Chapter 413: A Nervous Professor Lupin

After leaving the Dungeon classroom, Kyle headed straight for the foyer. By now, many students had returned from Hogsmeade, and the area was bustling with energy. People clustered in groups, trading sweets and novelty items with one another, much livelier than it had been earlier in the day.

Kyle spotted two familiar figures standing by the staircase—Professor Lupin and Harry. Professor Lupin was holding a map and examining it with a curious smile.

"Very clever design…" Lupin murmured, chuckling. "Back when I was in school, I remember seeing a map like this one—one that could show all the secret passages in the castle."

"Professor, you had a map like this when you were at school?" Harry asked, surprised.

"It was even better than that," Professor Lupin replied quietly, a nostalgic look crossing his face. But that nostalgia quickly shifted to a more serious expression. He looked at Harry intently. "Maps like this… are there others in the castle?"

"There should only be one," Harry answered after a moment's thought, recalling how Fred and George had mentioned that they created the map as a one-of-a-kind item, with no intention of selling it.

Hearing this, Professor Lupin's expression softened a bit.

"Professor, I, uh… found it… just picked it up…" Harry stammered, not wanting to betray Fred and George and searching for a plausible excuse.

"I don't need to know how you came by something like this," Professor Lupin said, frowning slightly. "But I am surprised you didn't turn it in—especially after last time, when someone thoughtlessly left sensitive information about the castle lying around."

"I…" Harry wanted to explain but found himself at a loss. Fred and George had warned him to memorize the secret passage locations and then destroy the map, but he hadn't gotten around to it yet. So far, he'd only memorized the one leading to the statue of the hunchbacked witch.

"I'm afraid I can't give it back to you, Harry," Professor Lupin said, pocketing the map. "I'll have to…"

"Hm?"

Lupin suddenly sniffed the air, seeming to catch a familiar scent. He looked around, his gaze landing on Kyle, who had just entered the foyer.

"Nice to see you, Professor Lupin," Kyle greeted with a smile and a wave.

"Hello… Kyle," Lupin said, his tone tinged with curiosity. "What are you doing here, and not in Hogsmeade?"

"Detention, Professor," Kyle replied with a shrug. "No time for a trip to Hogsmeade."

"Detention?" Professor Lupin's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He wouldn't have expected Kyle, who had consistently topped his classes, to end up in detention.

Harry, however, wasn't surprised at all; he'd already learned about Kyle's detention after running into him with Snape earlier that morning.

Snape, though, had clearly planned this, in Harry's opinion. "I bet he assigned you detention on purpose, just because it's a Hogsmeade day," Harry said, certain of Snape's intentions. "Did he make you handle Flobberworm Mucus or something?"

"No," Kyle replied, shaking his head. "It wasn't that bad. I just helped him brew some potions for a few hours."

"Oh, that's not too bad," Harry said with relief. "Last time I was put in detention with Snape, I couldn't look at food for days… So what were you brewing that took so long?"

"A very rare potion…" Kyle answered. "Wolfsbane Potion."

A flicker of alarm crossed Professor Lupin's eyes before he quickly masked it, his expression returning to normal. Still, his hands clenched slightly as he struggled to maintain his composure, clearly worried that Kyle might call him out directly.

He had taken leave every full moon this term, and even with the Wolfsbane Potion... it was hard to deny that Kyle must have noticed something. Fortunately, just then, a group of students entered the foyer from outside.

They were the ones who had gone to Hogsmeade for a visit, and now they were all returning.

Fred and George approached Kyle, flanking him on both sides.

"You have no idea what you're missing…"

"The Shrieking Shack wasn't nearly as terrifying as we thought…" George grinned, adding, "Malfoy couldn't figure out what he saw in there and ran all the way back to the castle, scared out of his wits."

"We heard him screaming all the way back to Zonko's…" Fred said regretfully, "But why didn't we see anything the last time we went…"

Harry kept his head down, staying silent. In truth, Malfoy had been frightened by him when, hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, he'd lobbed a muddy glob straight at Malfoy. But he'd thrown it too hard, causing part of the Cloak to slip and reveal his head, giving the impression of a floating, disembodied figure, which had sent Malfoy running in terror.

It was also for that reason that Snape had summoned him to his office.

Not long after, Kanna, Cho, and Cedric also returned.

Kyle seized the chance to end the conversation about confinement and followed them outside onto the grounds. He suspected that if he stayed any longer, Professor Lupin might crush the map he was clutching in his hands.

To be honest, Lupin looked so tense it seemed as though he were moments away from scrawling "I'm a Werewolf" on his own face.

Luckily, Harry and Ron were there to keep an eye on him. If Hermione had been around, she would have definitely picked up on something.

Speaking of Hermione, it seemed like they'd hardly seen her lately—especially after the Christmas holidays, when the trio had become more of a duo. The only time you saw Hermione now was during meals, hurrying through the Great Hall with a bulging bag, pausing just long enough to grab a quick bite.

Kyle thought this over as he followed Kanna outside onto the field.

Cho handed him a bottle of Butterbeer, and he accepted it absentmindedly. But in the next instant, the Butterbeer morphed into a grumpy rubber haddock that latched onto his arm with a surprisingly firm grip. No matter how hard Kyle shook his arm, the rubber haddock wouldn't let go, and tugging on it only made it stretch longer.

Fred and George were doubled over with laughter, clutching their stomachs. It didn't take much to figure out that this was their doing.

…

As he watched the group of laughing friends exit through the castle gates, Professor Lupin released the tight grip he'd been holding, a bit of color returning to his face. It seemed that Kyle hadn't noticed anything, so perhaps he'd been overreacting.

He thought to himself...

Yes, who would ever guess that the great Professor Dumbledore would hire a Werewolf as a professor? It's as if he would have agreed to attend the school himself, had he the chance.

This kind of thing would be unimaginable anywhere else… Only Dumbledore…

Professor Lupin took a deep breath, gave Harry a few brief instructions, and then hurried off.

This wasn't the time to dwell on such thoughts—there was something more urgent to handle.

He needed to find Filch and retrieve something important.