Lupin: Suddenly Feeling a Little Uneasy

Upon opening the cardboard box, I found a pure black cashmere scarf. It felt soft and fluffy to the touch and looked very warm.

I gave Hermione a scarf, and Hermione gave me a scarf in return.

What a perfect understanding!

Loren happily put the scarf around his neck, feeling the cashmere gradually warming up under his body heat. Loren moved closer to the girl by the desk. "Although I'm very happy with this gift, we're even now. The matter of you barging into my bedroom without permission is still unresolved."

Hermione turned to look at him and pursed her lips.

This person's scarf was worn in a mess, just haphazardly wrapped around his neck a few times, and his eyes were bright and Winky.

She hadn't thought about it before, but after seeing that look in her eyes, Hermione felt inexplicably regretful.

Preparing the same gift for both people is somewhat mundane.

Hermione reached out and untied his messy scarf, neatly wrapping it around her neck.

Holding the scarf in her hands, Hermione looked into his eyes and silently vowed to herself: Next Christmas, I'll definitely prepare an even better and more special gift in advance.

Loren was unaware of the girl's little scheme, letting Hermione's hands move back and forth on his neck, where he could smell a faint scent of hand cream.

Loren peered curiously at the newspaper on the table. "What are you looking at? Is there any news lately?"

Smoothing out a few wrinkles on her scarf, Hermione turned and replied, "I'm checking for any reports about Gringotts. If there's a battle, the Daily Prophet should publish some news."

Loren took a closer look and saw that the page only contained some meaningless advertisements and some stupid guys who had sent themselves to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries during the Christmas holidays.

He thought about it carefully for a moment, "It's hard to say. With only Bellatrix Lestrange and so many Aurors and professors from the school, the battle might end Silencio."

"Hmm... maybe." Hermione fell into thought.

Loren naturally squeezed into a chair with Hermione, his right hand reaching over her shoulder to flip through the newspaper, making casual, sarcastic remarks about its contents. "Ha, Flourish and Blotts is actually advertising during the Christmas holidays. Do people really buy books during the holidays?"

"Actually, there are some books I want to buy..."

Hermione snapped out of her daze and suddenly realized that the man's hand was on her shoulder, and she didn't know when he had pulled her into his arms.

Swearing to Merlin, Hermione's first instinct was to push him away. But he had a strong, indescribable scent that made Hermione feel a little flustered, yet also strangely attracted, so she postponed the thought of pushing him away for a while.

"Should we buy it from Diagon Alley or order it by mail from Owl?" Loren asked, feigning seriousness, as if it were a normal, ordinary conversation, but he couldn't help but grin broadly.

"Yes, yes, either way is fine..." Hermione replied softly, her head lowered.

"I'll push him away in a bit, after I finish reading the newspaper," Hermione thought to herself.

However, the holiday special edition of the Daily the Daily Prophet contained a lot of content, and the advertisements were quite ridiculous. The incident of someone struggling to Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs and stuffing them into their nose, causing fireworks to keep coming out of their mouth and ears, was also quite a cautionary tale...

Looking around little by little, before I knew it, it was already bright outside.

Bright sunlight streamed into the room, falling on Hermione's forehead. Lost in her sweet embrace, Hermione suddenly awoke, jumped up, and exclaimed, "Oh no! We didn't do the Animagus ritual this morning!"

"Animagus ritual?" Loren blinked.

There seems to be such a story: during the brewing of the Secret Potion, one would point the wand at the heart and chant a spell at sunrise and sunset every day.

"Sigh, what a pity. It seems we have to start all over again from the first step." Loren sighed, his tone devoid of any regret, and once again draped his arm over Hermione's shoulder. "Let's continue with this case of detonating an entire deck of Exploding Snap at once..."

"You!" Hermione laughed in exasperation.

The festive atmosphere at Hogwarts Castle was even more intense. Professor Flitwick and Hagrid hung countless twinkling fairy lights throughout the Great Hall, and the thick ribbons of holly and mistletoe were adorned with gold and silver threads, shimmering with dazzling brilliance. The twelve Christmas were embellished with the sparkle of stars and moons.

Harry and Ron took a nap after unwrapping their gifts, and then came downstairs to the Great Hall for lunch.

The house table was moved to the wall again, and a shorter, wider table was placed in the center of the Great Hall. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Professor Trelawney sat there, along with the caretaker Filch.

Filch took off his usual brown coat and put on an old, faded tuxedo that looked like it was moldy.

Few people stayed at school during the holiday; there were only three students: two very nervous first-year students and a sullen Slytherin fifth-year student.

"Merry Christmas! Come and sit down!" Dumbledore smile. "The feast will continue until dinner, and you can have as much pudding as you like."

"Then our stomachs might explode..." Ron whispered in Harry's ear as the two sat side by side at the end of the table.

Just as they were about to begin their meal, Professor Trelawney suddenly let out a low shriek. "Thirteen people, thirteen people again!"

"By Merlin, it's happening again..." Professor McGonagall put down her fork, which clattered as she complained impatiently, "Oh, Sybil, are you sure you want to do this on Christmas?"

The young wizards looked up in confusion, wondering what had happened and why Professor McGonagall had suddenly become angry.

Harry had never seen Professor McGonagall like this before; it was as if she were about to jump up and kick Trelawney out of the Great Hall at any moment, like kicking a naughty student out of the classroom as punishment.

"I didn't want to either, Minerva, but there were exactly thirteen people..." Trelawney looked around anxiously and said, "Oh, where is the dear Professor Lupin?"

Harry then noticed that Professor Lupin was not at the table.

"That poor man is sick again," Dumbledore said. "It's just in time for Christmas, how unfortunate."

Harry wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that when Headmaster Dumbledore said those words, he glanced at Snape next to him with a complicated expression.

Snape cleared his throat and said calmly, "Eat in peace, Sybil. We're all willing to take risks, just like last time."

"Are you satisfied now, Sybil?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply.

"Oh, I know you don't believe my Prophecy, but I still have to say it..." Trelawney's tone was less panicked. She gave Professor McGonagall a cold look. "Minerva, I saw with my Inner Eye that poor Professor Lupin won't be here for long. My Inner Eye tells me that he is not suited for Hogwarts, which is why he is always sick."

Professor McGonagall let out a distinct sneer.

Harry also noticed that Professors Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick had somewhat complicated expressions; they probably wanted to laugh but didn't show it.

"Alright, Sybil." Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, but maintained a light and cheerful tone. "I believe Remus is a good fit for Hogwarts. He enjoys school life, and the children love him. Severus, have you prepared the Potions for him yet?"

Harry saw a flicker of unease Snape's face. "Yes, Headmaster."

"Very good, then he should be able to get up and move around soon..." Dumbledore smiled. "Drake, have you tried these little sausages? They taste delicious."

The first-year student, whose face was flushed, accepted the plate of sausages with trembling hands after being greeted by Dumbledore.

The banquet officially began, and Harry and Ron ate their fill, filled with questions. When dinner was over, Harry and Ron were the first to stand up from the table, prompting Trelawney to scream, her eyes wide with alarm as she demanded, "Honey! Which one of you stood up first? Which one?"

Harry and Ron were stunned, standing there dumbfounded.

"Enough, Sybil, do you really have to say it? It's Christmas!" Professor McGonagall demanded coldly.

Professor Trelawney pursed his lips, and the atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment. Hagrid suddenly stood up, walked over, and put his arms around Harry and Ron, saying with a smile, "It's alright, it's alright. I'll take them outside to play for a while, and then take them back to their dorm before lights out."

After saying goodbye to the professors, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid walked out of the Great Hall Great Hall, discussing what had just happened as they headed toward Hagrid's Hut.

Hagrid had drunk a lot at the banquet; his Moleskin Coat reeked of alcohol. The two of them squeezed out of their robes as they left the Great Hall. Harry looked up at Hagrid and asked, "Hagrid, what exactly is Professor Trelawney trying to say? What happened to the thirteen?"

Hagrid, his face flushed, let out a burp. "It's nothing, she always believed that when thirteen people dine together, the first one to stand up is the first to die. It was the same when Loren and Hermione ate here during the summer vacation... Oh, I remember it was Dumbledore and Snape who stood up together."

Hagrid suddenly chuckled a few times, "Of course this Prophecy is false. Just like Minerva said, unless there are two axemen standing at the entrance of the Great Hall, ready to kill the first person to come out."

Harry and Ron both laughed.

Once outside the Castle, the biting wind carrying snowflakes made Harry and Ron feel as if their very bones were filled with icy snowmelt, and even the Full Moon felt chilling.

They wanted to say goodbye to Hagrid there, but seeing that Hagrid was drunk and unsteady on his feet, they decided to take Hagrid to the cabin instead.

Shrugging his neck and wading through the snow, Harry recalled Snape's unusual behavior and asked, "Hagrid, do you know what illness Professor Lupin has?"

"I don't know... maybe he has a cold and fever. It's so cold, Remus is always dressed very lightly."

Harry for a moment and whispered, "Could it be Snape? Besides, Dumbledore said that he was the one who prepared the medicine for Professor Lupin."

Ron's eyes widened as he began to consider this possibility.

"How could that be?" Hagrid shook his dizzy head. "Why would Professor Snape want to harm Remus? Harry, you're overthinking things again."

Ron gestured to Harry, and the two tacitly agreed not to mention the matter again. After escorting Hagrid back to the hut in the wind and snow, Harry and Ron ran back to the Castle as fast as they could and found an empty classroom to start discussing it.

"They had conflicts when they were in school. That old bat must not want Professor Lupin to have a good Christmas," Ron said angrily.

Harry's mind flashed back to Snape's expression at the banquet, his awkwardness when Professor Lupin was mentioned, and those strange smiles.

After a moment, Harry made a decision. "We have to go see Professor Lupin!"

I agree!

The two climbed the stairs to the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts's office, but the old wooden door was locked from the outside, indicating that Professor Lupin was not in his office. They then went to the Hospital Wing, but there weren't many junior wizards staying at school this year, and Madam Pomfrey had gone home for the holidays. The Hospital Wing door was locked, and Professor Lupin wasn't there either.

"Besides these two places, where else could Professor Lupin go?" Ron asked, puzzled.

Harry kept thinking about Snape's strange laugh, the professors' and headmaster's odd behavior, and the numerous questions weighing on his mind made him anxious. If he couldn't speak to Professor Lupin tonight, Harry felt he wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

"The Marauder's Map!" Harry exclaimed suddenly, pulling a long, old, rectangular piece of parchment from his pocket. Harry drew his wand and tapped the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I will not do anything good."

The fine ink lines spread out like a spider web, extending to every corner of the parchment.

"Why didn't George and Fred give it to me! I'm their own brother!" Ron complained again.

"Stop talking, quickly help me find Professor Lupin,"

Almost all the young wizards had gone home for the holidays, so the previously crowded name tags were now empty, making it easy to find people. The map showed that several professors were still in the Great Hall, Mrs. Norris was running laps around the Great Hall, Trelawney was wandering around the Seventh Floor.

Harry and Ron were suddenly stunned. They saw Professor Lupin —he was in Hogsmeade!

A series of footsteps disappeared near the Whomping Willow, while the small black dot representing Lupin Remus was now in the Shrieking Shack.

Harry hesitated before saying, "George and Fred said there were seven Secret Passages in total, but most of them were blocked to protect against Death Eater and Dementor, leaving only the Whomping Willow..."

"Do you think Professor Lupin was imprisoned in the Shrieking Shack by the old bat, or did he go there on his own?" Ron asked in a low voice. "If he went there on his own, why would he forgo delicious food and a warm fireplace at Christmas?"

Although Harry didn't want to think about it that way, having experienced two Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Quirrell and Lockhart, they couldn't help but think about it more.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. "Let's go find him!"

"Agreed!"