Chapter 380: Showing off (Edited)

Scrawled on the note in Lupin's hand was a series of sentences that others could not understand, a coded message invented by Sirius and James when they were bored and unintelligible to anyone but the Marauders.

Despite the time that had passed, Lupin quickly deciphered the meaning, "He who sells the gallows does not sell the gallows."

"Moony, it wasn't me who betrayed them, it was Wormtail. He pretended to be a Weasley family pet and stayed with Weasley, who was in the same grade as Harry, but Wormtail had escaped now, so I need your help, if you believe me, come to me in the Forbidden Forest, you know how.

--Padfoot."

Lupin finished reading the note, and before he had time to ponder the truth of it, he felt a surge of warmth in his body... the Full Moon had risen, and he was about to begin his transformation.

Although aconite potion can make werewolves keep their sanity after transformation, it mainly reduces their aggressiveness after becoming werewolves, in terms of thinking he is still quite slow, and can't think very well.

So Lupin had to quickly tuck the note into his coat pocket, and then gradually transformed into a gray-furred werewolf with a hiss.

After his transformation, Lupin paced anxiously around the Shrieking Shack twice before settling down. He made his way to the bedroom, jumped onto the bed and curled up on his back, his wolf eyes staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

And on the outskirts of the forbidden forest, far away from the Shrieking Shack, a large black dog sat squatting on the ground, also staring up at the bright moon in the sky.

Lupin should have turned into a werewolf by now, shouldn't he? then he should have discovered the note I left, but I don't know if Lupin will still believe me.

Sirius didn't dare go to Lupin directly, because although he thought Lupin would give him time to explain himself, he wasn't sure if Lupin would be able to keep calm when he went to see him, so he preferred to let Lupin calm down before going to see him.

As to whether Lupin would listen to his explanation or set a trap to catch him, Sirius wasn't sure, but now he could only bet.

The night, long for Lupin and Sirius but in reality short, flew by and Lupin returned to his human form, only the weakness of his transformation making him not want to move at all.

Physical weakness didn't stop Lupin from continuing to think, and he lay back in his bunk in the Shrieking Shack, slowly analyzing the contents of the note in his pocket.

Peter was alive, and he had been the one who had betrayed James and Lily, and then hidden in the Weasley house like a pet mouse....

It sounded out of this world, but after Lupin calmed down and thought about it for a while, he decided it wasn't impossible, and to be honest, it was more likely that Lupin believed it had been Peter and not Sirius who had betrayed James.

Not that Lupin was prejudiced against Wormtail, but from what he knew of the two, it was more likely that Wormtail betrayed them.

But many things would not play out according to personal ideas, so Lupin didn't just believe Black's statement so easily.

Assuming the note was true and Peter was still alive and had become the Weasleys' pet, did it make sense that Sirius had escaped from Azkaban?

Lupin recalled what had happened during this time...

As of the second time Sirius had broken into the Gryffindor dormitory, this seemed to be true, as he was looking for Ron, not Harry... but it is also possible that Sirius was in the wrong bed and was discovered by an awake Ron.

More importantly, how did Sirius know that Wormtail was alive and hiding in the Weasley house when he was in Azkaban?

But if Sirius was lying...

Then what was the point of lying to him? It would only reveal his whereabouts, wouldn't it?

As for the idea that Black was setting a trap to kill him...

What value did he, a werewolf who was disliked by most wizards, have that Black, a possible Death Eater, would risk being captured and sent back to Azkaban?

Lupin lay on the floor for a long time contemplating, until he fell asleep, unable to decide whether or not to trust Sirius.

As the day wore on, there was a rustling in the tunnels of the Shrieking Shack, and before long, a house elf with worn curtains and two different colored woolen socks on his feet emerged from the tunnel, holding a long silver plate with food and cutlery for one person.

"Your breakfast, Professor!"

The elf entered Lupin's bedroom, waking the sleeping Lupin in a squeaky voice and placing the plate beside him.

Lupin sat up with his body recovered, smiled and nodded to the little elf.

"Thank you, Dobby."

Lupin was familiar with this special house elf with the socks, as Dobby had brought him all of his meals and daily needs during his transformation and, over time, they had gotten to know each other.

Dobby bowed to Lupin, then returned to the tunnel and left.

Lupin, on the other hand, continued to think about Black as he slowly ate the food on his plate.

What Lupin didn't expect was that Dobby would be watched by Harry using the Marauder's Map as he made his way from the Boxing Willow's secret passage to the Shrieking Shack to bring him food.

Then Harry got the wrong idea....

Last term, Dobby the elf had hurt him badly.

Although the last time they met he kept saying he was hiding a message from his master, and subsequent events seemed to prove he wasn't lying, Dobby hadn't been seen since.

So Harry still wasn't sure if he was really helping him, or if the plot had been foiled by Fish, and there had been no follow up.

And whether Dobby was helping him or not, his mysterious master was still a follower of Voldemort, and Sirius Black was a Voldemort loyalist, so was it possible that...?

Dobby had orders from his master to help Black and Lupin with their message?

There were so many coincidences that Harry had to wonder about Dobby and Lupin's true position.

But Harry remembered the lesson he had learned about impulses in first year, so he didn't rush to confront Lupin immediately, and now that Dobby was gone, even if he wanted to identify Lupin, he would have to wait until he had caught Dobby with the evidence.

So Harry quickly put away the Marauder's map, found Ron playing cards and Hermione reading a book, with a certain sneaky cat as a safeguard. Harry then reported his findings and analysis to them.

However, before they could discuss what to do next, they saw Fish scratching his head in confusion....

"Huh? Didn't Fish tell them? Dobby was rescued by Albus from his former master and now works for Hogwarts nya... He gets paid every month! Dobby went to see Lupin this morning, I think he was bringing him food."

(??ω??)

Harry: "..."

Ron: "..."

Hermione: "..."