"Happy New Year, everyone!"
"I originally planned to take a holiday for New Year's, but after thinking about it… I decided not to."
A short while later, Harry came running back, placing a large wad of British pounds impressively on the table.
Kayson looked at Harry, who clearly wanted praise, and after a moment of silence, he looked at Lupin, hoping he could help him out of the situation.
However, Lupin merely shrugged casually, and he seemed quite pleased with what Harry had done.
"Alright, Harry, although it's quite embarrassing for me as an adult to take money from a child, since you have the thought, I won't discourage you… but don't do it again." Kayson picked up the stack of pounds, subconsciously checking the serial numbers.
They were real!
"Oh, Professor, how did you suddenly appear on Privet Drive? And what's with this uncle and Malfoy's father?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore told me, of course. As for this gentleman, he's your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor for next semester, Professor Remus Lupin. He's much more reliable than Quirrell and Lockhart."
"As for why they came to Privet Drive… it was purely a coincidence."
Harry looked at Kayson with a half-moon eyed, speechless expression.
"...Alright, Lupin, please explain it to Harry." Kayson said helplessly, unable to bear Harry's strange gaze.
Lupin coughed twice and said softly, "Before the enchantment book therapy, Lucius Malfoy had been secretly funding Greyback and the Werewolf group under Greyback."
"Greyback could be said to be a tool Lucius Malfoy used specifically for dirty work."
"But after the enchantment book therapy appeared, Wizards lost their fear of Werewolf identity. After all, it only takes about one Galleon to completely cure it. Lucius Malfoy also unilaterally cut off his funding to Greyback, which greatly angered Greyback."
"And today, Lucius Malfoy must have found out about Dobby, and specifically came to find Harry. Speaking of which, when I first saw Lucius Malfoy, I wasn't that worried. Firstly, he's not good at magic combat, and although he also advocates Pure-blood, compared to those truly fanatical Pure-blood families in the magic world, he's much more rational and reasonable."
"Therefore, I wasn't worried he would do anything to harm Harry's aunt and uncle, though they would definitely suffer some minor discomfort."
"However, Greyback is different. He seems to be very dissatisfied with Lucius Malfoy. He somehow got hold of Lucius Malfoy's itinerary, and both of them arrived at Privet Drive almost one after the other."
"That's when I re-entered Harry's house."
"That's my aunt's house," Harry said softly.
"But that's also your home… a Little Wizards always needs a home," Lupin comforted.
"I think Hogwarts feels more like my home."
"...Well said." The speed of Lupin's change of expression somewhat shocked Kayson.
"So, strictly speaking, Greyback and Lucius Malfoy weren't together at that time?" Kayson asked.
"If I hadn't been there, then it would have been Lucius Malfoy confronting Greyback. Of course, I think it's more likely that Lucius Malfoy would have paid Greyback off, and then secretly had someone eliminate Greyback," Lupin explained.
"Hmm, that's reasonable." Kayson nodded… After a moment of silence, he asked again, "What kind of person is Lucius Malfoy? I've only interacted with him a few times."
"A… very clever fellow. He's very good at opportunism and playing both sides. Basically, his family, from its establishment until now, has never been held accountable for its various speculations. Of course, this is just something I learned from unofficial history books when I was a student. I don't know as much about the so-called upper class as you do," Lupin said, scooping a spoonful of ice cream.
"What's their attitude towards Muggles?" Kayson asked.
"They are a centrist group leaning towards Pure-blood, or a Pure-blood group leaning towards centrist. Of course, they can't compare to the Weasley and Abbott families. But compared to the Lestrange and House of Black families, they appear much more humane. Unlike the other two families, who took pleasure in torturing Muggles when Lord Voldemort was in power, and even did so frequently when Lord Voldemort was not in power."
"However, the House of Malfoy mostly just went with the flow in Lord Voldemort's ranks, neither actively nor passively. Of course, they definitely haven't done nothing. Actually, you shouldn't be asking me these things; Snape knows much more than I do," Lupin explained.
"Hmm? Why?" Kayson and Harry asked in unison.
"Uh… you'll know if you ask him yourselves," Lupin said, a bit guiltily.
Upon seeing this, Harry shook his head with difficulty: "Then I won't ask."
Kayson, however, was different. He had already secretly pulled out a small notebook under the table and started taking notes.
"Oh, Professor Lupin, why were you on Privet Drive?" Harry asked, taking a bite of ice cream.
"To protect you," Lupin said, looking down and thinking for a moment.
"Was it just for this situation today?" Harry tilted his head.
"No, today was an accident. Don't you subscribe to The Daily Prophet during the holidays?"
Harry shook his head: "They don't even let me go out, let alone have owls flying around on the roof all day."
"Are they that bad to you? I always thought you didn't go out during the holidays because it was boring," Lupin said, a bit surprised.
"If you had seen what he was like at Hogwarts, you wouldn't ask such a question," Kayson muttered softly.
"Sorry…" Lupin said, pulling out a newspaper from his coat pocket, flattening it, and handing it to Harry.
Harry took the newspaper and glanced at it casually, quickly being drawn to the front-page headline.
"So, this Sirius who escaped from prison, his goal is to kill me?" Harry asked calmly.
"Normally, a regular child shouldn't have your attitude," Lupin said.
"Actually, I've experienced something similar before," Harry said, a little embarrassed.
Lupin looked at Kayson strangely, and the latter shrugged helplessly.
"Don't you know Dumbledore?"
"Uh… right."
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