It was already autumn, and Hogsmeade's streets were blanketed in red maple leaves. They made a satisfying, rustling sound as Lyla's boots stepped on them.
'It's like walking on a beach…' Lyla thought, trying her best not to notice the throngs of students walking by.
"Good morning, Hagrid!"
"Good morning, Professor Hamilton."
These cheerful greetings were meant to be polite, but to Lyla, they sounded as terrifying as the Imperius Curse. She shrank in on herself, trying hard not to faint from sheer nervousness behind her silver mask.
However, the students seemed busy with their own weekend plans, mostly settling for a quick wave in passing. Even the few students who wanted to chat with Hagrid were quickly sent on their way by the half-giant.
"I reckon you're in a hurry to buy those Potion ingredients, aren't you, Professor Hamilton?" Hagrid said, scratching his head. "Those kids always have endless questions."
"Ah… thank you… thank you…" Lyla murmured softly, though her gaze remained intensely focused on Fang.
"What's there to thank me for?" Hagrid beamed. "You're Professor Dumbledore's friend, and you're a Hogwarts Professor."
'Dumbledore and I are absolutely not friends!'
Lyla quickly shook her head. "I… I and Dum—"
"Here we are!" Hagrid's booming voice interrupted her. They seemed to have reached their destination.
"Most students buy their Potion ingredients here, and even Professor Snape shops here sometimes," Hagrid explained, bending down to carefully push open the front door.
It was an apothecary… it looked very rustic… and Lyla could immediately smell the earthy scent of dried herbs.
The familiar, academic smell made her feel a little more relaxed… but that relaxation only lasted until she stepped inside. As she followed Hagrid into the shop, a harsh, scrutinizing gaze immediately swept over her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Troff," Hagrid greeted the woman, thankfully drawing the chilling stare away from Lyla.
Lyla cautiously raised her head to look at the shop owner.
She was a somewhat plump, middle-aged woman wearing a slightly tattered robe and a faded headscarf. Her messy hair looked like a tangled Bowtruckle nest, complete with a few stray weeds mixed in.
She looked… extremely unkempt. "Ah, Hagrid. Good morning," she said, rolling her eyes and leaning against the counter without a trace of emotion.
"You shouldn't be here today," she muttered, shooting a sideways glance at Lyla. "And you shouldn't be dragging strange students in here, either."
"Ah, you mean Professor Hamilton?" Hagrid said with a warm smile. "She's not a student. She's the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts."
"Professor?" Mrs. Troff raised a skeptical eyebrow. "This is the most student-like Professor I've ever seen."
"Does Hogwarts hire child labor now?"
'What kind of nonsense is that! I am clearly an adult! I'm probably older than you!'
Lyla desperately wanted to tell the rude woman to call her Professor Hamilton or Mrs. Hamilton!
But after a moment of panicked hesitation… she decided it just wasn't worth the effort.
'It is definitely not because I am too shy to speak up,' she rationalized to herself. 'It is simply because… this is the kind of silent magnanimity a loyal member of Grindelwald's cause should have!'
"So, what do you want to buy?" Mrs. Troff asked casually, shaking her head. "I don't stock ingredients for Honeydukes' Fizzing Whizbees here."
'I am really not a child!'
Gritting her teeth, Lyla shoved the note in her hand toward Hagrid.
Hagrid paused for a moment before handing the slip of parchment to Mrs. Troff.
"Go left out the door and then down the stairs…" Mrs. Troff read aloud, her face twisting in confusion. "What is this?"
"I… I-I-I-I gave you the wrong one!" Lyla fumbled frantically, pulling another note from her robes and slamming it onto the counter.
'How could I be so stupid… I gave Hagrid the directions Miss Granger wrote for me! And you too, Hagrid! Why didn't you even look at it?'
'That clearly has nothing to do with Potions!'
Lyla angrily poked Hagrid's back with her wand… but the half-giant obviously didn't even feel it. He simply looked down at Lyla and let out a booming laugh.
"What an interesting joke! I didn't expect you to have such a great sense of humor, Professor Hamilton."
Facing Hagrid's oblivious smile, Lyla forced an incredibly awkward smile behind her pale mask.
'Haha, isn't it just so interesting?'
'When I poked you with my wand just now, I really should have used the Cruciatus Curse…' "Tsk…" Mrs. Troff clicked her tongue as she picked up the second note. "Wolfsbane Potion?"
"Are you the new Potions Professor at Hogwarts?"
"Did Severus Snape actually resign?" she added thoughtfully. "Shame. I quite liked him."
"Professor Snape wouldn't resign," Hagrid said, looking slightly surprised by the suggestion.
"You actually like Professor Snape?" Lyla muttered, equally surprised.
She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth… How did she suddenly blurt that out loud? Luckily, no one seemed to have heard her mosquito-like whisper.
'And Professor Snape is actually quite helpful… At least he told me where to find books on brewing the Wolfsbane Potion and where to buy ingredients in Hogsmeade… Hmm, I need to learn from Mrs. Troff and try to like Professor Snape too.'
'Even being friends with him would be fine… It should be fine, right?'
'Lyla, you're getting ahead of yourself. You only have two friends… You should accept anyone who is willing to be your friend, okay?'
'Except Dumbledore, of course! He is excluded!'
'Hmm, and Newt Scamander! Don't think I'll forget about you! That terrifying old man who dissects magical creatures!'
"Oh!"
Lyla suddenly felt a wet itch on her palm. She subconsciously jerked her hand back, only to realize it was Fang.
He was licking her hand again. 'If you're really that hungry, go eat Hagrid… He looks much more filling… And he was being quite annoying just now, too.'
As Lyla was lost in her internal complaints, the shop door was pushed open again.
"Good morning, Mrs. Troff!"
Two voices rang out in perfect unison. "We're here to buy some magical Potion ingredients!"
They were identical twins… Lyla recognized them immediately.
George Weasley and Fred Weasley… They were currently at the top of Lyla's mental disciplinary list.
They had already broken their Memory Headbands twice this term.
"Ah, Hagrid?" George raised an eyebrow at the half-giant. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Oh, and Professor Hamilton!" Fred sharply spotted Lyla trying to hide behind Hagrid's massive frame.
"Good morning, Professor." He offered a slightly comical, exaggerated gentleman's bow, grabbing George by the sleeve and pulling him forward.
"Yes, good morning!" George immediately followed suit with an identical bow.
"…"
Lyla's mouth twitched behind her mask. She desperately wanted to say something, but in the end, she only managed a stiff nod.
These two were exactly the type of people she feared the most… the overwhelmingly enthusiastic kind… They were even more aggressively friendly than Hagrid.
"Professor Hamilton and I are just here to pick up a few things," Hagrid chuckled, shrugging his broad shoulders. He seemed very familiar with Fred and George.
He even reached out and gave them both a heavy pat on the back.
"Are you two here to buy strange ingredients for more prank items?"
"Of course not!" "Absolutely not!"
George and Fred replied in unison, then turned their identical grins toward Lyla.
"We just heard that Lockhart…" George started, shrugging and looking at Fred.
"…is going to start a Duelling Club," Fred finished seamlessly.
"So we decided we should add a little fun to his lesson plan." The twins said together, "It's definitely going to be very interesting."
"One hundred percent!"
"Professor Hamilton, you simply must come and watch."
"Ah, she'll definitely be there," George said, patting Fred's shoulder. "Did you forget?"
"Lockhart already announced that Professor Hamilton will be his assistant Professor."
'Huh?'
Lyla's blue eyes widened in pure horror behind her silver mask.
Did Professor Hamilton even know about this herself?