Entering my third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I heard the worst news on the first day of the new term. Sirius Black, a murderer who had escaped from Azkaban Prison, was apparently after me. Worse, he was the one who had killed my parents.
During nights when I couldn't sleep from fear, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher appeared. His name was Remus Lupin. An older man in worn-out robes with a tired face. But his classes were more interesting than any I'd ever t
Forbidden Love - The Price of Truth—The Wolf's Secret and a Reunion in the Twelfth Year
It was the darkest hour before dawn.
Lupin stood at the base of the Whomping Willow, catching his ragged breath. The rain that had been falling since the previous night had finally stopped. The ground was muddy, and the cold scent of wet earth stung his nose.
(Here.)
One of the thick roots lay across the ground as if broken by last night's storm. Beneath it was a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through. Small fingerprints remained on the surface of the soil. Traces of someone who had slipped and struggled desperately to crawl inside.
Fianna was gone.
She hadn't been seen since dinner. She hadn't returned to her dormitory bed either. Professor McGonagall had said, "There's no need to worry, she's probably just found somewhere to be alone," but Lupin knew. There was only one place that girl would go.
(Why did I say such a thing?)
The words that had left his mouth days ago remained lodged in his chest like a thorn.
'It's for your sake. You must not come near me anymore.'
Fianna's face in that moment. Her deep green eyes, wide open. Her lips, trying to say something, but no sound coming out.
(I didn't protect her—I cornered her.)
Lupin gripped his old wand.
"...Please, be safe."
He took a deep breath and slid his body into the hole at the base of the Whomping Willow.
The underground tunnel felt much narrower than he remembered.
Cold stone walls. The smell of damp earth. He couldn't stand upright without hitting his head. Only the pale blue light from the tip of his wand cut through the darkness.
(This path was ours.)
With every step, memories came flooding back.
This tunnel that the four of them had run through on full moon nights. Sirius running at the front. James chasing after his back. Peter always at the rear, out of breath. And himself, enduring the pain of transformation, yet happy that his friends were there.
"Remus, you scare the hell out of us every month."
"Shut up. You're the one who follows me without being asked."
"Of course I do. You think I could just stand by and watch a friend suffer alone?"
James's voice echoed in the depths of his ears.
(Twelve years since then, huh.)
Lupin stopped walking.
His chest hurt.
Sirius had betrayed them. James and Lily were dead. Peter was dead too. The people they had been back then existed nowhere anymore.
And yet, here he was, walking through this tunnel. Just like back then.
(I have to find her.)
Lupin moved his feet again.
The underground of the Shrieking Shack was exactly as he remembered it.
Bare stone walls. The smell of mold. The sound of water dripping from the ceiling. And the sound of wind from far away, echoing like someone's weeping.
Lupin advanced cautiously. He let the light from his wand crawl along the walls.
And then, he found her.
A small figure, curled up against the wall.
"Fianna."
At the sound of his voice, the figure stirred.
Deep green eyes slowly lifted. Eyes swollen from crying. Disheveled dark brown hair. Her uniform stained with mud, the left sleeve torn.
"...Pro...fessor."
Her voice was hoarse.
Lupin approached her with a tightening chest.
"Are you all right? Are you hurt?"
"...How did you know I was here?"
"I was looking for you. When I heard you weren't in the dormitory, I thought you might be here."
Fianna tried to stand, bracing herself against the wall. But her legs wouldn't support her, and she nearly collapsed on the spot. Lupin instinctively reached out.
"Hold on to me."
His hand supported Fianna's slender arm.
That was when it happened.
From deep in the darkness, he heard footsteps.
No.
Not footsteps.
The sound of claws.
Sharp claws scraping against the stone floor.
Lupin's body went rigid.
(That sound—)
He shielded Fianna behind him and raised his wand. The pale blue light illuminated the darkness.
There, it stood.
A large black dog.
Gaunt, its fur filthy and matted, bones protruding. But its gray eyes alone emitted an eerie light in the darkness.
"...What is that dog?"
Lupin had lost his voice.
(Sirius.)
His heart pounded violently.
The dog stared intently at Lupin.
And then, in the next moment.
The dog's body warped grotesquely.
Bones cracked, muscles writhed, black fur receded. Four legs became two, front paws became arms, the beast's face became a human face.
"Wha—"
He heard Fianna gasp.
Standing there was a man.
Shaggy long black hair. Streaked with gray, filthy, but the traces of what he once was remained unmistakably. Sunken gray eyes. A deep scar on his left cheek. A gaunt, wasted body covered in tattered prison clothes.
Sirius Black.
"...It's been a while, Remus."
His voice was low and dry.
Lupin's hand trembled as he gripped his wand.
"Sirius."
The moment he spoke that name, twelve years of emotion came crashing down at once. Anger. Sorrow. Betrayal. And the remnants of friendship that refused to disappear despite it all.
"I never thought you'd be here."
"Neither did I. To think you'd be teaching this girl."
Sirius's gaze turned to Fianna, behind Lupin.
"So you're Fianna."
Fianna couldn't speak.
Who was this man in front of her? The meaning of it slowly took shape in her mind.
The murderer who escaped from Azkaban. The man who killed her parents.
"...Don't come near me."
Her voice shook. Her Scottish accent came out strong.
Sirius stopped.
"...You don't need to be afraid. I have no intention of harming you."
"Liar. You killed my parents, didn't you?"
Sirius's face twisted in pain.
"...No."
"Yes you did. Everyone knows. That you killed my parents."
"Listen to me. I did not kill James and Lily."
"I can't believe that."
Fianna glared at Sirius from behind Lupin's back.
"The one who killed them was Peter Pettigrew."
At those words, Lupin's shoulders trembled.
"Peter is supposed to be dead."
"He's not dead. He's alive. Twelve years ago, that night, he pinned what he did on me and vanished."
"What are you saying?"
"The truth. I didn't betray them. I switched the Secret Keeper to Peter at the last moment. He sold James and Lily's location to that man."
Sirius's voice was shaking.
"Because everyone thought I was the Secret Keeper, he got away safely. When I learned James and Lily were dead, I went after Peter. But he blew up the street, killed twelve Muggles in the blast, transformed into a rat and escaped. I was blamed for it."
"Don't lie."
Lupin's voice sharpened for the first time.
"There's no proof. The Ministry of Magic judged that you betrayed them. You were imprisoned in Azkaban. That is the fact."
"It's not the fact. I spent twelve years in Azkaban for a crime I didn't commit."
"Then why didn't you say anything until now?"
"How could I? Who would believe the word of an escaped convict? I came here to catch the real culprit."
"The real culprit? Are you saying Peter is alive?"
"Yes. He's in this school."
Silence.
Lupin stared into Sirius's eyes.
Gray eyes. Those eyes that once sparkled with mischief were now deeply sunken, seeming to waver between madness and sanity.
(Does he truly believe this?)
(Or have twelve years broken you?)
"...Remus. What do you think I did that night?"
"I think you betrayed James and Lily."
"No. I valued James and Lily more than my own life. You should know that."
"I don't know. I can't understand what you were thinking. Even back then, you were always looking somewhere far away."
"Remus."
"Stop. Don't call me that."
Lupin's voice trembled low.
"You were my friend. But that's over now."
Sirius was silent for a while.
Then he let out a small breath.
"...I see."
In that voice, twelve years of exhaustion and loneliness seeped through.
Sirius slowly turned back to Fianna.
"Fianna. Your parents loved you."
The sudden words confused her.
"What are you—"
"James was so happy when you were born, he laughed and cried all night. Lily held you and sang to you constantly. You were born loved."
"...Stop. I don't know. I don't know any of that."
"It's not something you shouldn't know. You are not an orphan. You are the daughter of James and Lily. A precious child descended from a noble magical bloodline."
Fianna's chest tightened.
Not an orphan.
Loved by her parents.
A noble magical bloodline.
"...Lies. I grew up in an orphanage. No one ever called me family."
"That was to protect you. After your parents died, everyone kept silent to keep you away from danger. But you are, without a doubt, the daughter of James and Lily."
Tears streamed down Fianna's cheeks.
"My... father and mother are—"
"James Potter and Lily Evans. They were my best friends."
Sirius's voice trembled faintly.
"They died protecting me. If I hadn't stepped down as Secret Keeper. If I hadn't entrusted the Secret Keeper role to Peter. They might not have died. You might not have become an orphan."
"...It's your fault."
"Yes. It's my fault. If I had been wiser. If I hadn't trusted him. James and Lily would still be alive. You would have grown up happy, with your parents."
Sirius stared at the back of his own right hand. There was an old tattoo there. Four dots. A mark symbolizing the four Marauders.
"...All I can do is apologize to you. I'm truly sorry."
Fianna looked at Sirius with a face soaked in tears.
(This person really knew my parents.)
(Things about my father and mother that I never knew.)
(And this person has been in prison for twelve years.)
Fianna looked at Sirius's emaciated body. The tattered prison clothes. The wrist that was nothing but bone and skin. The deep scars.
(This person has suffered too.)
"...I believe you."
It was a small voice.
"...I believe what this person is saying."
Lupin couldn't answer.
"Professor."
"...I don't know."
"But this person's eyes—they're not the eyes of someone lying."
"Fianna."
"I can tell. This person is genuinely worried about me. He genuinely cherished my father and mother. That's the kind of eyes he has."
Sirius lowered his eyes at Fianna's words.
"...Thank you."
His voice was faint.
Lupin lowered his wand.
(What am I doing? This man is an escaped convict. A dangerous man.)
(But.)
(I still remember Sirius's smile from back then.)
"Sirius. What do you intend to do now?"
"Catch Peter. He's in this school. I will find him, no matter what."
"And then what?"
"Reveal the truth. I am innocent. And he is the real traitor."
"Do you think that will be so easy?"
"It won't be easy. But I have to do it. For James and Lily. And for Fianna."
Sirius turned toward Fianna.
"You shouldn't be here. Before he notices you, go somewhere safe."
"I don't want to. I want to know the truth too."
"It's dangerous."
"I don't care if it's dangerous. I want to know more about my parents. I want to know who I am."
Sirius looked at Lupin.
"Remus. You protect this girl."
"What?"
"You protect Fianna. I can't stay here anymore. The Ministry will be after me. But you can protect her. You were a friend of James and Lily. You can be on this girl's side."
"I'm a teacher. Protecting students is only natural."
"That's not what I mean. I'm asking whether you yourself want to protect this girl."
Lupin couldn't answer.
(I want to protect her. I want to protect her. But it's not just a teacher's responsibility. There's a part of me that wants to be by her side. A part of me that wants to see her smile.)
(That is an unforgivable feeling.)
"...Understood. I will protect Fianna."
Lupin said quietly.
Sirius gave a small nod.
"I'm counting on you."
Then Sirius turned to Fianna.
"Fianna. Your parents loved you. Never forget that. You were born loved. You are not alone. The blood of James and Lily flows through you. And you have me. You have Remus. You are not alone."
"...Okay."
Fianna wiped her tears and gave a small nod.
Sirius turned his back to Lupin.
"I'm going. There's no time."
"Where to?"
"I don't know. But Peter is nearby. I will find him, no matter what."
"Sirius."
Lupin called out to Sirius's retreating back.
Sirius stopped.
"...If you really are innocent—"
"Will you believe me?
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