Lupin learns the truth

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Ethan took out his wand and lightly tapped the parchment.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said softly.

Thin cobweb-like lines of ink spread from where the wand touched, crisscrossing and filling the parchment.

At the top, the lines formed several zigzag letters:

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Proudly Present the Marauder's Map."

The crisscrossing ink blots covered the entire parchment, revealing a detailed map of Hogwarts.

The most eye-catching feature was the tiny ink dots moving on the map, each marked with a name.

Ethan saw many familiar names. Harry and Ron were in the courtyard, and Dumbledore was in his office. George and Fred were in the auditorium, surrounded by students, likely selling Gwent cards. Hermione was in her bedroom, presumably resting, and Luna was in the Forbidden Forest, probably revisiting the little unicorn.

Ethan couldn't find Peter Pettigrew's name on the map. He looked for Lupin's name but still couldn't find it. Sirius Black's name was also missing.

After a moment of doubt, Ethan realized that Lupin, Black, Peter, and James had created this map. They must have used a unique method to hide their names so only other names would appear when they held the map.

Ethan took out his wand again and tapped the map, softly chanting an incantation. A purple light disappeared into the map. As the purple light spread, the ink became messy. The moving dots and lines forming Hogwarts' walls turned into a jumble.

The next moment, the map fell silent and returned to its original, more detailed appearance. Peter Pettigrew's name appeared in Ron's dorm room, Remus Lupin's name appeared in his office, and Sirius Black's name appeared by the Black Lake, though Ethan had no idea what he was doing there.

Ethan had cracked the highest authority of the Marauder's Map. After all, it was created by four students, and it was relatively easy to override it.

Ethan even discovered that the Room of Requirement appeared on the map at the highest authority. At this time, a student named Gaunter O'Dimm was in the Room of Requirement.

Ethan's attention quickly shifted to Lupin's movements, as the map showed him approaching his office. He covered the Marauder's Map with a book and waited for Lupin to knock on his door.

It didn't take long for Lupin to knock, open the door, and walk in. He was still wearing the tattered suit from the train but looked much better, probably due to the excellent food at Hogwarts.

Because werewolves are contagious, people bitten by them also become werewolves, making it challenging for werewolves to find jobs in society. Lupin made ends meet by doing odd jobs.

"Please take a seat, Professor Lupin. You've been at Hogwarts for days, and we haven't had a proper talk," Ethan said with a smile.

Lupin sat awkwardly in the chair opposite Ethan and said hesitantly, "Professor Ethan, the reason I'm here is to meet your assistant."

He had heard about Ethan's assistant's recent strange behavior, which made him suspicious. Now, he wanted to confirm his idea and figure out which side Ethan was on, even suspecting Ethan might be an undercover agent sent by Voldemort.

"My assistant is on campus. I'll call him back," Ethan said.

While waiting for Sirius Black, the two looked at each other, and the atmosphere was awkward.

"By the way, Professor Lupin, I have some questions," Ethan said.

"Just ask," Lupin replied quickly.

"My investigation shows you were good friends with Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and Harry's father, James Potter. You also created an organization called The Marauders?"

"Yes." Lupin's eyes showed a trace of pain as Ethan's words reminded him of the years when the four of them were in school. Now, the Marauders had fallen apart; James and Peter were dead, killed by Sirius Black.

"Oh? That's interesting."

A strange smile appeared on Ethan's face. "I confiscated a strange map from a student that shows all the secret passages in Hogwarts and the names of everyone in Hogwarts."

Hearing Ethan's words, Lupin raised his head in surprise. He knew Ethan was talking about the Marauder's Map. He didn't expect the map he made as a student to fall into Ethan's hands. Lupin said nothing, waiting for Ethan to continue.

"That map has been useful in catching naughty students running around, but there seems to be something wrong with it. It shows the name of a long-dead person, Peter Pettigrew."

Lupin's body trembled. Staring at Ethan in disbelief, Lupin said, "That map never goes wrong." His voice shook a little.

"Professor Ethan, can you show me that map?" Lupin begged, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Of course, no problem."

Ethan handed the Marauder's Map under the book to Lupin. Lupin grabbed the map and ensured it was the one he had made. He quickly pulled out his wand.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," said Lupin hastily.

The map soon changed, and Lupin hurriedly searched it, quickly finding Peter Pettigrew's name.

"Oh my God!"

Lupin sighed and collapsed into the chair. Many thoughts raced through his mind, thoughts he had considered absurd without evidence. With the Marauder's Map confirming it, those ideas became clearer. An idea that had only briefly crossed his mind now filled it.