Trying to steer the conversation back, Ian asked.
"No way. That uncle never leaves his room at night." Saying this, Catherine raised her tiny hand again and gave the door a gentle knock with her little fist.
So gentle, it was unlikely anyone inside would even hear it.
"Let me try."
Ian raised his fist and banged heavily on the door.
BANG BANG BANG!
The doorframe shook slightly from the force.
"That's the aura of a real school tyrant." Catherine's eyes lit up even more, absolutely convinced.
"Who is it?" Before Ian could correct her, a tired voice came from inside. Maybe the guy had been napping when Catherine tapped earlier.
"Uncle, my elder brother is back. He says he wants to meet you." Catherine called through the door, then leaned in closer to Ian and whispered, "I don't think he'll see us. Once it's past six, not even a rain of gold coins could get that uncle out of his room."
Just as she finished her confident statement,
Click
The old wooden door opened.
"I heard someone say gold coins? Where?" A messy head poked out. The man had an unkempt beard and a weathered face.
He looked to be in his early thirties, but his face bore the weariness and fine lines of someone much older. His light brown hair was streaked heavily with white.
Appearance-wise, he fit Ian's stereotypical image of a homeless man perfectly.
"Ah?" Catherine froze when she saw the door open and the "weird uncle" step out.
"Uncle Lupin must be in a good mood today. This is my elder brother," She said, cheeks flushed, clearly embarrassed after being proven wrong. She quickly made introductions between the two and then darted off toward the dining hall.
Radish-and-cabbage stew with meat awaited.
Who wouldn't love it?
If you were late, you wouldn't be able to get any.
That was the little girl's psychological justification for her behavior.
"Lupin?" Ian was a bit stunned as he sized up the tall, thin man who had just walked out. He was wearing a tattered cotton coat, covered in patches everywhere.
"Remus Lupin?" Ian asked again, somewhat suspiciously, trying to confirm.
"It's Remus John Lupin… do you know me?" The weathered-looking man corrected Ian, which more or less confirmed his identity, one that few might still remember.
Of course, Ian didn't know all that much about this man, but he knew enough. Not just from memories of his past life, but also from asking the professors at school about this poor fellow.
Mainly, it was for the sake of researching the Wolfsbane Potion. There were plenty of werewolves in the world. If he could manufacture a cheap and effective Wolfsbane Potion, he'd definitely win their favor and loyalty.
Truth be told, Ian had made some breakthroughs. Werewolfism could indeed be classified as an infectious disease, rather than a shortcut version of the Animagus transformation as he'd once theorized. Just like the well-known "Dragon Pox," lycanthropy was a magical disease, more accurately, a contagious illness known as Lycanthropy Madness.
It was transmitted through saliva and blood. Trying to eliminate the side effects of being a werewolf in hopes of uncovering a new Animagus path was a dead end.
"I know a bit, I suppose?" Ian blinked as he responded.
Anyone familiar with the Harry Potter world would know that Remus Lupin was a very dangerous werewolf. When he was four years old, his father had earned the enmity of the werewolf Fenrir Greyback.
As revenge, the werewolf broke in through the window and bit young Lupin in his bedroom. From that day on, Lupin became a werewolf. His parents tried everything to save him, but to no avail.
They both thought he wouldn't be able to attend Hogwarts, no parent would want their children near a werewolf. But after Albus Dumbledore became Headmaster, he found a way to allow Remus to attend.
From that moment on, Lupin became one of Dumbledore's most loyal followers.
In order to ensure Remus could safely attend Hogwarts, Dumbledore even had a Whomping Willow planted on school grounds.
The Whomping Willow concealed a passage leading to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. Every full moon, Remus would use that secret passage to go there and transform.
The goal, of course, was to keep both the students and Remus himself safe. It was a little-known piece of history, most only knew about Lupin and his story with James Potter and the Marauders.
"Well, since you already know who I am, I suppose I don't need to introduce myself."
Lupin looked a bit surprised, but still let out a relieved sigh and tucked the cheat sheet he'd been hiding in his sleeve back into his pocket.
Ian's sharp eyes caught sight of the densely written notes on the paper, a fake background story, something about going bankrupt after a failed investment and ending up on the streets.
To be honest, just looking at Lupin standing there, his aura of destitution was almost overwhelming. That kind of background story did fit. Ian just doubted that Lupin could convincingly describe the "wealthy" part of his past.
"So before you went bankrupt, you were a rich businessman?" Ian voiced what he'd seen.
"That's what the backstory says," Lupin answered calmly.
"Then, can you tell me how many eggs a rich man eats for breakfast?" Ian was the kind of person who liked to verify anything he was suspicious about, so he immediately launched into a cross-examination.
"Uh?"
Lupin instinctively looked like he wanted to reach for the cheat sheet.
"No peeking."
Ian's words made the down-and-out werewolf quite helpless.
"I suppose… at least five? And probably with some grilled sausages and vegetables?"
He thought for a bit and then gave an answer based on pure imagination.
"..."
Ian felt like he was witnessing the Western version of someone pretending to be rich but messing up the details. He could hardly imagine how such a completely flawed persona had won Ms. Helena's trust.
"You didn't cast a Confundus Charm on Ms Helene, did you?" Ian looked at the young, nervous werewolf with a strange expression.
"Of course not. Ms. Helena is a very kind person, and she wouldn't ask me such weird questions either." Lupin sighed helplessly.
"If you're infiltrating somewhere, the least you can do is prepare properly. Katherine said you've been at the orphanage for weeks, and you still haven't memorized your fake identity?"
Ian looked at him as if he were witnessing something unbelievable.
"What do you want me to do? I'm not a Ravenclaw… maybe you don't know this, but I was in Gryffindor. Memorization has never been my strength." Lupin might be a fine wizard, but like many excellent Gryffindors, he seemed to share the same flaw.
"Even if you're a Gryffindor, the basics of doing a job for money, you should at least try to be honest about it, right?" Ian said, then seemed to remember something.
"Oh right, you might be interested to know, Gryffindor's house points this year aren't that great. Ravenclaw is way ahead." His completely random comment left Lupin stunned for a long while.
"…I didn't take any money…"
It took him a while to finally respond with a low voice.
Alright then.
Now he knew who the real heartless capitalist was.
"It's fine, I'll give you some." Ian pulled out a heavy coin pouch and handed it to Lupin. It was full of bronze Knuts that he had already started to feel annoyed by.
One gold Galleon was equal to 493 bronze Knuts, so even though the pouch was full, it didn't quite add up to a single Galleon. Ian wouldn't even feel comfortable depositing it at Gringotts.
Of course, Lupin, who had been poor for so long, certainly wouldn't mind.
"Are you trying to bribe me?"
Though his eyes were practically glued to the pouch, he still didn't lower his dignity to accept it. As an adult wizard, his pride wouldn't allow him to take a handout from a kid wizard.
"This is payment you deserve."
Ian stuffed the pouch into Lupin's robes. Who knows whether it was because Lupin felt cold in summer or for some other reason, but the way he instinctively hugged his robes looked pretty funny.
(To Be Continued…)
You can read ahead up to 110 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
PS-"For every 200 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-42)!"