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Who knows whether it was because Lupin felt cold in summer or for some other reason, but the way he instinctively hugged his robes looked pretty funny.
"Dumbledore said you were rich, told me not to be polite with you." Lupin seemed like he was trying to salvage a bit of dignity. He glanced around, then moved aside from the doorway he had been blocking.
"Want to come in and have a chat?"
He seemed to assume that the little wizard must have many doubts in his heart.
"Dumbledore sent you to protect me?" Ian walked into the rather shabby room, thinking he had already figured out the reason for Lupin's appearance at the Wu's Orphanage.
"Dumbledore did send me to watch over you, to make sure you don't cause trouble in the Muggle world. He said you brought back some very, very dangerous… things?"
Lupin clearly didn't know much about Ian's situation. Maybe he really had been wandering the streets until Dumbledore conscripted him.
"Oh, how little trust our headmaster has in me. Like I'd recklessly blow up my own house." Ian's indignant reply didn't make Lupin feel any safer.
"What!? You did bring explosives!?" Lupin's eyes widened in disbelief. In his memory, Dumbledore had only mentioned "special magical creatures." He thought he was dealing with another Newt Scamander.
Who would've thought… he got assigned a demolition expert!
"It was a metaphor!" Ian hurriedly tried to salvage his reputation again.
"Alright, good, as long as you didn't actually bring explosives back." Lupin visibly let out a huge sigh of relief. However, the young wizard's silence made his previously relaxed expression freeze up again.
"So… you did bring explosives, didn't you?" Lupin's eye twitched violently. He was starting to realize that the quest Albus Dumbledore had given him was no easy task.
And this was just a first-year wizard!
"How can you call potions explosives…" Ian's response lacked confidence. He decisively changed the subject.
"Perfect! Since you're here, I'll have something to do this holiday. You can help me with some interesting experiments." Ian rubbed his hands together, looking excited.
Lupin looked a little unsure.
"Dumbledore told me you're skilled in Potions and Alchemy. While I did alright in those subjects in school, I've forgotten a lot of things now. I'm afraid I won't be able to help or tutor you very much." Maybe Lupin was just being modest, but it didn't matter to Ian.
"No worries, I don't need you to teach me anything." Ian waved his hand cheerfully. His carefree attitude made Lupin a bit confused.
"Then what do you want me to help you with?"
He asked patiently in a calm tone.
The little wizard's eyes lit up.
"Of course, to assist me with experiments!"
Ian could already envision himself striking gold in the wizarding world with his Wolfsbane Potion.
"So, you mean… you want me to be your lab assistant?"
Lupin seemed to suddenly understand.
"Of course, no problem!"
He smiled warmly, happy to help.
However,
The next moment, the smile on this future werewolf professor's face froze completely.
"No, no, no. What I mean is, I'll do the experimenting… and you will be the experiment!" Ian grabbed Lupin's unusually hairy arm.
"Look! What a perfect research subject!"
Ian carefully plucked a few hairs from Lupin's arm.
"..."
Lupin stared at the little wizard, his facial expression changing nonstop in an absolutely spectacular display. After holding it in for a long time, he finally asked in a hoarse, bitter voice:
"You… know I'm a werewolf?"
Clearly, this had caught him off guard. He thought Ian's "knowing a bit" only referred to knowing that he had studied at Hogwarts.
"What do you mean werewolf this, werewolf that? That sounds so distant. All I know is, once you entered the doors of our orphanage, you're family, and of course I help family solve problems!"
Ian tried to justify it with a righteously noble excuse.
"Would you treat your family as experimental subjects?"
But Lupin wasn't falling for it.
"Well… that depends on what kind of family…" Ian trailed off, then added, "Oh, looks like Dumbledore hasn't told you yet about how I used the power of love to redeem another rebellious and evil family member."
As he spoke, Ian pulled out a syringe.
The little wizard in front of him… had pulled out that kind of thing.
Lupin, who had been letting Ian fiddle with his arm the whole time, suddenly jolted and pulled his arm back, fixing Ian with a serious look, as if the boy didn't understand the true nature of a werewolf.
"Maybe your potions skills really are impressive, you are a Prince, after all, but that doesn't mean you're qualified to perform something as dangerous as extracting a werewolf's blood."
"I don't care about losing a bit of blood, but you could end up with irreversible contamination. I imagine you'll be learning about this sort of thing in your Defense Against the Dark Arts classes in a few years."
Lupin, ever the kind-hearted man, issued his warning and reminder with stern sincerity as he looked at the little wizard in front of him.
At that moment, Lupin thought he finally understood why Albus Dumbledore had sent him to keep an eye on this first-year student. It was almost unbelievable, someone bold enough to even think about drawing a werewolf's blood, and this kid was supposedly a Ravenclaw, a House known for its caution and meticulous thinking?
"You did take my payment, though…" Ian said softly, glancing meaningfully at the bulging pouch in Lupin's robes.
"???????"
Lupin suddenly realized, he'd been scammed by a first-year. That handful of knuts, the kind even stray dogs wouldn't sniff at, was supposed to be payment?
Who the hell pays their test subject in pocket change!?
Speechless, Lupin instantly pulled the pouch out, intent on giving it back. He reminded himself once again, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
But Ian didn't reach out to take it.
"Of course, I know how dangerous werewolf blood is." Ian slipped on a pair of dragon-skin gloves. He had done his research into the infectious nature of werewolf blood; within the magical world, it was akin to a certain type of sexually transmitted virus. It was transmitted through wounds and could even be passed to offspring.
"It's because I know how dangerous it is that we have to cure it. For everyone's sake."
Ian once again launched into a speech about righteousness.
"You're calling it a disease?" Lupin let out a derisive laugh. "It's a curse! A terrible curse!"
At last, his inner "study loser" surfaced.
"Wanna bet? If I manage to cure it, you'll owe me a hundred years of labor!" Ian declared with full confidence, he'd already found a direction for improving the Wolfsbane Potion.
All he lacked was a living werewolf test subject and a virus sample.
"Labor for what exactly?" Lupin raised an eyebrow.
"That's a matter for the future," Ian said with classic Ravenclaw evasiveness. He had ambitions, he wanted to be the wizarding world's own printing press for gold galleons. This was big business, and he wasn't about to spill the details of his "magical mint" dream to just anyone.
"I doubt I'll live a hundred years." Lupin chuckled hoarsely, assuming the kid was joking. But seeing Ian still eyeing his arm, he quickly tugged his sleeve back down.
"No worries, your son can finish the work for you." Ian looked regretfully at Lupin's arm, feeling like the babysitter Dumbledore had assigned him clearly lacked sufficient trust.
"You actually think I'll have children?" Lupin gave a bitter smile like he'd just heard the worst joke in hell. "That's never going to happen. No father would ever want his child to be born cursed like him."
As he spoke, he let out a long sigh, his voice tinged with sorrow.
He, too, had once liked someone.
"That's why curing the disease is the most important thing." Ian, wanting to prove his capability, took out a whole bunch of difficult-to-refine potions he'd brewed.
But,
Instead of being convinced, Lupin's eyes widened in shock.
"You raided Snape's vault!?" He stared in disbelief at the room, now filled with Ian's potions.
"Uncle Snape has a vault!?" Ian's eyes lit up again.
"Er… so you didn't raid it. Well, if you give up on experimenting on me, maybe I'll tell you where Snape hides his stash."
Lupin's tone was tinged with regret. He still hoped to convince the little wizard to give up his dangerous idea. Deep down, he was worried Ian might run off to Diagon Alley to find another werewolf for his so-called research.
(To Be Continued…)