In the early morning, the summer breeze swept through the dense trees. It gently caressed the tranquil lake through the swirling mist, carrying the damp air across the green grass.
"Cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..."
Remus Lupin coughed violently a few times. He woke up to a clear sky, which made him subconsciously sigh in profound relief.
Last night there seemed to have been quite a commotion... he had been a little careless. He took a deep, shuddering breath and then shook his head to clear the lingering fog of the wolf's mind.
Soon he would have to pack his bags and move again... As he thought this, Lupin slowly sat up. Then, he unexpectedly found a thick, neatly transfigured blanket securely wrapped around him.
He was startled at first, then immediately realized something and looked around in a panic.
There seemed to be no one else by the tranquil lake. But if one looked closely, they would find a petite figure sitting quietly by the water's edge, her bare feet dangling in the shallows.
That was Lyla Hamilton.
Lupin's expression suddenly became incredibly complicated. This was the person he least wanted to be seen by in the entire world. But sometimes fate conspired against you, and the more a person feared something, the more inevitable it became—even for a werewolf.
It seemed Lyla had finally discovered his terrifying secret... which meant his inexplicable sense of responsibility for her would also have to disappear.
He had been genuinely happy this past month... it felt as if he had returned to Hogwarts and met a wonderful new friend, or as if he had traveled to the future and his child was about to attend school.
His feelings towards Lyla were very complex. At first, he thought it was pure Ministry responsibility. Then, he realized he was treating Lyla as one of his own kind, projecting his own werewolf outcast status onto her Half-Veela status.
Now, it seemed all of these were present, mixed with a bitter, aching longing for connection.
Lyla Hamilton was an exceptionally talented witch. If he could be like her... would those tragedies have not happened?
Sirius wouldn't have betrayed them. Peter, James, and Lily wouldn't have died... he could still have a group of loyal friends to confide in, just like back then.
Instead of hiding in the shadows like a rat...
'Peter Pettigrew was the one who was more like a rat, wasn't he?' Lupin subconsciously chuckled at the dark irony.
But all of this was coming to an end. Having his monstrous identity exposed, he certainly couldn't stay by Lyla's side anymore. He would embark on a lonely journey again... only to return when Dumbledore needed him.
Lupin took a deep breath, revealing a helpless, bitter smile. But what could he do? It didn't matter whether Lyla was afraid of him or disgusted by him.
He had seen enough of those hateful looks in his life, hadn't he?
So, pulling the blanket tightly around his shoulders, he slowly got up and walked over to Lyla's side.
"Eeek?!"
Lyla was severely startled by Lupin suddenly sitting next to her and let out a sharp gasp.
Sometimes Lupin felt that Lyla was exactly like a timid squirrel, always jumping at shadows. But it only made her seem more endearing.
"Mr. Lupin... you're awake?" Lyla's timid voice came. She pulled her hood tighter over her silver hair, seemingly terrified to look at him.
It made perfect sense to him. After all, he was a werewolf... he must have terrified her last night, right?
"I'm sorry, Lyla," Lupin said softly after some thought. "You weren't hurt last night, were you?"
"No... no," Lyla said softly. Her feet gently kicked a few times, splashing the cool lake water.
"But Mr. Lupin... you..."
She seemed to want to say something, and Lupin already knew her question without even having to think about it. "Yes, I am a werewolf."
"When I was young... I was once..."
"Oh no, no, no..." Lyla quickly clasped her hands in front of her and violently shook her head. "I wasn't... trying to say that..."
"I wanted to ask... Mr. Lupin... were you hurt?"
Lupin paused, looking at Lyla with sheer astonishment.
But Lyla didn't seem to notice his shock. She just spoke to herself, her voice incredibly soft. "I used... a spell last night."
"Are you alright?"
"I..." Lupin paused, finding himself unexpectedly choked up. He had braced himself for her to be disgusted by the werewolf issue.
"I'm fine," Lupin said, firmly pursing his lips to hide his emotion. "Werewolves have incredibly strong recovery abilities..."
"Ah... that's... that's good..." Lyla nodded. Then she shrank her head into her shoulders and said nothing more.
Lupin looked at her and couldn't help but ask, "You... don't have any questions for me?"
"No... no," Lyla paused and asked timidly, "Should I... have some?"
'Of course... I am a werewolf... a feral beast who attacked you last night, and almost ate you...' Lupin took a deep breath and said, "Aren't you curious about me being a werewolf?"
"Ah... I think everyone has their secrets," Lyla pursed her lips and then added, "I thought you might... not want to talk about it."
"So please just pretend I didn't see it... I... I won't tell anyone either." Lyla's voice grew softer and softer. "Of course, I don't... mean anything else... I just think... this might be very private."
Her stammering, socially anxious answer made Lupin smile genuinely.
Lyla seemed entirely unchanged from before. Even though his darkest identity had been exposed, he couldn't help but feel a different emotion than when he had first faced James and Sirius with the truth.
Back then, his friends had gone so far as to change themselves into Animagi for him... which moved him greatly. But Lyla? She wouldn't change anything because of him. She was just... exactly the same as before.
Perhaps this was actually quite comfortable... wasn't it?
Lupin exhaled lightly, then said, "Lyla, when I was young, my father offended the werewolf Fenrir Greyback... so one night, he broke into our house and bit me."
"Since then, I became a werewolf," Lupin said, shrugging with forced casualness. "Lycanthropy cannot be cured... so... I can only live like this. Thankfully, Headmaster Dumbledore..."
Lupin noticed that when Lyla heard Dumbledore's name, her feet, which had been gently kicking the water, suddenly stopped dead.
As a former acolyte of Grindelwald who believed Dumbledore was using her as a pawn, Lyla was absolutely terrified of the Headmaster.
"Thankfully, Headmaster Dumbledore accepted me into Hogwarts and offered me help."
"This is my story."
"..."
Then came a very long silence. Lyla seemed to be completely silent for a long time before suddenly asking softly, "Mr. Lupin... why... are you telling me all this?"
"I thought you would want to know," Lupin said slowly. "After all, I am a werewolf."
"It's nothing!" Lyla suddenly turned her head excitedly.
For the very first time today, Lupin was able to clearly see Lyla's eyes beneath her hood. Her striking blue eyes were surprisingly devoid of timidity or evasion; instead, they were exceptionally serious.
"I mean... Mr. Lupin being a werewolf... it's absolutely nothing." But that flash of bravery seemed to be just an illusion. The very next second, she immediately lowered her head and whispered, "And I'm a Half-Veela. Mr. Lupin doesn't think there's anything wrong with that, does he?"
"No..." Lupin pursed his lips and shook his head bitterly. "Lyla, werewolves and Veela are not the same."
"Werewolves are dark, dangerous creatures... and Veela..."
"Veela are treated the exact same at Durmstrang too..." Lyla's voice came out, almost the quietest Lupin had ever heard her speak. It was even quieter than when she faced an owl.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Lupin instinctively wanted to apologize; he seemed to have brutally reminded Lyla of some terrible memories from her school days.
"No... Mr. Lupin," Lyla interrupted Lupin for the first time. She said softly, "I never thought Mr. Lupin would discriminate against me because I am a Veela half-blood."
"And I won't have any other opinion just because Mr. Lupin is a werewolf."
"Because we are friends." Lyla's voice was incredibly, undeniably firm.
Lupin smiled. This was the second time in his entire life he had smiled so genuinely and happily. He shook his head, still smiling, and then said, "Lyla, that sentence makes one feel far safer than the Fidelius Charm ever could."
He suddenly understood Dumbledore's previous cryptic words... Lyla was a person who appeared incredibly timid, but was actually unexpectedly strong.
Being friends with a werewolf... Yes, they were true friends.
Lupin sometimes felt he was an incredibly unfortunate person; he became a werewolf solely due to the hatred of his father's generation. But sometimes, he also felt he was the luckiest person in the world. Because although his friends were few, each one of them was remarkably precious.