Chapter 59: The Origin of the Shrieking Shack

Hearing John's straightforward answer, Professor Lupin was also stunned.

Then he laughed again.

He had thought that John might think of a reason that looked tall or more high-sounding.

But there was none; he directly chose the most unsolvable answer.

I don't know.

But I just want to.

This kind of thought that doesn't care about right or wrong is often the hardest to shake.

But isn't this exactly the most precious straightforwardness and innocence of a young person?

Alright, maybe it's also a bit reckless.

Professor Lupin's gaze softened, and he made a decision in his heart, saying slowly.

"Since that's the case, take me to see him, John."

Lupin had thought about it all night last night.

He discovered some problems.

If John could really get along peacefully with the black dog, it meant that at least he wasn't as crazy, murderous, and hateful of Muggle-borns as the rumors said.

Was there a problem with the rumors, or was there a problem with the truth of that year?

Maybe he was still the him he knew.

If that was really the case, then John's request couldn't be refused.

However, to be on the safe side,

"But before that, John, you have to agree to a few of my requirements."

"What requirements?"

John asked somewhat curiously.

"I agree to let you go with me, but you must listen to my command and cannot act without authorization."

"If things go smoothly, you might know some secrets, and you must keep these secrets for the time being."

"And the last one, if the situation develops in the worst direction, you cannot interfere with my decision."

"Can you understand what I mean?"

Professor Lupin said very seriously.

These requirements were considered reasonable, so John nodded.

The so-called worst direction was actually that Xiaohei was really a dangerous creature.

To prevent John from not distinguishing right from wrong, Professor Lupin made such a requirement in advance.

The main reason for taking Professor Lupin to find Xiaohei was to determine Xiaohei's composition, whether it was righteous or evil.

If it was determined that Xiaohei was harmful, John would certainly not stop Professor Lupin.

"Let's go, Professor; I have class in the afternoon, so let's go and return quickly."

John said, then turned and walked toward the other side of the corridor bridge.

Professor Lupin nodded and followed.

Soon, they arrived near the Beating Willow.

Until John stood ten meters away from the Beating Willow, Professor Lupin's expression became very wonderful.

He already knew where the black dog was.

Over a dozen years ago, when he was still studying at Hogwarts, he would come here once every month.

This place could be said to be the place he was most familiar with at Hogwarts.

He didn't expect that it had now become his hiding place.

"Professor, the place we are going to is..."

"The Shrieking Shack."

John originally wanted to explain how to get there, but Professor Lupin said the name in advance.

"?"

Hearing Professor Lupin's words, John was also stunned.

A look of amusement and helplessness appeared on Professor Lupin's face.

"Let's go in first; I'll tell you on the way."

Only to see Professor Lupin wave his wand, very skillfully controlling a pebble to fly up and hit the mechanism knot under the Beating Willow's roots.

Then he took the lead and entered the secret passage under the Beating Willow's roots.

A series of operations made John stunned.

Soon the two moved forward all the way in the secret passage.

Professor Lupin also began to tell John about the past of the Shrieking Shack.

It turned out that whether it was the Beating Willow or the Shrieking Shack, they were both specially prepared for Professor Lupin by Dumbledore back then.

Over a dozen years ago, the Wolfsbane Potion hadn't been invented yet.

So every full moon night, Professor Lupin would turn into a werewolf who only knew how to kill.

And Headmaster Dumbledore, in order to help Professor Lupin safely pass the full moon night, specially built a wooden hut for him.

It was convenient for him to be trapped in that one-third of an acre after transforming, so he wouldn't hurt others.

And the Beating Willow was specially planted to guard this secret passage so that students wouldn't accidentally enter it.

The so-called shrieking of the Shrieking Shack was actually the wailing of Lupin when he turned into a werewolf back then.

The reason why there hadn't been that kind of wailing in the last dozen years was because Professor Lupin had graduated.

And now, even if Professor Lupin returned to Hogwarts to serve as a professor, he had Professor Snape to brew the Wolfsbane Potion for him, so he no longer needed to go to the Shrieking Shack.

It was fortunate that John had a showdown with Professor Lupin in advance and asked clearly about his werewolf identity, otherwise Professor Lupin probably wouldn't have told him so much.

"I didn't expect this place to have such a past, so the ferocious scratch marks in the Shrieking Shack were all made by you when you turned into a werewolf back then."

"Hehe, that's right; if it weren't for the Headmaster's spell protection on the shack, it would have been scratched to pieces long ago."

The two chatted while walking.

John also told Professor Lupin about how he came to the Shrieking Shack with Big Orange.

Professor Lupin was enlightened after hearing it, and even more anticipation arose in his heart.

That orange cat had Cat Raccoon blood, and it could trust him, bringing him food every day.

That meant that he might really not be in the situation rumored, but there were some unknown misunderstandings in it.

"Speaking of which, so many years have passed, why is this secret passage still left?"

At this time, John continued to ask curiously.

"Naturally, it's left just in case."

"Just in case? Are there other werewolf students who need to use it?"

Professor Lupin shook his head and said with a smile.

"Hogwarts has many secret passages leading to the outside world."

"It's to prevent students from being trapped here when foreign enemies appear."

"So there must be some secret passages leading to the outside world to ensure that students can be safely evacuated when war occurs."

So that's how it was; this magic school, which could exist for ten centuries, really had some tricks up its sleeve.

The secrets of this castle were far more than imagined.

"By the way, Professor, since we've walked this far, can you say what Xiaohei really is?"

"Uh... John, about this matter, I think you need to have some psychological preparation in advance."

"Ah? What psychological preparation?" John was stunned.

"... Wait until you see it yourself."

Professor Lupin's words made John feel confused; they had reached this point, what else was there to hide?

Just when the two had walked about halfway, movement suddenly came from the front of the secret passage.

Professor Lupin immediately took out his wand and reached out to protect John in front of him.

From the darkness ahead, the rustling sound of small animals came, seemingly the sound of claws rubbing against the ground.

"Meow-woo!!"

At this moment, a hurried meow came.

"Big Orange?"

John, who was standing behind, was stunned; it was Big Orange's voice.

Soon Big Orange ran over from the darkness; it ran to John's feet in a hurry and hooked John's pants with its claws.

Professor Lupin also recognized that this cat was the orange cat with Cat Raccoon blood that John had just mentioned.

At this time, Big Orange kept meowing in its mouth.

While meowing, it ran back, meowing at the two, seemingly urging them to hurry over.

John and Professor Lupin looked at each other, realizing that something might have happened over there, and immediately followed Big Orange, accelerating toward the Shrieking Shack. ===== CHAPTER 60 =====

John and Professor Lupin exchanged a glance, realizing something might have gone wrong over there; they immediately followed Big Orange and accelerated toward the Shrieking Shack.