Lupin was silent for a while. He looked into the skeleton's empty eye sockets, but he still could not speak first. For a moment, the skeleton's cheerful voice echoed in the cell. "Hello, friend!
No one has been here for a long time — "
"But you're not an ordinary person!
I saw you transform from a wolf into a human — incredible! "The skeleton covered its mouth exaggeratedly." I've never been close to a creature like you!
Can you transform again and let me see? "
"I've never seen such a lively skeleton either," Lupin complained in his heart. "I can't transform casually. It's dangerous... and, who are you?"
"What a bummer!" Skeleton grumbled, but he still introduced himself. "As you can see, I'm a skeleton. I used to be called Barry, but the person who called me by that name has already forgotten me, so that name doesn't have any meaning anymore. Just call me Skeleton."
"I participated in the wizard's experiment and gained eternal life —" The skeleton stood up. Its bones were tightly attached to each other, and they were worn down, making a cracking sound. It turned around awkwardly.
"But I have to live in this form forever. I can't die even if I want to. But compared to the guy next to me, I'm much luckier..." The skeleton pointed to the skeleton next to it. "He's different from me. He was caught by the soldiers because he committed a crime, but he didn't have the guts to participate in the wizard's experiment. He muttered that he might be able to see his wife and children after death, so he chose death."
"Too — stupid!"
The skeleton waved its arms exaggeratedly. "He should have participated in the experiment, but he chose the wrong one, didn't he?"
Lupin did not reply for a while because he could not tell whether it was luckier to become a skeleton locked in the tower with eternal life, or to die in the form of a human.
"There's no right or wrong in this kind of thing." Lupin thought of the time when he lost all his friends. "If it were me, I would have made the same choice as him. I can't stand loneliness like you. Eternal life can't bring me happiness. That's not what I want."
Lupin walked to the small stone window that brought light to the entire room and stroked the rough edge of the stone. "This window was dug out by him, right? He didn't want eternal life, but he wanted to escape and meet his wife and child …"
"But he failed!"
The skeleton interrupted Lupin. "This fool said that he didn't want to become a skeleton. He was afraid that his children would cry when they saw that face — but he didn't have the chance to see them!
And look at him!
In the end, he was turned into a skeleton by the wizard — there's no hope left! "
"He chose the wrong one!"
The skeleton roared. Then, it suddenly fell silent. It was no longer as lively as before. It calmed down. "I don't like you anymore. You're a fool like him. You're also like that girl from before. You're not very smart …"
Girl?
Lupin picked up the key point. "There was a girl here before?"
The skeleton was silent, unwilling to answer Lupin's question. But for some reason, it opened its mouth. "Hmph." It snorted. "That girl also didn't want to participate in the wizard's experiment. When I accepted the condition, she was locked in here for a while. Mordesti... she kept thinking about escaping."
"I advised her to participate in the wizard's experiment so that she could live forever like me, but she kept muttering that there was still a sister waiting for her..." Lupin inexplicably saw a trace of loneliness in the skeleton's empty eye sockets. The skeleton walked to the stone window and looked at the scenery outside. "She even tried to squeeze out of this small hole that even my skull couldn't get out of. She probably thought that she was a red bird..."
"She has very beautiful red hair." The skeleton chuckled. It chattered as if it had forgotten the previous unpleasantness. "Have you heard that red hair brings misfortune?"
"I've heard of it, but I don't agree." Lupin thought of Lily, who also had beautiful red hair. "Whether it brings misfortune or not has nothing to do with the color of the hair. I'm more inclined to believe that curses and black magic bring misfortune." This was Lupin's answer. "So where did the red-haired girl go?"
"Very interesting point." The skeleton patted Lupin's shoulder. "I suddenly like you." This made Lupin uncomfortable. No one would want to be liked by a skeleton. "Then I'll tell you. The girl was taken away by the wizard because she has some strange ability. She can make things float. Strange, right?
Maybe she's a strange creature like you. Oh, and there's also the wizard who had his heart pierced — "
The skeleton pointed at Lupin's glowing wand. "They all know these strange spells."
"Where did the wizard take Mordesti?"
"Who knows?
Maybe it's his new laboratory. It's in the castle that we can see from here. Ever since he came back alive from the battlefield with an arrow in his heart, he's been praised to the skies by the nobles. Not to mention, he also promised to cast a spell to give the nobles eternal life. "The skeleton shrugged." I hope he can turn those annoying nobles into me. That's the only thing I'm looking forward to. "
"But what can you do even if you know?" The skeleton circled around Lupin. "You want to find Mordesti?
Come on, my friend. How are you going to get out?
Do you want to be a beautiful little bird? "
Lupin ignored the skeleton. He pointed his wand at the stone window and pondered. Should he use 'Disintegrate'?
Or should he use 'Shatter'?
Or should he use 'Thunderbolt Explosion'?
Sometimes, Lupin had such worries.
"What's wrong?
Little bird, are you worried? "The skeleton chuckled, thinking that Lupin was at his wit's end.
"Shatter!" A white light shot out from Lupin's wand.
* Boom! * The stone wall was almost completely shattered. Muggles were unable to trap a knowledgeable Magus!
The skeleton was so shocked that its jaw dropped. It hurriedly picked up its jaw that had fallen to the ground.
"My God!" The skeleton watched Lupin walk towards the hole. "You —"
"Come with me?" Lupin invited.
"I have to stay here... to... Forget it, you can go." The skeleton's voice suddenly became very calm. It seemed that it had made a decision.
"Ugadim Leviosa!"
Lupin nodded and jumped down from the tower. With the help of the Levitation Spell, he slowly floated away from the tower.
"Hey — friend —" Lupin heard the skeleton shouting. When he turned around, he saw the skeleton throw something at him. Lupin waved his wand and caught it.
It was a skull.
"Take this to the washerwoman in the palace, a woman named Babbitty —" The skeleton stood by the wall and shouted. "My poor roommate was still murmuring his wife's name until he died... At least let his head go home..."
Lupin watched as the skeleton was held down by a group of guards. "You —" He tried to do something, but the skeleton had already broken free from the guards and said one last sentence. "You must save the red-haired Madesti and... cherish those who remember your name."
Skeleton Barry opened his arms and jumped down from the tower into the forest. Lupin heard the sound of bones breaking.
It happened in a flash. Lupin did not have time to react. He could only stare at the forest in a daze. As the Levitation Spell floated further and further away, the coolness of the skull in his hand finally brought him back to reality. "It's all fake. It's just a fairy tale. The most important thing now is to save Madesti and then go back to find Harry..."
Lupin looked at the skull in his hand. Holding it in his hand made him look like a bad person. He frowned, but in the end, he did not throw the skull down from the sky.
When the time came, he would just go and see the washerwoman, Babbitty.