Chapter 413: A Nervous Professor Lupin
After leaving the Dungeon classroom, Kyle headed straight for the foyer. By now, many students had returned from Hogsmeade, and the area was bustling with energy. People clustered in groups, trading sweets and novelty items with one another, much livelier than it had been earlier in the day.
Kyle spotted two familiar figures standing by the staircase—Professor Lupin and Harry. Professor Lupin was holding a map and examining it with a curious smile.
"Very clever design..." Lupin murmured, chuckling. "Back when I was in school, I remember seeing a map like this one—one that could show all the secret passages in the castle."
"Professor, you had a map like this when you were at school?" Harry asked, surprised.
"It was even better than that," Professor Lupin replied quietly, a nostalgic look crossing his face. But that nostalgia quickly shifted to a more serious expression. He looked at Harry intently. "Maps like this... are there others in the castle?"
"There should only be one," Harry answered after a moment's thought, recalling how Fred and George had mentioned that they created the map as a one-of-a-kind item, with no intention of selling it.
Hearing this, Professor Lupin's expression softened a bit.
"Professor, I, uh... found it... just picked it up..." Harry stammered, not wanting to betray Fred and George and searching for a plausible excuse.
"I don't need to know how you came by something like this," Professor Lupin said, frowning slightly. "But I am surprised you didn't turn it in—especially after last time, when someone thoughtlessly left sensitive information about the castle lying around."
"I..." Harry wanted to explain but found himself at a loss. Fred and George had warned him to memorize the secret passage locations and then destroy the map, but he hadn't gotten around to it yet. So far, he'd only memorized the one leading to the statue of the hunchbacked witch.
"I'm afraid I can't give it back to you, Harry," Professor Lupin said, pocketing the map. "I'll have to..."