Chapter 139: Unhappy Lunch

Ivan, Harry and Hermione left the school hospital. When they arrived at the Great Dining Hall, they noticed that the long tables used by the four Houses had been moved to the wall. Only a square table for twenty people was available in the center of the room.

Those who had decided to spend the Christmas vacations at the castle this year were seated around the table.

Ivan did not see Dumbledore. His seat was empty.

Apart from him, Professor McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick and Hagrid were all there, as was the caretaker Filch.

Filch had already taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a very old and rather outdated tuxedo. Next to Professor Flitwick were two very nervous first-year students, both from Ravenclaw; to Snape's left was a sixth-year student from the sinister Slytherin House.

There was also Ron, sitting alone at the end of the table. No one wanted to be near him.

Harry hesitated for a moment and approached Ron, his face full of concern.

Ivan was quick to stop Harry. He couldn't just walk over. Because of what happened to Professor Lupin last night, Harry had to have a normal reaction. He should look like he hated Ron.

If he got close, he'd hit the grass and chase the snake away. I mean, Peter Pettigrew is a cunning opponent and they have to be careful.

The three of them looked at each other, turned away from Ron, and sat side by side with Hagrid.

Aside from the erratic smiles on Snape's mouth, the atmosphere around the table was very heavy and depressing; it didn't look much like Christmas. Everyone ate lunch in silence and no one spoke until....

"Ivan, Hermione, how are you?" asked Hagrid with a sad face.

"Don't worry, Madam Pomfrey said we're fine. We just need..." Before Ivan finished his words, he saw three owls flying towards the Great Dining Hall.

They had three red envelopes in their mouths and flew straight for Dumbledore's empty seat.

"That's enough of that! Those Vociferators, they've been screaming since morning!", Professor McGonagall stood up. She glared angrily at the three Vociferators that the owls threw at the table. The corners of the envelopes were slowly burning.

She pulled out her wand and waved it gently.

Three blue flames erupted over the red envelopes, turning them to ashes in the blink of an eye, and saving those around the table from their horrible sounds.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable!" said Professor Flitwick in a high-pitched voice, "Are all these people insane?! They actually sent Dumbledore Vociferators. I haven't seen such madness in years."

"Stupid owls and equally stupid vociferators!" Snape smirked.

"I noticed that all these vociferators were sent by parents of students in your house, Severus!" Professor McGonagall said with a smile.

"Thank you for reminding me - I hadn't noticed that before!" Snape had a grim smile on his lips. "But, I can understand why the students' parents did it. In my opinion, what the Headmaster did was really inappropriate. Who would have thought that the school teacher could be a werewolf? And who would have thought that this tamed werewolf would attack his own students? With this lesson, I think the Headmaster will definitely be very, very careful when employing staff members in the future."

"Professor Lupin is innocent!" Harry looked at Snape angrily and shouted helplessly. "He didn't hurt anyone, he...."

"Silence, Potter! Five points off for Gryffindor." Snape turned to look at Harry and smirked. "I don't want to know what's going on between you and that werewolf, but I have to remind you to watch your tone Don't yell at me like an uneducated wolf pup!"

Harry sat up angrily and forced himself not to look at Snape.

"Don't worry, Harry! With Dumbledore there, Professor Lupin will be fine." Hagrid whispered comfortingly. But he didn't sound very confident. "It's been really horrible; I can't count how many owls came before these three with vociferous owls. They've been coming constantly!"

"Was it like this all morning?" asked Ivan in surprise.

Hagrid nodded, "Yes, you and Hermione weren't at breakfast, so you didn't see the scene. In front of the whole school, over 400 vociferators went off at the same time."

"I just told you," Harry said faintly, "Hagrid, any news from Dumbledore or Professor Lupin?

"Actually, there is some bad news," Hagrid said hesitantly. "I've just learned that the Ministry is preparing to send Professor Lupin straight to Azkaban!"

"How could they do something like that without a trial?" Harry looked at Ron and his eyes moved quickly back. He whispered, "Ron's accusation is obviously ridiculous. Professor Lupin is found not guilty."

"I know, it's all because of Lucius Malfoy - that guy's been pulling pranks all along!" Hagrid replied angrily. "It's not that I don't believe in Lupin, but if it were me, I'd rather die than go to Azkaban again."

"Is it terrible there, Hagrid?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"You can't imagine it. I've been there, fifty years ago, for a couple of months, when I was wrongly accused of using an Acromantula to kill a student in the Chamber of Secrets," Hagrid said calmly, "Nowhere is it that bad, I thought I was going mad, with all sorts of terrible things going through my head, the day I was expelled from Hogwarts, the day my father died..."

"Because of the Dementors?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, you've seen those monsters this year, but you probably haven't seen thousands of them together, the feeling of horror...", Hagrid closed his eyes and painful memories flashed across his face. "Azkaban prison was built on a deserted island far off the coast. The island is crawling with Dementors. If you stay there long enough, you will no longer know who you are or what it means to live. I still remember often wishing I could sleep and never wake up when I was alone. When I was released, I felt like I had come alive, and I remembered who I was and why I wanted to live again. That is truly the most wonderful feeling in the world. I remember that the Dementors didn't want to let me go."

"But you weren't found guilty!" Hermione said.

"Guilty?" Hagrid growled angrily. "Do you really think they value such a thing? They don't care. They already have 500 people there, and they've been sucking the happiness out of all of them. They don't care who's guilty and who isn't."

Hearing Hagrid's words, Harry felt sick to his stomach and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Don't worry!" seeing Harry and Hermione's face, Ivan said hurriedly, "Professor Lupin will not be sent to Azkaban. Tonight, we are going to prove his innocence. "

Harry didn't speak, he was still thinking about Azkaban.

Suddenly, he remembered that Sirius Black had been held there for twelve years. It must have been terrible for him.