Bella and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter Sixty One

When the four of us finally left the hospital wing at noon the next day, we found an almost empty castle. The sweltering heat and the end of the exams meant that everyone was taking full advantage of another Hogsmeade visit. Neither Ron or Hermione felt like going, so the four of us wandered into the grounds, still talking about the extraordinary events of last night and wondering where Sirius and Buckbeak were now.

Sitting near the lake, watching the giant squid waving its tentacles lazily above the water, I lost the thread of the conversation as I looked across to the opposite bank. The Doe had galloped towards me from there just last night...

A shadow fell across and we looked up to see a very bleary-eyed Hagrid, mopping his sweaty face with one of his tablecloth-sized handkerchiefs and beaming down at us.

"Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night," he said. "I mean, Black escapin' again, an' everythin' - but guess what?"

"What?" we answered, pretending to look curious. Of course, we know what he's about to say.

"Beaky! He escaped! He's free! Bin celebratin' all night!"

"That's wonderful!" Hermione said, giving Ron a reproving look because he looked as though he was close to laughing. Oh, Ron...you dumbass.

"Yeah...can't've tied him up properly," Hagrid said, gazing happily out over the grounds. "I was worried this mornin', mind...thought he mighta met Professor Lupin in the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night..."

"What?" I asked quickly. 

"Blimey, haven' yeh heard?" Hagrid asked, his smile fading a little. He lowered his voice, even though there was nobody in sight. "Er - Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'...thought everyone'd know by now...Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose in the grounds las' night. He's packin' now, o'course"

"He's packing?" Harry asked, alarmed. "Why?"

"Leavin', isn' he?" Hagrid told us, looking surprised that Harry had to ask. "Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he can' risk it happenin' again"

I scrambled to my feet.

"I'm going to see him," I said to the three of them.

"But if he's resigned -"

"-doesn't sound like there's anything we can do -"

"- we should leave it -"

"I don't care. I still want to see him. I'll meet you back here"

*

Lupin's office door was open. He had already packed most of his things. The Grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over something on his desk, and only looked up when I knocked on the door. 

"I saw you coming," Lupin said, smiling. He pointed to the parchment he had been pouring over. It was the Marauder's Map. 

"I just saw Hagrid," I said. "And he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is," Lupin told me. He started opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents. 

"Why?" I asked. "The Ministry of Magic doesn't think you were helping Sirius, do they?"

Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind me. 

"No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives," He sighed. "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he - er - accidentally let it slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast"