Chapter 250. The Passing Auror
Night was slowly falling, and the students in the Three Broomsticks drifted away.
Adrian Wesson had lost count of how many mugs of Butterbeer he'd had.
Tonks was an exceedingly lively girl—or so he thought.
In just one afternoon, they had almost become friends.
From Lupin's own account, Adrian learned how the two of them had met on the night of the full moon.
To be honest, the pair did seem to share a twist of fate.
He had always assumed Lupin would stay put in the Shrieking Shack during the full moon; he had not expected him to wander into the Forbidden Forest.
"Tonks, half an hour until the shift change."
All of a sudden, a voice cut into their conversation.
Adrian looked over. It was a middle-aged man with thinning hair and a deep weariness buried in his eyes.
"Oh—right, Mr Jamison," Tonks answered obediently. "Fancy a Butterbeer?"
Jamison slid into the seat beside Tonks and nodded to Adrian and Lupin. "Sean Jamison, Ministry of Magic. Good afternoon, Professors. I hope Tonks hasn't been too much trouble—she's still learning."
Adrian noticed that although Jamison looked listless, his eyes kept quietly sweeping the room.
Clearly, this was a seasoned Auror.
Jamison didn't sit long. After finishing a single Butterbeer, he left the pub at once.
"Jamison still has a child to look after," Tonks lowered her voice without thinking. "He's raising his daughter alone. Our boss even told him to take a proper rest over the Christmas holidays for that reason."
Adrian didn't ask why; it wasn't the sort of thing fit for casual talk.
"Anyway, once we're through this stretch it'll ease up," Tonks stood and stretched. "After Christmas, those Dementors will be back."
"After Christmas?" Adrian couldn't help repeating.
"Oh, Professor Dumbledore didn't tell you?" Tonks blinked. "I thought you all knew."
"Well, we do now."
Adrian nodded.
He hadn't expected those Dementors to recover so quickly.
He only hoped that after this lesson they'd behave themselves.
After all, when those Dementors gathered, it had most likely not been on the Ministry's orders but of their own accord.
"How awful," Tonks said helplessly. "I may have let slip something I shouldn't have… well, it should be fine. See you, I've got a shift."
She waved and dashed out of the pub, all hustle and bustle.
"What an interesting girl," Adrian looked at Lupin with meaning. "What do you think?"
"Ah—yes," Lupin agreed wholeheartedly.
Adrian smiled to himself.
Lupin didn't yet know that this young lady would one day be more closely tied to him.
Even if the story veered a little under Adrian's influence,
he still believed
that two people who suited each other would meet at the right time.
The Hogsmeade weekend came and went, and the Christmas holidays officially began.
Hogwarts was always very quiet at this time of year.
There weren't many staying for Christmas this year either; Harry, Ron and Hermione were among them.
Harry counted himself lucky to have two good friends. Otherwise, he would have had to spend this Christmas alone.
As for going home for Christmas?
He had never considered it—he couldn't wait to be away from the Dursleys, let alone go back of his own accord.
It was a pity that every Christmas Adrian went to America to visit his family; otherwise, Harry could have spent Christmas with his own professor—that would have been a pleasant option as well.
Harry and his two friends went to the Great Hall, which had already been decorated for Christmas; holly and mistletoe hung on the walls, and a dozen Christmas trees ringed the hall.
It was a bit deserted, but still full of Christmas cheer.
After enjoying the sumptuous breakfast prepared by the House-elves, they headed out to the courtyard.
Snow was falling thickly, which only added to the fun.
After casting a Warming Charm on his clothes and shoes, Harry jumped into a snowball fight with his friends.
At first they tacitly avoided using wands, but who knew who started it—an ordinary snowball fight slowly turned into a magical battle.
For a while, self-guided magical snowballs flew everywhere, and calls of the Shield Charm rang out one after another.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
One enormous snowball—blind as a bat—veered off the battlefield and traced a strange arc through the air, hitting squarely a figure walking along the cloister.
"!"
Harry and the other two stopped at once and hurried over to check.
It was a balding middle-aged man they didn't recognise, ordinary-looking, a piece of parchment still in his hand.
"Sir, are you all right?" Harry asked carefully.
The man brushed the snow from his coat unhurriedly and showed no sign of anger.
"It's all right, lad," he said calmly. "Be more careful next time."
With that, he turned and walked straight away.
"How odd," Ron muttered under his breath. "I've never seen him before."
"Probably someone from the Ministry," said Hermione. "Have you forgotten? Aurors from the Ministry are stationed at Hogwarts now."
"All right," Ron nodded. "Aurors don't look all that special."
Students at Hogwarts had all heard of Aurors, more or less.
Under normal circumstances, if a student wanted to become an Auror after graduating, they needed at least five N.E.W.T.s with a grade of Exceeds Expectations.
That wasn't something the average student could manage.
As the man left, Harry looked thoughtfully at his back.
A moment ago, he had had the odd feeling the man had been staring at him.
But he relaxed soon enough.
He was Harry Potter—the Boy Who Lived.
Most strangers who recognised him liked to stare.
Because of that little incident—and because the snow was coming down harder—the three lost the mood to keep playing and left the courtyard at once.
Back in the common room, Harry and Ron promptly sank into the comfortable sofas.
Hermione somehow produced a thick book and started to read.
"Oh, come on, it's the holidays," Ron said, pulling a face. "Put that down and join us."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't forget your Potions assignment. Professor Snape tore into you last time."
Yes—earlier they had failed to complete Snape's essay on the Wolfsbane Potion.
Or rather, failed to complete it properly.
Harry had finished his twelve-inch essay,
but as for the content…
one could hardly call it unrelated, but it was riddled with holes.
Ron's was much the same.
In fact, everyone but Hermione had been scolded by Snape.
"The Wolfsbane Potion… I still don't get it," Ron groaned, covering his eyes. "What are we learning that for?"
Harry shrugged.
Maybe Snape simply wanted to make things hard for them—that was just the way he was.
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