Harry Potter: Reunion with the Enemy

Early morning. In front of Ed's studio.

Lancelot looked up and saw that the lights in the studio were brighter than the stars in the night sky. Through the French windows on the first floor, he could see many people walking around inside. They seemed to be Ed's colleagues at the magazine.

"This is really a place beyond the reach of the Wizarding Labor Law." Lancelot muttered softly. He had been searching in an underwater ruin for the entire day, and was entangled by a giant squid that suddenly appeared when he was about to finish his work. Not only did it take him a lot of effort to escape from the squid, but his body was also covered with several new scars from the tentacles and the scalding water columns. The treasure he found sank back into the sea during the struggle.

In short, Lancelot was feeling a little depressed. The rampaging squid had severely damaged his vitality, and the evening rush plan agreed with Harry and Draco was delayed until midnight because of this unexpected change.

After the public opinion storm, Gringotts began a plan to strengthen the vault's anti-theft protection. Before all the strengthening measures were completed, the previous vault owner had to make an appointment to enter Gringotts. Harry and Draco's filming plan originally left ample preparation time, but the time approved by Gringotts for the vault repair and inspection was much earlier than expected, which required them to take time out temporarily to speed up the progress.

Lancelot secretly vowed that the next time he encountered the damn squid, he would find a way to cut it up and boil it as seafood.

"Dong-dong-dong-dong-dong-"

After a knock, the door was opened.

"Come in, the work at the magazine is almost done." Ed moved aside.

"You didn't even ask why, why I was late." Lancelot walked into the house with a somewhat tired step.

"I asked Harry and Draco to go back first. After all, it would be inconvenient for my colleagues to see them. There is only a little finishing work left, and you and I are enough." Ed looked Lancelot up and down, "You smell like a undried deep-sea fish - the answer seems not difficult to guess."

"Why do you smell like alcohol?" Lancelot was too lazy to describe the tragedy on the seabed in detail. The smell of alcohol in his face made him ask back.

"Rita Skitra and I will go to our partner's banquet together and act as a drinking vase." Ed obviously didn't expect him to ask a question, and after a pause he answered. "It happens often - but I usually don't get drunk, and I'm sober now."

"You have to pay for the smile and the time, and then you have to continue working when you get home. It's a really good job." Lancelot commented lightly, but dueling with a giant squid is not a perfect job.

"It's good that I don't have to write news that attacks Kingsley against my conscience. The election for the Minister of Magic is imminent, and many people who are ready to make a move have begun to take action. The first step is to use the media to discredit their opponents." Ed noticed something suspicious in Lancelot's hand. "What did you use to knock on the door?"

"Dried goblin claws - sorry -" Lancelot scratched his hair and threw it back into the bag in annoyance, "I'm used to it, because many doors require goblin hands to open, so I took it out subconsciously - I wasn't sober."

"Can this also be used to knock open Gringotts' door?" Ed expressed his interest.

"Only the one that's exclusive to fairies will work. Other anti-theft measures require other solutions." Lancelot added pointedly, "It's much more effective than a kitten's claws."

"I don't want to open the vault door - you can go and clean yourself up first. This will be enough time for my colleagues to finish their work." Ed pointed to the second floor and turned back to the group of people. "See you later."

By the time Lancelot walked downstairs with a towel draped over him, the noisy crowd had left, the equipment had been put back in place, and the accessories, armor and dragon skin clothes used for filming were placed in the middle.

"The pattern of the Malfoy family can be more obvious. If the lighting inside is very dim, the shooting effect may not be very good. And here, if you want the visual effect of molten gold, it needs to be extended by a few more meters." Ed turned around and saw Lancelot, who had washed off the smell of deep-sea fish, and stopped talking halfway.

"I have a lot of clothes in my closet, you can pick any one to wear." Ed looked at Lancelot who ran downstairs wearing only a pair of jeans.

"It doesn't matter. I only brought this as a spare." Lancelot put his hands in his pockets carelessly. He was determined to throw away the clothes that the squid had torn. "In fact, I have been naked in front of you for a long time, from inside to outside, from history to the present - I have given up struggling -"

"..." Ed raised his eyebrows.

"What did you find out?" Lancelot asked calmly as he began to repair the pattern on the metal. "You've been digging deep into the matter. You must have been busy after being discharged early."

"I—" Ed looked up and met Lancelot's eyes.

"You--what do you mean--" Lancelot stared into the ice-blue eyes that were a few centimeters lower than him. "I feel like I've been stripped clean in every way, but you asked me if I want to put on clothes."

"This matter hasn't attracted much attention, and there's no way to prove who's right or wrong at the moment." Ed said, retreating slightly. "But I believe you."

"Yes. So now you regret wasting your time on me?" Lancelot stepped forward and asked. "The report has no great commercial value other than hurting me."

"I don't think any designer would want to be associated with such a crime." Ed had been forced back to the wall. "But, if your family is slandered, wouldn't that help the goblin succeed in his plan?"

"I'm not like you. I'm forced to do dirty work while questioning my own immorality, and I care about what others think while I can't really go against my own nature." Lancelot sighed, "If something makes me unhappy, I just want to end it as soon as possible and not think about it. Unlike you, the thoughts of your cat head are contrary to the actions of your cat body, and it's painful to reflect on yourself every day."

"Don't you want revenge?" Ed said thoughtfully, "Maybe I can help a little bit and do more research."

"You haven't even figured out your own situation, yet you're still worrying about others, editor-in-chief." Lancelot smiled, "If you really want to help me, why don't we work together to get the clothes altered. Working overtime will only reduce my sleep time."

"Maybe they have used the same method against other people." Ed didn't seem to give up the idea.

"I'm curious if I'll become conflicted if I stay with someone as conflicted as you for a long time." Lancelot pulled Aede back to his clothes. "Draco said before that he could buy me a kitten. I'm really considering buying a cat now."

"I don't think so," Ed replied quickly.

"Ask a hundred thousand whys whys?"

"No reason."

"Then I will just be like you, feeling like a bad guy every day, but doing the wrong things at the same time." Lancelot hummed. "Or wait for you to turn back into a cat to accompany me."