The heavy branches of the Whomping Willow swayed gently in the cool evening breeze.
Lupin approached the violent tree with practiced ease, extending his wand to lightly tap a specific, knobby knot situated low on the trunk.
The aggressive tree instantly froze, paralyzed.
He slipped smoothly into the narrow, dark tunnel concealed among the exposed roots and began the long descent.
The subterranean passage was long, damp, and pitch-black. The only sound was the steady, echoing thud of his own footsteps against the packed dirt.
Lupin walked slowly.
It wasn't physical exhaustion slowing his pace, but rather deep, lingering thought.
He was thinking about that peculiar student.
Maurise Black.
Merely a third-year student, yet he had flawlessly mastered the advanced Patronus Charm, possessed a high level of proficiency in Potions, and, most remarkably, upon discovering Lupin was a werewolf, he hadn't exhibited even a shred of fear.
Every aspect of the boy was abnormal and complex.
'Are all the students at Hogwarts genuinely this talented nowadays?'
Lost in his thoughts, Lupin failed to notice a faint, nearly imperceptible shift in the shadows trailing silently behind him.
A short while later, he finally reached the end of the long tunnel—the Shrieking Shack, located on the outskirts of Hogsmeade Village.
Lupin climbed stiffly out of the wooden trapdoor, dusting the dirt from his tattered robes as he surveyed his surroundings.
The room was exactly as he remembered it: dilapidated, choked with thick dust and massive cobwebs. Large strips of faded wallpaper peeled sadly from the walls. Deep, jagged gouges scarred the wooden floorboards—a grim, permanent reminder of his agonizing transformations during his own student years.
Lupin walked silently over to a worn, relatively clean sofa in the corner. He sat down heavily, closed his eyes, and quietly waited for the inevitable.
Outside the boarded-up windows, the full moon slowly crested the horizon.
Pale, unnatural moonlight slipped through the narrow cracks in the wooden planks, casting stark, ghostly lines across the dusty floorboards.
Lupin's body suddenly jerked. His physical form began to twist and warp violently. His muscles bulged unnaturally, his bones cracked and shifted, and thick, coarse hair erupted rapidly from his skin.
He collapsed onto the floor, curling into a tight, agonizing ball as a terrifying, inhuman howl ripped from his throat.
Finally, a pair of glowing, predatory amber eyes slowly snapped open in the suffocating darkness.
Remus Lupin had completely transformed into his wolf form.
However, thanks to the precise, potent dosage of the Wolfsbane Potion he had consumed earlier, his human consciousness remained entirely intact and remarkably clear.
The werewolf began to pace restlessly around the dilapidated room. He could distinctly feel the overwhelming, biological instinct urging him to hunt and shed blood, but the primal urge was manageable. He was in absolute control.
Compared to his previous transformations, this physical sensation was tolerable.
The massive beast shook its heavy head, padded over to the center of the dusty floorboards, and lay down, closing its amber eyes.
The long, grueling night had only just begun.
"My, my. What a fascinating biological metamorphosis."
Suddenly, a crisp, perfectly calm voice echoed through the dark room.
The werewolf violently flinched, its amber eyes snapping open in terror.
It scrambled backward, springing to its feet and instinctively arching its spine. A low, aggressive growl rumbled deep within its chest as its glowing eyes locked onto the source of the sound.
Sitting directly in the darkest corner of the room, casually occupying the exact sofa Lupin had vacated merely minutes ago, was a familiar silhouette.
It was Maurise Black.
The boy was sitting perfectly relaxed, one leg casually crossed over the other. One hand rested lazily on the armrest, while the other was gripping a brightly colored red aluminum can.
The werewolf's brain completely short-circuited in sheer shock.
'How is this physically possible?!'
'How exactly did he bypass the Whomping Willow? When did he enter the Shack?!'
"Would you care for a Coca-Cola?" Maurise asked politely, lightly shaking the red can. "It is a popular Muggle carbonated beverage."
A sudden, violent instinct to rip the boy's throat out surged through the werewolf's mind. However, Lupin's human consciousness immediately suppressed the primal urge with ease.
The Wolfsbane Potion was incredibly effective. It was so effective, in fact, that Lupin could still engage in complex, logical thought while occupying the apex predator's body.
That was undeniably fantastic news. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about accidentally mauling his student to death.
'Though... what on earth is a 'Coca-Cola'?'
Seeing the massive beast simply staring at him in frozen silence, Maurise shrugged casually. He popped the aluminum tab, the sharp hiss of carbonation echoing loudly in the tense silence of the Shack.
"Professor," Maurise asked smoothly, taking a casual sip of the soda. "Are you currently capable of higher cognitive thought? Furthermore, are you capable of human speech?"
The werewolf offered a slow, stiff nod, letting out a confused, low whine in response.
"You can comprehend human speech perfectly, but your vocal cords are biologically incapable of articulating it?" Maurise deduced logically.
He took another relaxed sip of his sugary beverage.
Lupin remained rooted to the spot, entirely unsure of how to react to the bizarre situation.
He was currently occupying the physical form of a lethal, terrifying, bloodthirsty magical beast.
Yet, the third-year student sitting mere feet away was completely devoid of fear. He looked as comfortable and relaxed as if he were lounging in his own private living room.
'What exactly is this absurd situation?!"
Maurise casually tossed the empty red can aside. It clattered noisily against the floorboards as he stood up and strolled directly toward the massive werewolf.
Lupin instinctively took a step backward. Then another. He continued retreating until his furry back hit the freezing stone wall of the Shack.
Trapped in the corner, the massive beast hunched its shoulders, emitting a low, aggressive warning growl, desperately attempting to communicate that the boy needed to back away immediately.
Maurise halted directly in front of the beast, tilting his head with a look of mild amusement.
"Do not worry yourself, Professor," Maurise reassured him smoothly. "You correctly ingested the Wolfsbane Potion earlier. You are completely incapable of launching an unprovoked attack against me."
Lupin stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
'You are the one who should be terrified right now!'
'This is absolutely not the time for casual jokes!'
Lupin screamed frantically in his own mind, but the only sound that escaped his throat was a sharp, anxious bark.
"Please, allow me to examine your claws, Professor."
Maurise offered a warm, clinical smile. He casually stepped forward and firmly grasped one of the werewolf's massive, razor-sharp front paws.
'!!!?'
Lupin froze completely solid, terrified that any sudden movement might accidentally disembowel the boy.
"Fascinating," Maurise murmured, casually turning the massive, deadly paw over in his hands, examining the thick pads and razor-sharp talons. "The keratin density is incredibly high. The sheer destructive capability of these claws is undeniable."
Lupin completely abandoned all attempts at logical thought. He simply stood there, utterly paralyzed, allowing a thirteen-year-old student to casually handle his lethal claws exactly as if he were an obedient, oversized pet dog.
Maurise nodded in deep satisfaction. "Professor, I require several biological samples from your physical form for my personal research. I presume you have absolutely no objections?"
Lupin immediately shook his massive, furry head violently in refusal.
"Excellent. I will take that as a 'yes'."
Maurise cheerfully, deliberately misinterpreted the werewolf's frantic gesture.
Over the course of the next hour, Lupin was forced to "donate" half a vial of werewolf blood, a substantial sample of saliva, several freshly clipped claw fragments, and a significant quantity of coarse wolf hair.
Having successfully harvested all his required research materials, Maurise casually returned to the worn sofa, cast a quick Lumos charm, and spent the remainder of the night leisurely reading his book.
Lupin lay quietly on the floorboards, his amber eyes fixed intently on the boy, his mind swirling with profound, absolute bewilderment.
Gradually, the long night ended, and the first light of dawn broke over the horizon.
Lupin's physical form painfully reverted back to its human state.
He collapsed onto the dusty floorboards, panting heavily, his body trembling with physical exhaustion.
Maurise smoothly closed his book, stood up, and stretched his limbs lazily.
"Professor," Maurise walked over, extending a hand to help the exhausted man to his feet. "Are you feeling alright?"
Lupin managed a weak, strained smile. His very first words were, "Maurise, your actions last night were reckless and profoundly dangerous."
Maurise waved a hand dismissively, looking entirely unbothered. "I knew exactly what I was doing. I possessed absolute control over the situation."
'Absolute control?'
'Are you entirely certain about that?'
Lupin rubbed his temples, fighting off a massive headache. "I highly doubt that."
"As you clearly experienced, the Wolfsbane Potion I brewed was flawless," Maurise pointed out logically. "Furthermore, even if the potion had failed and you completely lost your human consciousness, I possessed absolute confidence in my magical capability to instantly subdue and neutralize you."
Lupin looked up, staring deeply into the eyes of his third-year student. "Do you genuinely comprehend how terrifying and lethal a fully matured werewolf actually is?"
Seeing the professor's blatant skepticism, Maurise shrugged casually. "Perhaps next month, if you choose to forgo the potion, we can engage in a live combat demonstration. I guarantee you are incapable of defeating me."
"There will absolutely not be a 'next month'," Lupin sighed heavily. "Let us return to the primary issue at hand. Why exactly did you follow me down here in the first place?"
Maurise casually twirled the small glass vial containing the werewolf blood between his fingers. "I simply required several fresh biological samples for a specific research project."
Lupin stared at the vial of his own blood, his expression a mixture of profound exhaustion and absolute resignation. "If you simply required biological samples, you could have easily requested them beforehand while I was in my human form."
"Oh? Is that genuinely true?" Maurise's eyes lit up with excitement. "Excellent! Then please, be sure to reserve another vial of blood for me following your transformation next month!"
Lupin opened his mouth to formulate a response, but the words completely failed him. He simply clamped his mouth shut, entirely defeated.