Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 35: Summit

A/N: Sorry for the late update! As much as I want to post as quickly as possible, I just end up feeling more pressured when I'm flooded with comments and messages telling me to update right away. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate you guys wanting to read more of this story, but I'd rather post a chapter that I've taken the time to plan out and edit rather than a rushed one :') I also have other responsibilities, so I hope y'all understand why I'm not a fast updater 🤧

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this last chapter (although it hasn't been proofread yet)! :>

Jessica was now a hundred percent convinced that every year since Harry Potter entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry led to some bizarre event. There was the whole Philosopher's Stone and Professor Quirrell fiasco during the boy's first year. After that, the Chamber of Secrets reopened, and Jessica herself had nearly been a victim of the basilisk that lived inside of it — thankfully, she had only gotten petrified and was revived without any issues. Then, over the past few months of the current school year, there were multiple break-ins of Sirius Black into the castle.

Now, just as their final exams had come to a close, Jessica was met with another round of news. First, Buckbeak the hippogriff managed to escape before he was supposed to be executed — of course, Malfoy was furious about that. The third year boy would not stop whining that justice had not been served. Second, Sirius Black had somehow been caught in the grounds, but he escaped as well. The Ministry wasn't pleased since the mass murderer had slipped through their fingers yet again. And finally, it was revealed that Professor Lupin was actually werewolf. It did not take long for him to make an official resignation from his post as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

On the afternoon that all this information spread across the school, Jessica found herself sitting cross-legged on the grass next to Bethany and Alista in the Transfiguration Courtyard. All around them, they could hear whispers as both students and staff members discussed the recent turn of events.

"Why can't we just have one normal year?" Jessica wondered.

"And why couldn't we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who would actually stay and teach us?" Bethany complained. "Lupin was the best we've had by far. I can't believe he's leaving."

"I know. He's way better than Lockhart, even though I loved him, too," Alista said. Jessica and Bethany hid entertained glances at that, remembering how much Alista fancied Lockhart even if he was a mediocre teacher. "I can't believe everyone knows about Lupin's... condition already, though. Snape just told us Slytherins this morning."

"Why would Snape blab about that to your house in the first place? Does he not have friends to gossip with, so he turns to his students instead?" Jessica scoffed, making Bethany and Alista giggle under their breaths. "I bet he must have something against Lupin. Why else would he spill his secret?"

"That's highly likely. Maybe it's because Snape lost to him for the Defense post," Alista agreed.

"He loses it every year. He should just give up," Bethany deadpanned. "Either way, it's not like we can do anything. Whatever Snape's intentions were, it worked — Lupin won't be teaching us anymore."

The three girls sighed in unison, feeling quite down. They were sure they weren't the only ones upset about Lupin resigning, though. He had made such a big impact on students from all years — he was practically the perfect mix of being both a strict yet relatable professor. He took class seriously, but he never forgot to be kind and considerate to his students. He genuinely wanted everyone to learn, but he also made sure to throw in a few jokes here and there to make his lessons enjoyable. However, Jessica also knew deep inside that there were probably a number of students talking badly about him being werewolf as well — after all, it was still not widely accepted in the wizarding community. It was only a matter of time before the parents found out about it, and Hogwarts would receive a bunch of complaints for that. In hindsight, avoiding that was probably one of the main reasons why Lupin decided to leave so early.