0225 Interrogation

"Professor Watson told me that he accidentally learned from you a few secret passages leading to the outside of the castle. Harry, how did you know the location of these passages so clearly?" 

'This is weird' Harry thought, as he faced Lupin's interrogation. 

Professor Watson had not asked too much about how he had found those secret passages, but Professor Lupin seemed very concerned after he had learned about it. Even though it was so late, he had actually chased after them to the Gryffindor common room to question him about it. 

The common room was empty, except for the Trio and Lupin. The fire was crackling in the fireplace, casting flickering shadows on the walls. The Trio looked at each other confused, not knowing what Professor Lupin was up to. 

"Oh, this–" Harry shrugged, trying to look as innocent as possible. "We discovered a few of them ourselves." 

Tonight, Harry had lied to two of his closest professors, but he had no choice. Fred and George had kindly given him the Marauder's Map, and he couldn't drag them into trouble. He also couldn't reveal the existence of the map to Lupin, who might confiscate it or worse, destroy it.

Lupin's eyes were sharp as he stared at Harry, unlike his usual gentle manner. He did not choose to believe or deny Harry's explanation. He just continued to ask, "I think you must have gotten some help from something else, right, Harry?" 

'Did Professor Lupin know about the map?' Harry's heart suddenly sped up. He felt a surge of panic, and he clenched his fists. 

"I'll just be frank, Harry." Lupin did not intend to beat around the bush. His pale cheeks were flushed by the fire. He stared at Harry's green eyes and asked, "Professor Watson told me that among the three secret passages that Filch didn't know, one of them had an entrance not in the castle, but under the Whomping Willow on the edge of the playground. Please allow me to be confused about this, Harry. I think under normal circumstances, you wouldn't be likely to know this, right?" 

Ron and Hermione stood behind Professor Lupin when he asked this question. They stared at Harry's eyes. Their eyes met in mid-air, and they saw the confusion in each other's eyes. 

'Professor Lupin came to find Harry with great fanfare, just to know this?' 

They couldn't understand why Lupin was so interested in the secret passage under the Whomping Willow. 

"Uh, because--" Harry frowned, trying to find an excuse to bluff his way through. But Professor Lupin added sternly, "I think the truth you tell me will definitely be the TRUTH, right, Harry?" 

Harry was speechless, unable to continue weaving lies. He felt Lupin's gaze piercing through him, and he knew he was cornered. 

"Because of that car, professor–" Ron plucked up his courage and stepped forward, facing Lupin's doubtful eyes. He said crisply, "I think you might have heard of that, professor. At the beginning of the second year, Harry and I got to Hogwarts by a flying car." 

"The Prophet reported some of it at the time." Lupin's eyes flashed with memories. He said slowly, "Professor McGonagall also mentioned it to me a few times. She said your car finally crashed into that Whomping Willow." 

'You're a genius, Ron!' Harry gave Ron a sneaky glance, and Ron read this sentence from it. It also made him more confident. He smiled nervously, and tried to sound remorseful. 

"Oh, yes, professor!" Ron said with a tone of regret, "That was a very painful experience, professor. Harry and I don't usually like to recall that car incident. That car accidentally went out of control and hit the Whomping Willow. You know, that tree has a bad temper. We dodged desperately, and finally escaped from its clutches at the cost of breaking two ribs and a wand!" 

Hermione's cheeks turned red. She was always not used to lying to the professor, although she had done it many times herself. She bit her lip, and tried to look supportive of Ron's story. 

"So, that was when you found out there was a secret passage there?" 

Lupin's furrowed brows relaxed a bit. Ron's words sounded reasonable, at least. There was no obvious flaw. He nodded slowly, and looked at Harry again. 

"Yes, professor!" Ron, whose brain was hyper-active, said. "But we were in a hurry to escape. We didn't have time to go down and see what it was. We wanted to do it later, but we couldn't get close to it anymore!" 

He lied again, hoping that Lupin would buy it. 

"Well, that sounds like the truth." Lupin sighed, his shoulders sagged. But before Harry could breathe a sigh of relief, Lupin became serious again. He glared at Harry and said.

"Professor Watson told me that last week, after you practiced the Patronus Charm with me, you sneaked out of the school gate and ran to Hogsmeade for a drink. To be honest, Harry, I was shocked, because I thought the voice you heard when the Dementors approached you would make you more restrained." 

Harry wanted to explain, but Lupin did not give him a chance. Lupin's words stung Harry like a whip and he lowered his head in shame. 

"Your parents sacrificed their lives to protect you, to let you live, Harry. You shouldn't repay them like this–to risk their sacrifice for a few drinks." Lupin's voice was full of disappointment and anger, and Harry felt a pang of guilt in his chest. 

Lupin left, his last disappointed look making Harry feel worse than in Professor Watson's office. Harry watched Lupin's back as he walked away, and he felt a lump in his throat. 

Seeing Harry like this, Hermione opened her mouth, but said nothing, although in her heart she agreed with the two professor's educating Harry. 

As he slowly walked up the spiral staircase to the dormitory, Harry suddenly said in a muffled voice, "I suddenly feel, all along, my actions seem very stupid." 

"Oh, don't think like that, Harry–" Ron patted the dispirited Harry and said, "Professor Watson and Professor Lupin are both adult wizards, and we can't compare with their life experience. And when they were our age, they might have done countless stupid things!" 

Ron tried to cheer up Harry, as he followed him to his dormitory. 

The night was pitch-black, as if a thick blanket had covered the sky. A week of fine snowflakes had turned the world outside Hogsmeade into a white painting, with only the occasional smoke from the chimneys and the faint music from the pubs adding some color and sound. The night was freezing, and the night was lonely.

In the dry and cold cave, a massive dog with a shaggy black coat that resembled a bear crawled on a bunch of hay and shivered. Under it was a pile of blood-stained bones, the remnants of its meager meals. The cave was damp and dark, and the air was stale.

Thin and dirty, with matted and torn fur, the dog shivered in the dark cave, which suddenly echoed with a ghostly howl or a wolfish cry as the piercing cold wind whirled in from the narrow entrance. The dog raised its head and saw a sharp black shadow jumping on a black stone at the entrance, arching its back and shaking off the snow on its fluffy body.

The wind was biting, and the sound was eerie. The dog was startled, and its ears perked up. The shadow was familiar, and its shape was recognizable. He was curious, as his nose twitched. The shadow was Crookshanks, the half-kneazle cat that belonged to Hermione Granger, And Crookshanks had something in his mouth.

'A cake?'

The dog's eyes lit up, and his mouth watered. He had not eaten anything sweet for a long time, and he was starving. He did not care where Crookshanks had gotten this thing. He just wanted to eat it. He jumped up and made an excited whimper, wagging his tail.

Crookshanks meowed and dropped the thing on the ground, then stepped back. He looked at the dog with a smug expression, as if he had done him a great favor.

The dog did not hesitate. He pounced on the thing, and bit it hard.

Crack!

The sound of something breaking suddenly sounded in the cave filled with wind. The hungry big black dog felt a sharp pain in his mouth and spat out the broken teeth and blood. He looked at the thing that Crookshanks had brought, and his heart sank.

He whimpered softly, wishing he could cry. With a look of despair, he finally recognized what this thing was. 

'Hagrid's rock cake'

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