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Chapter 389: Listen to Me!!
Darren was almost laughing internally at Lupin's words.
Of course, he had never truly fallen unconscious.
He had only been cooperating with Sirius Black to clear his name.
And once he "woke up," Darren fully intended to scare Black again—by claiming he didn't believe a single word and would personally hand him over to the Dementors.
After all, this man had thrown him away as a baby.
Even if that had happened to the original owner of this body, Darren still felt annoyed about it.
For an unexplainable reason, the atmosphere in the room slowly became less tense.
But Harry and Hermione still held their wands tightly.
They didn't trust Lupin anymore.
Not even after he had returned their wands.
"If you weren't helping him all this time," Harry snapped, staring at Black,
"then how did you know he was here?!"
Lupin gave him a tired look.
"I gave you the Marauder's Map. That's how I knew Sirius was nearby."
"And Moony… that's me."
Harry's eyes widened.
"…Moony is you?"
"That doesn't even matter right now!" Lupin said irritably.
"Today was Buckbeak's execution. I was worried you'd go with Darren, so I kept an eye on the map the whole time."
"And sure enough—you did."
"I was watching carefully in case something happened to you…"
"But when I saw you returning… there was an extra person walking with you."
"A person I never expected to see alive."
Lupin's face darkened.
"He followed you."
Harry and Ron exchanged looks.
That was impossible.
They had never seen anyone else.
There had only been the four of them.
"What are you talking about?" Harry said sharply.
"There was no one but us!"
Lupin cut him off.
"The map showed Sirius chasing two people—"
"One person! It was Ron!" Harry corrected.
But Lupin ignored him and turned to Ron instead.
"Ron… show me your rat."
Ron frowned.
"It's just a rat. What's that got to do with anything?"
He still pulled Scabbers from his pocket.
The rat struggled violently, squealing as if it were terrified.
Lupin looked down at it… and spoke softly.
"Hello, Peter Pettigrew."
Everyone froze.
Harry shouted,
"That's impossible! Peter Pettigrew was already killed by him!"
He pointed straight at Black.
Black's face twisted with pure fury as he lunged forward.
"I should have killed you back then! If I had, I wouldn't have gone to prison!!"
He tried to seize Scabbers, but Lupin grabbed his arm.
"Sirius… you must explain everything to them. Harry deserves to know the truth."
Ron stared at the scene in disbelief.
"This is insane! What kind of trick is this?!"
He tried to retreat, but Lupin raised his wand gently and stopped him.
"Listen to me.
That rat… is Peter Pettigrew."
Hermione shook her head firmly.
"No. Peter Pettigrew died. Witnesses saw his body. His name is famous."
"I also checked all registered Animagus—there's no Peter Pettigrew on the list."
Lupin smiled faintly.
"Very good, Hermione. You really are the smartest witch I know… aside from Darren."
Hermione flushed slightly.
"You checked the registered Animagus," Lupin continued,
"but the Ministry never knew.
There were three illegal Animagus."
Before he could continue—
The door of the Shrieking Shack creaked open.
Lupin glanced toward it in confusion.
"Why did the door just open?"
"It's supposed to be haunted…" Ron muttered.
"No," Lupin corrected softly.
"The rumors exist because of me."
"When I was bitten by a werewolf, Dumbledore had this house built for me…"
"There was no Wolfsbane then. Every full moon, I became a monster here."
"And my three best friends always noticed my disappearances…"
"Peter Pettigrew… Sirius Black… and James Potter."
"They became Animagi to be with me."
"They kept me sane."
His voice shook.
"Snape was right to hate me."
"I should have told Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus… but I was a coward."
"I finally had a job again… I could finally stay close to Darren…"
"I was afraid of losing it."
"…Snape?"
Black frowned.
"Yes," Lupin said bitterly.
"When Snape followed Madam Pomfrey one night… Sirius told him how to enter the Whomping Willow."
"James realized and saved him at the last second."
"But Snape still saw the truth."
"That's why he always knew I was a werewolf."
"That's why he brewed Wolfsbane for me every year."
Harry's mind reeled.
"So… Snape hated you because he thought you were part of the prank?"
"Yes," Lupin admitted.
Then—
A cold voice echoed from behind him.
"Exactly."
Snape stepped out of invisibility, wand raised.
His eyes burned with fury.
"Now tell me…"
"What have you done to Darren, Mr. Lupin?"
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