"Are you sure?" Lupin asked, stirred by Aberforth's words to the point that he nearly jumped out of his chair.
"Calm down." Aberforth blew out a ring of smoke. "First I'll tell you what I saw, then I'll tell you what I know."
Lupin nodded blankly. He didn't really understand the difference between what Aberforth had "seen" and what he "knew," but information was information. All he had to do was listen.
"First, about Mundungus. The reason he went to the Shrieking Shack, where he died, was because of one person," Aberforth said.
"One person? Who?" Lupin asked.
"No idea. They were very secretive, with their face completely covered. The only distinguishing feature was a raven on them," Aberforth said. "They made a deal with Mundungus. I don't know the details, but going to the Shrieking Shack was part of the deal."
"So it wasn't Sirius?"
"No. In fact, Sirius had almost nothing to do with it. He was... pretty innocent in all this. He happened to stumble onto the murder scene and nearly ran into the monster that did the killing," Aberforth said.
"You saw the killer?" Lupin stared at the old man in shock, then glanced toward the Auror girl outside the bar trying to eavesdrop. "Then why didn't you tell the Aurors?"
"Why should I tell them everything? If they really cared about my information, they would've sent a more dependable Auror, not some trainee girl." Aberforth let out a scornful laugh.
"I'm not about to press my hot face against their cold backside. They don't care about the truth. They just want to close the case as fast as possible, so they casually dump it all on a wanted criminal."
Lupin fell silent for a moment, understanding that the old man in front of him didn't trust the Ministry of Magic.
Then again, neither did he.
Setting that unimportant topic aside, Lupin asked, "Did you see Sirius? Where is he?"
"I only know he's somewhere near Hogsmeade, but exactly where, I can't say." Aberforth shook his head. "That monster is still wandering around nearby. He doesn't dare take on the Ministry directly, but he probably won't let anyone alone get away either. He's cunning, and just as mad."
"What exactly is this monster you're talking about?" Lupin couldn't help asking.
It sounded like some venomous snake lurking in the dark. Just hearing about it made his scalp prickle.
"How should I know?" Aberforth rolled his eyes. "I deal in information, not wishes."
Lupin scratched his head awkwardly. "I asked too much. Sorry."
"If you're sorry, then do me a favor." Aberforth tapped his pipe. "Get that little girl outside away from here."
Lupin instinctively turned back and caught sight of a flash of pink hair ducking out of view.
It was like some childish game. Lupin and Aberforth knew the girl was outside eavesdropping, and the girl knew they knew, but all three of them tacitly pretended otherwise.
"That girl seems pretty enthusiastic," Lupin said, thinking of the glass she'd emptied.
"Heh. Enthusiasm isn't welcome everywhere. I figure everyone else thought she was a nuisance, so they dumped her on me to suffer here." Aberforth shook his head. "Hurry up and get her out of here. With her around, my customers don't dare come in."
As he spoke, he suddenly gave Lupin an awkward smile. "By the way, that drink from earlier was pretty strong. She should be feeling it by now."
Before he even finished speaking, a heavy thud sounded outside the bar.
Lupin parted his lips slightly. Looking at Aberforth, who seemed completely unconcerned, he could only force a wry smile and hurry out of the pub.
Outside the bar window, the girl was sprawled on the ground, her face red as a boiled shrimp. Her neat short hair was changing colors like a chameleon, and her eyes looked misty and unfocused.
She was obviously very drunk.
Lupin carefully helped her up and, seeing that she seemed to have at least a little awareness left, asked, "What's your name?"
"Mmm... huh? Name? I'm... no, I'm Tonks," Tonks slurred.
She really was drunk.
Helpless, Lupin supported Tonks as he searched through Hogsmeade for other Aurors.
But before they had gone far, he ran into a bald Black man with a crisp, capable air about him. The gold hoop in one ear was especially eye-catching.
Most importantly, compared with Tonks's uniform, his looked much more normal, and even a bit more refined.
Then Lupin got a good look at his face. To his surprise, it was someone he knew.
"Kingsley?"
He was one of the old members of the Order of the Phoenix. They had fought side by side more than ten years ago.
"Long time no see, Remus. Is that Tonks? What happened to her?" Kingsley had barely come close before the smell of alcohol on Tonks drove him back a few steps. "She actually drank while on duty?"
"There's been a bit of a misunderstanding. She didn't drink on purpose. More precisely, she drank in order to gather information..." Lupin felt like he ought to explain, but everything he said sounded off. The tongue that usually worked so smoothly in the classroom now felt strangely clumsy.
"So... you took her out drinking?" Kingsley raised a brow and gave him a troublemaking grin. "She's not easy to handle."
"No. That's not it. Listen to me." Lupin panicked.
"Don't get worked up. I'm joking." Kingsley paused, then added, "Oh, and remember not to call her Nymphadora. She hates that."
"I already told you, it's not what you're thinking..." Lupin said helplessly.
"That part doesn't matter." Kingsley waved a hand. "She's obviously in no state to join the operation, so I'll have to trouble you to take her back."
"You really trust me that much..." Lupin's cheek twitched. "But what is it that's so urgent?"
"Someone found suspicious traces at the Shrieking Shack," the Auror said casually.
"Was it Sirius?" Lupin asked with a serious expression.
"Doesn't seem like it. The traces there are strange. Someone said they found signs of some kind of monster." Kingsley glanced helplessly at the woozy Tonks. "Just in case, I sent all the Aurors under my command over there. Everyone except Tonks. Please take her to the temporary office first."
Although Lupin was worried about Sirius, Kingsley had already gone out of his way by telling him this much. Pressing for more would have been rude.
Lupin nodded. "All right, I'll take her over now. Where's your temporary office?"
"Honeydukes." Kingsley raised an eyebrow. "It's right in the center of Hogsmeade, and it comes with convenient candy supplies. There's no better place for a temporary office, is there?"