Chapter 339: Mr. Moony
Inside the small apartment, Lupin hurried to open the door.
Standing on the threshold was a blond young wizard carrying an assortment of gift boxes, while a dark-haired boy behind him used his wand to keep them hovering neatly in the air.
"Morning, Mr. Lupin," Sean said. He swept his gaze across the room; Lupin's belongings were so sparse they didn't even fill a single section of the wardrobe.
With a flick of his fingers, Sean directed the gifts into the closet. Between his and Justin's contributions, the storage space was finally looking half-full.
"Welcome to your new home, Mr. Lupin," Justin added. Ever the enthusiast, he held up a set of magical cookware—a self-stirring ladle and a cauldron with precise heat-tempering charms. He placed them on the empty stove, finally giving the kitchen area a sense of purpose.
"Morning, gentlemen."
The sudden intrusion of the two boys shattered the heavy silence of the room. It felt lived-in almost instantly.
"But... what is all this?" Lupin asked. He reached for a dusty tin. "I'm afraid I only have tea bags to offer..."
He dropped a bag into a kettle that began whistling before the water was even hot. Sean noticed that the man's complexion looked significantly better than it had at their first meeting.
"You mean you didn't know?" Justin asked, his enthusiasm faltering for a second as he studied the haggard man. "It's a housewarming party, sir."
"Ah..."
The word seemed to come from a vast distance. Lupin's composed expression froze as he searched his memory for the significance of the term. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke softly.
"Thank you, gentlemen."
Perhaps he had been drifting for too long, or perhaps it had simply been years since anyone had treated him with such simple human kindness. Lupin fell silent again. The quiet persisted until the sharp whistle of the kettle broke the spell.
"And what does one do at such a party?" Lupin asked with a gentle smile, handing Sean and Justin each a cup of tea. Sean noted that his cup had a small chip in the rim.
"Nothing formal, sir. Usually just a grand dinner. Though for now..." Justin gestured to the table. "You've started reading the series, then? It's been so long since I organized the drafts, I've almost forgotten some of the finer points."
The conversation naturally drifted toward Green's Notes. The three of them sat before the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of the elegantly bound volumes. They discussed the nuances of magical history, occasionally scribbling corrections or footnotes regarding interesting biographies into the margins.
During the discussion, Lupin displayed a staggering depth of knowledge. Compared to him, Justin felt like a mere student again—despite having edited the entire series.
Only Sean was able to keep pace with Lupin's intellect, occasionally offering a perspective that made the older man pause. Sean's silent Levitation Charm at the door and his now-evident mastery of historical lore—including the 1792 Triwizard Tournament incident where a Cockatrice had injured three Headmasters—left Lupin floored.
"Gentlemen, I must say... at your age, I was nowhere near as accomplished as you both are," Lupin said with a genuine laugh. These were the kind of students any teacher would dream of having: widely read, possessed of an insatiable curiosity, and—most importantly—retaining a sense of awe for the knowledge they sought.
It reminded him painfully of his own days at Hogwarts.
After the years of hiding, Dumbledore had brought him to the castle. His three friends had noticed his monthly disappearances. Even though he had manufactured every excuse—sick relatives, family emergencies—he had lived in constant terror that the truth would drive them away.
Instead, after several sleepless nights, they had found a way to not only support him but to make his transformations the best nights of his life.
They had become Animagi.
Those three had been his entire world. Even while burdened by his guilt toward Professor Dumbledore, he had simply tried to rein in his friends' more destructive impulses, often turning a blind eye to their mischief. It turned out that standing by one's principles with friends required far more courage than standing against an enemy.
But then, after Voldemort's rise...
His world had collapsed. Of his three friends, two were dead and one was in Azkaban.
As Lupin looked at the two boys before him, he was struck by the haunting similarity of the scene to his own youth.
"Mr. Lupin, you're a werewolf, aren't you?"
Justin's blunt question shattered the peace of the room. Facing the question again—one he should have been used to—Lupin felt a wave of dizziness.
"Yes, Mr. Finch-Fletchley. You are quite the sharp young man," Lupin said, closing his eyes.
He didn't know how they had found out. Perhaps it was Hogsmeade itself; he had looked for work here several times, and the villagers were notoriously suspicious. But he also knew that meeting students who could look at a werewolf and not flinch was a miracle in itself.
Sean peeked over the top of his book on Ilvermorny. He watched as Justin reached into his Extension Pouch and pulled out a delicate wooden crate of phials.
Sean finally understood why Justin had been running himself ragged in Diagon Alley lately.
It was Wolfsbane Potion.
A complex brew that had to be taken during the week leading up to the full moon, allowing the werewolf to keep their human mind while transformed. Because of the incredible skill required to brew it, the market price was astronomical. Most who needed it were too destitute to afford it.
Without the potion, they were discovered and fired. Without a job, they couldn't buy the potion. It was a vicious, soul-crushing cycle.
Since meeting Lupin, Sean had been trying to study the recipe himself. But his talent in Potions was a slow-growing thing; mastering the Wolfsbane would be a long-term project.
"Welcome to Green's Bookstore. Happy housewarming, Mr. Lupin," Justin said, sliding the crate across the table. "And don't worry—we'll just deduct the cost from your salary."
Lupin stared at the phials, speechless.
Hogsmeade was still under a blanket of falling snow. As the daylight began to fade, snowflakes hammered against the large windows of the bookstore. Through the glass, the distant lights of the village began to flicker on one by one.
"Goodbye, sir," Sean said, being the first to step out into the cold.
"How are you two getting back to the castle? I might know a few... less traveled paths," Lupin said, standing in the snow and looking at them with concern. He clearly worried for their safety.
"That won't be necessary, sir. We know quite a few ourselves," Sean replied. He realized his words carried little weight with the man, so he reached into his bag and pulled out the Marauder's Map.
The parchment caught Lupin's attention immediately. He watched, transfixed, as Sean drew his wand and tapped the paper.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
At once, the thin ink lines began to spider-web across the page from the point of Sean's wand. They joined and branched, filling every corner of the parchment until the emerald-green script bloomed across the top:
Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
☆☆☆
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you