At Hogwarts, the end of May meant the Quidditch House Cup final and the approaching final exams.
"Black, Potter! What are you doing in the library?" Madam Pince, the librarian, singled out the two biggest point-losers from Gryffindor from the crowd, making no secret of her discriminatory treatment towards poor students.
"Hello, Madam Pince," Sirius answered politely, which was unusual for him. "It's the end of the term, we've come to the library to study."
Since Regulus couldn't go to the Gryffindor common room, they had arranged to meet him in the library today to discuss important matters, and they absolutely couldn't mess it up.
Seeing that Madam Pince was still skeptical, Sirius simply smiled.
This child is really handsome—Madam Pince's attitude quickly changed from cloudy to sunny, and she rarely showed a hint of a smile, saying, "Alright. No eating or drinking in the library, and no loud talking."
"Are you sure it's okay for us to meet a Slytherin in the library?" James asked.
"There's no school rule that says the two Houses can't meet in the library," Remus pointed out.
...
In an empty corner of the library.
"It was Headmaster Dumbledore himself who came to my house and persuaded my parents to let me come to Hogwarts. He also made me swear—not to proactively tell anyone my true identity." Remus, still pale, recounted the brief version of the events again.
"As for why I am... well, this is how it is. Greyback, to get revenge on my father, attacked me before my fifth birthday... and then I... became like this."
"We must destroy him—"
Just as Sirius and James clenched their fists, their hearts breaking and filled with anger and hatred for Xiao Lupin's story once again, they heard Regulus say softly in a calm yet powerful tone.
Regulus's gaze swept over Remus, Sirius, and James one by one, as if a cold flame burned in his eyes:
"That kind of utterly wicked scum—for Remus, and to prevent him from harming anyone else!"
For a moment, the Little Wizards were stunned. Then, Sirius's eyes narrowed, and James's fist clenched even tighter.
"That Greyback fellow is very powerful and has many Werewolf helpers. Several Aurors once surrounded him and couldn't capture him," Remus said sadly. "I heard he has also joined some organization now..."
"We will grow up, we will become strong," Regulus said calmly, his determined gaze shining brightly. "We are younger than our enemies, and we can also make like-minded friends—time is on our side, we can definitely do it!"
"A Muggle said: The opposite of success is not failure, but doing nothing."
Muggle chicken soup today +1.
He solemnly wrote the first name in his mental death note—
Fenrir Greyback.
(Regulus: Desperately needs a real death note.)
"Right!"
"Exactly!"
The righteous purpose carried a strong infectiousness, and the Little Wizards were filled with emotion due to the sudden sense of mission.
"However, right now, we need to find a way to help Remus," Sirius said softly. "I think we can use spells, Potions, or ask a Professor."
"It's best not to ask a Professor," Remus shook his head. "I don't want Professor Dumbledore to know the secret has been revealed."
"I'll write home and ask!" James said. "Just say... it's for a school paper."
Everyone started discussing in low voices, talking over each other.
"We need to act very cautiously and not be discovered by others."
"We need to find some powerful attacking spells and practice them!"
"We also need a hidden way to communicate and a meeting place."
"Let's all go back, think individually, research, research, research, and when we meet next time, we'll plan together."
"Summer vacation is coming soon, we can also meet outside of school!"
"I can ask our Uncle Alphard to accompany us, so we can cast spells outside of school."
Xiao Lupin's eyes became moist, and he blinked.
...
The discussion came to an end.
"So what should we do now?" James asked, still wanting more.
"Since we're already here, let's do some homework and review for the exams first," Regulus said, spreading his hands. "After all, I still have a Transfiguration essay to write."
"Speaking of reviewing for exams—" Lupin shyly took out a few notebooks from his bag. "These are my notes from last year, I think they might help you. If you need them, I can also share our final exam questions from last year."
!?
"Thanks, mate," Regulus extended his fist and bumped it with Remus's, only wanting to exclaim—who in the world doesn't love Lupin?!
"Remus's notes—that's amazing, Remus is our Gryffindor's top student, second only to Lily..." James sighed. "If I had these notes last year..."
...
The gentle, brilliant sunlight painted Hogwarts Castle, surrounded by mountains, with a layer of brightness. The stained glass on the Castle windows shone like jewels.
The last House Cup Quidditch match before the pressing final exams was held as scheduled. Under the pressure of the final exams, the match became a perfect emotional outlet, igniting the passion of the Hogwarts students.
On the day of the match, the sky and the ceiling of the Great Hall were a pleasant sky blue. Regulus and a few classmates who were going the same way went to the Slytherin table for breakfast and immediately noticed the lively atmosphere in the Great Hall—
The Gryffindor table was decorated everywhere with gold and scarlet ribbons, and the Gryffindors, whether walking around or eating, were also wearing clothes or decorations in the same colors.
Their opponents this year, Ravenclaw, had their table adorned with blue and bronze, elegant and beautiful.
As James Potter, wearing his Quidditch uniform, arrived at the table surrounded by classmates, the Gryffindors erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
He was their most Notable young Seeker this year, with outstanding achievements and a promising future.
James grinned happily, but his gaze was immediately drawn to a figure who had just entered the Great Hall—
It was Lily Evans, with her friend Mary Macdonald. They were both wearing their House robes, but had carefully styled their hair and pinned exquisite rose rosettes to their chests.
Lily's red hair shone like fire, tied with a magical golden hairband that flowed with shimmering golden light. Her bright green eyes were full of spirit and brimming with lively vitality. She kept greeting classmates she passed by; students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were familiar with her. Her smile was extremely friendly and approachable, her white teeth sparkling.
Following Severus's gaze beside him, Regulus was also stunned—
Beautiful, truly beautiful!
Good-looking, truly good-looking!
What would she be like when she grew up!?
Regulus felt a loss for words.
At the same time, he also noticed that many young girls had come to watch his brother...
Sirius was just sitting amidst the noise, eating breakfast, with three parts laziness, three parts elegance, and four parts nonchalance...
Were they—really born to the same parents?
Don't ask, if you ask, there will be tears.
James awkwardly greeted Lily and received a response that treated everyone equally. It was clear that, like other boys, he was very happy about this.
Severus glumly poked his fork into the egg pudding in front of him.
For Slytherin, the situation this year was a bit special. Their points were close to Ravenclaw's, and if Ravenclaw won the Quidditch match, they would likely lose the House Cup.
But for Slytherin to pray for Gryffindor to win the match was pure fantasy. So most Slytherins displayed a faint, detached indifference... but the match—
They still had to pay attention to it.
The clamor, the conversations, the laughter, the clinking of knives and forks, the soft sound of glasses... Surrounded by the lively atmosphere and various emotions in the Great Hall, Regulus suddenly had an unprecedented sense of reality—
He had to protect all of this!
(Someone please give Regulus a death note!)
He patted Severus's shoulder: "Severus, let's go watch the match."