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Chapter 288: Tonks and Lupin
Chapter 288: Tonks and Lupin
Hospital Wing.
Tonks woke up on the bed, her hand brushing against the crisp white linen sheets. For a moment, she was disoriented.
What happened?
She remembered escaping from that old toad, wandering around the school on her own, planning to return to the common room to lounge on the yellow and black striped sofa, and to visit the kitchens for some Yorkshire pudding. So how did she end up in the Hospital Wing?
"Ah, you're awake? I learned your name from Professor Hup—Felix Hepworth", a voice said.
Tonks turned her head sharply to see a middle-aged (or so it seemed) wizard on the other side of the bed. His face was young, but his appearance was weathered, with gray-streaked hair. He was looking at her apologetically.
Hmm, let me think, what was I doing before I passed out? There were noises of a fight and an argument, and I wanted to go see what was happening...
"Did you knock me out?" she asked, sounding incredulous.
Lupin coughed awkwardly. Although Professor Hup had suggested he just leave her in the Hospital Wing, he decided to stay and at least apologize.
"It was an accident..." He paused, realizing it was the fourth time he had said that today.
Tonks shrugged and jumped off the bed. "Wait—Madam Pomfrey suggested you stay for observation", Lupin said.
"Observation for what, the duration of a Stunning Spell?" Tonks said proudly. "I bet it was ten minutes. I've done resistance training at the Ministry; my best time is seven and a half minutes, but usually, it's ten."
Lupin's mouth opened slightly, but he wisely didn't reveal the truth. She had been hit by more than one Stunning Spell and was out for much longer than ten minutes. He hoped this would remain his secret. However—
"Two hours?" Tonks looked at Madam Pomfrey in surprise as the nurse insisted on checking her again before she left.
"Or a whole day", Madam Pomfrey said impatiently. "If it weren't for Remus saying you might have official business, I wouldn't have cared... You're fine."
She grumbled as she left, and Tonks turned to Lupin, confirming, "Two hours?"
"…Yes, I was just about to tell you", Lupin said, bracing himself.
"Ah, well, never mind~" Tonks said cheerfully. "You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? Impressive..."
"Not me... How did you know I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"
"Who else? One of the things I looked forward to most in school was seeing what the new professor looked like."
"Miss Tonks—"
"Call me Tonks. I haven't properly introduced myself yet. Nymphadora Tonks, but don't call me by my first name", she muttered, "stupid mom." In English, "Nymphadora" wasn't a very elegant name.
"Hello, Tonks. I'm Remus Lupin."
...
Gryffindor Common Room.
Harry was examining his new find—a ghostly, nameless book. Ron curiously reached out to touch it, and the book's surface rippled like water, revealing lightning-shaped patterns as he touched it.
Hermione asked worriedly, "You really want to learn Apparition?"
"Absolutely", Harry said decisively. "I think it's the best fit for me. Listen, Hermione, I've thought about it for two hours, and I still believe my choice is right."
After returning from Classroom Seven, or rather, being escorted back by Percy, he had been furious. He had the impulse to sneak into Professor Lupin's office under his Invisibility Cloak, but Percy Weasley, sitting just two seats away, was following Professor Hup's instructions to watch over or protect him.
Especially after being attacked yesterday, the whole school knew that Sirius was fixated on him—though it was just one of the many rumors and legends circulating. It wasn't true.
He had to give up that tempting idea and instead focus on the dueling competition prize Professor Hup had given him. He shared his thoughts with Ron and Hermione: "I had this idea while writing my dueling essay. Professor Flitwick said to find what you're best at and make the most of your strengths. What am I best at?"
“It’s Quidditch,” Harry whispered. “And Professor Hup privately told me that he once envied my reflexes…”
“Wow!” Ron whistled. “You mean you could also apparate with a whoosh?” He waved his hands around, mimicking the motion of continuous apparition.
Harry said, “That’s what I hope for…”
“Hermione!”
The twins walked in from outside, Fred holding a ginger cat. “Crookshanks has been lingering by the door. I think it brought you a gift.” He grinned.
Hermione bent down. “Crookshanks, come here.”
The ginger cat had something in its mouth. She hoped it wasn’t a large spider; otherwise, she’d have to clean up again. Crookshanks gently jumped onto the table and spat out the object.
“This is—” Hermione’s eyes widened.
“It’s the Magical Automaton Professor Hup had with him today,” Harry confirmed, fiddling with it. “It looks like one of the castle’s armor designs. He even greeted me earlier.”
Hermione patted the cat’s head. “How did you get the professor’s thing? We should return it to the professor.”
“Right,” Harry immediately agreed. He really wanted to ask Professor Lupin about the situation. If he had a valid reason, Percy wouldn’t stop him, right?
The knight on the table—Sirius—looked dejected. He had been thrown out by Lupin, knowing he couldn’t help and would only be a burden. So, he hurriedly went to find Felix.
First, he went to Classroom Seven, but it was empty. Then he tried Lupin’s office, dodging the dirty hands of young wizards, and knocked hard on the door, but got no response. He barely managed to climb through the window, only to find the room empty.
He didn’t know what to do. Maybe finding Dumbledore was a good idea, but he didn’t know the password. As he left the office, he encountered Crookshanks.
Crookshanks was his ally, providing him with a lot of information about the castle. He was always grateful. The cat was smart enough to recognize he was human and could judge whether he was good or bad.
This time was no different. Crookshanks recognized him and tried to communicate, but Sirius couldn’t speak due to the spell—unless he got rid of the candy armor.
He could only gesture, but unfortunately, Crookshanks, though smart, wasn’t quite that clever.
After some ineffective communication, Crookshanks carried him to the common room.
Ron watched with interest. “Can you talk? Hey! Percy has one that can talk.” He held the knight by the foot and swung it around. “What can you do?”
“Ouch!”
Sirius, annoyed, poked Ron’s finger with the knight’s sword. Ron, in pain, let go, causing Sirius to fall onto the table, dazed.
“Stop it, Ron!”
Sirius heard a heavenly voice. Who was this kind girl? She was Crookshanks’ owner, a good person.
Hermione picked up the knight. “Let’s go, we’ll return it to the professor.”
They walked towards the door, Harry nervously watching Percy, but he didn’t stop them. Perhaps he thought two hours had already exceeded Professor Hup’s expectations?
Harry was relieved to see Percy lower his head, fiddling with the advanced Magical Automaton, with the twins circling around him.
“You should let us see it. Maybe we can add some new features, like throwing a dungbomb in someone’s face?”
Harry closed the common room door, leaving the Weasley brothers’ bickering behind. Two older students approached them, excited. “Did you hear? A little girl from Slytherin caused quite a stir…”
“What happened?” his companion asked with interest.
“You won’t believe it. She released a large snake in the Slytherin common room!”
(End of Chapter)
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