0291 The Original Path

Words : 1256 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

0291 The Original Path Had the night not been laden with astonishments, Harry would have marveled at the revelation of the Time-Turner. "Oh—" Just then, Hermione came to an abrupt halt, stopping in her tracks, surprised at an office door left open along the corridor. "He actually forgot to close his office door—" Hermione whispered, but then she realized she shouldn't make any noise and covered her mouth. This was Professor Lupin's office, but he was not there. Harry suddenly remembered that at this time, Professor Lupin should be on his way back after washing up, and from the map Hermione had opened, Harry confirmed this. "We're in the Gryffindor common room, led here by Peter Pettigrew. Look, we're going downstairs now, but his name isn't on the map." "By the way, how did you find out that Professor Lupin is... is a werewolf?" Among the surprising events of the night, Professor Lupin being werewolf was definitely in the top three. Earlier in the Forbidden Forest, Harry hadn't had the chance to ask Hermione how she discovered this secret, but now, he couldn't help but be curious. "Do you remember, Harry? Professor Lupin taught us how to deal with Boggarts in the first class. When the Boggart faced Professor Lupin, it turned into a full moon. Later, he took sick leave for a few days every month, and I always wondered about it. Then, before Christmas, I previewed the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook and saw the description of werewolves--" Hermione cautiously stuck her head into Professor Lupin's office, but he wasn't there. On the Marauder's Map, Professor Lupin had appeared on the staircase on the other side of the fourth floor, and in the Gryffindor Tower location, Ron and Harry's names were intersecting with Percy's. "That's strange--" Hermione said hesitantly. "What's wrong??" Harry quickly asked, and Hermione pointed to the Gryffindor common room. Her voice filled with confusion, she said, "Look, Harry, we were lured out of the common room by Peter Pettigrew. You see, we're going downstairs now, but his name isn't on the map." Harry leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the map spread out in Hermione's hands. And then, he noticed that there was more than just one strange thing happening. As the clock neared ten, they were chasing after Scabbers down the stairs. But on the map, only their names were displayed, and there was no sign of Scabbers in the castle. Instead, on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Harry saw Hagrid crouching in his hut, while Sirius and Crookshanks were in a small square on the map. And in the area behind the house, close to the Forbidden Forest, Draco Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew's names appeared faintly. "We don't have time to think about this, Harry." Hermione suddenly closed the map, grabbed Harry's hand, and barged into Professor Lupin's office. After leaving the map behind, she urgently pulled on his sleeve and squeezed through the door crack. "The map in Professor Lupin's hand—" Harry said, puzzled. "Was it the one we left for him?" "Isn't it obvious, Harry?" Hermione snapped impatiently. "Dumbledore has made it clear enough." Harry wanted to ask more, but the hurried footsteps from the stairs and the appearance of Professor Lupin on the other side blocked his mouth. Even though they knew that no one could see them, Harry and Hermione's hearts raced nervously, especially Hermione. Before obtaining the Time-Turner from Professor McGonagall, she had memorized hundreds of prohibitions related to time magic and had read countless cases of wizards causing serious accidents due to misuse of Time-Turners. Based on the sequence of events, they were safe here. But Hermione couldn't suppress her nervousness. What happened next could only be described as magical, even for Harry, who was accustomed to the wonders of magic. He saw Ron and himself appear in his field of vision at the same time, just a few dozen feet away, as they hurriedly chased after Scabbers, who flashed by in their line of sight. Then, Hermione grabbed their collars and pulled them behind the tapestry. Harry held his breath instinctively, because Professor Lupin had walked over slowly. Harry looked at him sadly, knowing what was about to happen, but even without Hermione's reminder, he knew the serious consequences of intervening. "Look—" Hermione said, holding her breath. "We're here." Indeed, at this time, they were attracted by the barking of Fang and ran towards them from the path leading to the gate. They had personally experienced what happened next, and there was nothing interesting about it. Harry said dejectedly, "Peter escaped and never showed up tonight. If we can't find him, Sirius—" "Not necessarily, Harry—" The damp soil and dewdrops on the leaves made Hermione uncomfortable. She adjusted her crawling position and gazed at the commotion happening between Hagrid and the others, slowly saying, "Do you remember the sudden appearance of the Killing curse in the Forbidden Forest?" The name of this curse seemed to hold a special power. When it was mentioned in the pumpkin patch, Harry felt an invisible chill touch his skin, causing him to shiver inexplicably. He hadn't heard of this curse before, but when Hermione mentioned it, he immediately thought of the green light that had caused his scar to throb painfully that night. "Do you think it was Peter's doing?" "Obviously—" Hermione quickly said, "I think Peter's original plan was to lure Sirius into the Forbidden Forest. Think about it, if it was just him alone, he would definitely die at the hands of the werewolf. But he didn't expect us to show up later. Professor Lupin and Snape were also dragged there by us. By a twist of fate, so many people now know the truth of what happened years ago. This must have surprised Peter, but as long as Sirius dies there, there will be no evidence." Surrendering to Voldemort, causing the death of his parents, lurking around the Weasley family and Ron for so long, and now plotting to kill Sirius, to be honest, Harry had never hated someone as much as he hated peter now, except for Voldemort. Even the cold night wind blowing on the highlands couldn't extinguish the flame burning in Harry's heart at this moment. The struggle beneath the pumpkin patch finally had a result. Hagrid led them into the Forbidden Forest, where they were met with a thrilling battle. And just after they left, in the comforting moonlight, a weakened Lupin appeared, panting heavily. He asked Fang for directions and rushed into the Forbidden Forest. Seeing that the time was almost right, Hermione prepared to get up and follow. They still had a long way to go to reach the location of the battle. But at that moment, Harry suddenly stopped being in a hurry. He looked around, as if searching for something. "What are you daydreaming about, Harry? We need to catch up!" "Wait a minute, Hermione. Someone will come." Harry knew they didn't have time to waste now, but he didn't move, his face filled with eagerness. "Harry!" Hermione got up herself, uncovering the Invisibility Cloak, and stomped her foot in annoyance. "It's almost time, we have to wait a little—" Harry also got up and looked around. "Maybe someone else will come." ******************************* For More Chapters; /FicFrenzy

0291 The Original Path

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