"Thank you, Mr. Riddle."
Early in the morning, as soon as Lyla returned to her pub room, she happily wrote in the grubby diary.
What's wrong? Riddle replied quickly. Did you kill that beast?
"Huh?" Lyla blinked in surprise, then quickly wrote back. "That beast wasn't anyone else; it was Mr. Lupin."
"..."
Riddle was completely silent for a very long time. It took so long that Lyla began to wonder if his sixteen-year-old memory had somehow died again.
I understand. He finally slowly gave his answer. Then, why exactly are you thanking me?
"If Mr. Riddle hadn't warned me, I might not have discovered Mr. Lupin's true identity, and thus wouldn't have been able to help him," Lyla continued to write cheerfully. "I also promised Mr. Lupin that I would help him brew the Wolfsbane Potion."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Riddle!"
There's nothing to thank me for. Riddle's attitude seemed a bit strange. Was he being difficult about something?
Lyla pursed her lips and thought for a few seconds. Thanks to her catastrophic overthinking, an answer vaguely formed in her mind.
'Perhaps it is because Mr. Riddle is blaming himself?'
'He thought a wild beast had taken Mr. Lupin, but in fact, it was Mr. Lupin himself...' "It's alright, Mr. Riddle, Mr. Lupin wasn't hurt," Lyla thought for a moment and considerately comforted the diary. "We are both very grateful to you."
You told Lupin about me?! Riddle replied with violent speed this time. He seemed incredibly sensitive about this particular detail.
"I didn't, actually." Lyla's pen lightly tapped the paper. "Because I felt I should get your explicit permission first."
Although Mr. Riddle was just a memory, Lyla felt that he might not be that fond of making friends.
'A misunderstood genius!'
A vivid, highly romanticized image of the young wizard instantly formed in her mind.
That's good. Riddle's reply further confirmed Lyla's naive guess. Don't tell anyone about me.
I'm just a fragile memory, that's all.
'Of course, what else would you be?' Lyla smiled and nodded.
She was exceptionally happy today. She had learned Mr. Lupin's secret, and her relationship with her first genuine friend had grown much closer. Moreover, she had finally said the words she had always wanted to say.
'Because we are friends!'
This sentence was simply so cool. Lyla had always secretly hoped she would have the chance to say it to someone. She also genuinely felt that she could help Mr. Lupin.
She just needed to brew the Wolfsbane Potion. This highly complex potion was actually invented during Lyla's fifty-year magical coma. However, easily distracted by academic research, Lyla had already eagerly looked up the method of making it when she had nothing else to do.+1
She had even practiced the theory a little.
Now, brewing it for Mr. Lupin wouldn't be terribly difficult. Of course, the prerequisite was that she first had a proper cauldron and suitable magical ingredients.
But she was practically penniless now, and her few saved Galleons couldn't afford expensive medicinal ingredients. She'd just have to wait until she met Dumbledore again.
She would aggressively ask him to advance her a few months' salary for her joint DADA Professor position... although she had already advanced quite a lot just to survive.
Shaking her head, Lyla slowly closed the diary. Calculating the time, her new 11-year-old penpal, Miss Lovegood, might be arriving soon.
She needed to prepare for the final engraving steps of the communication bracelet. Just as she was thinking this, a soft knock came at the door. Then, Miss Lovegood pushed the wooden door open and skipped in.
"Did something happen outside last night?" As soon as she entered the room, Luna tilted her head and asked.
"No... no..." Feeling incredibly guilty, Lyla subconsciously lowered her head, not daring to look directly into Luna's bright, perceptive eyes.
"I see..." Luna seemed to understand something perfectly. She skipped over to Lyla, reached out, and playfully pinched Lyla's pointed Half-Veela ear.
"Ooh!" Lyla cried out and took a few panicked steps back. "Lovegood... Miss Lovegood!"
Looking at the fiercely blushing Lyla, Luna curved her lips into a smile. "From now on, every single time Lyla lies to me, I'll pinch your ear."
"Sor... sorry..." Lyla really didn't want to deceive Luna. But this wasn't her own secret after all, and it seemed highly inappropriate to casually reveal Mr. Lupin's werewolf affairs.
"This isn't... isn't my... business..." Her whispered, stuttering words made Luna tilt her head.
"Does this matter affect Lyla?"
"Yes... I guess?" Lyla murmured.
"Then this matter is actually my business, you know." Luna's clear, ethereal voice echoed in the small room. "After all, we are friends, aren't we?"
'Why are you saying my lines...' Lyla thought, stunned. 'Those were words I had saved up for so long and finally managed to say, and you just say them so easily?'
But then again, Miss Lovegood's words were indeed remarkably effective. It made Lyla's pale face turn even redder and more embarrassed.
"If you really need help, then tell me." Seeing Lyla seem a little troubled, Luna considerately stood on her tiptoes and leaned close to Lyla's pointed ear. "This is your little secret!"
"Ah, I love little secrets the most." Luna nodded sagely. "Just like I love Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!"
"I..." Being suddenly so intimately close, Lyla stammered, entirely unable to speak. Feeling the warmth by her sensitive ear, she felt her severely socially anxious brain freeze completely.
She needed time to reboot...
"When are you going to start making the bracelets?"
Miss Lovegood's casually shifting words were indeed a perfect reboot prompt. It made Lyla shake her head and finally clear her mind.
"How about... now?"
"Okay!"
...
"Has Miss Hamilton found out?"
Looking at Lupin's face, which, though a little physically tired, showed a faint, genuine smile, Dumbledore nodded gently. "And the outcome seems far less pessimistic than you originally imagined."
"That's right." Lupin pursed his lips and slightly reined in his smile. "Miss Hamilton wasn't afraid of me... in fact... she didn't change her behavior at all."
"This means she has truly always considered you a friend." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "This is a good thing, isn't it?"
"Both for you and for her."
"Mm." Lupin nodded and then slowly sat down in the plush chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.
"Then... Remus, why are you here again?" Dumbledore asked slowly. "Miss Hamilton still needs your careful care as her handler."
"I came to tell you my thoughts." Lupin pursed his lips and said incredibly seriously. "I want to investigate... that person's matter."
Dumbledore's expression also became deeply serious. He pondered for a few seconds and then said, "Lord Voldemort's matter is exceptionally dangerous."
"And it shouldn't be you, Remus... your condition..."
"Miss Hamilton said she would help me brew the Wolfsbane Potion." Lupin pursed his lips. "And I desperately want to repay her."
"So I hope you can offer me a new, active job; I need more Galleons to afford the ingredients."
A new job?
That was right... before Miss Hamilton formally entered Hogwarts, taking care of her daily life and acting as her handler was the sole job Dumbledore had provided to Lupin. Although this handler job didn't pay much, Lupin was still exceptionally grateful to him.
And now, Lupin seemed to feel that this passive job no longer had enough value.
"Is that so?" Dumbledore nodded gently. Lupin's determined words made him think for a long time. Dumbledore ultimately knew he was hiring her to use her against Voldemort.
"You're right, Remus." Dumbledore finally nodded. "If Miss Hamilton is truly willing to help you with the Wolfsbane Potion..."
"I am certainly willing to offer you a new job. A new job for the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore said, significantly lowering his voice. "Quirrell once went to the Albanian forest before returning to school for the previous term."
"I understand." Lupin nodded gently, accepting the dangerous mission. "I will go there to investigate."
"But Miss Hamilton..." Dumbledore said with slight, calculated hesitation.
"I trust her, Headmaster Dumbledore." Lupin smiled faintly. "As you said, she is far stronger than we imagine."