[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-war-at-hogwarts":3,"chapter-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-125":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Wizard War at Hogwarts",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2358098,4612,"Chapter 125: Lupin","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-125",125,"\u003Cp>“He escaped from the school through a secret passage beside the Forbidden Forest—the one marked on the map beneath the Whomping Willow,” Lupin said slowly. “This may carry some unusual significance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What significance?” Harry asked, puzzled. “He just happened to know how to get past the Whomping Willow, and you didn’t?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Something like that. In fact, Professor Doudou also advised us not to pursue it further,” Lupin said hesitantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right. Black likely set traps there,” Professor Doudou appeared out of nowhere. “For instance, a clever teleportation device inside the passage might send us to some tiny island in the Pacific, or it could be filled with terrifying dark creatures Black has collected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Actually, I think he simply wanted to delay us with the Whomping Willow,” Lupin said diplomatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m telling you this because,” Lupin turned back to Harry, “I hope to continue using the Marauder’s Map until we catch him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, it was always yours,” Harry said generously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning to the castle, Harry did not rush to Gryffindor’s victory celebration but hurried straight to Torchwood’s headquarters. On their own map, the positions of people inside the castle updated in real time, but those who left the castle remained frozen near the exit in their last seen form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for the secret passages recorded on the old Marauder’s Map, Torchwood had naturally placed surveillance charms near the Whomping Willow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sand table, Harry saw a bearded miniature figure lingering at the exit marked by the Whomping Willow. Its appearance resembled the wanted poster by seven or eight tenths, and above its head floated a faint shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shadow was a black dog.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This confirmed that Black was indeed an unregistered Animagus, slipping into the school disguised as an animal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry stared at the shadow of the black dog. Though he didn’t understand why the dog was called “Padfoot,” one thing was certain: the black dog he’d seen on the day of the first match was almost certainly Black in animal form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Harry? You’re here at headquarters? Aren’t you going to the celebration?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, Malfoy.” Harry snapped back to attention. “Look here—Black came into the school today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that so?” Malfoy feigned interest, then shifted tone. “About the evil spirit wandering the school, I think I’ve got a lead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?” Harry had nearly forgotten about it—the school had been too calm for too long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I suspect it’s been targeting Zhang Qiu lately, though I might be mistaken,” Malfoy continued. “Her behavior has been strange—before the match, she suggested I bring Crabbe and Goyle to dress up as Dementors to scare you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She should’ve known that wouldn’t frighten me—I learned the Patronus Charm right beside her,” Harry said, confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, you’ve learned it already? I didn’t even get to congratulate you,” Malfoy offered politely. “Perhaps she wanted you to shine on the field—or maybe she’s jealous of our club? Either way, I suggest you talk to her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand. I think I should talk to her as soon as possible,” Harry sighed. He could guess Zhang Qiu’s odd behavior was meant to align events with her Divination predictions—he felt he needed to convince her to abandon this pointless act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the team’s Seeker, Harry’s absence from Gryffindor’s victory feast was awkward. He decided to find Zhang Qiu tomorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But early the next morning, just as Harry was about to leave his dorm, he found Zhang Qiu waiting outside the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did anything happen last night?” she asked urgently, as if something had been expected to happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Last night? I dreamed I was riding the Firebolt chasing a white light through the Forbidden Forest. Does that count?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not joking. This is very important—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Excuse me for interrupting,” Lupin appeared at the staircase. “But Harry, I need you to come with me—there’s new progress on Black.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hope you’ve found traces of him entering the castle,” Zhang Qiu said, her tone almost prayerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come with me, Harry,” Lupin led him silently to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom office. Harry sensed something strange in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ron has a rat, doesn’t he?” Lupin’s words seemed unrelated to Black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, but I don’t see how this connects to Black.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Black might be innocent,” Lupin sighed. “Let me think… how to explain this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know how to get into the passage under the Whomping Willow, don’t you?” Harry said. “It’s marked on the Marauder’s Map—I doubt you’d mark a passage you’ve never taken.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct. And Black going there might mean he wants me to meet him alone,” Lupin mused. “That’s where our old secret base was. I think he still remembers our student friendship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I don’t think meeting him alone is wise,” Harry said. “You haven’t gone yet, have you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I went last night,” Lupin smiled bitterly. “He’s not mad—he’s perfectly lucid, just stubborn.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry knew this story would be long. He sat down at the desk. Lupin sat behind it, placed both hands on the table, and gathered his thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It all begins when we were at school. The four of us were close friends—James and Sirius especially so,” Lupin said slowly. “As you know, later, when fighting Voldemort, James planned to use the Fidelius Charm to protect you and Lily.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Originally, James chose Sirius as the Secret-Keeper. But Sirius suggested he secretly change it—everyone would assume Sirius was the Secret-Keeper, so switching quietly would be safer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So James secretly changed the Secret-Keeper to Peter. Only the three of them knew—none of us, not even me. But Voldemort soon found James’s location. There’s no other explanation: Peter betrayed him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry frowned. He thought this was just Black’s excuse—Peter was dead, so what he said didn’t matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t want to believe him, but he told me something crucial: Peter is still alive.” Lupin unfolded the Marauder’s Map, tapped it with his wand, and enlarged the map of Gryffindor Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry was stunned: beside Ron Weasley’s name in his own dormitory, another name appeared—Peter Pettigrew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is what I suspect,” Lupin continued. “Peter should’ve been dead, but perhaps he transformed into a rat and survived. His Animagus form is a rat. Sirius told me Peter cut off one of his own fingers to escape—he recognized Peter from a newspaper, and learned Peter is now living as a pet in the Weasley household.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry suddenly remembered: Scabbers was missing a finger. Ron had said it was precisely because of that defect that the Weasleys bought him so cheaply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And almost the day after Harry first saw the Weasley family photo, news broke that Black had escaped Azkaban.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So Sirius escaped to kill Peter,” Lupin said, troubled. “He was too emotional. I told him to calm down—I’d bring Peter to him today. But I still can’t be sure. I worry he’s just looking for an excuse to get close to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If that’s true, why didn’t he explain everything thirteen years ago?” Harry questioned. “He spent thirteen years in prison for Peter’s crime—oh, but Peter spent thirteen years as a rat. Hard to say who suffered more.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lupin couldn’t help smiling, then quickly regained his seriousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I asked him that. He said he felt guilty because he’d been clever enough to suggest switching the Secret-Keeper—he believed he shared responsibility. And that night, when he cornered Peter, he thought the explosion was Peter’s attempt at mutual destruction. He assumed Peter was dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And now that he knows Peter is alive, he broke out overnight,” Harry said. “And is willing to do anything to get into Hogwarts to kill Peter?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this entire story, Moony had seemed like an outsider. Harry felt this, but didn’t say it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why I say he’s stubborn,” Lupin said. “Now I’m troubled—if Peter really is disguised as Ron’s pet, I don’t know who to trust. Both could be lying. Taking you to Sirius is dangerous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just bring Scabbers,” Harry suggested. “We’ll follow behind with the Invisibility Cloak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wardrobe suddenly shifted. Harry nearly jumped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, Harry,” Lupin said. “Sirius knows about the Invisibility Cloak too—you forgot? He was your father’s best friend. I think you two should just stay in your dorm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry kept staring at the wardrobe. He felt Professor Doudou might be hiding inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, I’d like you to lend me the Invisibility Cloak,” Lupin continued. “I don’t want other professors to know I’m meeting Sirius privately. And it’s to prevent you from sneaking after us—it’s truly dangerous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you looking at, Harry?” Lupin noticed the oddness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I agree, Professor,” Harry said. “But please look inside the wardrobe—I think there’s… a Boggart?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s good…” Lupin said, opening the wardrobe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As you see, it’s just an ordinary wardrobe,” Lupin stepped aside, revealing only an old robe and a pair of shoes. “Now let’s go to Gryffindor Tower. I think if Peter and Sirius face each other directly, the truth will become clearer.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1476,"2026-06-21T04:54:27.874Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","01358d5a7139fa9d18178aa7044b03fdbb250d851191284617c09673bd6f6a74","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-126","wizard-war-at-hogwarts-chapter-124",528,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-war-at-hogwarts-cover.jpg"]