"The same event experienced firsthand versus hearing it retold by someone else—there's a difference.
Although the method of discernment is simple, there's no point in me explaining it to you step by step right now.
From your description just now, I could tell that all this wasn't told to you directly by your father, but rather your father told a third party, who then relayed it to you.
You mentioned earlier that you're an only child, so the third party who has the trust of both your father and yourself could only be your mother."
Remus stared at Sherlock, too astonished to speak.
"Furthermore, based on your description of your father, his personality wouldn't allow him to tell you the truth about this matter.
Because he feared you would blame him for it—so the answer is obvious. He could only have told your mother, who then relayed it to you."
"Sherlock, you're absolutely right. My mother told me all of this."
Remus let out a long sigh. He hadn't expected Sherlock to deduce even his father's psychological reactions.
After Remus became a werewolf, Lyall had exhausted every effort searching for a cure. But whether potions or spells, all were helpless against lycanthropy.
From that point on, the Lupin family made concealing their son's condition their top priority.
The family moved from village to town, then from town to another village.
Because whenever they stayed in one place too long, the surrounding wizards would notice that every full moon, the boy would become unusually haggard—not to mention his monthly disappearances.
Under these circumstances, Remus was forbidden by his parents from playing with children his age, lest he accidentally let something slip.
Because people's views on werewolves were exactly as Lyall had once said—they only deserved to die.
So, whenever Remus's odd behavior began to spread, they would immediately move.
Controlling a young werewolf's transformation wasn't difficult, but as Remus grew older, a locked room and Silencing Charms were no longer enough.
Transformed into a werewolf, he possessed sufficient strength to break down doors and shatter windows.
To control Remus, they needed more powerful spells.
This caused the Lupin couple to lose faith in the future.
The hope that he could surely attend Hogwarts was shattered.
How could any school possibly accept a werewolf?
But none of them expected that shortly after Remus's eleventh birthday, Albus Dumbledore, then Headmaster of Hogwarts, personally came to visit.
Dumbledore told the Lupin couple that since the name was registered in the Book of Admittance, young Remus should attend Hogwarts.
Of course, given Remus's special circumstances, he had made proper arrangements.
First, his true identity would not be disclosed publicly—this was the vital prerequisite for everything to proceed smoothly.
Second, he would arrange for Remus to go to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade village each month to spend his transformation days there.
The Lupin couple were naturally overjoyed and immensely grateful.
Dumbledore's arrival could be said to have changed their family's destiny.
After Remus successfully enrolled, Dumbledore specifically had a Whomping Willow planted to conceal the entrance to the passage from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade.
The sounds Remus made during transformation were attributed to haunting, and Dumbledore even fanned the flames, spreading this rumor.
This set of measures worked so well that years later, when Hermione heard they could visit Hogsmeade village, her first thought was of the most haunted place in all of Britain—the Shrieking Shack.
Remus studied diligently at school and made friends. With his excellent character and academics, he was even selected as a prefect in his fifth year.
Finally, Remus and his friends successfully graduated from Hogwarts together.
Harry looked anxiously at Professor Lupin, wanting him to say more about his time at school with his father.
Unfortunately, Lupin seemed intentionally avoiding these topics.
Not only did he refrain from describing his school life in detail, but when he reached this point, he directly jumped to many years later.
"I'm very grateful to Albus. He came to my door in person when I was eleven and allowed me to attend Hogwarts.
Just last year, he found me again and once more changed my life.
I never imagined that a werewolf could not only study at Hogwarts but also serve as professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Yet even so, thinking about having to go to the Shrieking Shack every month to transform, I still hesitated—"
"Obviously, what dispelled your doubts must have been the Wolfsbane Potion, right?"
Sherlock smiled. "As long as you became colleagues with Professor Snape, you could obtain this precious potion—expensive in materials and only brewable by a Potions Master.
Drinking it before the full moon, you could maintain your rationality and wait quietly in your office, harming no one."
"Yes, so I'm also very grateful to Severus—even though I know he's unwilling to do this."
"In such matters, we judge actions not intentions. You certainly should thank him, but—"
Sherlock suddenly changed tack. "Speaking of which, Professor Hagrid doesn't know you're a werewolf, does he?"
"That's right. Albus specifically instructed me not to let him know." Hearing Sherlock mention this, Remus's expression became somewhat puzzled.
"I've always found it strange. Albus made great efforts to convince some faculty members that I was trustworthy.
And he's told me more than once, 'I would trust Hagrid with my life.' Yet Rubeus is specifically excluded from the faculty who know my identity."
Harry struggled to suppress his laughter, because he and Sherlock both knew exactly why.
Sherlock chuckled lightly. "A wise decision, because Hagrid grew up drinking Veritaserum."
"What?" Remus looked at Sherlock in surprise. "What did you say?"
"Once Hagrid knows something, it means the entire wizarding world knows it—unless you don't give him a chance to speak."
Remus: "..."
With Sherlock putting it that way, Remus understood what "Hagrid grew up drinking Veritaserum" meant: he couldn't keep secrets.
He also understood why Dumbledore had informed almost all the faculty of his identity but specifically bypassed Hagrid, the person he could "trust with his life."
"However, even if our dear Professor Hagrid doesn't tell, this still isn't a long-term solution."
Sherlock said, clasping his hands under his chin and leaning slightly back in his chair.
"Professor Lupin of Defense Against the Dark Arts is unwell for a few days every month. If you were a woman, you could barely find an excuse, but you happen to be a man."
Remus: "..."
"But Professor Snape shouldn't target Professor Lupin anymore, right?"
Harry had fully recovered by now and joined Sherlock and Lupin's conversation. "As long as he doesn't deliberately assign topics about werewolves—"
"You're right, Harry. After Wormtail's trial, Professor Snape indeed won't likely target Professor Lupin anymore, but don't take everyone else for fools."
Sherlock shook his head slightly. "Don't forget, our Professor Lupin doesn't only teach lower years.
This is only the second term. Even if the students at this school are slow, by next term, someone will definitely notice the pattern.
Those upper-year students need only pay slight attention, and sooner or later they'll realize the professor's absences always coincide with the full moon.
With a little association, figuring this out would be child's play.
In fact, that only Hermione has discovered this so far is already surprising enough."
"How could this happen—"
Seeing Harry's dejected expression, Remus, the person actually concerned, laughed instead.
"We'll deal with it when it happens!
Being able to witness Sirius's vindication and Peter brought to justice—for me, this year has been exciting enough!
Well, since Harry has recovered, you'd best leave now. It's getting late."
Lupin issued his dismissal. Harry could only follow Sherlock out of the classroom.
The two walked along the corridor, and when they reached Gryffindor Tower, they unsurprisingly encountered Neville.
Although Peter had been brought to justice, Professor McGonagall kept her word. After the term started, she banned Neville from Hogsmeade visits.
She gave him a week of detention and forbade anyone from telling him the tower password.
Poor Neville could only wait outside the common room every evening, hoping someone would come to let him in.
"Brilliant! I thought no one else would come this late!"
When he saw Sherlock and Harry appear, Neville cheered and immediately ran over.
Sherlock smiled but said nothing, while Harry looked at poor Neville with some sympathy.
How to put it?
Actually, a couple days ago, he'd violated Professor McGonagall's orders and secretly told Neville the password.
But it was useless—Neville forgot it.
However, he didn't dare use a slip of paper to record the password again, so this was all that could be done.
"Sherlock, could we not return to the dormitory yet? I still have something I want to say to you."
After Neville yawned and returned to the dormitory first, Harry stopped, saying somewhat hesitantly.
Sherlock looked at the somewhat nervous Harry and smiled slightly. "Alright."
No one was in the common room. The two sat down by the fireplace, and after hesitating repeatedly, Harry finally spoke.
"Sherlock, I—should I not have spoken just now?"
He somewhat regretted joining the conversation earlier.
He felt that because the topic of being unable to continue at school made Remus uncomfortable, that's why he asked them to leave.
"But I really don't want Professor Lupin to leave. He's our best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"
Harry said urgently.
"I share the same view, my dear Harry."
Sherlock smiled slightly. "However, it seems now that the curse Voldemort left hasn't disappeared."
With Sherlock's reminder, Harry immediately recalled that rumor.
Ever since Dumbledore refused Voldemort's return to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, for all these years, no one had been able to hold the position for more than a year.
"But—but wasn't that curse already broken?
Headmaster Dumbledore said that Voldemort in the previous school year already counted as having served as Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—"
"If you remember that statement, you should also remember the second half—that was merely his guess.
Looking at the current situation, if Professor Lupin's identity is discovered, he certainly can't stay, which means the curse hasn't been broken yet."
"Why is this happening?"
Harry's eyes suddenly lost their luster. He sank powerlessly back into his chair, murmuring.
"Damn it! Cursed Voldemort—"
Another heavy mark added to their grudge!
Sherlock looked at his friend's dejected appearance and chuckled.
"Harry, where there's a will, there's a way—in fact, I believe this curse can still be broken this year."
"You have a solution!"
Harry snapped to attention, sitting bolt upright.
Right, this was Sherlock Holmes!
If he could uncover truth buried for twelve years, solving Professor Lupin's problem would surely be easy!
Sherlock nodded slightly. "It's only a preliminary idea right now. It's too early to call it a solution—"
"Excellent! Everything you want to do, you've never failed!"
"My dear Harry, your trust in me is somewhat embarrassing. Because based on the facts you know, I've actually failed twice.
Once was the document theft case, and once was the Greek Interpreter case."
"But those weren't your fault. You already helped that Mr. clear his name and saved that interpreter gentleman."
"No, no, no, Harry. Although I generally take pleasure in solving puzzles, the ultimate goal is still to bring those criminals to justice—
Whether it's Wright Black who escaped from the Ministry of Magic, or John Smith who left a false name, as long as they remain at large for even one day, I can't count myself successful."
"Well—but compared to your many more victories, these still can't be mentioned in the same breath."
"True, generally speaking, I'm still successful."
"Then regarding Professor Lupin's matter, I also hope you can succeed."
Sherlock smiled again.
He looked at Harry's eager expression and slowly said.
"I'll do my best, but compared to Professor Lupin, I think there's something more important."
"What matter?"
"Your matter."
"My matter?"
Harry looked at Sherlock in surprise. "What matter could I have? I'm fine, aren't I?"
Sherlock's gaze suddenly became sharp.
"Are you really fine?"
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