Chapter 16

When it was finally confirmed that their friend Remus Lupin had not returned to school, two brave Gryffindors ran to question their dean, during confinement.

"Yes." Professor McGonagall didn't seem so mild-mannered, but despite being the Head of Gryffindor, none of the Gryffindors had ever seen her laughing. She's just serious, not like a Gryffindor.

It was impossible to tell exactly how she was feeling, but the two Gryffindors twitched her cheek muscles and realized that she wasn't that interested in their problems.

That's all she said.

After waiting for a minute, Sirius impulsively said, "But Professor, Remus has been here for four years!" He's graduating in three years! Why kick him out? ”

"Obviously," Professor McGonagall stared at them until they lowered their heads, "maybe because it proved that he was actually dangerous?" ”

"Remus is not in danger!!" The two Gryffindors said in unison.

Professor McGonagall said sternly, "Two gentlemen, this matter has already been decided by the Headmaster. Mr. Lupin can come back and take his ordinary wizard level exam, and besides, it might be helpful for you to visit him if you want and bring him your reading notes. She cleaned up the parchment on the table, "Now, you can leave my office." ”

"Remus should come back!" The two Gryffindors stopped their headmaster, "Remus has been in school here for four years, and he hasn't hurt anyone!" That's just...... It was just an accident! Sirius waved vigorously.

"That's our fault, Professor." James blocked his friend who was about to lose his mind, "It was we who didn't listen to the professor and ran into the secret room." It's our fault, it's none of Remus's business, he's actually a victim. Professor, we hope you'll reconsider bringing Remus back, he'd love to come back to school. ”

"Yes, yes. Punish us and bring Remus back! Sirius snapped, looking at Professor McGonagall expectantly.

Professor McGonagall paused to look at the boys, "If you can learn a lesson from this incident, then I will be very pleased. She ignored them and kicked them out of the office.

Thrown out of the Transfiguration Professor's office, Sirius stomped his feet in annoyance.

"Oh! Damn it!! He held his head and said, "How can this be!!" ”

"We're going to have to figure it out again." James' face was terrible, he didn't expect things to turn out like this. What does he mean...... Little did he know that this would actually cause Remus to be expelled from school.

"What else can be done? Would Professor McGonagall even not let Remus come back? Sirius didn't know why Professor McGonagall had decided to do this, and since Remus had been in school for four years, it meant that the professors were actually accepting him. As for that incident, he and James weren't hurt, were they? They didn't mind, why couldn't they let Remus come back?

"......," James said with little confidence, "we'll have a way." He dragged Sirius back to his bedroom.

"We'll have a way!"

Next, they kept thinking about how they could convince the principal and professors to bring Remus back.

They analyzed it and concluded that Professor McGonagall was not the kind of professor who would give up her principles for the sake of her students, so even if she liked Remus, she would not disobey the principal's decision.

So, the focus is on Headmaster Dumbledore! And the principal is so kind, he must be very good at talking!!

Sirius and James begin to decide to infiltrate the Headmaster's office. It was not an easy task, and after spending a week unable to guess the headmaster's command, they had to spend a day squatting at the door of the headmaster's office, but fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, and before dinner, they finally blocked Headmaster Dumbledore.

Headmaster Dumbledore had barely walked out of the headmaster's office when he saw two listless-looking boys crouching there.

"Boys, oh, it's Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, why don't you go to the restaurant? I know there was a very delicious fish soup tonight! The old wizard said with a wink.

"Mr. Headmaster!" Finally found him two Gryffindors screaming and pounced, and immediately began to intercede for Remus.

"Mr. Headmaster! Let Remus come back! ”

"We are willing to be punished for him!"

"We were wrong! Mr. Principal, please punish us!! ”

The two boys were so imposing that Headmaster Dumbledore had to quiet them down first.

He threw up his hands and said, "Wait a minute, gentlemen. I guess you have something very important, right? So why don't we talk in my office? I also have some Bibi more beans. ”

After drinking a glass of pumpkin juice and eating some sandwiches, the two Gryffindors calmed down. Sirius clenched his cup tightly and lowered his head and said with difficulty, "Mr. Headmaster, I recognize my mistake. ”

Dumbledore listened with a smile.

"Ever since I was in first grade, I've taken pleasure in breaking school rules. If the professors say they can't do it, I want to do it. You can't use a wand in the hallway, you can't attack your classmates, you can't go to the Forbidden Forest. Whether it's a point deduction or confinement, I never care. "Sirius, this is the first time I've been so candid about this to a professor.

“…… I thought it was handsome. He felt ashamed. Those things made him feel like a 'hero', and he didn't dare to do anything if he did it, even if he was deducted points or locked up by the professor.

"I hurt Remus." Sirius Black covered his face, and the headmaster cried bitterly.

James Potter next to him looked like someone had cast a petrification spell and turned into a sculpture. He looked at Dumbledore, then at his friend, and said dryly, "Me too." ”

He used to think it was stupid, whether it was to admit his mistakes to the professors or act like a 'good boy', and before coming to the principal, he thought they just had to get Remus back, and for that he was willing to be locked up until he graduated.

At first, he didn't understand why Sirius would say that, thinking it was just a customary premise to admit mistakes in order to bring Remus back. But it sounded to him and let him know that Sirius really thought so.

- He really admits his mistakes.

James didn't understand at first, so he just followed his friend and said 'Me too', but as soon as he opened his mouth, it was as if he couldn't stop the brake anymore, and he gushed out.

"I—I've always looked down on Severus Snape. I laughed at his family, he used second-hand textbooks, he wore old robes that didn't fit, he had greasy hair. James felt it was a bit too much, and he remedied, "I mean, he's a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor." He shrugged.

"We don't like each other." He said, and then he saw Headmaster Dumbledore's eyes across from him, as if he knew everything.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath, "I—I think that's handsome, too." I mean, everybody thinks it's interesting. "He always gets that snot in front of everyone, and then he always wins the applause of the house, which makes him feel like a 'grand thief' or something, always punishing the bad guys who make people nasty.

"I thought, it's not good. I shouldn't have bullied my classmates, I mean, I should apologize to him. "Oh, he's got a spell in his mouth, and he actually said he was going to apologize to the snot spirit?

"I mean," he struggled to clear his throat, "Sirius and I both did wrong, and we deserve to be punished, and Remus, he did nothing wrong. He should go back to school. "That's right! He's finally right!

"I'm very happy." Headmaster Dumbledore spread his hands as if he were going to hug them, "I'm proud of you for being here today and saying these things. ”

"Mr. Headmaster!" Sirius and James looked at him with emotion! So Remus can come back?

"But, it's a pity." Headmaster Dumbledore shook his head, "Mr. Lupin can't come back to the castle again. This is for the sake of the safety of the remaining six hundred and twenty-one students at Hogwarts, and I would say that I did not think it through before. ”

He held up a hand to prevent the two boys from saying any more.

"Werewolf damage is irreversible." He said.

Sirius and James hoped they would retort, but they found them speechless. Even if they were willing not to pursue Remus, they already knew that he was a werewolf, and the other students' parents would not allow him to return here, otherwise there would be an earthquake at Hogwarts.

"All right, gentlemen. It's time for you to go back to the restaurant, I think you'll be able to catch dessert. Headmaster Dumbledore sent them away.

After being rejected by the professor again, Sirius finds himself less indignant than the last time.

He said, "What do we do next?" I'm not hungry at all. He clutched his stomach and said, now it was like a big rock in his stomach, which made him uncomfortable.

He had a hunch that there was no way to make up for the mistake they made this time. There's a good chance that Remus won't be back at the castle.

James couldn't do anything about it, he said, "Let's go back to the break room first." Let's see if there's anything else to do. ”

But what else can be done? Since even the headmaster refused to speak to them.

After the two Gryffindors were depressed for two days, they deliberately stayed after the History of Magic class, and they wanted to ask Professor Riddle the Great to see if they could get some advice from him. After all, only two of all professors are Professor Riddle who are not so 'disciplined'.

Of course, they can also go to Professor Riddle Jr., but considering that he is the head of Slytherin, and James happens to have a 'friendship' with a Slytherin for four whole years, and he was also discovered by sneaking into the secret room last time, so this time the two Gryffindors chose to be so gentle and great Professor Riddle.

"Oh, you're talking about Remus, I heard about him." Professor Riddle said of Remus the same as before, "You want to help your friends, and you want to make up for your mistakes?" Well, I guess I can give you a little advice. ”

Professor Riddle advised them to 'protest'.

"Protest?" The two pure-blood wizards don't explain.

"Oh, that's a Muggle way to protest when they're not happy with a decision made by the government." Professor Riddle, like his wife, was accustomed to educating the wizards about Muggles, for he found that it was always better to convince others of things they didn't understand.

Professor Riddle told the two Gryffindors that they could collect enough student signatures and then jointly ask the school to bring Remus Lupin back.

"The more names you have, the more your opinions will be valued by the school." Professor Riddle said.

"That's right!" Sirius and James were overjoyed! "That's a great idea!" They can't wait to collect signatures right away!

"That's right, James." Professor Riddle stopped him, "You can ask Lily Evans for help, she's Muggle-born, she must know more about this." He said to him by implication.

Sure enough, James' eyes lit up immediately! "Thank you! Professor! ”

They run back to the Gryffindor common room and find Lily Evans and ask her to help the girls collect autographs.

"Okay." Lily Evans said, "For the sake of Remus, I can try." ”

The three of them were busy all night, writing a tear-jerking article to post on the announcement, and preparing some badges to give to those who were willing to sign.

Here's Evans' advice: "You know, send something to people to get them to support us." "That's what everybody does in the Muggle world.

They also copied a lot of that article with a copying spell, and then planned to distribute it to the students so that many people would support them.

"Remus, my friend, come back!" It was posted on the bulletin board, and Sirius, James, and Lily held it to persuade the other students to support and sign, and they kept looking for other classmates every day, even during meals and in class.

But they weren't able to get more than fifty signatures until Christmas, and not many people in their academy were in favor of Remus Lupin's return.

"Why?! He's our classmate! "Neither Sirius nor James understood.

"But he's a werewolf, and I don't want a werewolf to bite me." Those who were caught by them always fled in a hurry, and some people said, "Yes, Remus is very pitiful, I heard that he was bitten by werewolves when he was a child." I sympathize with him, but I don't want him back. It's scary. ”

Three whole months of hard work to no avail.

The more time passed, the more Sirius and James understood that everything was irreparable. No one is behind Remus coming back, and in fact not many people care about his fate, just like no one is in a hurry like they are. While they were running around for Remus, the rest of the students were still in class, out of class, doing homework, and going to the cafeteria every day. They would still worry about their homework, they would discuss Quidditch, they would talk about going to Hogmound.

Without a Remus, everyone is still as happy as ever.

Sirius and James went from being angry, discouraged, and disappointed to seem to understand.

Sirius remembered when he was sorted into Gryffindor, and he considered himself a hero who rebelled against his parents, and cursed his parents and brother every day since, as well as the Black family. It seems that the more he does this, the farther away he is from that evil ** full of Slytherins.

- Maybe he's just a clown in the eyes of others? This made his parents furious, in his eyes it was a major event in his life, and in the eyes of other classmates, it was just another wizard family who had a traitor.

James unexpectedly remembered Severus Snape. The first time he sat in Hogwarts, he gave him the nickname Snot, which caused a burst of laughter from his classmates around them.

It made him feel like he was doing the right thing.

Everybody laughs, doesn't they? It's a joy to behold.

The snot spirit was not a little sheep, and he immediately fought back against him, which made him angry and embarrassed. Everyone watched.

So he found a place where he could continue to laugh at him. His old robe, he looked like he hadn't washed his hair in a year, he was a poor ghost! Dirty ghosts! Sloppy ghosts!

Later, this became a repertoire between him and Snot. He would laugh at each other every time he met him, and when they learned the spells, the ridicule became bloody. He is willing to humiliate his enemies in every way and make him ugly in front of everyone! This went on for four years. From the first grade until last year.

He had no doubt that the Snot Spirit wanted to kill him, if only he could find a way not to enter Azkaban. Because if someone laughs at him like this, he will also kill the other person. Not to mention that this went on for four whole years.

- Yes, he's an idiot.

James painfully discovers this fact. He offers a joke for everyone, and the name of that joke is Severus Snot Snape.

Unfortunately, he is no higher than this joke

16. Chapter 16

Level.

- Just as people don't care if Remus gets kicked out of school, they don't care what makes them laugh.

He suspected that if it was him who had been ridiculed that day, he would still make a crowd laugh.

So, he's not a 'hero' at all, and it's not like he's going to take down the 'bad guys'. Both they and Remus were Hogwarts students.

In the evening, in their two dormitories, Peter had moved out the day after school started. There were four people in this dormitory, but now only two of them remain.

"Hi, bro." James called Sirius, "Are you asleep?" ”

"Nope." Sirius rested his hands and looked at the ceiling.

"Oh." James was speechless, and after a while, he asked again, "What do you want?" ”

Sirius didn't speak, and it took a long time to answer him, "...... I didn't think about anything. ”

And then they all fell asleep before they knew it.

Before Christmas, Sirius went to Hogmound, and for the first time seriously picked out a Christmas present for his father, mother, and brother.

Mr. Black was fond of collecting tobacco, and he mail-ordered a box of premium cigars for him.

Mrs. Black, as a lady, Sirius picked out a necklace for her.

Regulus, he was fifteen years old. Considering that he might start to have girlfriends going on dates, Sirius gave him his favorite pair of cufflinks.

Then he wrote Christmas cards very seriously. He used to give them books or items of the Dark Arts every year, but one year he bought a tattered royal badge dug up from the grave and immediately gave it to his parents to mock them for the so-called Black family, which was only a few hundred years later.

He then wrote to the Blacks that he was going to stay at school for Christmas this year.

Mr. James Potter, who stopped Severus Snape after a class on the protection of magical creatures, said to him loudly with Gryffindor courage before the Slytherin drew his wand and gave him a curse:

"I'm sorry!!" He quickly said, "I'm sorry for playing pranks on you for so many years, and I think I should say sorry to you." ”

A minute later, the Slytherin stared at him and said, "...... Is this another prank? ”

James rolled his eyes and added, "I'm going to say, even though I'm sorry for my previous behavior, I still hate you, snot!" ”

Now, the Slytherin looked much more relaxed, and his expression seemed to say, 'I knew you couldn't say anything nice'.

Christmas came, and the two Gryffindors packed their bags and boarded the train home. Then, when he arrived at the station, he changed into Muggle clothes and mixed his luggage among Muggles.

Two hours later, the Blacks and Potters went straight to Hogwarts again!

Headmaster Dumbledore received the four anxious parents and struggled to piece together the problem from their yelling.

"Oh, the Protective Charm found out they left the school?"

"No, their names are not on this year's list."

"Yes, they caught up with Hogwarts."

"Okay, I think I get it." After convincing the four parents to sit down for a cup of tea, Headmaster Dumbledore quickly summoned Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor, and Professor Riddle Jr., who stayed at the school.

"Our Mr. Black and Mr. Porter are missing, and apparently they are not coming home." Headmaster Dumbledore said, his gaze sweeping over Professor McGonagall and then stopping at Professor Riddle Jr.

"Rhett, I guess I can trust you to bring them back, can you?" The principal said.

"Of course." Professor Riddle Jr. said, "I'm going to look for them right now." ”

- This is your labor service.

The old wizard said this with the look in his eyes.

- Yes, Professor.

Rhett understands it very well.

- I won't let you down.

Professor Riddle Jr. said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Black and Mr. and Mrs. Potter and left. Headmaster Dumbledore, behind his back, comforted the four parents.

"Professor Riddle Jr. is a very trustworthy wizard, and I think we'll be able to hear from them. Oh, Mrs. Black, your necklace is so beautiful! ”

Mrs. Black clutched her bag tightly, she looked very worried, very uneasy, and very angry, but even so, she politely responded to Headmaster Dumbledore's compliment.

"This is a gift from my son." She couldn't wait to put it on, and she didn't even wait for Christmas Day to open it, and her husband had already put the box of cigars on his desk, and he didn't smoke a single one, but opened it every day to smell it.

"I would say that little Mr. Black was a very good student. I have no doubt that he will also be a very great wizard. Dumbledore smiled.

Just like all children, every child needs to recognize their own shortcomings and mistakes, and after that, they will become better than before.

– and that's what we all expect.