennus was bitten while trying to stop the Vampire's dying counterattack... a very deep wound. He was infected immediately."
Lupin's voice lowered, filled with deep self-reproach.
"Because of that accident... the two of us became acquainted; after all, in a way, we were 'fellow sufferers.'"
"After that, we became partners in a sense. We both longed to escape this damn fate and return to being normal Wizards."
Lynn listened quietly, thinking, Oh, so this Lennus was just an unlucky guy caught up in it. From a Wizard to a Vampire, the psychological blow and pain probably weren't any less than that of a Werewolf.
"We went to many places together," Lupin continued, "searching through ancient texts, exploring ruins, visiting those rumored healers or hermits... trying to find a cure, or at least a way to mitigate it."
"Until... we went to Egypt together and delved deep into an ancient secret realm known as the 'Sand Corridor.'"
"That place was very sinister. We found an ancient scroll written in Ancient Runes inside." Lupin paused, seemingly recalling the scene at the time, a confused expression appearing on his face.
"It was very strange... when I tried to read it, there were only writhing shadows on the scroll; I couldn't see anything, and it even made me feel dizzy.
But Lennus... he understood it. He said the scroll told him a method, a way for a Vampire to completely escape the bloodlust curse and even obtain a more powerful 'perfect body.'"
"The ancient text told him that he needed to collect the blood of all magical creatures in the world as the 'base,' combine it with ancient Alchemy and the Dark Arts to forge a 'perfect' body."
"Then, by transplanting his consciousness entirely into it... he could solve his Vampire problem and even transcend the limits of a Wizard."
Hearing this incredible method, a flash of realization crossed Lynn's eyes. This line of thinking fit the style of those Dark Wizards and alchemists who had gone astray.
"And then?" Lynn pressed.
"Then... in that secret realm, we had a disagreement, a fierce argument... which eventually turned into a fight.
I couldn't accept a method that required sacrificing countless lives. I believed the scroll itself was problematic!
But Lennus would no longer listen; he was completely captivated by that 'hope'..."
"The battle triggered the unstable magical mechanism.... the entire 'Sand Corridor' began to collapse.
Sandstorms, traps, and ancient curses all erupted at once... in the chaos, I used an Explosion Charm to blast myself out of the closing entrance... when I woke up, I was already in the desert outside. And Lennus... he didn't make it out."
"I thought he was dead," Lupin finally murmured, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible, "until tonight."