After taking on the task of helping Hagrid, Link hurried to escort Harry and the other two back to Hogwarts before nightfall.
As for Hagrid himself, he was still in the cabin drinking and lying like a corpse.
Ron had originally wanted to continue staying in the cabin to comfort Hagrid, but was forcibly dragged away by Link.
Hagrid had suffered great emotional trauma that day, far from something that could be solved with a few comforting words.
Link thought it would be better to let him be alone and quiet for a while.
And after dealing with Harry's trio, Link immediately went to find Emily, asking about Draco's situation.
"The person who accompanied him to the infirmary said it was just some flesh wounds, and he'll recover after a couple of days of rest."
"However, he did express the intention to make Hagrid and Harry pay the price. I guess he'll pretend to be ill for a while to put some pressure on the school."
After hearing Link's account, Emily hesitantly said, "How about this, I'll go knock some sense into him later and make him give up those messy thoughts."
"No! You mustn't interfere in this matter. Just handle the usual visits and greetings. I'll take care of the rest."
Link said hurriedly.
Helping Hagrid was one thing, but he didn't want to make things difficult for Emily.
Think about it carefully and it's clear.
Emily, as a dominant figure in Slytherin House, if her own housemate was injured and not only did she not visit or help, but even warned that person not to retaliate?
What would others think?
Emily naturally understood this as well. She smiled sweetly and leaned a bit closer to Link. And at her feet, Arkam was treating his tail as a dog toy, teasing Skar and making it pounce and bite repeatedly.
Skar really deserved to be called a dumb dog, Arkam, as a thousand-year-old basilisk, carried an aura of superiority. Ordinary animals would run away at the sight of it.
But Skar played happily with Arkam and wasn't even afraid that Arkam might bite it and send it off for good.
Under the night sky, Emily and Link just sat together like this, silently watching the interaction between Arkam and Skar. Neither of them intended to speak.
But strangely, not only was there no trace of awkwardness between them, instead, they felt an immense sense of peace and happiness.
Sometimes, emotions are just that simple.
As long as you're there, that's enough.
———
At noon a week later, Link was eating lunch with John and Cedric as usual, surrounded by noise.
Especially at the Slytherin long table, where Draco was boasting about how he, under the name of Professor Snape, was ordering Harry and Ron to do this and that.
His storytelling skills were clearly better than Ron's, so the surrounding Slytherins frequently burst into thunderous laughter.
Spearing a piece of salt-and-pepper potato into his mouth, Link shook his head in disdain.
What Emily had guessed had really happened.
Draco, this guy, had started his acting career.
With bandages hanging from his arm, he was going around claiming that he was injured by Hagrid's stupid animals.
He used being a patient as an excuse every day to order Harry and Ron around to do this and that, making the two of them suffer bitterly.
This made Link seriously suspect that during the holidays, someone had cast an Obliviate spell on Draco, making him forget the trauma of being beaten last term, turning him into such a show-off.
But suspicion was one thing, Link didn't go looking for trouble with Draco.
After all, Link had only agreed to help Hagrid deal with the trouble from higher authorities. He never said he'd also resolve the emotional entanglements between Harry and Draco.
After happily watching Draco perform for a while, Link finally led John toward the moving staircases.
Soon, they would attend their first Defence Against the Dark Arts class of the term.
Although there was still some time before class started, along the way they encountered many Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students who were also going to class.
They all had one thing in common, and that was great excitement.
This was to be expected.
Because Professor Lupin had taught the other year groups last week already, and according to rumors, the effect was excellent, everyone who attended said it was great.
"Link, do you think Professor Lupin will teach us the same class he taught the other years?"
On the way, after hearing the other students' descriptions, John asked excitedly.
"Most likely he will," Link raised an eyebrow and analyzed.
"After all, the previous two Defence Against the Dark Arts professors were just too terrible, which caused the students to naturally have prejudice against him as a new professor, and also reduced their desire to learn."
"If he wants to break that pattern, he needs a unique and special opening class to change his image and the reputation of Defence Against the Dark Arts in the students' minds."
"And as of now, his first class was very successful. So it's highly probable that he'll replicate this model to expand his influence."
Perhaps not expecting Link to explain so much, John stood stunned in place for a while before showing a delighted expression.
Because although Link's explanation sounded profound and hard to grasp, it overall made a lot of sense.
This meant he might actually get to experience the mysterious and highly praised class that others had talked about.
The surrounding students walking along also heard Link's analysis of today's class, and all showed joyful expressions as they eagerly headed toward the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
By the time Link and his group arrived, the classroom was already crowded with people. Today, the classroom was different from before.
All the desks and chairs had been stacked against the walls, leaving a large empty space in the middle of the room.
And in the center of this empty space stood an old wooden wardrobe, the kind past professors used to store their clothes.
Professor Lupin was standing beside the wardrobe, chatting and laughing warmly with the enthusiastic students.
Link and the others' arrival naturally caught Lupin's attention. He first winked at Link, then looked at the standing clock in the corner, and waved his hand to call out,
"All right, students. Although class hasn't officially started yet, since everyone's already here, I'll go ahead and take up a bit of your time to explain a few things."
Once Lupin said this, the previously lively classroom fell silent. Everyone, full of anticipation, quietly looked at Lupin, waiting for his next words.
Seeing this, the smile on Lupin's face grew even brighter.
He bowed to everyone before continuing, "First, let me introduce myself. I am Remus John Lupin, your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
"Secondly, I want to thank you all for your support. I'm truly flattered that everyone arrived so early."
"I think in all of Hogwarts, aside from our respected Professor McGonagall, the only other professor who could get students to arrive ten minutes early might be that one professor who doesn't much like washing his hair."
The students immediately burst into laughter.
Everyone clearly knew who that unkempt professor was.
Lupin continued, "Now, let's get to business. Originally, I planned to help you quickly catch up on the syllabus, since you'll be facing your O.W.L. exams next year, and your last two Defence Against the Dark Arts professors obviously didn't care much about your grades."
"But considering this is our first class of the term, and after consulting a few students, I've decided, to introduce to you a creature called a Boggart!"
As Lupin finished speaking, he sharply pointed his wand at the old wardrobe. Instantly, a series of banging noises came from inside it.
It was as if something inside was struggling and trying to break out.
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