"Then from another perspective, looking at Remus Lupin himself—though everyone's attitude toward him now is a bit too enthusiastic and he's not used to being treated this way—his clothing, whether shirts, trousers, or robes, are all patched up and obviously quite old and worn."
"Moreover, Remus Lupin is far too thin. His skin is aging and developing wrinkles at a rate far exceeding that of normal people. His hair is dry and beginning to turn white, his eyes have obvious bloodshot veins, his face is haggard and pale, and the functions of his internal organs are operating rather chaotically."
"But I can roughly judge his age to be between thirty and thirty-five, and the above symptoms appearing in an adult man in his prime years are obviously abnormal—those are signs of malnutrition."
"In summary, Remus Lupin's quality of life in the past may not have been very good, and perhaps due to some reason—such as his identity or status—he wasn't well-regarded by others."
"Your promotion of his teaching quality and his initial protective actions toward students has undoubtedly raised others' evaluation of him by more than just a little. He's gained praise and recognition from outsiders, and his identity and status have also received a boost in his own 'self-recognition.'"
"Although Remus Lupin has already been hired by Dumbledore as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a person's sudden rise in identity and status cannot be quickly and naturally adapted to. So your actions are undoubtedly helping him in a roundabout way."
Glenn nodded, then spoke this long string of observations and conclusions he'd gathered clearly and articulately, leaving Hermione stunned.
"Is... is that so?"
Though she felt something seemed a bit off, Hermione felt like she was almost being convinced by Glenn.
Emmmm...
Forget it. She'd stop thinking about it—Glenn doing this must have his reasons.
"But Glenn, you really are amazing. Sometimes you won't say a single word, and other times you speak in long strings like this, and your words are much sharper than other young witches and wizards."
"And I feel like you're talking much more than before."
Hermione was genuinely amazed by this. Perhaps in front of others, Glenn didn't talk much—though she used to think this too—like a stuffy gourd, but sometimes when Glenn started analyzing certain things, the words from his mouth just wouldn't stop.
It felt like he was saving up all the words he didn't say normally and releasing them all at once.
"...Because not every matter I think requires opening my mouth to speak. Some unimportant things I don't plan to bother with...?"
Glenn thought for a long time, then came up with this... conclusion.
Even phrased as a question.
"Huh?"
Hermione tilted her head, her expression becoming speechless.
Glenn looked up, his expression becoming puzzled.
...Actually, he wasn't too clear about this behavior of his either. This didn't seem like something that could be easily explained by "thinking it needs speaking up..."
He really did seem to talk much more than before.
"You really are willful... but this also shows you're growing up, I suppose."
Hermione complained quietly, settling on this conclusion for the matter.
It was already evening now, dinner time had passed, and the two of them, enjoying a rare moment of leisure, were strolling casually through the castle when they happened to encounter that scene of Professor Lupin being surrounded by young witches and wizards in the Great Hall.
However, this could obviously only serve as after-dinner conversation for the two. The girl had originally intended to just chat casually, to express the slight guilt in her heart for scheming against a professor, and also to relieve her restless curiosity and slight nervousness. She hadn't expected Glenn to be able to observe and analyze so many things.
As Glenn and Hermione walked along, gradually moving away from the Great Hall's commotion, the two returned to a scene of being alone together.
So Hermione's heart, which had just had its attention diverted, began to feel restless and uneasy again.
Lowering her head slightly, she stole a glance at Glenn and found that this guy was still the same as usual—you couldn't read anything from his face.
Didn't Glenn have any nervousness at all about sharing his deepest secret with someone else?
The girl secretly felt annoyed, though she didn't know if it was because of her own strange reaction or because Glenn had no reaction at all.
Being able to hear Glenn talk about something she was very curious about was one thing, but more importantly, the two of them were going to share a bed in the Room of Requirement tonight!
Well, though this wasn't the first time, it was the first time since they'd established their relationship as a couple!
Hermione, after forming a romantic relationship with Glenn, had instead become someone who would be more sensitive and shy about such matters.
All those improper knowledge her mischievous friends had shared with her suddenly appeared in Hermione's mind all at once, making Hermione wish she could directly cast a Memory Charm on herself to achieve inner peace.
Just... just that thing about sharing a bed...
It sounded so exciting... no, so embarrassing!
Placing her hand gently on her face, the girl felt her face was already starting to heat up.
She couldn't think about it anymore!
Shoo it away, shoo it away!
Glenn beside Hermione watched in bewilderment as Hermione suddenly began using both hands to wave away things that didn't exist in the air above her head. Only at this moment was he unable to quite figure out what Hermione was thinking about.
"You..."
After staring at Hermione for a while like this, Glenn parted his lips slightly and slowly uttered one syllable.
But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Hermione's extremely loud protest.
"I'm not!"
Glenn: ?
I haven't said anything yet?
Well then.
So Glenn stopped talking again and continued walking alongside Hermione.
But gradually, Hermione—who normally wouldn't feel any awkwardness even when just silently accompanying Glenn—now found herself feeling itchy inside because of Glenn's unspoken words.
After realizing this, she suddenly really wanted to know what Glenn had wanted to ask her!
Her heart itched, feeling like ants were crawling on it.
Hermione struggled for a long time between asking and not asking. Finally, her naturally strong curiosity overcame the embarrassment of stopping someone from speaking and then turning around to inquire. The girl spoke up.
"...Glenn, what did you want to ask me just now?"
Hermione seemed somewhat cautious, but Glenn didn't think this was anything significant.
Because his earlier question really wasn't much of anything—just his own random association.
"You can see Wrackspurts now, can't you?"
Hermione was silent for half a second.
"Huh?"
"Otherwise, you had no reason to make such strange gestures."
"...Fine, I was overthinking it."
For some reason, Hermione suddenly regained her composure, then reached out to grab Glenn's hand, saying in a tone that brooked no refusal:
"Come on, follow me inside."
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