His love for Potions I ✔

Chapter 31: Lupin's taking his leave

PETTIGREW'S TESTIMONY

Black the Avenger?

The headlines of the Daily Prophet mocked Harry over breakfast at the end of exams. Snape didn't look any more happy, Professor Lupin was absent from the head table, and Draco was glaring at Harry sullenly, just as he had been all week. Harry wasn't even sure what he'd done this time, but gossip quickly gathered Draco had been in the hospital wing for some reason the night Harry had been neatly cordoned off from confronting his godfather.

It was Ron's idea to confront Draco, but Harry thought it seemed like a very good idea. Draco had been unusually isolated this week, but it was still odd to catch him in the hallway sans minions.

"Oy, Malfoy," Ron said. "We want a word with you."

"You're welcome. That's two."

"As if you've done anything to be thanked for," said Ron.

"Come now, Harry," Draco said, looking past Ron as if he didn't exist. "Surely you realize that someone other than you can save the day sometimes? And I even managed to wrap it up before final exams. The words you're looking for are 'thank you, Draco.'"

"Black and Pettigrew escaped. How is that wrapping anything up?" asked Harry.

"Didn't you learn anything from the hippogriff's trial?" Draco drawled. "You want your precious godfather facing Ministry justice?"

"Buckbeak never got his appeal," said Hermione. "He would have won! Now he can't, and running away from the trial looks ever so bad."

"He didn't run, he was stolen."

"And that means Harry's godfather will face charges for theft, even if he's innocent of all those murders," Hermione retorted.

"He's a Black," Draco said, raising an eyebrow in his best and most infuriating 'you muggle-raised will never really be part of our world, why do you even try' look.

"That doesn't mean he's immune to laws," growled Ron.

"Ah, of course, Weasley, your family can't afford basic things like lawyers, can they."

"Baiting people is the first resort of the insecure mind," claimed Hermione, grabbing Ron's sleeve before he could lunge.

"Is this going to take much longer? I need to go to the owlery and deliver these," Draco said, gesturing with a pack of letters. "I have to tell everyone I know that Professor Dumbledore's been letting a werewolf teach us all year. Speaking of, did you know Professor Lupin's a werewolf?"

Harry and Hermione both winced, even as Ron exclaimed.

"When'd you figure it out?" asked Harry.

"Oh, I heard Professor Snape remind Professor Lupin about his Wolfsbane at breakfast. He'll be sacked by dinner, if he isn't already."

Harry had heard enough.

#

Lupin's office door was open. He had already packed most of his things. The Grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over something on his desk and looked up only when Harry knocked on the door.