Harry Potter: Who cares about belated motherly love?

After enjoying the pleasant afternoon tea, we said goodbye to Draco and Theodore in the classroom on the seventh floor because it was easy to cause criticism when we appeared with them (not only because of factional issues, but also because of their outstanding beauty). Harry and I chose to walk around Hogwarts Castle to kill time. After all, we had eaten too many scones and sandwiches just now and needed to digest them, otherwise we would not be able to eat the food at the banquet in the evening.

Today was a rare sunny day in late October. Although there was a little wind, the sun was very warm. In this case, Harry and I were too lazy to go back to the dormitory to get our coats (it was too troublesome to cross those stairs that always moved), so we simply cast a light cold spell on ourselves and walked towards the owl house at the top of the west tower.

Since the beginning of the new semester, I have been busy with various things and rarely visited my owl Toto. As a result, when it saw me, it was very excited and kept flapping its wings and making noisy "cooing" sounds. Hedwig was obviously very dissatisfied with this and threatened Toto with her mouth "clicking", as if scolding it.

"Toto, apologize to Hedwig."

Hedwig is not the kind of owl that bullies the weak, but Toto's status in the owl house is obviously not high. In order to prevent it from angering Hedwig again, I quickly caught Toto. After restraining it with both hands like holding a rice ball, Toto really calmed down.

It seems like it just wants me to pay more attention to it...

After I held it in my hands, it showed a satisfied expression, and was as quiet as a furry doll. Seeing this, I sighed helplessly. Harry, who was feeding Hedwig with the biscuits he had "taken" from the tea party, looked up and laughed at this scene.

"Toto still likes you as always, Ronnie."

Toto was a gift from Sirius during the summer vacation. Harry often stayed at the Burrow at that time, so Toto was very close to Harry. (Now that I think about it, Toto didn't seem to be close to Ginny at all at that time...)

Hedwig rested on Harry's arm and pecked at the biscuit on his palm, obviously in a good mood.

"Harry, when will Hermione and the others be back?"

"She said it was before dinner, probably around six."

Dinner at Hogwarts is usually between 7pm and 8:7pm, but today is the Halloween feast, and most people will arrive at the Great Hall on time before the feast starts at 6pm. Last year, the students who went to Hogsmeade also seemed to return to the castle at around pm.

"So we still have about two hours?"

"Right... What should we do next? Should we go to the library?"

We played with our owls and discussed what to do next. Although we talked a lot, we couldn't think of any particularly interesting activities, so we decided to just walk around the castle.

After saying goodbye to Toto and Hedwig, we cast the Scourgify spell on each other outside the owl house to clean our feathers and odors, and then returned to the main castle from the west tower. At this time, all parts of the castle have been decorated with Halloween decorations.

"The decorations in the entrance hall are always the most exciting. Do you want to go and have a look?"

"Okay."

We walked down the stairs talking, but when we reached the third floor, the stairs suddenly turned and we were trapped in a completely different hallway.

"Oh, it's that damn staircase again!"

“We never seem to get to our destination.”

I sighed helplessly, and Harry smiled bitterly.

"This staircase may not move for a while. How about we check the third floor first?"

Just as I was looking at the stairs and making the suggestion, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind me.

"Hey, what are you two...doing here?"

Follow-up:

Turning around, I saw Professor Lupin standing there holding a pile of books and some strange tools, with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Professor Lupin," Harry and I called out in unison.

"It's rare that I didn't see Hermione with you today." Professor Lupin said with a smile.

"Today is a day out in Hogsmeade, Professor."

“But we didn’t go.”

It was meant to be just a simple answer, but Professor Lupin's expression instantly became stiff, and his eyes shifted to the side in a slightly awkward manner.

"Oh, yes, yes...it was my negligence." He said in a slightly panicked voice, his voice a little fast.

Then, as if to ease the awkwardness, he deliberately invited us in a cheerful tone: "That's great! Do you want to come to my laboratory? I just received a 'water demon' - Grindylow, it's very interesting!"

"Water demon?"

"Never heard of it?" Professor Lupin's tone was a little inducing, "You will like it, come with me!"

We happily agreed and followed Professor Lupin to his laboratory. Although the room was a little messy, every corner exuded a mysterious attraction.

The desk was relatively tidy, but there were some skeletons of magical creatures that had never been seen before hanging from the ceiling, and the shelves along the wall were filled with strange and bizarre magic props.

In the corner of the room, a huge water tank was shining with a faint green light. Looking closely, it was the water demon mentioned by Professor Lupin - Grindylow. They were more ferocious than the textbook illustrations, with long sharp and thin claws, smooth green skin covered with fine scales, with a chilling mysterious beauty.

It is a rare opportunity to observe the "water demon" Grindylow so closely. They usually live only in lakes of a certain size and depth. I couldn't help but get close to the water tank and observe the scene carefully. A "water demon" actually stretched out its hand and stuck it to the water tank as if it wanted to overlap its palm with mine, staring at me intently. It also tilted its head, looking very curious. It seems that this Grindylow is a relatively intelligent individual among its kind.

It is said that some of the Malpe people in the lake can tame Grindylow. Perhaps this group of "water demons" was borrowed from the water people in Hogwarts Lake. In this way, it is not surprising that they have a certain degree of wisdom. Some excellent magicians can even speak the language of the Malpe people - Mal language, and communicate with them. If Professor Lupin also speaks Mal language, I will not be surprised at all.

"This is Grindylow." Professor Lupin put down the pile of information in his hand, walked over to us, and looked at Harry and me who were staring at the sink in a daze.

"They're not that hard to deal with. After all, you've learned how to deal with Kappa, right?" he said, pointing to the water demon's slender fingers. "The trick is to get rid of it when it wraps those fingers around you. While their grip is very strong, their fingers are surprisingly fragile. That's the key to cracking it."

Professor Lupin tapped the sink with his finger. The Grindylows responded immediately: some bared their green fangs in protest, while others quickly hid behind the water plants in the corner of the sink.

"Would you like a cup of tea? I was just about to take a break and I happened to meet you. If you don't mind, come and have a drink with me." Professor Lupin tapped the teapot with his wand, and soon steaming hot water came out. He waved his wand again, and the whole set of tea set floated in front of us.

Seeing that he was ready, Harry and I looked at each other and finally answered in unison: "Then we won't be polite."

"That's right. Just find a place to sit... um, wait a moment, I'll clean up the sofa." He used his wand to casually clear away the debris piled around the sofa, and then began to prepare tea as if nothing had happened.

"It's a pity that there are no snacks. I'm so sorry. But I guess you're already very full?" he said with a playful wink.

His words made us all freeze for a moment - Professor Lupin obviously knew that we had just attended a tea party with Draco and Theodore.

"Professor, do you know we..." I asked tentatively.

"You have a close relationship with the two gentlemen from Slytherin? Or are you referring to today's tea party?" Professor Lupin answered with a smile, his tone full of teasing.

"It's about the tea party. We have a good relationship with Draco and Theodore, and many people know about it," Harry added.

"It's very simple, actually," Professor Lupin explained. "I happened to see those two guys applying to Professor Snape for the use of an empty classroom. Besides, it's really rare for Gryffindor and Slytherin to have such a deep friendship. We teachers are all supporting your friendship privately. I believe this will be a lifelong bond... cherish it."

Professor Lupin winked as he spoke. The scars on his face did not seem glaring at all at that moment, but made him look particularly handsome.

I couldn't help but smile, and so did Harry. We smiled at each other and felt extremely warm.

——We didn't notice that Professor Lupin's eyes were slightly red. He seemed to be pleased with us.