"It's a pity. If only we knew the principle behind it." Sitting in the Great Hall, Hermione shook her head in distress and said, "Professor Hamilton never speaks."
"She might be under some kind of minor curse?" Ron guessed while tearing into a chicken leg. "Like one of George and Fred's pranks."
"You mean the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor can't break a minor curse?" Hermione sometimes didn't know what to say to Ron; she genuinely wondered if his head was filled with nothing but food.
"It's better than having Lockhart all over your head," Ron suddenly laughed. "I saw you writing to him yesterday."
"Really?" Harry looked at Hermione with some surprise. "Did he reply to you?"
"I didn't write to Professor Lockhart," Hermione said, deeply displeased. "I wrote to Professor Hamilton."
"Didn't you see the note Professor Hamilton left us?" Hermione said helplessly. "I really want to know what the runic principles behind those headbands are, and about her mastery of non-verbal spells... but she strictly forbade us from going to her office."
"Did you go look for her anyway?" Harry asked after a moment's thought. He highly doubted Hermione would follow the rules when academic curiosity was involved.
"Of course I went," Hermione shook her head. "But the office door was locked tight."
"And the letter I got back..." she said with a slight frown. "I feel that it's not a reply written by Professor Hamilton at all. Those words... look more like they were written by a student."
Her words made Harry and Ron exchange a glance.
"I originally thought that Professor Hamilton, who never says a word, and Lockhart, who always has a silly grin, were two extremes," Ron muttered. "I didn't expect them to be so similar."
"Quite similar?"
"Hmm," Ron shrugged. "Percy said that Lockhart's way of punishing people with detention is to have students write replies to his fan mail."
"I'm somewhat glad that our Professor isn't him," Harry's reply only made Hermione's displeasure grow.
"Mr. Lockhart isn't like that..."
"Hagrid says he doesn't know anything about taming magical creatures," Ron continued. "I think he's just a big talker."
"Heh..." Hermione scoffed and said, "Hagrid is going to Hogsmeade this weekend to buy food for magical creatures. Why don't you go with him?"
"Why?" Ron was taken aback.
"That way you can stay away from Mr. Lockhart, whom you don't like, and I can stay away from you too."
Harry sighed helplessly as he watched his two friends start bickering again.
Not far from them, Luna, with her long, dirty blonde hair, was happily talking to the red-haired girl beside her.
"Lola... it's lively here, isn't it?"
"Ah... yes... yes..." Lyla carefully looked around and stammered, "So many... so many people..."
"I usually... don't come here... at this time of day..."
"So how are you going to eat lunch?" Luna asked curiously.
"I'll wait until everyone has... finished eating... before I come out..." Lyla's soft voice was barely audible compared to the red-haired boy's loud laughter at the next table over. "There will still be plenty left over then..."
"Is that so?" Luna tilted her head and thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "It's because the Professor is very busy, right?"
"Ah... more or less?" As soon as Lyla opened her mouth, Luna reached out and gently pinched the pointed ear hidden beneath her red hair.
Amidst a soft squeak, Luna blinked. "Didn't I tell you?"
"If you lie to me, I'll pinch your ear."
This rule had been established a month ago. With her sensitive ear pinched and her face flushed red, Lyla shrank back and whispered, "If you keep doing this... I... I won't accompany you next time..."
'That's right, I don't have any penchant for pretending to be a student... my only penchant is Magic Array Studies.'
If it weren't for Miss Lovegood lying in wait and tricking her into coming over with the excuse that "friends always eat together," she wouldn't have transfigured her hair red to pretend to be a student and sit here with Luna.
But looking at the incredibly lively students around her... 'Miss Lovegood really wasn't lying; friends do all come to eat together.'
'But shouldn't that boy at the next table with the same red hair as me be a better friend for her?'
'I am so scared that I can't even speak just by looking at all these people.'
"Don't worry, Lola," Luna's airy voice cut through her panic. "How about we eat outside next time?"
"Outside?"
"Hmm," Luna nodded. "I heard you can see the Giant Squid by the Black Lake."
"Some people say it's Salazar Slytherin in disguise," she said, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Every Christmas he turns back into his original form and takes a walk by the lake."
'This rumor seems much more plausible than the previous ones about the Ministry of Magic and Lord Grindelwald...'
'And eating by the lake is definitely much better than here... At least there are very few people there.'
'Miss Lovegood, you are so kind!'
Lyla looked at Luna gratefully and nodded.
"By the way, are you going to teach us again tomorrow?" Luna always changed the subject very quickly; she seemed to have immediately thought of something else.
"Ah... that's not exactly true..." Lyla wasn't sure if she was actually teaching the class anymore. Before it was Professor William's memory, and now it was Dumbledore's.
'Who will be next?'
'Anyway, it's definitely not going to be me, right?'
"I'm really looking forward to it," Luna said with a light laugh.
"I can tell you whose memory it is... yes... um!"
"Don't say it, Lola," Luna placed a finger in front of Lyla's lips. "I want a little surprise."
"I suspect it might be... the Headmaster of Durmstrang!"
'Definitely not... Every time I saw him, he criticized me...' Lyla thought of some deeply unpleasant memories and visibly shrank back.
But was it a pleasant surprise? Lyla felt that Dumbledore's memory would definitely surprise Luna.
"Could it be the Giant Squid that Slytherin transformed into?"
'Okay, probably not.'
Just as Lyla and Luna were chatting, a massive flock of mail owls flew in through the high windows. Amid the students' gasps, Lyla quickly covered her head and lay flat against the table.
'Is this some new form of psychological torture?'
'A crazy owl dropping heavy packages from the sky... if you're unlucky enough to get hit by one, you'll definitely pass out, right?'
"Ah!" Just as Lyla was thinking this, an owl dropped a letter directly onto her head.
"Your letter," Luna said with a bright smile, lifting the envelope off her head.
'Is it Lupin... Mr. Lupin?' Looking at the sender of the letter, Lyla pursed her lips with a hint of genuine delight.
But just as she was about to eagerly open the letter, raucous laughter erupted from the Gryffindor table next to them.
"Ron received a Howler!"
'A Howler...?' Lyla certainly knew what it was, but she had only ever seen Vinda Rosier send Howlers to others. She had never received one herself.
'Ah, before I met Luna and Mr. Lupin... I had never actually received any letters at all.'
"RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR!"
"Ah!" The sudden, magically magnified roar completely startled Lyla. It was the first time she had ever heard such a terrifying sound up close.
'It sounds like a lion opening its bloody jaws!'
"YOUR FATHER IS NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT!"
Lyla's hidden ears twitched in pain as she looked at Luna, only to find that Luna's dreamy eyes were wandering, as if she was peacefully thinking about something else entirely.
'When will I be able to have Miss Lovegood's incredible abilities...?' Thinking this, Lyla looked down at her own letter.
'Mr. Lupin, this is definitely not a Howler too, is it?'