Chapter 128: Warmth of Trust

"I think he's fine - he couldn't have attacked anyone!" Ivan's voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone in the quiet office.

Everyone turned their heads and looked at Ivan in surprise. He instantly became the center of attention of all the students and teachers in the school. Under everyone's gaze, Ivan walked through the crowd, and all the young wizards led the way for him.

"Ivan!" Harry shouted in surprise.

Ivan nodded his head and went to stand beside him. His eyes looked across the faces of the crowd, and all of their expressions were different.

Hearing what he just said, most of the young wizards were shocked and perplexed. They didn't know why Ivan would say that; and the eyes of Snape, Lucius and the other Slytherins were grim, and their faces were full of malice and disgust.

"I'm sure everyone already knows..." Ivan took a deep breath and said slowly. "This werewolf in front of you is Professor Lupin!"

His words came like a huge stone thrown into a still lake, splashing a lot of water.

There was a great commotion in the crowd.

Ever since they entered this office, everyone had an ominous hunch about this. And then, when they heard the confused discussion between Dumbledore, Fudge, Snape and Lucius, everyone was almost certain of it. But it was one thing to guess, and another thing to hear it clearly confirmed by Ivan.

Deep down, they could not believe, nor would they believe, that the kind and friendly Professor Lupin could actually be an evil and cruel werewolf.

It took a moment until gradually everyone fell silent.

Almost everyone held their breath and looked at Ivan, waiting for him to go on.

"And also, I'm sure everyone knows that Hermione and I just confronted a werewolf in Hogsmeade that had attacked us." Ivan's voice was firm and he slowly raised it, "Maybe now they think Professor Lupin was going to attack everyone, but let me tell you, Professor Lupin is nothing like the werewolf we've met. He's not dangerous, and he wasn't going to attack anyone tonight. He's been taking the Wolfsbane Potion for a week now, and it helps him maintain his sobriety and reason when he turns into a werewolf."

The young wizards had just heard Dumbledore's dialogue with Snape and knew that Professor Lupin had taken the Wolfsbane Potion. The vast majority of them did not know the effect of such a medicine, and they understood it well when they heard Ivan's explanation.

Ivan began to explain, "The Wolfsbane potion can guarantee your safety. Although he is now a creepy werewolf, he is still Professor Lupin, with whom we are familiar. He can't..."

"Wait a moment, Mr. Mason! As a potions master, I have a few words to say. "Snape looked at Ivan with a sneer at the corner of his mouth and said, "I have to remind you that the Wolfsbane potion only allows werewolves to be sensible, but it doesn't guarantee that they won't bite people. In fact, after taking the potion, a werewolf like him can become more dangerous and difficult to deal with than a regular werewolf."

"Thank you for reminding me, Professor Snape!" Ivan turned and continued, "What you said is absolutely correct, and there may be many people who, like you, think that Professor Lupin is untrustworthy just because he is a werewolf. Yes, he is, but that's no reason to fear him and discriminate against him. Let's think about it! Think about his usual behavior and the way he treats everyone. Do you still think he would hurt others?"

Hearing Ivan's words, many of the young wizards bowed their heads and reflected.

They remembered how Professor Lupin treated them. He was the best they had ever seen in the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. His class was always interesting. He patiently answered every question, and did his best to teach them how to deal with dark creatures, even with doctrines not found in common textbooks.

Remembering such a teacher, almost everyone stopped believing that he could harm them.

However, the chatter continued. After all, although everyone had remembered Professor Lupin's behavior, many of them were repulsed at the sight of his horrifying werewolf form.

Ivan understood what Lucius wanted, so he knew he had to strike while the iron was hot and take immediate action to prove that Professor Lupin was nothing like Greyback.

He wasn't dangerous, and he wasn't going to attack anyone.

So under everyone's surprised eyes, he reached out to touch Professor Lupin.

He extended his right hand towards him, and several girls screamed in the crowd.

All the young wizards looked at him nervously and held their breath as if he was going to be killed by the horrible werewolf at any moment.

Lupin shivered softly and let Ivan touch him.

Completely different from the soft skin of normal people, a werewolf's skin was unusually hard, and the long hair on it prickled the hand and was a bit hard to grip, making people uncomfortable.

The strange feeling on his fingertips and the terrifying wolf's head in his vicinity made Ivan feel a little nervous. He felt the hot breath of the beast on his face. But his right hand was able to go beyond the werewolf's hideous appearance to feel Professor Lupin's frailty.

He could sense that Remus was even more nervous than he was.

Then, without thinking, Ivan opened his arms and hugged Professor Lupin tightly.

Embraced by Ivan, Lupin's body shook violently.

Tears welled up in his eyes. He had never expected Ivan to do something like this. For the first time in over 12 years, he felt this level of trust once again.

For a werewolf lurking on the edge of society, trust is probably the most precious thing in the world.

Suddenly he saw Sirius Black in Ivan. At that moment, when his friends discovered his true identity for the first time at Hogwarts, he was equally nervous and terrified. He feared that the three of them would tell the others, and he was afraid of being expelled from school.

Like Ivan, Sirius Black hugged him at that moment.

Faced with Ivan's hug, Lupin didn't know what to do. He was like a child. He saw Dumbledore, who was standing not far away, nodding at him with a smile, just as he did at that moment, when he insisted on accepting him into the school.

Tears streamed down Lupin's cheeks. He hesitated for a moment and tried to reach out and hug the thin boy in front of him. Twelve years after James and Peter Pettigrew had died and Sirius Black had been captured in Azkaban, he felt such warmth again.

Lupin knew this was the warmth of trust.