"Thank you, Professor." Hermione gave a small thankful nod to Professor Lupin. His feedback on her essay had been enlightening. At the same time, she felt a bit embarrassed; even though Professor Snape had been unpleasant in his comments, he was somewhat right. Her essay didn't live up to those high grades.
"Hmm." Lupin nodded in agreement, and the three of them fell into silence again.
The atmosphere grew a bit awkward. Finally, Lupin, somewhat resigned, told Hermione, "Miss Granger, I need to speak with Mr. Yodel. I hope he can be my assistant and help me tutor someone."
Tutoring someone? Hermione was puzzled, but Tom had a vague idea.
"I need him to assist Mr. Potter in practicing the Patronus Charm and other spells," Lupin revealed, leaving Hermione stunned.
Tom, helping with spells?
Tom assisting with spells? It sounded like a good thing, but why specifically Tom? The excuse of practicing spells sounded reasonable until examined more closely. Did Lupin need help with that? Couldn't he do it himself?
"People of the same age can motivate each other," Lupin said, providing a barely convincing excuse. In reality, it was an arrangement by Dumbledore.
When Dumbledore learned that Harry was a bit frightened by Dementors, he sought out Lupin immediately, hoping he could help Harry and, if possible, Tom Yodel as well.
Motivated by friendship and his mentor's requests, Lupin quickly accepted this task. His solution was to give Tom and Harry special treatment.
"Professor, if I may suggest, I believe you should teach the Patronus Charm to all students so that more people can learn this spell," Tom proposed.
It would be beneficial for more people to know the Patronus Charm.
Lupin considered the idea and thought that, in the end, teaching one or many was the same; there wasn't a significant problem.
"It's a high-level spell," Lupin commented.
"They'll never learn it if they don't try, right?"
That statement made sense too. So, Professor Lupin decided to include the Patronus Charm in his teaching plan.
"So, are we in agreement? Will you join as my little assistant?"
"Of course, no problem."
After reaching an agreement, Lupin relaxed a bit.
"How about a cup of tea?" He took out his teapot and tapped it with his wand, causing steam to rise from the spout. The water was already boiling.
Despite having a well-paying job now, Lupin, who had been accustomed to poverty, maintained a modest lifestyle. It was a mentality he had developed over the years, always saving money just in case he became unemployed again and fell back into poverty.
"I've heard you're good at tea leaf divination," Lupin said as he looked at the tea bags in his hand. He recalled the rumors about Tom's "talent" in that area and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Yes," Tom openly admitted, "how did you know?"
"It's something the entire school talks about; how could I not know? I'm not deaf," Lupin replied before their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Come in," Lupin called out loudly.
Snape entered, carrying a steaming tall glass. When he saw Tom and Hermione there, his dark eyes narrowed slightly.
Snape had come to deliver the Wolfsbane Potion to Lupin.
The Wolfsbane Potion needed to be taken a few days before the full moon to be effective. The last batch he had prepared was already used up, so he needed to make another one just in case. As an active werewolf at Hogwarts, it was better to always have a supply of Wolfsbane Potion in his office.
Though Snape was sarcastic, he was a responsible teacher and always put the students' safety first. So, during the night, he had brewed a new Wolfsbane Potion and was delivering it to Lupin. He hadn't expected to find Tom Yodel and Hermione Granger in Lupin's office.
Snape's mood suddenly improved. He knew very well that Tom and Hermione were talented in potion-making, and Tom had even researched the replica of the Wolfsbane Potion with him. For Tom, identifying the Wolfsbane Potion would be a piece of cake.
Once he recognized the Wolfsbane Potion, Lupin's identity became clear; it couldn't be said that Lupin was fond of potions too, right?
"Remember to take it regularly," Snape said coldly, his words full of implications.
"No problem," Lupin replied without seeming to notice Snape's insinuations.
He accepted the potion from Snape and politely asked Tom and Hermione to leave the room.
...
"Tom, I thought you should have figured it out!" Hermione quickly stepped in front of Tom and blocked him.
"Figured out what?" Tom asked nonchalantly.
Hermione was stunned for a moment and started to stammer, realizing that she couldn't discuss it in public. She looked around and saw no one else, so she lowered her voice. "Obviously, it's about Professor Lupin's true identity..."
"I already know," Tom responded with an indifferent attitude, frustrating Hermione.
"I believe in Professor Dumbledore." The second half of the sentence left Hermione speechless.
"Very well then," Hermione shook her head in resignation, and her brown hair fluttered in the air. "As long as you're clear about it."
At that moment, a flying messenger pigeon caught both of their attention.
It was Tom's messenger pigeon.
"What is it?" Hermione approached curiously, trying to see the content of the letter. But Tom quickly moved it away.
Hermione: ¿?
"It's a little project I mentioned to you before."
Hermione immediately understood: it was news about the private prison.
"So fast?" She was surprised. She knew how complicated dealing with the government was, and the administrative efficiency in Britain was surprisingly low. She thought they would have to wait until the end of the year to hear any news, and even waiting until the end of the year was a luxury as the cabinet was being reshuffled this year.
Ministers were focused on the cabinet change; how could they have time to approve a private prison? Submitting the proposal, cabinet approval... applying for the contract for a high-security prison would definitely stir controversy, and they might even have to go to parliament. Even if they were lucky and the cabinet and parliament approved Tom's request, they still faced a big obstacle: building the prison.
Everyone knew how infrastructure in Britain was. It was entirely possible that even when Tom graduated, the prison would still be under construction...
"So, what's going on exactly? What's the news?" Hermione was extremely curious and began to ask questions one after another.