Fortunately, there was no one else behind Remus Lupin, so the "nesting doll" behavior finally came to an end.
When old friends meet again, a simple "long time no see" is worth more than a thousand words. Lupin's reunion with Black was naturally thanks to Director Twist's arrangements.
During this past week, Black had been recovering at the Twilight Cottage, while Eda had been suffering in Snape's dungeon classroom. But Eda hadn't been idle either—cleaning Flobberworms and leeches had actually made her a bit less restless, giving her time to think carefully about many things.
No matter how strong she was, Eda was still just a student at the end of the day. Her words carried little weight. The Rosier family's earlier disdain toward her, and Umbridge daring to provoke her, were both because of this.
The Rosiers' compromise came from the pressure of her grandmother, Vinda, but that didn't mean they would fully support Eda. They wouldn't openly defy her, but neither would they give their all—for example, in the Ministry of Magic's trial of Buckbeak.
Unless Eda accomplished something earth-shaking right now, or pinned Dumbledore to the ground and beat him, she would be looked down upon wherever she went.
It couldn't be helped—she was a student, a minor!
No one would believe a fugitive's words, and a minor student's testimony was just as unreliable. So Eda needed a witness—someone to witness her conversation with Black.
The first person she thought of was, of course, Remus Lupin. After all, he and Black were close friends, so he naturally came to mind first.
But then Eda reconsidered—if a student's words weren't trustworthy, then a werewolf's words would be even less so. Lupin truly wasn't suitable.
With no other choice, Eda had to bring Dumbledore into it. Surely people would believe Dumbledore's words!
So that morning, Eda went to the headmaster's office and directly blocked him in his bedroom.
In the end, with urgent personal matters to attend to, Dumbledore gave in. After signing countless unequal agreements with Eda, he followed her to the Twilight Cottage with a thoroughly bewildered expression.
In the renovated sitting room, Dumbledore saw Lupin, who looked just as bewildered as he did. Neither of them knew what was going on—they had both been invited here early in the morning, one by Eda and the other by the twins.
Lupin was actually even more confused than Dumbledore. Being hauled out early in the morning by two students would leave anyone bewildered!
After seeing the Whomping Willow, the secret passage, and the renovated Shrieking Shack, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was even more at a loss. If he hadn't also seen Dumbledore there, the werewolf might have thought he'd been marked for elimination by a Seer.
The two professors sat side by side on the sofa, with candy and drinks placed on the coffee table in front of them. They were strictly ordered to remain silent and even forbidden from moving about freely. Garlon and Crookshanks were responsible for keeping an eye on them.
In order to figure out what Eda and the twins were planning, Dumbledore and Lupin allowed themselves to be arranged at will, not making the slightest sound.
Soon, voices came from the bedroom. Hearing familiar voices and familiar names, Lupin immediately grew restless, itching to rush into the room at once.
If Dumbledore hadn't stopped him in time, Eda's little performance might have fallen apart long ago.
As the conversation in the bedroom continued, the long-buried truth was gradually revealed, and the more Lupin listened, the more alarmed he became. He wasn't hurt by the lack of trust—instead, he felt guilty for his misunderstanding, saddened for Sirius, and grieved for what they had all gone through.
Twelve years—how many such twelve years does a person have in a lifetime?
The four people inside the bedroom communicated with words, while the two outside communicated with glances and gestures. It wasn't until Eda said, "Right, Professor?" that Dumbledore and Lupin walked together to the bedroom door.
As for the final "nesting doll" appearance, that was Dumbledore's improvisation as the chief director, something he hadn't discussed at all with Director Twist.
Inside the bedroom, Fred and George stepped aside from the doorway and moved to stand by the window with Eda.
The three of them exchanged smiles, all quite satisfied with everything that had happened today. Their curiosity had been fulfilled, and they had also witnessed the warm reunion of old friends—truly the best of both worlds.
Remus Lupin walked step by step toward the bed, while Sirius Black struggled to get up. They embraced each other like brothers.
"When one gets old, it becomes hard to watch such touching scenes," Dumbledore teased. "In my mind, you're still the way you were at sixteen or seventeen—laughing and causing mischief without restraint."
"We have to find him!" Black said.
"We will find him!" Lupin replied.
Everyone in the room was clever, and as the least sharp among them, Fred and George played their roles as fools perfectly. Fred said, "I know you two are happy to be reunited, but I still have to bring up something unpleasant."
"Scabbers… that is, Peter—he's gone," George continued. "Right on the day before Sirius broke into the common room."
At the time, Ron's shout had echoed through the entire common room. Nearly everyone in Gryffindor knew that Ron's rat had been eaten by Hermione's cat. The bloodstains on the bedsheets and the ginger cat fur were the evidence.
No body, no remains—did that mean Crookshanks had eaten him clean?
But Peter was an Animagus, a wizard. How could he possibly be eaten by a cat? And considering what Peter had done before, it was obvious to everyone that he had staged his death once again, repeating the same trick.
On one hand, it allowed him to escape Crookshanks and Garlon's pursuit; on the other, it helped him evade Black's hunt—killing two birds with one stone.
Sure enough, on the night Gryffindor won the Quidditch match, Sirius Black paid a visit to the common room with a blade in hand, even raising it beside Ron's bed.
But Peter had already fled. Not only did Sirius gain nothing, he was wounded by Eda and later nearly died from infection.
Peter's plan had almost succeeded—he had even nearly gained an unexpected bonus. But it fell just short. Black survived and revealed the truth from twelve years ago.
That missing piece was Crookshanks and Garlon. These two unusually clever pets had made Peter suffer greatly.
Hogwarts was vast—the castle, towers, grounds, boathouse, and even the Forbidden Forest. Trying to find a missing Peter, a single rat, within the school was no easy task.
That was assuming Peter hadn't already left the school. If he had, then it would truly be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"I don't think Peter would leave the school—he wouldn't dare. As long as he's still here, we can find him," Lupin said confidently. Then he pulled out an old piece of parchment from his pocket. "Does this look familiar?"
"Of course!" Sirius Black said excitedly, looking at the parchment as if he were seeing an old friend again.
It wasn't just Sirius—Eda and the twins were just as familiar with that parchment. In the bedroom, only Dumbledore didn't know what it was for.
For Dumbledore, today had been full of surprises. Black had been captured by Eda, and he truly was innocent—but what was this parchment?
Holding up the Marauder's Map, Lupin looked at Eda and the twins. A sly smile appeared on his face as he said, "Miss Twist and the two Mr. Weasleys don't find this familiar?"
Eda nodded in acknowledgment, but the twins shook their heads in denial. The three of them glanced at each other—then Eda began shaking her head in denial, while the twins started nodding in admission.
"Harry didn't betray you. He didn't reveal how he got this map," Lupin said with a smile. "But, Sirius, why don't you do it?"
As he spoke, Lupin handed both the parchment and his wand to Sirius.
Sirius took the wand and the parchment, his rough hands gently stroking it as if it were an old lover. He tapped the parchment lightly with the wand and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
The parchment instantly ceased to be ordinary, revealing its true form. The entire Hogwarts appeared upon it. Looking at the fine ink lines and the many little black dots, Dumbledore suddenly felt that being the headmaster of this lot was truly no easy task…
Eda and the twins forced themselves to remain calm. Since Harry hadn't betrayed them, they absolutely couldn't admit anything. What Marauder's Map? Never heard of it!
Fortunately—thankfully—they hadn't invited Professor McGonagall. That was truly a blessing in disguise!
"Still unwilling to admit it?" Lupin continued. "Have the three of you never wondered who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs really are?"
At this point, how could Eda and the twins not understand? They had run into the real deal—the impostors meeting the genuine article.
Looking at the smile on Professor Lupin's face, Eda couldn't help but feel he was deliberately exposing this in front of Dumbledore.
Speak! What's your motive for doing this? Is this your way of getting revenge for Sirius Black?
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
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