What was going on today? Either the people coming in were discussing werewolves, or a werewolf showed up directly...
Yes, that's right.
Remus Lupin was a werewolf. His pattern of taking leave was too obvious, disappearing every full moon, along with the distinct scars on his body. Lys had figured it out last term.
Lys stared intently at Remus Lupin.
And Remus Lupin, upon entering, didn't look at the books but instead fixed his gaze on Noah and the magical chains on his legs, his gaze openly inquisitive.
This instantly ignited a fire in Lys's heart, prompting her to step forward and block his view.
Lys, taller than Lupin by nearly a head, looked down at him and said:
"Move your gaze away."
It was a calm reminder, but Lupin heard it as a warning.
"I mean no harm, it's just..."
"There's no 'just,' don't stare at my dad." Lys's tone had already mixed in a hint of rudeness.
Lupin, interrupted, wasn't in a hurry and merely smiled amicably, looking towards the bookshelf filled with books on magical creatures. "The books here are so novel, are they published overseas? I've hardly seen any of them."
The image Lupin portrayed to the outside world was always gentle and patient.
However, from Lys's impressions of the Marauders over the past few years, she disliked Lupin even more, because he knew what would hurt others, yet still followed those three, causing disruptions in others' lives and studies.
Lys squeezed her wand, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see if Noah had noticed this.
She lowered her voice threateningly, "Don't pry into others' secrets. If you do, you'd better be able to keep your own secret from everyone."
Seeing Lupin's face turn pale instantly, Lys gestured towards the door in a 'please' manner.
"Lys, is that your classmate? It's not busy right now, I can manage on my own. You can go out and have fun, buy some things with your friend. The new term is starting soon, isn't it?" Noah, catching a glimpse of who Lys was talking to, pointed outside, mistakenly thinking they were planning to go out and play.
Lys was about to say she didn't want to go out when she saw her mother glance at her from behind the counter. She immediately changed her tune, "Okay, Dad, I'll be back soon."
"Oh, it's rare for Lys to have a classmate come to play. This child, because of us, only got to interact with outsiders after starting school. Her personality might be a bit odd. I was worried she wouldn't make friends, but seeing you puts my mind at ease. Go on, kids, have fun!" Noah smiled and sighed.
Lupin felt there was something... a bit strange about these words.
So Lys had to put down her notes and research, put on her coat, and head out the door. As she stood at the door with Lupin, she shot a sharp look at the person who had disrupted her peaceful time with her parents.
But since she was already out, she naturally couldn't go back now, and her dad was watching her from the window.
At least for now, she couldn't separate from Lupin...
"Where are you going now?" Lys asked. She decided to part ways with this secret-prying fool as soon as she was out of her dad's sight. Her time should be cherished, not wasted.
Lupin, realizing the situation caused by this misunderstanding, didn't know what to do, so he could only answer honestly, "I'm heading to the Quidditch shop to meet up with James and the others."
Lys gestured for Lupin to hurry up; her dad's gaze was almost glued to him.
She didn't believe that with Lupin's obvious scars, her dad wouldn't notice, or her mom wouldn't? But as long as her dad was happy, she didn't mind.
Upon hearing this, Lupin had no choice but to lead the way, and Lys now looked quite intimidating.
Her height made her stand out among the young wizards in Diagon Alley. Although she wasn't carrying the snake this time, her habit of slightly leaning forward made her look very aggressive.
Her decisive strides caused her knee-length coat to billow slightly, the hem fluttering with a strong presence, and her habit of keeping her wand in hand and frowning as she observed made her seem very tense.
"This is Diagon Alley, not Knockturn Alley. Maybe you can relax a bit." Lupin felt a bit uneasy. Anyone standing on a bustling street next to someone exuding coldness and impatience would likely feel the same.
But Lys had no intention of responding to him. She was pondering what she could do next, perhaps visit the materials shop in Knockturn Alley and Borgin and Burkes.
She glanced at Lupin again.
Standing at the entrance of the Quidditch shop, Lys checked the time on her pocket watch and reminded Lupin, who was so nervous he almost walked awkwardly:
"Next time, stay away from me and my family's shop. You know why, and you should guess what I would do. You'd better know I'm very aware of your little secret."
Lys locked eyes with Lupin's somewhat evasive gaze for a moment before leaving.
Lupin stood silently at the entrance of the bustling Quidditch shop for a while.
For some reason, he felt a bit uneasy until his friends James and Sirius arrived.
"Wow, Moony, is it true what you said? You're a prefect now?! That's amazing. The last prefect was such a nag," Potter put an arm around Lupin's shoulder. "My good friend, you won't report me to the professors and dock my points, right~" He winked at Sirius.
Though he hesitated for a moment, Lupin smiled at Sirius and Potter, his good friends, the only warmth left after his father's passing. Though he didn't speak, he thought to himself:
Of course.
"Hey, Prongs, look, who's that!" Potter, hearing Sirius call his nickname, followed his pointed direction with his gaze.
Isn't that greasy Snivelly? "Come on, let's follow him."
The three followed Snape to a shop called the Starry Sea Reading Room. Sirius and Potter were about to step in but noticed Lupin covering his face and not entering.
"What's wrong?" Potter asked, puzzled.
"This is the shop owned by Stalys Black's parents. There was a misunderstanding earlier, and they thought I was Stalys's friend and let her go out with me..."
"Hahaha, is Loony's dad and mom out of their minds? Gryffindor and Slytherin? Impossible, absolutely impossible. They don't deserve it!"
Lupin didn't know how to explain that he had other reasons for not wanting to go in, but his two friends were insistent, so he had to follow them inside.
Fortunately, when they entered, Lys's parents were busy with their own matters and didn't notice the young men at the door.
Sirius jingled coins into the machine according to their number, first scanning the books, "Oh, rare editions, foreign books, and out-of-print ones."
Then Potter saw some books related to the origins of Quidditch and casually flipped through them.
However, this book might have been too old, as the games and rules described were vastly different from current matches. There were no pictures or photos, only text, and one was even in a foreign language, which quickly lost Potter's interest.
He found himself more interested in Snivelly now.
At the end of last term, he discovered that this damn pest lived not far from Lily's house, a fact he couldn't accept.
No wonder Lily always refused his invitations to visit his home.
Snivelly must have been meddling! Maybe he wouldn't have to wait for the new term to give this annoying pest a lesson.
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