The creation of the communication wristband indeed took Lyla quite a bit of effort. Engraving the core runes and auxiliary support spells for connection and transmission was a relatively time-consuming and laborious task.
These two Magic Arrays were far more complex than any other array Lyla had seen before. Even though she had done some simple practice, she still had to restart many times during the physical engraving process.
Fortunately, she still had plenty of Acromantula blood left. Even if she made a mistake, she could easily dissolve the error and start over.
But the result was that it took much more time than she had imagined. As dusk approached, Lyla finally completed the connection array on one of the black leather wristbands.
"I'm... I'm sorry," she said to Luna with a bit of embarrassment. "I... wasted a lot of... time."
"It's fine, and this isn't a waste of time at all," Luna's voice sounded like she was singing a light, ethereal song. "I find it very interesting."
"When you're deep in thought, all those bothersome rays fly away."
'Is that... so...' Lyla still didn't know what bothersome rays were.
"Oh, right, Lyla, where did you learn about these new Ancient Runes? I remember you saying that Magic Array scholars only knew ten core runes?"
Meeting Luna's curious, silvery gaze, Lyla pursed her lips and carefully picked up the item on the table.
Tom Riddle's diary.
"Because of this," Lyla whispered. "I... suddenly found this thing... in my... book."
"This is a diary, isn't it?" Luna recognized it at a glance, but her expression was a bit surprised.
"Perhaps you should throw this away," she suddenly said.
"Huh?" Lyla looked at Luna in absolute astonishment, subconsciously clutching the diary tightly with both hands. "W-why?"
"It has a lot of Ancient Runes... and... Magic Arrays..." Lyla's voice grew softer as she spoke. "I want to... study it..."
"I feel it will attract bothersome rays," Luna said calmly. She reached out and picked up the butterbeer cork pendant hanging around Lyla's neck. "You must wear the necklace I gave you properly..."
"O-okay..." Lyla's pale cheeks flushed from Luna's sudden, somewhat intimate gesture.
The thought of telling Luna that the diary also contained a sentient memory was involuntarily put aside. Easily distracted by her academic research, Lyla felt that if she told Miss Lovegood about this... she might insist even more on throwing away the diary.
'Mr. Riddle is clearly a Magic Array genius... I can't throw this away!'
"Tap."
Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the wooden door of the room, making Lyla jump violently in her chair.
"Miss Hamilton, Miss Lovegood, perhaps you'd like something to eat?"
It was Remus Lupin outside the door!
Lyla let out a soft sigh of profound relief. She had subconsciously thought Dumbledore had come again.
"Thank... thank you... Mr. Lupin."
Looking at the middle-aged man who walked in carrying a tray of warm food, Lyla quickly thanked him.
"It's nothing," Lupin shrugged gently. His deep fatigue seemed to have eased somewhat; he was far less weary and haggard than when he had first returned a few days ago.
"How are your Magic Array tools coming along?" Lupin asked casually as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "How many days will it take this time?"
"Maybe... cough, cough, cough..." Lyla, who instinctively wanted to answer, choked hard on the food in her mouth.
Luna, sitting beside her, reached out and gently patted her back. The result was that Lyla coughed even more violently out of sheer panic.
"Speak slowly," Lupin couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. "I'm not going to run away."
"About... about... four or five days..." Lyla took a deep breath, composed herself, and then said, "That's still... assuming no mistakes."
"I see," Lupin seemed to count something on his fingers, then nodded thoughtfully.
"Is Mr. Lupin going out with someone?" Luna suddenly asked.
"No," Lupin paused for a moment, looking startled. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I see Mr. Lupin always seems to be counting dates," Luna tilted her head slightly. "Only people who are going out do that."
Lupin gave a slightly awkward, strained smile. He shook his head and said, "Just keeping track of some other things."
'Miss Lovegood, please don't ask such private questions!' Lyla thought, her catastrophic overthinking flaring up. 'If Dumbledore is involved, he might use a Memory Charm on us!'
Although Lyla was also quite curious about what Lupin was always calculating, the thought that it might be related to Dumbledore made her not want to ask at all.
It felt a bit unlucky to pry.
"I see..." Luna didn't seem to have any intention of pressing for more. After getting her answer, she nodded gently and then jumped off the chair. "It seems quite late. Dad made pudding tonight, so I have to go."
Abruptly, Luna waved goodbye to the two. She had always been a somewhat strange, whimsical girl.
"Ah... goodbye," Lupin nodded awkwardly, while Lyla hadn't even had time to properly say her farewells.
Watching Luna leave, Lyla began to severely overthink, wondering if she had done something wrong to anger her. If anyone had angered her, it would be Mr. Lupin... but prying into others' privacy didn't seem like a good thing anyway.
"Oh, right, Miss Hamilton," Lupin seemed to have thought of something and coughed, asking gently, "Regarding classes... how are you preparing?"
School was starting in less than a month. Looking at the girl in front of him, who still dared not lift her head and seemed utterly terrified, Lupin felt that this didn't seem to be going too well.
"Ah... classes..." Lyla clutched her ebony wand and remained completely silent for a long time, not knowing how to answer.
'Should I tell Mr. Lupin that I've been actively avoiding reality and don't dare to think about it at all?'
"If Miss Hamilton is truly unwilling... I will go tell Headmaster Dumbledore," Lupin sighed, looking at the deeply troubled Lyla. "Headmaster Dumbledore should be able to understand..."
"No, no, no... no need!" Lyla quickly shook her head in sheer panic. "I can do it... I can do it... I can do it!"
'Why did I repeat it three times...' Lyla flushed.
Lupin couldn't help but laugh wryly, looking at Lyla, who seemed to be bracing herself for execution. Going to Hogwarts to act as the joint Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was being treated as if she were going straight to Azkaban.
Lyla, somehow knowing Lupin's exact thoughts, really wanted to scream that it was exactly like going to Azkaban!
In fact, it was even worse than going to Azkaban. After all, Azkaban didn't have Albus Dumbledore waiting in the Headmaster's office.
"Well, if you insist," Lupin said, slowly standing up. "It's best to make more preparations."
"For example..." Lupin thought for a moment and said, "Wear a mask?"
"Wear a mask?" Lyla was stunned.
"I'm sorry, is that a bit impolite to say?" Lupin realized something and quickly explained, "I mean... if you're afraid to make eye contact with others, then wear a mask, exactly like you did when you worked with the Ministry of Magic a few days ago."
"Ah... no, no," Lyla vigorously waved her hand. "I also think... Mr. Lupin's suggestion is very good..."
Wearing a mask indeed seemed like a brilliant idea. She would rather hide in a corner doing complex array math than make eye contact with a stranger. It could also prevent Miss Lovegood from recognizing her alias at school.
Of course, Lyla pessimistically felt that Miss Lovegood would definitely recognize her anyway. She was a very perceptive person.
'If Dumbledore had invited me not to be a Professor, but some kind of administrator, or to clean, that would be great...' Lyla preferred doing literal manual labor over interacting with dozens of people as a professor.
'Hagrid must be an administrator, right?'
Lyla suddenly speculated wildly. After all, if any little wizards were disobedient, they wouldn't have to be sent to the detention room the Durmstrang way; Hagrid could just eat them.
'It's just that their parents might come looking for trouble... But Hagrid probably isn't afraid of them either... I feel like he could easily crush a dozen people like me.'
Hmm. Lyla, strictly speaking, was physically an 18-year-old adult, but she certainly didn't feel like one right now.
Watching Lyla fall into a deep, panicked thought spiral again, Lupin took a deep breath and nodded. His thoughts suddenly returned to a conversation he'd had a few days ago.
...
"Remus... how is Miss Hamilton doing recently?"
Looking at the old man in front of him, Lupin nodded respectfully. "Miss Hamilton's research is very successful."
"She seems to be on the verge of completing a new Magic Array tool."
"Ah... she was also one of the brightest in our era," Dumbledore nodded gently, an unreadable look in his eyes. "What about other aspects?"
"Other aspects?" Lupin was stunned.
"Hmm," Dumbledore pondered for a few seconds and then elaborated, "For example... is there anything strange about her?"
Anything strange? If Lupin were to be honest, there was almost nothing not strange about Miss Hamilton... neither her appearance nor her severely anxious personality. But Dumbledore was probably not asking about that; he might be subtly asking if Miss Hamilton was suspicious or dangerous.
Lupin shook his head firmly. "No."
"She looks no different from an eighteen-year-old girl, perhaps even... a little younger?" Lupin carefully chose his words. "Sixteen?"
Dumbledore chuckled upon hearing Lupin's answer. He shook his head and picked up the bowl of Fizzing Whizbees in front of him. "Miss Hamilton looks incredibly delicate, but she is surprisingly strong."
"The exact opposite of Fizzing Whizbees... they look like they should be hard, but they're actually quite sticky to chew."
"I haven't had Fizzing Whizbees in a long time," Lupin said, pursing his lips. He didn't quite understand Dumbledore's cryptic meaning.
"Ah, yes, Remus," Dumbledore paused, holding out the candy. "Would you like some?"
"I'll pass, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Seeing Lupin refuse, Dumbledore didn't say much more, but abruptly changed the subject. "I hear you've become genuine friends with Miss Hamilton, right?"
"Hmm," Lupin nodded hesitantly, unsure of where this was going.
"That's good," Dumbledore nodded gently. "You both carry the same burden; becoming friends is a good thing for both of you."
His wise eyes blinked behind his half-moon spectacles, and then he said no more.
...
Looking at Dumbledore in his memories, who was focused on savoring the honey candy, Lupin gave a somewhat bitter smile in the present.
Friends?
Lupin projected his own werewolf outcast status entirely onto her half-Veela status. But if Miss Hamilton knew his terrifying secret... that he was a monster... would any of this friendship still exist?
With that depressing thought, Lupin looked at Miss Hamilton, who was lost in thought about masks, and gently shook his head.
He simply didn't have the courage to know the answer.