"Can you tell when he started to change?"
Lupin turned to Marie and asked. Marie was trying hard to calm herself. She knew she couldn't let her emotions take over… the more agitated she was, the harder it would be to solve the problem. She needed to say what had to be said.
"It... it was this morning. The wizards took us to examine a flashlight. It was the first gift Patrick ever gave me. The wizards said... said the culprits had taken it and sold it off."
"A flashlight? Did he touch that flashlight?" Lupin pressed.
"He turned it on, and the light from it shone on him." Marie said anxiously, "I know him better than anyone. I could tell right then that something was wrong with him!"
"At the time, I thought he was just worried about our home. According to the wizards, those people had thrown out everything we owned! Even if we could go back, we'd have nothing left to live on!"
"Both of us have been caught up in this for so long. Even if it all ends now, after being away from work for so long, I don't even know if our jobs will still be there..."
"I-I thought he was just worried about all that. That's why... why I didn't think much of it at first..."
By the end, Marie couldn't hold back her tears. She covered her face, her body trembling unnaturally as she sobbed quietly.
Beside her, Draco felt utterly out of his depth. He instinctively disliked this Muggle woman, yet watching her cry made him uneasy.
After hesitating for a long moment, he finally pulled out two tissues and handed them to her, then immediately grabbed two more to wipe his own hands, his expression full of distaste.
"Did he say anything else when he sent you here?" Lupin continued, his gaze fixed on her.
"He... he just shoved these two boxes of biscuits into my arms, kissed me, and swore… swore that no matter what he did, he'd always love me, that he'd never betrayed me..."
"I knew something was wrong. I asked him what was really going on... but he wouldn't tell me anything. He just told me to come to you... He said as long as I stayed with you, I'd be safe..."
"I asked him… I asked him what he was planning to do, if he was hiding something from me! He just grabbed my hands and told me..."
"He said fate had brought us to this, but he wouldn't bow to it... He said he'd protect me no matter what, make sure I wasn't hurt, make sure our home and our future stayed safe..."
"And then... then he left. The wizards were gone… no one could stop him. I watched him walk out of the corridor and run outside..."
After Marie's halting, breathless account, the room fell into deep silence. Even Draco didn't sneer or mutter anything about 'Squibs being like that' or 'Muggles being untrustworthy'.
The quiet stretched on until Harry finally turned to Lupin.
"Patrick's being forced to do something! Right now, all the Ministry's Aurors are outside. Those people set him up… they're using him at this exact moment!"
Lupin's frown deepened. Even without Harry saying it, he knew what was happening.
Rosier's memory issues had been confirmed by the Ministry… meaning that before being exposed to the flashlight, everything he'd said and done had to be genuine.
When the Aurors helped him undo the Memory Charms they could, they'd inevitably glimpsed parts of his memories. And since he'd passed such direct scrutiny, neither the French Ministry nor Severus or Lupin had ever doubted Rosier's innocence.
But now, that flashlight was definitely the key!
It might have restored memories the Aurors couldn't recover… or done something else to alter Rosier's mind.
Yet from Rosier's words and actions before the flashlight incident, both Harry and Lupin could see one thing clearly:
This young man, burdened by fate, was no villain at heart.
"We have to save him!"
Harry shattered the silence again. Lupin, Draco, and Marie all turned to look at him.
Draco looked stunned.
"What are you talking about? How can you be so sure it wasn't his choice? Maybe he's been working with those culprits all along! He lied to his wife before… never told her he was a Squib. Who's to say he isn't lying now?!"
Lupin didn't speak. He just stared at Harry, and in his eyes, it was as if his brave, kind-hearted friend from their school days hadn't truly died.
A new life carried on his legacy… along with his mother's, this boy had inherited all the best traits of his parents.
"It'll be dangerous. Severus isn't here... It's just me watching over you two. This could go very wrong!"
Lupin took a deep breath, his gaze locked with Harry's. He clearly didn't agree with the idea.
"If Professor were here, he'd say yes!"
Harry met Lupin's eyes without flinching.
"Just like when he captured Sanguini and Worple, when he learned about Sanguini's past… he didn't hesitate to help them! Even if it meant being hunted, even if it meant being hated! He knew it was the right thing to do!"
At this moment, Harry's words made Lupin feel dazed.
There was a time, back in his school days, when he had been just like Harry.
The four of them at Hogwarts… if they believed something was right, if they wanted to do it, they never stopped to consider the so-called dangers or consequences!
Simply because they believed it was right!
But now, faced with the same situation, he hesitated. He tried to stop them from stepping into danger. Yet this nine-year-old boy in front of him spoke up loudly-
And told him that this was the lesson Severus Snape had taught him. That Severus Snape himself had set the example!
This reality made Lupin feel like he could barely breathe.
He wondered when had things become like this?
His brave, kind-hearted friends, some dead, some in prison… only he remained, drifting aimlessly.
And yet, the person they had once sneered at, called the 'Evil Snivellus', was now teaching children...
Lupin quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He met Harry's eyes again, his voice full of remorse.
"I'm sorry, Dudley. I overthought things and forgot what really matters."
Draco, however, stared at them in disbelief. He took a step back, his gaze darting between Lupin and Harry.
"You're all insane! For some random Squib, a Squib who's committing crimes, you're actually willing to take risks to help him?!"
At this point, Lupin didn't have time to lecture Draco further. But even if they decided to go after Rosier, they couldn't all leave.
Taking children along was dangerous enough. Draco couldn't even cast spells… he didn't even have a wand. And there was still a Muggle here who needed to stay behind.
"You have to stay, Draco!"
Lupin grabbed Draco's arm, looking at him seriously.
"You need to stay here and protect Mrs. Rosier."
Being suddenly given such a task left Draco completely at a loss.
"M-Me? Are you out of your mind? I'm just a nine-year-old! She's an adult!"
"Look at her!" Lupin suddenly pointed at Marie.
Draco turned and realized that Marie's face had gone deathly pale at some point. She looked like she was struggling to breathe, slumped weakly in her chair.
"Something's wrong with her! Maybe she has an illness, or maybe those culprits are using her to threaten Rosier. Either way, someone has to stay and take care of her!"
As he spoke, Lupin rummaged through his suitcase and quickly pulled out over a dozen bottles of potions. He swiftly identified a milky-white one and shoved it into Draco's hands.
He quickly identified a bottle of milky white potion and pressed it into Draco's hand.
"The entire Ministry is locked down! There's no one we can call for help! The Floo's sealed, and Apparition is blocked… we can only rely on ourselves now!"
"This is a general healing potion… but it's concentrated. To use it properly, you have to dilute it in 200 milliliters of hot water! Let it cool before she drinks it! You have to do this, Draco!"
Draco was panicking. He took the bottle from Lupin without thinking.
"B-but I-I-"
"No matter what prejudices you have against Muggles, she's a living person right in front of you. You wouldn't just watch her suffer, would you?"
Lupin's gaze was firm.
Draco didn't know how to answer.
'Why should I care about some Muggle's life?'
But just as Lupin said, looking at Marie… sweating, gasping, weak with pain, Draco couldn't bring himself to say it.
"But what if... what if she drinks this and still doesn't get better...?" Draco swallowed hard.
"We can only do our best."
Lupin gave him an encouraging look, then drew his wand.
Harry, without hesitation, pulled out the birch wand Severus had passed down to him from his satchel.
"Don't be afraid, Draco. We'll be back soon."
Harry, for once, said something kind to Draco. But instead of calming him, Draco reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Who's afraid?! I've never been afraid! Taking care of some weak little Muggle? As if I'd be scared!"