Harry Potter 06 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

and Snape. As Harry spoke, he saw Lupin’s head turn a little towards him, taking in every word. When he had finished, there was silence, except for Celestina’s crooning.
     
    ‘Oh, my poor heart, where has it gone?
    It’s left me for a spell …’
     
    ‘Has it occurred to you, Harry,’ said Mr Weasley, ‘that Snape was simply pretending –’
    ‘Pretending to offer help, so that he could find out what Malfoy’s up to?’ said Harry quickly. ‘Yeah, I thought you’d say that. But how do we know?’
    ‘It isn’t our business to know,’ said Lupin unexpectedly. He had turned his back on the fire now, and faced Harry across Mr Weasley. ‘It’s Dumbledore’s business. Dumbledore trusts Severus, and that ought to be good enough for all of us.’
    ‘But,’ said Harry, ‘just say – just say Dumbledore’s wrong about Snape –’
    ‘People have said it, many times. It comes down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore’s judgement. I do; therefore, I trust Severus.’
    ‘But Dumbledore can make mistakes,’ argued Harry. ‘He says it himself. And you –’
    He looked Lupin straight in the eye.
    ‘– do you honestly like Snape?’
    ‘I neither like nor dislike Severus,’ said Lupin. ‘No, Harry, I am speaking the truth,’ he added, as Harry pulled a sceptical expression. ‘We shall never be bosom friends, perhaps; after all that happened between James and Sirius and Severus, there is too much bitterness there. But I do not forget that during the year I taught at Hogwarts, Severus made the Wolfsbane Potion for me every month, made it perfectly, so that I did not have to suffer as I usually do at the full moon.’
    ‘But he “accidentally” let it slip that you’re a werewolf, so you had to leave!’ said Harry angrily.
    Lupin shrugged.
    ‘The news would have leaked out anyway. We both know he wanted my job, but he could have wreaked much worse damage on me by tampering with the Potion. He kept me healthy. I must be grateful.’
    ‘Maybe he didn’t dare mess with the Potion with Dumbledore watching him!’ said Harry.
    ‘You are determined to hate him, Harry,’ said Lupin with a faint smile. ‘And I understand; with James as your father, with Sirius as your godfather, you have inherited an old prejudice. By all means tell Dumbledore what you have told Arthur and me, but do not expect him to share your view of the matter; do not even expect him to be surprised by what you tell him. It might have been on Dumbledore’s orders that Severus questioned Draco.’
     
    ‘…and now you’ve torn it quite apart
    I’ll thank you to give back my heart!’
     
    Celestina ended her song on a very long, high-pitched note and loud applause issued out of the wireless, which Mrs Weasley joined in with enthusiastically.
    ‘Eez eet over?’ said Fleur loudly. ‘Thank goodness, what an ’orrible –’
    ‘Shall we have a nightcap, then?’ asked Mr Weasley loudly, leaping to his feet. ‘Who wants egg-nog?’
    ‘What have you been up to lately?’ Harry asked Lupin, as Mr Weasley bustled off to fetch the egg-nog and everybody else stretched and broke into conversation.
    ‘Oh, I’ve been underground,’ said Lupin. ‘Almost literally. That’s why I haven’t been able to write, Harry; sending letters to you would have been something of a give-away.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I’ve been living among my fellows, my equals,’ said Lupin. ‘Werewolves,’ he added, at Harry’s look of incomprehension. ‘Nearly all of them are on Voldemort’s side. Dumbledore wanted a spy and here I was … ready-made.’
    He sounded a little bitter, and perhaps realised it, for he smiled more warmly as he went on, ‘I am not complaining; it is necessary work and who can do it better than I? However, it has been difficult gaining their trust. I bear the unmistakeable signs of having tried to live among wizards, you see, whereas they have shunned normal society and live on the margins, stealing – and sometimes killing – to eat.’
    ‘How come they like Voldemort?’
    ‘They think that, under his rule, they will have a better life,’ said Lupin. ‘And it is hard to argue with Greyback out there …’
    ‘Who’s Greyback?’
    ‘You haven’t heard of him?’ Lupin’s hands closed convulsively in his lap. ‘Fenrir Greyback is, perhaps, the most savage werewolf alive today. He regards it as his mission in life to bite and to contaminate as many people as possible; he wants to create enough