The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 3: Remus Lupin

"As expected..." The middle-aged man chuckled softly, "It seems my guess was pretty accurate."

"So what's your name?" he said, as if he had thought of something, a slight blush appearing on his pale face. "Let me introduce myself... I'm Remus Lupin."

"I used to be a student at Hogwarts too," he said, scratching his face. "Except I was from Gryffindor."

"Hmm..." Loila wanted to say that she knew nothing about Hogwarts' houses; she had even once thought that Azkaban was one of Hogwarts' houses.

"Ah..." Lupin chuckled, noticing Loila's slightly shy demeanor. "As students, we can't just wander off from school like that..."

"And he was soaking wet," he muttered. "Even his wand was broken."

"Did you have an accident while using a spell?" Lupin scratched his head and could only guess, after all, no one would expect to encounter a Hogwarts student in such a place.

Fortunately, the full moon had passed last night... Kind-hearted Lupin, though somewhat tired, decided to help the little wizard in front of him.

"Never mind," he said with a simple shrug. "I was just about to go to Diagon Alley anyway."

How could I be so lucky?

Although Loila didn't want to travel or talk with strangers, it would be great if the person in front of her was willing to take her to Diagon Alley... At least it was a gathering place for wizards, and although the crowds were still terrifying, it was still much safer than the Muggle area.

"I'll take you there... and then I'll help you contact the professors at Hogwarts." He muttered to himself, "The Head of Hufflepuff is still Professor Sprout, isn't he?"

Loila remained silent, somewhat embarrassed, but fortunately Lupin nodded to himself.

He didn't pay attention to Loila's somewhat strange behavior; he seemed to simply think that Loila was a shy Hogwarts student.

So Lupin led Royla through the streets and alleys of this small town. Just as Royla was wondering if he was going to report her to the Ministry of Magic, they came to a rather old-fashioned bar.

"This is the Wizard's Bar," Lupin said softly, glancing cautiously at the people inside before adding, "Follow me."

Loila glanced at the people inside when he spoke... It was good that there weren't many people there.

Surprisingly, she and Lupin shared the same idea.

"Clatter".

As Loila followed Lupin into the bar, she immediately felt strange looks coming from the bar counter, though those looks didn't seem to be directed at her.

Instead, it was Lupin standing in front of her.

"Lupin?" The old man at the bar frowned. "I don't have any drinks for you here."

"I didn't come here to drink," Lupin said somewhat reservedly, then turned slightly to reveal Loila standing behind him.

"She's a student at Hogwarts, and she ended up here because of a spell mishap," Lupin paused before continuing, "I'm here to take her to Diagon Alley."

"Hmph." The old man snorted coldly, which made Loila tremble.

"I don't think you'd be that kind," he muttered. "Perhaps I should contact the Ministry of Magic directly?"

"No...no need!" Upon hearing his words, the first to object wasn't Lupin, but Loila. She quickly waved her hand, suppressing her fear as she said to the old man at the bar, "I...I trust...Mr. Lupin!"

Under no circumstances should you call the Ministry of Magic... What if they figure something out and want to arrest you and take you to Azkaban?

The old man frowned slightly upon hearing her words, then shook his head: "It seems... you're a strange person too."

Lupin looked at Loila with some surprise. His dark eyes flickered slightly, but then dimmed again.

"In that case, I won't meddle any further," the old man said, pointing to the fireplace. "This fireplace connects to Diagon Alley."

"Also..." He glanced at Lupin, "You'd better bring your own Floo Powder."

"I brought..." Lu Ping said, pursing his lips, as he took out a small box from his somewhat worn and tattered coat.

Seeing his actions, the old man shook his head again and looked at Loila: "Miss... you'd better be careful of him."

"Be careful he doesn't hurt you."

Loila pursed her lips and remained silent. She didn't quite understand why the old man in front of her was so hostile to Lupin... Although Loila wasn't very good at communicating with people, Mr. Lupin seemed to be a good person no matter how you looked at it.

Lupin remained silent about his remarks. He simply took out some Floo Powder, handed it to Royla, and said, "I'll go first, and then you can follow me."

After saying that, he seemed to have no intention of staying in the bar any longer, so he bent down and threw down the Floo Powder.

Diagon Alley.

"boom."

Lupin disappeared into the green flames.

Then, under the old man's helpless gaze, Loila also raised her Floo Powder and whispered, "Diagon Alley."

"boom."

When Loila came to her senses, she found herself in a bustling tavern, filled with wizards drinking and chatting. The sudden sense of oppression made her instinctively want to shrink into the fireplace.

Fortunately, Lupin appeared just in time. He gently tugged at Loila's sleeve and said, "Come with me..."

After saying that, he hurried upstairs.

Loila, pale-faced, tugged at his sleeve and followed behind him. Soon, the two broke free from the chaotic tavern.

This place...this place is just too dangerous.

Loila thought to herself.

She preferred to face Dumbledore directly rather than the noisy crowd.

After all, Dumbledore was still just a person...

"You can rest here for a bit," Lupin said in a low voice as he opened a door. "I'll go talk to the tavern owner... and contact the professors at Hogwarts."

He turned and left, leaving Loila alone in the room.

"Phew..." Loila breathed a sigh of relief as Lupin left.

Now she was finally all alone... She felt a sense of relaxation she had never experienced before...

Then all I had to do was wait for the Hogwarts professors to come and take me back to school, as Mr. Lupin had instructed...

and many more!

Loila suddenly realized something. She wasn't a real student at Hogwarts. If a Hogwarts professor came, wouldn't she be exposed?

No... I have to run!

Thinking this, Loila hurriedly pushed open the door to leave, but as soon as she made a move, she heard a noise coming from downstairs.

"Enough! I said enough!" It was a magnetic and impassioned voice: "I will never succumb to what you call darkness!"

What... what is this?

Startled, Loila shrank back.

"Then I used Apparition to break free from its control!" the voice continued, "as if I had instantly escaped the darkness!"

Having said that, as if the story had ended, he laughed and said, "Besides the above, I have written all the other stories in the revised edition of my new book, 'My Journey with the She-Devil.'"

"Also, I will be holding a book signing at Flourish and Blotts this afternoon." As he finished speaking, the bar was filled with applause and cheers.

Seeing this lively scene, Loila pursed her lips and plopped down on the ground.

She simply couldn't escape from such a crowded place... just hearing the commotion made her tremble with fear.

"I'm back." Lupin pushed open the door and walked in, his clothes disheveled, as if he had been through a battle.

"It was a tough battle," he muttered, shaking his head.

Then he fell silent. He sat in the chair, panting heavily, seemingly quite tired, but even so, his dark eyes continued to look at Loila gently.

"Who...is...downstairs?" Unable to bear the gaze, or perhaps the awkward atmosphere, Loila asked softly.

"Gierold Lockhart," Lupin said slowly, "that bestselling author..."

"Ah..." Loila lowered her head awkwardly; she had never heard of this bestselling author.

"Aren't you a fan of his?" Lupin asked after thinking for a moment.

"I...I'm not very familiar with...him..." Loila could only give this one answer after thinking for a moment.

"I see." Lupin smiled gently upon hearing this. "I heard before that he might become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts next semester."

"After all that happened a few days ago," he said, lowering his voice. "Compared to Quirrell, he should be a competent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Who is Quirrell?

And what is that kind of thing?

For Loila, who was completely bewildered by Hogwarts, the only response she could give was a pale smile and an evasive look.

Fortunately, Lupin seemed to be used to her shyness, so he simply nodded gently and continued, "By the way... I've already contacted Hogwarts."

"The academy seems to value this very much." As he spoke, he scratched his face, looking somewhat surprised.

"Headmaster Dumbledore said he would come in person."