A lot has happened recently.
For example, Lupine came back to teach, although he did seem to be ill - his old robe was looser on his body, and there were more dark shadows under his eyes.
But at least he seemed to be in good spirits.
Another example is that Maka once again quit the Hufflepuff House team.
This news puzzled everyone. But what is incredible is that, except for some little badgers who were a little frustrated, other students thought Maka's behavior was very cool.
Perhaps everyone thought that Maka's sudden appearance in the competition was just because he was a member of Hufflepuff; but his sudden withdrawal showed a strong demeanor.
It has to be said that Maka is almost regarded by everyone as the king of Hogwarts Quidditch. As long as he is on the court, no one can win!
Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team, was one of the students who thought so. When he knew that Maka would no longer play, he immediately cheered up after he was originally depressed.
"Oh, yes! This is the first game!" he said to himself, "We still have a chance!"
Of course, no matter what Wood thinks - trust me, it doesn't matter at all. After all, there is something far more important than this.
One day, the school bell rang.
Everyone packed up their things and headed for the door, Harry among them, but...
"Wait a minute, Harry," Lupine called to him, "I have something to tell you."
Harry paused in confusion, turned around and walked back.
He watched Professor Lu Hu cover the box containing the "Hinkpunk" that was the subject of his lecture with a layer of cloth.
"I heard about that game," Lupine said, turning to the podium to put the books in his briefcase. "It was a bad accident..."
"Did you hear about those dementors too?"
Lupine turned to look at him.
"Yes, I heard about it. Professor Dumbledore is very angry about this. We haven't seen him angry for a long time. In recent days, those guys have become more and more restless - they are angry because they can't enter the campus - I suppose they made you fall?"
"Yes, luckily Maka helped me." Harry said absently.
Harry hesitated a little, and the question that had been pressing in his heart subconsciously blurted out, but it was too late to stop him.
"Why? Why do they affect me so badly? Am I—"
"This has nothing to do with weakness." Professor Lupine's eyes looked sharp, as if he could see through what Harry was thinking.
"Those dementors affect you more than others because they have not experienced the same horror as you."
A ray of sunlight shone into the classroom from the window, illuminating Lupine's gray hair and the wrinkles on his young face.
"Dementors are among the most abominable creatures on earth. They swarm in the darkest and filthiest places, reveling in corruption and despair—sucking the peace, hope, and joy out of the air around them …”
"Get too close to a Dementor and any positive emotions you have will be sucked away by it. If it wants, it will feed off you for a long time, eventually making you just like it - soulless and evil. Leave it to you Only the worst memories of your life."
"The worst thing that ever happened to you - Harry, that would be enough to make anyone fall off a broomstick! You have nothing to be ashamed of."
"When they get close to me—" Harry listened to Lupin's explanation as if grasping a glimmer of hope.
He said, glaring at Lupine's desk, his throat a little tight.
"—I can hear Voldemort killing my mother." He trembled slightly as he revealed the secret he had never told anyone.
Lupine's arm suddenly moved, as if to grab Harry's shoulder, but he did not move in the end.
The surrounding air seemed to become a little heavier.
"...Why do they come to the competition venue?" Harry said painfully.
"They're hungry." Lupine frowned and slammed his briefcase shut. "Dumbledore wouldn't let them into the school, so the supply of human sacrifices for them ran out... I think the Quidditch field The large crowd around them is a powerful temptation for them. The excitement and enthusiasm of all the spectators are gathered there, and it seems to them that it is a feast.”
"Azkaban must be terrible," Harry muttered, and Lupine nodded grimly.
"The castle is located on a small island, on the way to the sea, but there is no need for walls and water to keep the prisoners in, because the prisoners are under their control - the prisoners will lose even the simplest thoughts, and most prisoners will die within a few weeks. I went completely crazy inside.”
"But Black escaped from them," Harry seemed to be opened up to talk. He felt that he could confide in Lupin, "He escaped..."
Lupine's hand shook and the briefcase slipped from the table, and he had to quickly bend down to pick it up.
"Yes," he straightened up and said, "Black may have found a way to deal with them, but I still don't believe he can... You know, if wizards and dementors stay together for too long, they will The wizard loses his power..."
"Maka made those dementors escape, such a large group!" Harry said suddenly.
"Yes, there is indeed some way to resist the dementors." Although Lupine has been recovering his strength in the office, he also heard about the situation at that time, "However, the more their number, the harder it is to resist - McClain did an outstanding job, an unimaginably outstanding job, but not everyone can do that."
"Is that a charm? But I've never learned it -" Harry asked immediately, "Can you teach me?"
"I don't want to pretend to be an expert in fending off Dementors, Harry..." Lupine said awkwardly.
"But if they come again when there is another Quidditch match, then I have to find a way to deal with them!"
Lupine looked at Harry's determined face, hesitated, and then said: "If you really want to learn, why don't you go to Mr. MacLean? I think he might be better at using it than me..."
"Then -" Harry said in surprise, "That's impossible, right? Maka will be more powerful than you -"
"At least, judging from what I've heard, McClain's curse is indeed better than mine." Lupine also said with a complicated expression.
Who would have thought that a third-year student could not only summon the patron saint, but also be able to summon it almost to the point of being able to manifest it in every detail - this was what Ms. McGonagall told him personally.
"But..." Harry hesitated, "Well, maybe I should really ask Maka."
After bidding farewell to Lupin, Harry thought about it for a while and finally felt relieved.
Indeed, Maka's power was obvious to everyone, and Harry was convinced of it. He was also very grateful for Maka's help to him. To be honest, he didn't want to owe Maka any more favors. This would make him feel that he was still unclean in his life.
But if they keep thinking like this, will they still be friends
"No," Harry shook his head, "You don't have to think about these things. Friends shouldn't have these things."
"What are you considering?" Ron asked suddenly, and Hermione also cast a questioning look at him.
"Oh, I was thinking-"
Harry told Maka that he planned to go to see him, and also invited Ron and Hermione to go with him. In his opinion, this magic spell is indeed very useful. It can resist the sudden attacks of those terrible monsters.
"Did Professor Lupin really say that?" Hermione said excitedly, "That's really cool! Of course, I'm going too!"
But Ron twisted his neck and showed an uncomfortable expression.
"Oh, don't you still care about what happened last year?" Hermione couldn't help but said, "You have been coy and coy this semester, which is not good. Aren't you and Maka good friends?"
"But..." Ron's face turned red at Hermione's words, and he said with a troubled expression, "I think... okay, I think you are right."
To be honest, despite Ron's usually careless temperament, once something involves his fragile self-esteem, the nature of the matter is completely different.
Ron really felt guilty about misunderstanding Maka last semester.
Afterwards, Ron also vaguely understood why he behaved in such an almost violent manner - it was because of inferiority and jealousy.
On the surface, it seemed that he had done nothing wrong, it was just an outburst of anger because of Hermione's attack. But only he himself knows that half of his reasons are to vent.
So, when he learned the truth of the matter, he felt even more guilty, but he could not tell anyone about it.
From this point of view, there is indeed a part of Gryffindor in Ron's character; but the other part of his inferiority complex and cowardice has invisibly weakened his little lion characteristics.
Now, the longer time passes, the harder it becomes for him to speak. This matter has almost become a nail in his heart.
…
However, when the trio of little lions decided to go to Maka for advice, they found that Maka was missing again.
They were almost used to Maka's appearance.
"Just wait, maybe he will show up on his own in a few days." Hermione shrugged.
In fact, until the end of November, Maka had been squatting in the Room of Requirement except during class time.
Recently, Aragog's affairs have come to an end, so he has focused his research on wandology - it is time to deal with the basilisk horn.
But when Maka started researching, he immediately encountered a very difficult problem.
According to the limited information about wands in the library, it can be seen that the existing wand-making techniques are secret and inherited from the family. This makes it almost impossible for a layman like him to start.
"If I had known, I would have gotten some books on wandology from Ravenclaw's secret room..." He sat in the Room of Requirement, staring at the blank notebook in front of him, and couldn't help but shake his head.