"I suppose you are Harry?"
The man cast a gentle gaze over the three faces before finally resting on Harry's face. He first glanced at the scar on his forehead, then downwards. When he met those almond-shaped, emerald green eyes, the man's originally calm demeanor wavered for a moment—
Too much alike, his gaze lingered for a moment before shifting back to the newspaper spread out on the table.
For some reason, the aura around the man suddenly turned somewhat desolate.
"Oh..."
Harry instinctively brushed his forelock, trying to use his hair to cover the scar on his forehead. But just like that stubborn hairstyle of his, as the mirror in room 11 of the Leaky Cauldron put it, "It's completely in vain, dear."
"Is it you?"
Hermione's voice broke the awkward atmosphere that had just arisen. She stared at the man's face, searching her memory for a moment before finally recognizing him.
"Uncle Lupin—"
Ron's voice rang out simultaneously. He had seen the person in Egypt and even knew why he was on this train.
"You all know each other..."
A bewildered Harry suddenly felt a sense of isolation. They had just randomly opened a compartment door, and not only did the person inside recognize him, but his two companions also knew the man. Was he the only one left in the dark?
"Oh, yesterday..."
Hermione nodded, intending to explain, but was interrupted by a sudden voice from behind. "Are you planning to block the entrance forever, or should I go in first?" William stood behind the three, holding two steaming cups.
"Oh..."
Seeing the newcomer, Harry and the other two quickly stepped aside, but they had no intention of sitting inside—of course, their original purpose was to find a place to have a private chat, so naturally, they didn't plan to stay with others, even though Harry intended to ask William some questions later when they were at school, without outsiders around.
"I remember there's a bit of space at the back of the train—"
Hermione whispered, pulling at the sleeves of the other two, and then the three of them courteously closed the compartment door for William and Lupin.
"Hot cocoa, nothing else available."
William pushed the cup in his hand towards Lupin, then relaxed his body and leaned back against the seat, gazing out the window. The gloomy rain clouds hung low in the sky, and the grey weather alone made one feel a chill seeping into their bones.
"Thank you."
Holding the cup William handed over in his palms, Lupin breathed out a long sigh of relief.
"...No matter how many times you read that newspaper, you won't find anything new."
William lowered his eyes and locked eyes with the sinisterly smiling Sirius on the Prophet Daily—
Now he finally knew who this person was. Previously, when Greyback was "tutoring" him about Death Eaters, he merely mentioned Sirius in passing, after all, he was the most deeply hidden spy among all the Death Eaters.
He even went undercover directly beside the Savior's father.
So, when Sirius "the Werewolf" exposed himself, even the real werewolf, Greyback, had already taken flight, leaving him without much information.
However, Lupin had recounted many stories about Sirius during this time, including their relationship with James Potter and the legendary "Great Hero" Peter Pettigrew. He even learned that they were the creators of the Marauder's Map.
"No, I just still can't figure out some things..."
Lupin sighed, folded the Prophet Daily, and put it away. The desolation in his voice was undeniable. "He was undoubtedly the most loyal among us, far exceeding both James and I. I can't even conceive of a reason for his betrayal—perhaps..."
"No 'perhaps' about it, if there were truly any hidden reasons, he had years in Azkaban to speak up—"
William waved a hand, interrupting Lupin's 'perhaps'. "Unless he's lost his mind, choosing to suffer there...or, he's engaged in a forbidden romance across species with a certain 'dashing' Dementor prison guard?"
As someone influenced by the internet culture of the 21st century, William had always been quite skilled at lateral thinking.
"..."
Lupin was speechless for a moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed lightly, "I heard that, at the strong insistence of the Minister of Magic, many Dementors were dispatched inland, and quite a few were sent directly to Hogwarts..."
"That's a good thing."
"...A good thing?"
"Of course, it is. These non-existent beings aren't easy to encounter. So far, I only have two Boggarts in hand. Although Peeves could count as well, his existence is rather unique, which means I can't study him directly within Hogwarts' territory—"
William tapped the table as he spoke matter-of-factly.
"...All the Azkaban prison guards are numbered."
Lupin was a bit helpless, wanting to dismiss William's excessive notion, yet he didn't quite know where to start.
"If the Ministry of Magic dares release them, they should be prepared for natural attrition—"
William waved his hand as if he had made up his mind, signaling Lupin not to dissuade him further.
"..."
Natural attrition, indeed. It better be natural attrition, although how would these entities attrit if they can't die? The sole likelihood for their disappearance could only be capture, right? Yet, it seems the Ministry of Magic probably doesn't believe anyone could capture a Dementor?
But Lupin was different. He knew quite well that William's "containment" skills were definitely sufficient to capture a Dementor.
... Well, let him catch them if he wants, it has nothing to do with me anyway.
After being "bewildered" for an entire summer by William's series of actions, Lupin had now become completely numb. Instead, he thought of something else. "You mentioned having two Boggarts? Maybe you could lend me one later, I might need it for my future lesson plans—"
...
Meanwhile, at the end of the Hogwarts Express.
At some point, the rain had started to fall, turning the windows into a watery grey, the wet and cold wind seeping in through the gaps in the glass into the train. Unable to find an empty compartment, Harry and his two friends had to exchange information in a corner at the end of the train.
"...Before Sirius is captured, I believe Harry absolutely shouldn't sneak out of school—"
After listening to Harry's explanation, Hermione expressed her final opinion, and knocked back Ron's naive thought that "as long as we're together, we won't be attacked." After all, they all understood that Sirius was a terrorist capable of killing on the street, and wouldn't refrain from striking just because his target was accompanied by two little wizards.
"Alright."
Ron muttered softly, rubbing his arms vigorously as if trying to fend off the bone-chilling dampness. He turned to Harry, "If you ask me, we should get going, it's too cold here, and Scabbers is almost freezing to death—"
Speaking, he even took out the pale-looking rat lying in his pocket.
But, truth be told, Harry held some doubt about that statement, as Ron's rat always appeared half-dead, seemingly unrelated to the temperature.
Listening to Ron and Hermione bicker over Crookshanks, Harry led them towards the compartment where their luggage was stored, but the next moment, the boy halted and locked eyes with a long-unseen boy—