The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 37: Courage or Cowardice

In the early morning, the summer breeze blows through the woods, gently caresses the tranquil lake along with the swirling mist, and carries the damp air across the green meadows.

"Cough cough... cough cough cough..." Lu Ping coughed a few times, then came to his senses. What came into view was a clear sky, which made him subconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems there was quite a commotion last night... I was a bit careless... He took a deep breath and shook his head.

Soon I'll be moving to a different place again...

As he was thinking this, Lupin slowly sat up and was surprised to find that he was wrapped in a blanket.

He was taken aback at first, then immediately looked around as if he realized something.

The tranquil lakeside seemed deserted, but upon closer inspection, one could spot a figure sitting on the shore with their feet in the water.

That's Miss Hamilton... Lupin's expression suddenly became complicated. This was probably one of the people he least wanted to see... But sometimes fate plays tricks. The more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. Even werewolves are the same.

It seems Miss Hamilton has discovered her secret... and her inexplicable sense of responsibility may also disappear.

He had a very happy month... It felt like he had returned to Hogwarts and made a new friend, or like he was in the future, with his child about to go to Hogwarts.

His feelings for Miss Hamilton were complicated. At first, he thought it was simply a sense of responsibility, then he thought it was because he saw Miss Hamilton as one of his own kind... Now it seems that all of these are true, and there is also some longing mixed in.

Miss Hamilton is a very talented wizard... If I could be like her... would those tragedies never have happened?

Sirius will not betray, and Peter, James, and Lily will not die... He can still have a group of friends to confide in, just like he did back then.

Instead of hiding and running like a rat in the street... Peter Pettigrew is clearly the one who's more like a rat... Lupin chuckled unconsciously.

However, all of this should be coming to an end. Now that my identity has been discovered, I certainly can't stay by Miss Hamilton's side. I will embark on another journey... and return when someone needs me.

Lupin took a deep breath and gave a helpless, bitter smile, but what could he do? It didn't matter whether Miss Hamilton was afraid of him or hated him.

I've seen that kind of look enough, haven't I?

So, wrapped in a blanket, he slowly got up and walked over to Loila.

"Eek?!" Miss Hamilton exclaimed, seemingly startled by Lupin's sudden sitting down beside her.

Sometimes Lupin felt that Miss Hamilton was like a timid squirrel, always startled... but she was just amusing.

"Mr. Lupin...you're awake?" Miss Hamilton's timid voice came through the phone; she pulled her hood tighter, seemingly afraid to look at herself.

Come to think of it, I am a werewolf after all... I must have scared her to death last night, right?

"I'm sorry, Miss Hamilton," Lupin said after a moment's thought. "I hope I didn't hurt you last night?"

"No...no," Miss Hamilton said softly, kicking her feet lightly a few times, splashing a few drops of water.

"But Mr. Lupin...you..."

She seemed to want to say something, and Lupin knew her question without even thinking: "Well, I'm a werewolf."

"When I was little... I was once..."

"Ah, no, no, no..." Miss Hamilton clenched her fists in front of her and shook her head rapidly. "I didn't... mean that..."

"I wanted to ask...Mr. Lupin, are you...injured?"

Lupin paused for a moment, looking at Miss Hamilton with some surprise.

But Miss Hamilton didn't seem to notice his astonishment; she simply muttered to herself, "I used... a spell last night."

Are you alright?

"I..." Lupin paused, and he was surprised to find himself suddenly choking up... He had thought that Miss Hamilton would be more concerned about werewolves.

"I'm fine," Lupin said, pursing his lips. "Werewolves have a very strong ability to regenerate..."

"Ah...that's...that's good..." Miss Hamilton nodded, then shrank back and didn't say anything more.

Looking at her, Lupin couldn't help but ask, "You...don't you have any questions for me?"

"No...no," Miss Hamilton paused before saying, "Should I...have one?"

"Of course... I'm a werewolf... a werewolf who attacked you last night and almost ate you..." Lupin took a deep breath and said, "Aren't you curious about the fact that I'm a werewolf?"

"Ah... I think everyone has their own secrets." Miss Hamilton pursed her lips and added, "I think you might... not want to talk about it."

"So please just pretend I didn't see it... I... I won't tell anyone." Miss Hamilton's voice trailed off. "Of course, I didn't mean anything by it... I just thought... this might be a very personal matter."

Her hesitant, somewhat ambiguous answer brought a smile to Lupin's face.

Miss Hamilton seemed unchanged from before, even though her identity had been exposed, she couldn't help but feel a different emotion than when she faced James.

They would change for me back then... that touched me deeply... but Miss Hamilton wouldn't change anything for me, she would just... just stay the same as before.

This might be quite comfortable... isn't it?

Lupin let out a soft sigh, then said, “Miss Hamilton, when I was little, my father offended the werewolf Greyback… so one night it broke into our house and bit me.”

"And so I became a werewolf," Lupin said, shrugging. "Werewolves can't be cured... so... I had no choice but to live like this. Fortunately, Headmaster Dumbledore..."

Lupin noticed that when Miss Hamilton heard Dumbledore's name, her kicking feet suddenly stopped.

Fortunately, Headmaster Dumbledore accepted me and offered me help.

"This is my story."

"..."

A long silence followed. Miss Hamilton seemed to remain silent for a long time before suddenly asking in a low voice, "Mr. Lupin...why...are you telling me this?"

"I think you'd like to know," Lupin said slowly. "After all, I'm a werewolf."

"It's nothing!" Miss Hamilton suddenly turned her head excitedly and said, and Lupin was able to see Miss Hamilton's eyes for the first time today.

Surprisingly, there was no timidity or evasion in those blue eyes, but rather an extraordinary seriousness.

"I mean... Mr. Lupin is a werewolf or something... it's nothing." But that seemed to be just an illusion. The next second, she lowered her head and whispered, "Besides, I'm a half-Veve, and Mr. Lupin doesn't seem to mind, does he?"

"No..." Lupin pursed his lips and shook his head bitterly: "Miss Hamilton, werewolves and Veela are different."

"Werewolves are dirty...and Veela..."

"The Veela are the same in Durmstrang..." Miss Hamilton's voice came through, almost the softest Miss Hamilton's voice Lupin had ever heard, softer than when she spoke to the owl.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Lupin instinctively wanted to apologize, as he seemed to have reminded Miss Hamilton of some unpleasant memories.

“No… Mr. Lupin.” Miss Hamilton interrupted Lupin for the first time, saying softly, “I never thought that Mr. Lupin would discriminate against me because I am a Veela…”

"And I have no other opinion about Mr. Lupin being a werewolf."

"Because we are friends," Miss Hamilton said with unwavering conviction.

Lupin laughed, the second time in his life he had laughed so heartily. He shook his head with a smile and said, "Miss Hamilton, that's far more reassuring than the Mantra of Loyalty."

He suddenly understood Dumbledore's words... Miss Loila Hamilton was a person who seemed incredibly timid, but was actually surprisingly strong.

Make friends with werewolves...

Yes, we are friends... Lupin sometimes feels like an unfortunate person, he became a werewolf because of his father's hatred.

Sometimes he felt he was a lucky person because although he didn't have many friends, each one was precious.