Chapter 98
After a long journey, the train finally reached its destination.
Lupin woke up a few minutes before arriving at Hogwarts, chatting with the quartet in the compartment, a warm smile on his face.
"James and Sirius never really told me the dates of their wives' births," Lupin said. "So I was never present on the day you were born, guys."
Harry, fully attentive, listened eagerly to everything Professor Lupin shared about his parents. He felt a surge of happiness learning about them.
"But once I knew," Lupin continued, "James chose Sirius to be Harry's godfather, because he trusted Sirius implicitly. As for Albert, James didn't assign Sirius as his godfather. Instead, he wanted me to be your godfather, Albert."
In the wizarding world, the concept of a godparent carried great importance. If the child's biological parent died, the chosen godparent would care for and protect the child, taking on all parental duties.
Lupin placed his right hand on Albert's head, smiling warmly. "I must say, Albert, you really resemble your mother, Melinda. Does this generation always take after their mothers? Harry, you too—your eyes are so much like your mother's!"
Harry and Albert smiled at the compliment, while the others in the compartment looked puzzled.
Albert already knew everything Lupin had mentioned, having lived his previous life and been reborn. He had witnessed all these events before.
What puzzled Albert, however, was that Lupin, despite being aware of Sirius's instructions to protect him during the eleven years Albert spent in Azkaban, had never sought him out. Why had Lupin left him alone all those years? That was truly strange.
He understood that, normally, professors rarely spoke so openly with students. This conversation was a rare exception.
"Triiiin! Triiiin! Triiiin!"
The train bell rang, signaling arrival at Hogwarts.
Lupin ended the discussion. "Well, that concludes our chat. See you at the school."
The four students bid him farewell, but Lupin's final gaze lingered on the rat perched on Ron's shoulder.
Everyone disembarked. Older students climbed onto the Thestral-drawn carriages, creatures invisible to anyone who hadn't witnessed death firsthand.
For Albert, this was the first time he truly saw these creatures. In his previous life, he had only seen them on television, never in reality.
Albert was surprised, as the creatures were not as frightening as people's descriptions suggested: "I feel death approaching when I see a Thestral," or "My heart tightens every time I see one."
No one else could see them. But Hermione and Ron noticed something unusual: Albert appeared captivated, staring intently at something at the edge of the carriages.
Curious, Hermione approached Albert. "What's happening, Albert? Did you see something strange?"
Albert, embarrassed at her proximity, stammered, "Huh? What were you saying, Hermione?"
Hermione clarified, "I saw you looking shocked earlier. Were you searching for something and needed help?"
Albert pointed toward the Thestrals, which pulled the nine carriages through the air like spectral horses. "Hermione! Do you see those creatures?"
She looked in the direction he indicated but saw nothing.
Albert sighed, placing his hand over his face. "Ah, I forgot—you can't see them. Only those who have witnessed death can."
He explained to Hermione that she had never truly seen death, while he, having died in his previous life, could perceive the Thestrals. Harry would also remain unable to see them until the fifth year, when Sirius Black died, as in the original story.
Hermione listened, astonished.
Albert continued, "That's why the carriages appear without horses. Once all the older students board, the Thestrals will pull them, just as I told you."
Minutes later, the older students mounted the carriages, and Hagrid, released from the Ministry's long-imposed ban on performing magic, waved his wand to set them in motion.
Hagrid, tall and six feet high, wielded a wand made of oak with a unicorn hair core. The ban had been imposed fifty years earlier, after Tom Riddle (Voldemort) unleashed the dangerous spider monster from the Chamber of Secrets, falsely blaming Hagrid.
Voldemort had orchestrated this to cover his own malicious deeds, unaware to everyone else that Hagrid had actually released the monster from the Chamber.
To be contined ...