Chapter 137: Christmas Is Coming

"You're quite bold, aren't you? I was certain you would feign ignorance," Professor Sherlock Forester pronounced, gazing at Remus Lupin in surprise. The man, visibly worn with his threadbare robes, emaciated body and complexion as pale as parchment, possessed eyes that remarkably kept their glow.

"I'm not one to beat around the bush, either. I'd suspected that Snape's hints wouldn't alert the students, but that they would surely arouse your suspicion. Honestly, I hadn't anticipated you to confront me so openly about it," Lupin answered, as Sherlock cut into his dinner.

"Often times it's better to ask than to guess. I didn't expect Dumbledore would be so audacious as to employ a werewolf as a teacher at Hogwarts, although, when I reflect on it, it's a decision befitting his nature."

Having laid bare his intent, Lupin appeared relieved, finishing the last morsels of his meal. "What are you gonna do now that you know? Are you planning to unveil my secret to the students and the staff?"

Sherlock continued delicately eating his steak and glanced up at Lupin. "Whatever would drive me to do such a thing? Even Snape, despite his blatant aversion to you, has only subtly hinted at your condition. What benefit would there be in broadcasting it?"

"Nothing but pure curiosity propels my question. If Dumbledore deemed you trustworthy enough to employ despite being privy to your secret, that vouches enough for me. We've been colleagues for three months now, and you've displayed nothing to suggest deceit or ill intent either."

Lupin's face transformed into a wry smirk at Sherlock's words. "I've always felt guilty for not meeting Dumbledore's expectations. He knew how desperately I was struggling, even unable to feed myself, and still brought me to Hogwarts. But I am, after all, a werewolf."

Sherlock dismissed Lupin's self-depreciation with a quick sweep of his hand. "Don't be so hard on yourself. As I've come to understand, a discovery was recently made - a potion called Wolfsbane, which is known to help werewolves retain their senses during transformation. I presume Snape prepares it for you, no?"

Lupin revealed a look of stunned disbelief. "You're aware of that as well?"

"Don't mistake me for a seer or anything, Harry tipped me off to it. He saw you downing some kind of potion Snape brewed for you and was very concerned about the possibility of it being poison."

"Harry seems to be quite biased against Snape..."

"What strikes me as interesting", continued Sherlock, "is that Dumbledore asked Snape to brew the Wolfsbane potion for you. Judging by Snape's ardent wish to expose your secret, it's clear there's considerable animosity between you two. How very shrewd of Dumbledore to assign Snape of all people to this task."

Lupin grimaced. "Well given the circumstances, Snape is the only one within Hogwarts skilled enough to concoct the Wolfsbane potion."

"The fact that he didn't seize the opportunity to poison you proves, at least superficially, that he possesses some semblance of honor."

"Yes, he has truly earned my gratitude over the past months.. not something I thought I'd ever say.."

Sherlock polished off his steak, cleaned his hands, and stood up. "Well, that wraps things up. At least now, we both know where we stand."

Having confirmed Lupin's identity and undertaking no further actions, Sherlock felt more at ease about his colleague's extreme benevolence and the unusual popularity he enjoyed among the students. Sherlock had speculated why he had retired from the position after only one year of teaching in the original plot.

The truth became crystal clear now. As a werewolf, Lupin was not able to stay within Hogwarts indefinitely. The Wolfsbane potion, though helpful, wouldn't safeguard his job if his identity were revealed. Considering Snape's efforts to undermine Lupin subtly, it was unlikely that Lupin could survive an entire academic year.

Despite these factors, having Lupin as a teaching companion lightened Sherlock's workload considerably, so he was hopeful that Lupin could endure at Hogwarts a bit longer.

A week passed rather quickly. Harry, as previously agreed, reported to Sherlock's office after Saturday's dinner. Sherlock was preoccupied with examining a letter when the boy stepped in.

"'Someone send you mail, professor?" asked Harry, scratching the back of his head curiously.

Sherlock saw no reason to withhold the information. "It's from Fleur."

"Miss Delacour? Anything interesting?"

"Not particularly. She asks whether I'm still teaching at Hogwarts or if I've started something new. Seems like she's simply relieving her boredom."

Setting aside the letter, Sherlock shifted his attention to instructing Harry on the intricacies of the Patronus charm.

"What do you know about this spell?"

"Well let's see, on the train ride at the beginning of the year I saw Professor Lupin use it to scare off a Dementor. I remember that it shot some kind of a silver shield, but then during the match against Hufflepuff when Dumbledore used the spell it seemed to to take the form of a bird.." Harry recalled.

Sherlock gently waved his wand while reciting, "Expecto Patronum." A burst of radiant, silver sparks flew from the tip, quickly morphing into a luminous bird perched on Harry's shoulders.

"This is my Patronus."

Startled and in awe, Harry reached out to touch the Phantom beast, who willingly hopped onto his palm. "So, it was you who conjured the silver bird during the game, not Dumbledore! We'd been discussing who it was in the common room, but most thought it was Dumbledore."

After close examination of the spectral bird, Harry exclaimed, "That's wicked, it's like a real raven!"

The Patronus hopped around on Harry's hand before gliding back to perch on Sherlock's shoulder, silently fixating its gaze back on its master.

Sherlock proceeded to instruct Harry, teaching him the wand motions and the pronunciation needed to execute the Patronus Charm, and then asked him to perform it.

"Expecto Patronum."

Following Sherlock's guidance, Harry tried to cast the spell but couldn't manifest anything, not even the faintest specter of silver mist. Sherlock corrected him, "The last flick of your wand requires an upward inflection. This movement shouldn't be overly dramatic, a subtle flick will do." He reminded Harry, "The frame of mind in which you cast the spell is just as crucial. This charm relies heavily on positive emotion. Thus, the more joyful your memories are, the more potent your Patronus will be. Remember to summon these feelings before you cast."

Despite Harry's earnest attempts and his great talent, mastering such advanced magic was no mean feat. Even as curfew approached, Harry's attempts were fruitless.

He was somewhat disappointed, but Sherlock had anticipated this situation.

If it only took this amount of time, Sherlock would have doubted his own talent. It took him nearly a year of research to finally summon the Patronus.

During the time leading up to Christmas, Hogwarts maintained a period of calm.

Black did not attempt to break into the castle again, and after the incident during the Quidditch match, Dumbledore issued a warning to the Dementors, and so none of them dared to enter Hogwarts at will again.

As for Hilke, she had returned to Germany over a month ago, yet there had been no word from her. If it weren't for Sherlock knowing that she was not the type to be irresponsible, he might have suspected that she had crossed the river and destroyed the bridge.

But during this time, the pendant that had been hanging around his neck had shown no abnormalities. Apart from the fact that he couldn't take it off, it was no different from ordinary jewelry.

Soon the end of the first semester of this year and thus the last week before the Christmas break came. Crucially for the students this was another chance to take a trip to Hogsmeade.

For the past two weeks heavy snow had graced the lands around the castle, covering everything in a thick layer of snow. Finally however, the weather had begun to clear up.

All the students from the third year and above, except for Harry, were excited.

Hermione was planning to bring back some Peppermint Toads from Honeydukes as Christmas presents for her parents. Both her mom and dad loved the taste of these candies.

Harry was quite upset that he was the only one staying at Hogwarts over the weekend. But last weekend, he had successfully, for the first time, under Sherlock's guidance, cast a few silver threads from his wand using the Patronus Charm. This excitement offset some of the pain of not going to Hogsmeade for the weekend.

He decided to borrow a copy of the newest issue of "Which Broomstick?" from Wood and spend the day learning about different broomsticks to prepare for his next purchase.

Since his Nimbus 2000 had been torn to pieces by the Whomping Willow, he had tried practicing with the school's broomsticks. However, the Cleansweep Fives and Comet 260s were slow and shaky compared to what he was used to. For Harry, who had inherited plenty of money, it was natural to buy a new top of the line broomstick.

On Saturday morning, Harry said goodbye to Ron and Hermione at the school gates and then walked alone up the marble staircase to return to the Gryffindor common room.

Snowflakes were drifting outside the window, and the castle was very quiet.

Just as he turned into the corridor on the fourth floor, he saw Fred and George peeking at him from behind a one-eyed humpbacked witch statue.

"Hey, Harry, come over here!"