Harry Potter and the Way of Reason

"Romantic?" said Hermione suspiciously, "They're all boys, aren't they!"

"Wow," said Daphne, sounding a little shocked, "you mean Muggles really hate this kind of thing? I used to think it was all made up by the Death Eaters."

"It's not made up," said an older Slytherin girl Hermione didn't know. "It's true. They had to marry in secret, and if they were found out, they would be burned at the stake together. If any girl thinks It's romantic and they'll burn her too."

"That's not right!" When Hermione was still considering how to respond, a Gryffindor girl objected, "It's impossible for Muggle girls to survive!"

At the time, she had been quietly reading while Harry Potter had been trying to apologize.It quickly dawned on Hermione that Harry, perhaps for the first time in his life, realized that he had done something very annoying, and that Harry, for the absolute first time in his life, was afraid of losing her as a friend.She began to feel (a) guilt and (b) that Harry's increasingly desperate proposal was going in a worrying direction.But she still didn't know what kind of apology would be appropriate, so she suggested that the Ravenclaw girls vote on it - this time she wouldn't rig the vote, but she didn't say that - Harry agreed immediately.

The next day, nearly every Ravenclaw girl over the age of 13 voted for Draco to throw Harry down once, too.

Hermione felt a little lost, it was too simple, although it was obviously a fair way.

But now, standing outside the castle gates, surrounded by half the girls at Hogwarts, Hermione began to suspect that something was going on that she didn't understand, and she desperately didn't want either of the other two generals to hear about it. These.

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Standing at that height, it is impossible to really see the details below, but in general, you can only see a sea of ​​expectant faces from girls.

"You have no idea what's going on, do you?" Draco asked, sounding a little amused.

Harry had read a fair amount of books that he shouldn't have read, not to mention the few Quibbler headlines.

"The Boy Who Lived impregnated Draco Malfoy?" said Harry.

"Well, you do know what's going on," Draco said. "I thought Muggles hated this kind of thing?"

"Only idiots," said Harry, "but, uh, aren't we a little, uh, a little young?"

"That's a lot for them," Draco said.He snorted contemptuously, "Girl!"

They walked silently to the edge of the roof.

"Speaking of which, I did this to get back at you," Draco said, "but why did you come?"

Harry's brain calculated at lightning speed, considering various factors, whether it is too early...

"Honestly?" said Harry, "because I made her climb the ice wall on purpose, but I didn't mean to let her fall off the roof. And, uh, I do feel a little bit sorry. I mean, I Guess I did grow to see her as a friendly competitor. So it's a sincere apology to her, not a conspiracy or anything."

There was a pause.

Then--

"Okay," Draco said, "I understand."

Harry didn't smile.This is probably the hardest time he has ever had to hold back his laughter in his life.

Draco looked at the edge of the roof and made a grimace: "Throwing people off on purpose is much more difficult than accidentally, isn't it."

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Out of instinctive fear, Harry's other hand gripped the roof, his knuckles white against the cold stone.

You can clearly know in your consciousness that you have drunk the Featherfall potion.But the subconscious mind is another matter entirely.

"Draco," Harry said, it was not easy to keep his voice under control, but the Ravenclaw girls had already written them a script, "you have to let me go!"

"Okay!" Draco responded, letting go of Harry's arm.

Harry's other hand struggled to grip the edge of the roof, and then, before he could make any decisions, his fingers gave up and Harry fell.

For a brief moment, Harry's stomach almost jumped into his throat as his body tried desperately to adjust itself, though it couldn't do it in any possible way.

For a brief moment, Harry could feel the Featherfall potion working, and he began to slow down, a jolting, cushioning feeling.

Then something gave Harry a tug, and he started accelerating downward again, faster than gravity—

Harry opened his mouth and started screaming.At the same time part of his brain was trying to think of something creative to do, part of his brain was trying to figure out how much time he had left to think creatively, and the remaining part was realizing that he would hit the ground before he could finish counting the remaining time— —

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Harry tried desperately to catch his breath, but at the same time he could hear all the girls screaming, falling to the ground or on top of each other, and it didn't help him control himself at all.

"My God," said the strange man holding Harry in his arms.He was wearing shabby clothes and had a faint scar on his face. "I imagined that we would meet again someday, but of all the ways that we could meet, I never imagined that you would fall from the sky."

Harry remembered the last sight he had seen, the fallen body, and he gasped and tried to say, "Quirrell...Professor..."

"He'll be fine in a few hours," said the strange man holding Harry. "He's just exhausted. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought it was impossible... He knocked down two Hundreds of students, in order to ensure that the person who cast the curse on you will not be spared..."

The man gently helped Harry stand on the ground, supporting him.

Harry kept his balance carefully, and nodded at the man.

As soon as he let go, Harry immediately fell over.

The man helped him up again.All the while, he stood between Harry and the girls who were getting up from the ground, glancing in their direction.

"Harry," the man said softly, but very seriously, "do you know any of these girls who might try to kill you?"

"It's not murder," a voice struggled. "It's just stupidity."

This time it was the turn of the strange man who seemed to almost fall down, shock written all over his face.

Professor Quirrell had sat up from the grass where he had fallen.

"My God!" the man gasped, "You shouldn't—"

"Mr. Lupine, you are worrying too much. No matter how powerful a wizard is, it is impossible to cast such a spell with strength alone. What you need is efficiency."

However, Professor Quirrell still failed to stand up.

"Thank you," Harry said softly.Then, "Thank you." He also said to the man standing beside him.

"What happened?" the man asked suspiciously.

"I should have thought about it," said Professor Quirrell, his voice crisp and accusing, "that some girls were trying to summon Mr. Potter into their own, exclusive arms. If seen alone , I think, each of them must feel very tender."

Oh.

"Take it as a lesson in preparation, Mr. Potter," said Professor Quirrell, "if I hadn't insisted that at least two grown-ups must With a wand, Mr. Lupine wouldn't be here to slow your fall, and you'd be badly hurt."

"Sir!" said the man--Mr. Lupine, obviously, "you shouldn't say such things to the boy!"

"Who is—" Harry asked.

"The only person besides me who has time to come over and watch this event," said Professor Quirrell, "I'll introduce you to Remus Lupine, who will be here for a while, teaching the students how to cast the Patronus Charm .But I hear you two have met."

Harry watched the man, confused.If he had ever seen this faintly scarred face, that strange, gentle smile, he would have remembered it.

"Where did we meet?" Harry asked.

"In Godric's Hollow," the man replied, "I changed your diapers a lot."

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Mr. Lupine's temporary office is a small stone room with a small wooden table. Harry can't see what Professor Lupine is sitting on. The same as the one.Harry figured Mr. Lupine wouldn't be at Hogwarts very long, and wouldn't use the office very much, so he told the house-elf not to waste energy cleaning it up.He's someone who won't bother even house-elves, and that says something about his character.Specifically, it meant that he was sorted into Hufflepuff, because, as far as Harry knew so far, Hermione was the only non-Hufflepuff who was worried about bothering the house-elves. (Harry himself finds her unease of conscience somewhat silly. Of course the people who created the house-elves in the first place were, of course, unspeakably evil; that doesn't mean that Hermione should now refuse to put these intelligent beings to work, after all They were endowed by their Creator with the instinct to enjoy hard work.)

"Sit down, Harry," the man said softly.His formal robes were of poor quality, not terribly tattered, but clearly worn by time and beyond repair with a simple Restoration Charm.The first word that came to his mind was rags.However, for some reason, there was a nobility in him that could not be obtained through fine and expensive robes. It was incompatible with gorgeous robes and belonged only to shabby clothes.Harry had heard the word humility before, but he'd never seen it in action—he'd only seen people take pride in their modesty, make it their own, and try to attract attention.

Harry sat down on the small wooden stool in front of Mr Lupine's short desk.

"Thank you for coming here," the man said.

"No, thank you for saving me," said Harry, "if you need to do anything impossible, please do let me know."

The man looked hesitant. "Harry, can I... ask you a personal question?"

"Of course, please." Harry said, "I have a lot of questions for you too."

Mr. Lupine nodded. "Harry, are your stepparents treating you well?"

"My parents," Harry corrected, "I have four parents. Mike, James, Petunia, and Lily."

"Ah," replied Mr. Lupine.Then he said "ah".He seemed to be blinking furiously, "I'm... glad to hear that, Harry, Dumbledore won't tell us where you are... I'm afraid he thinks you're supposed to have evil stepparents, or something like that..."

Given his first contact with Dumbledore, Harry wasn't sure if Lupine was overthinking; but he was actually doing well, so he didn't say anything. "My..." Harry searched for the right word, neither elevating nor belittling... "What about the other parents? I want to know, um, everything about them."

"It's not easy," said Mr. Lupine.He wiped one hand over his forehead, "Well, let's start at the beginning. When you were born, James was so happy that every time he picked up his wand it was so shiny and golden, and it lasted a whole week. Even in the After that, all he needs to do is pick you up, or see Lily holding you, or even think of you, and the wand will shine golden again—”

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Every time Harry looked at his watch, another half hour had passed.He felt a little embarrassed that Remus had missed dinner, especially since Harry himself could set the time back to seven in the evening, but neither of them wanted to stop for something as trivial as missing dinner.

Finally, when Remus was enthusiastically describing in detail how James performed miracles in the Quidditch match, Harry couldn't bear to interrupt him directly, but mustered up the courage to ask that crucial question.

"Just then," said Remus, his eyes blazing brightly, "James did a triple somersault![1] The whole audience went wild, even some Hufflepuffs Everyone is applauding—”

I suppose you must be there, Harry thought to himself - though it wouldn't help if there was - and said, "Mr. Lupine?"

Something in Harry's tone must have conveyed to the other party, he stopped before finishing a sentence.

"Has my dad ever been a bully?" Harry asked.

Remus looked at Harry for a long moment. "For a while," Remus replied, "but he grew up pretty quickly. Where did you hear that?"

Harry didn't answer, trying to think of something truthful that would deflect suspicion, but he couldn't think fast enough.

"Forget it," Remus sighed, "I can guess who it is." The face with the faint scars wrinkled in dissatisfaction, "How can this kind of thing be right—"

"Does my dad have any excuses for his behavior?" Harry asked, "Like a miserable family life, or something like that? Or is he just... mean?" Or cruel?

Remus brushed his hair back with his hands, and it was the first time Harry had seen him in a tense pose.

"Harry," said Remus, "you can't judge your father by what he did when he was a young boy!"

"I'm a young boy, too," said Harry, "but I'll judge myself."

Hearing this, Remus blinked twice.

"I want to know why," said Harry, "I want to try to understand, because it doesn't seem to me that there's any excuse!" His voice trembled, "Please tell me all the reasons you know, Why would he do that, even if it doesn't sound good." So I don't fall into the same trap, whatever it is.

"It's the kind of Gryffindor thing you do," Remus said slowly, reluctantly, "and... I didn't think so at the time, I thought it was the other way around, but... Maybe it was actually Black who made James do something... Black was so desperate to show everyone he was against Slytherin, you know, we all want to believe that blood doesn't mean destiny—"

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"No, Harry," Remus said, "I don't know why Black didn't run for his life, but went after Peter. That day, Black seemed to be creating tragedy for tragedy's sake." The man's voice trembled, "There was no sign of that at all. , without warning, we all thought - thought he was going to -" Remus' voice stopped abruptly.

Harry was crying, he couldn't help it, hearing what had happened from Remus was more painful than his own feelings.Harry had lost his parents, but didn't remember them, he'd only heard about them from stories.Remus Lupine lost all his best friends in less than twenty-four hours; and he lost his last friend, Peter Pettigrew, for no reason at all.

"It still hurts sometimes to think of him in Azkaban," said Remus, pausing, almost in a whisper. "I'm glad, Harry, that the Death Eaters aren't allowed to visit. That means we Don't be ashamed of yourself for not seeing him."

Harry swallowed hard before he could speak. "Can you tell me about Peter Pettigrew? He was a friend of my papa's, and it seemed—I should know, I should remember—"

Remus nodded, his eyes welling with tears. "I think, Harry, if Peter knew he was going to die that way—" the man's voice cracked, "Peter was more afraid of the Dark Lord than any of us, if he knew he was going to die that way , I don't think he would do it. But Peter knew the danger, Harry, he knew the danger was real, it could happen, and he stayed with James and Lily. In Hogg Watts, I always wondered why Peter wasn't sorted into Slytherin, or Ravenclaw, because Peter loved secrets so much, he couldn't resist the temptation of secrets. He would find out about other people's private affairs, people who wanted to Hidden secrets—" Remus's face contorted briefly, "but he's not going to use them, Harry. He just wants to know. Then the Dark Lord's shadow loomed over everything, and Peter chose to be with James." Fighting side by side with Lily, I used his talent brilliantly, so I understand why the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor." Remus' voice was excited, full of pride, "If you are like Godry If Peter is a hero like Peter, brave, strong, like most people think of Gryffindor, it is easy to fight alongside friends. But if Peter is more scared than all of us, it does not mean that he Is it the bravest man?"

"Yes," Harry responded.His voice was choked and he could barely speak, "If you could, Mr. Lupine, if you had the time, I think another person should also hear the story of Peter Pettigrew, a Hufflepuff A freshman in the first year, named Neville Longbottom."

"Alice and Frank's baby," said Remus, his voice becoming sad, "I see. It's not a happy story, Harry, but I can tell it again if you think it helps his words."

Harry nodded.

A brief silence fell.

"Are there any unresolved entanglements between Black and Peter Pettigrew?" Harry asked. "Is there any reason for him to go to Mr. Pettigrew, even if it's not about murder? Like what Peter What Pettigrew knew, Blake wanted to know, or tried to hide by killing Peter?"

Remus' eyes sparkled a little, but he shook his head and said, "It's really nothing."

"That means there's something," said Harry.

A twisted smile appeared again under the gray mustache. "There's a part of Peter in you, I can see that. But that's nothing important, Harry."

"I'm a Ravenclaw, so naturally I can't resist the allure of secrecy. And," Harry said more seriously, "if Black is willing to pay the price of being arrested for it, I can't help but think it's probably going to matter a lot. "

Remus looked very uncomfortable. "I think I should tell you when you're older, but honestly, Harry, it doesn't matter! It's just something from our school days."

Harry couldn't pinpoint exactly what clue he'd found, maybe it was the strained tone in Remus' voice, maybe it was the way he said when you were a little older, that gave Harry a sudden flash of inspiration, Intuition jumps to conclusions...

"Actually," said Harry, "I think I probably guessed it, sorry."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You guessed it?" He sounded suspicious.

"They're a couple, aren't they?"

There was an awkward pause.

Remus nodded slowly, sadly.

"It was," said Remus, "a long time ago. It was a sad relationship that ended in great tragedy, at least when we were young." Sad confusion showed on his face, "But I thought it was all over, buried under grown-up friendships, until the day Black killed Peter."

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[1] Reverse somersault triple axel jump: thanks to Yangyang@梨花 for giving translation suggestions:)