Chapter 215

A transparent head surfaced from the water; Harry finally recognized the situation—it was Moaning Myrtle.

"It's you," she said. "Someone asked me to scare people here, but I didn't expect it to be—"

She suddenly wore a look of fear. "You're the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets!"

"That's right. Now it's not you scaring me—it's me scaring you," Harry forced a smile. "Run along."

Moaning Myrtle shrieked and shot out of the Room of Requirement, diving back into her bathroom.

Harry briefly gathered his scattered thoughts and resumed enjoying his luxurious bubble bath. As for Myrtle, clearly this was a prank from Zhang Qiu or Elina—he didn't take it seriously. Still, he felt that if anything, they were bullying Myrtle, and that was wrong.

When he returned to the common room, he didn't see Ivy or Ginny. He thought for a moment: perhaps he shouldn't rush to reveal this layout yet—he should wait for a chance to gather Ivy, Ginny, Neville, and Hannah together to discuss a solution.

Early the next morning, Ron pulled Harry up, reminding him he was supposed to accompany Elina to Hogsmeade.

"Alright," Harry said to Neville, "we need to find time to talk about Lavender. How about tomorrow?"

"Fine," Neville agreed. "Do as you said—call everyone, and solve the problems between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff together."

As the four of them entered the Three Broomsticks, whistles broke out around them. One customer chuckled, "Oh, didn't expect a beauty in a pleated skirt and thigh-highs to show up in our little village."

"Really?" Elina spun around with a smile. "You don't wear this style here?"

"Not really—especially not in winter," the customer said. "The last one who dressed like this was Cassandra—but now she's the owner, so she doesn't come around much."

"Ah, Cassandra—just hearing her name makes me angry," another customer slapped the table. "She's not even a student, yet she insists on wearing Slytherin robes. Got me into a huge embarrassment."

"Oh, Professor Lupin!" Harry greeted him happily. "You're here for a drink too?"

"Harry!" His face wore a mischievous, student-like grin. "I'm waiting for Padfoot—we're about to do something big. I thought it better not to tell you, but maybe he'll want you to come along."

"Hey hey, then let's wait for Padfoot," Elina sat down at the table as if she owned it. "Four butterbeers, please."

"Well, she's actually a parent," Zhang Qiu said. "But after Professor Lupin thought she was a real student and went to Snape to complain—only to find out it was nonsense—now everyone who does something wrong off-campus blames it on 'Cassandra.'"

"Oh right, have you looked into her real identity and family background?" Harry asked casually. "This matters—it affects whether Cui Ge can join the student movement."

"Actually, she's had a rough life," Zhang Qiu explained to Elina. "She got pregnant in third year by a jerk and dropped out. She raised Cui Ge alone. She's from Yingzhou; her real name is Zhong Lianai. Her parents vanished when she was very young."

Elina, who had been giggling, fell silent, her expression softening with sympathy.

"More precisely, her mother disappeared when she was fourteen. Two years later, her maternal grandfather found her in a cradle outside his door. He believed she was his own granddaughter, so he named her and raised her," Zhang Qiu flipped through his notebook—this information was from last year. "What else do you want to know?"

"Was her mother—Cui Ge's grandmother—a witch?" Harry asked. "After all, many so-called disappearances might just mean the person entered the magical world."

"No, she wasn't. Her mother's name was Zhong Hehuan. She got involved with…," Zhang Qiu paused, choosing his words carefully, "with the dark underbelly of the Muggle world. So Cui Ge's grandfather—though we never found out who he was—was definitely a Muggle."

"I don't know whether to call that good news or bad," Harry sighed.

"Gulp, so what's her situation now?" Elina asked curiously.

"Now, her son is growing up healthy at Hogwarts," Zhang Qiu omitted Donald entirely. "She runs a small shop in Hogsmeade with her savings and gets by well enough."

"That makes sense. Life has to move forward. At least now Cui Ge's blood status is clear—no one can find fault with it," Harry agreed.

"Are you talking about that movement Cui Ge started to treat Muggle-borns kindly?" Lupin interjected. "That's good. If I were younger, I'd start one too—say, a movement for treating werewolves kindly."

Elina blinked, her tone deceptively innocent. "But what does that have to do with you? You're not a werewolf."

"Cough, cough, cough," Harry interrupted immediately. "That's precisely why we're investigating Cui Ge's bloodline—if he's not a pure Muggle-born, he'll be in an awkward position within this movement."

"Oh, tutoring students again?" A cheerful voice came. Harry turned and saw Sirius, delighted.

"Well, it's still a while till night," Lupin said. "How's your side going?"

"Fine. But we shouldn't talk here," Sirius glanced casually around. "Let's go somewhere else. Oh, Harry—you come too."

"Elina, let me take you to Honeydukes," Ron suddenly said.

"I'll come too," Zhang Qiu said. "It's been a long time."

"Don't worry, kids—it's not dangerous," Sirius patted Harry's shoulder. "I'll bring him back tomorrow, just as he is."

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Harry said. Then he added, "Tell Neville—the Hufflepuff gathering's moved to the day after tomorrow."

After a dizzying whirl, Harry, Sirius, and Lupin Apparated to a place dotted with tents, with a large open space in the center. Many wizards came and went, chatting excitedly, as if they'd returned to the Quidditch World Cup.

"Whoa, where are we?" Harry asked.

"A forest in Albania," Sirius waved his hand. "But in the future, this place will be called Gilneas—the Land of Werewolves."

"My… God!" Harry stared at the wizards coming and going. Their clothes showed poverty, yet their faces glowed with excitement.

"You really did this?" Harry grabbed Sirius's sleeve. "And Professor Lupin agreed?"

"Yes. After this term ends, I thought it was time to do something big," Lupin said, then sighed. "If James saw us pulling off such a spectacle, he'd be thrilled."

"No problem—let Harry see it. That's the same thing," Sirius sighed too, but his tone remained upbeat.

"Indeed—who'd have thought werewolves could live under sunlight?" Lupin's tone turned positive. "In the future, this might even become a tourist attraction—if they pick the right days. How thrilling! Wizards will surely flock to see it."

"But the backbone industry must be factories," Sirius said. "Food processing plants, ready-to-eat meals, dried meats, canned goods—including classic British sausages."

"We're also considering whether to link the brand directly to werewolves from the start," Sirius stroked his chin. "Some people still have irrational fears of werewolves."

"But how will you solve the werewolves' transformation problem?" Harry asked. "Every full moon, gather everyone in the square and just stare at each other?"

"No, that won't work," Lupin said. "After transforming during the full moon, werewolves crave human blood—even if surrounded by other werewolves or animals, the hunger doesn't fade."

"Huh? Really?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I've studied werewolves thoroughly," Lupin said seriously. "I owe it to Zhang Qiu for teaching me the Lunar Phase Spells invented by Xuan Jun—they let me control the frequency and timing of my transformations, helping me uncover patterns."

"Before this, werewolves couldn't control their transformations at all," Sirius added. "They only turned on the full moon. Outside that, they never changed."

"Right. At first, I used the Dark Moon Spell to suppress my transformation each full moon. I thought Xuan Jun had invented a great spell letting werewolves live like normal wizards," Lupin said. "But soon I realized: without transformation, the bloodlust only grew stronger, accumulating inside me. Within two months, I could barely eat cooked meat—I'd unconsciously want to attack anyone I saw."

"What did you do?" Harry was captivated. Lupin now looked perfectly calm—nothing like a man tormented by his condition.

"I couldn't take it anymore," Lupin recalled, shuddering. "I came up with a solution—or rather, I lost my mind. I went to the Shrieking Shack and cast a Full Moon Spell on myself."

"That was the most painful transformation I ever endured. When I woke up, I'd nearly bitten off my entire right hand. Luckily, werewolf regeneration is strong—I only ended up with terrifying scars," he continued. "That day wasn't a full moon. When the real full moon came, I realized I couldn't use the Dark Moon Spell anymore, but I was too embarrassed to ask Snape for help. So I returned to the Shrieking Shack, planning to tough it out alone."

"But something miraculous happened," Lupin raised an eyebrow. "I hadn't taken Wolfsbane Potion—but after transforming, I somehow kept my sanity and felt almost no urge to attack humans."