A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

St. Mungo's Hospital.

Tonks woke up from the hospital bed, reaching out to touch the clean linen sheets that covered it, feeling a bit disoriented.

What's going on?

She remembered shaking off that old toad, having no one to bother her. She decided to take a stroll around the campus, with plans to lie down on the yellow and black-striped sofa in the common room and have some Yorkshire pudding at the kitchen. So, how did she end up in the hospital?

"Cough, you're awake? I got your name from Professor Lupin—Felix Harp, that is," a voice said.

Tonks turned her head abruptly, looking towards the other side of the bed. There was a middle-aged (?) wizard, his face still young, but weathered, his hair streaked with gray and white. He was currently looking at her apologetically.

Well, let me think... What was I doing before I blacked out? There were sounds of fighting and arguing, and I thought of going to check it out...

"You're the one who knocked me out?" she said incredulously.

Lupin coughed awkwardly. While Professor Lupin's advice was to leave her at the hospital and not worry, he still decided to stay. At the very least, he owed her an apology.

"It was an accident..." he suddenly paused, realizing he had said that four times today already.

Tonks shrugged and jumped off the bed. "Hold on—Madam Pomfrey suggested you observe me a bit longer," Lupin said.

"Observe what, the awakening time from the Stupefy spell?" Tonks looked quite proud. "I'm guessing it's ten minutes. I've done combat training with the department; my best time is seven and a half minutes, though it usually takes ten."

Lupin's mouth slightly opened, and he wisely didn't tell her the truth. She had been hit with more than just one Stupefy spell, and she had been unconscious for more than ten minutes. Hopefully, this would remain his secret alone. But...

"I've been lying here for two hours?" Tonks stared at Madam Pomfrey in astonishment. When she was about to leave, the responsible matron stopped her, insisting on another check.

"And what if you were?" Madam Pomfrey said impatiently. "Some people sleep for a whole day. If it weren't for Flitwick suggesting you might have official business, I wouldn't have bothered... You're fine now."

She rambled on and left, and Tonks turned to Lupin, confirming again, "I've been lying here for two hours?"

"... That's right, I was just about to tell you," Lupin said, steeling himself.

"Ah, well, never mind~" Tonks said cheerfully. "You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, right? Quite skilled, I must say..."

"It wasn't me... well, how did you know I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"

"Otherwise? One of the things I looked forward to when I was in school was seeing what the new professors looked like."

"Miss Tonks—"

"Just call me Tonks, I haven't introduced myself formally yet. Nymphadora Tonks, but please don't call me by my first name," she muttered softly, "silly mum." In English vocabulary, "Nymph" is not the most flattering word.

"Hello, Tonks, I'm Remus Lupin."

...

Gryffindor Common Room.

Harry was toying with his new acquisition—a nameless book with a very ghostly style. Ron curiously reached out to touch it; the surface of the book seemed like water, forming lightning-shaped patterns when touched.contemporary romance

Hermione asked worriedly, "Are you really going to learn the Patronus Charm?"

"Absolutely," Harry said decisively. "I think it suits me best. Listen, Hermione, I've thought about it for two hours, and I still believe my choice is the right one."

Coming back from classroom seven, or rather being escorted back by Percy, he was originally quite upset. He even had the urge to sneak into Professor Lupin's office wearing his Invisibility Cloak to have a look. But two seats away was Percy Weasley, watching him like a hawk, or rather, protecting him according to Professor Snape's orders.

Especially after the attack on him just yesterday, the whole school now knew that Sirius was still after him—like a thousand other rumors and legends in the school, it wasn't true.

He had to let go of this enticing idea and instead focus on the prize he got from Professor Lupin's duel competition. He shared his thoughts with Ron and Hermione, "I've had this idea while writing my duel essay. Professor Flitwick said we need to find what we excel at, make the most of our strengths. What am I best at?"

"Quidditch," Harry muttered softly. "And Professor Lupin told me privately that he admired my reflexes..."

"Whizzing around, eh?" Ron smacked his lips, mimicking the motion of consecutive Patronus Charms.

Harry said, "That's also what I hope for..."

"Hermione!"

The twins entered from outside, Fred carrying a ginger-colored cat. "Crookshanks has been lurking by the door. I think he's got a gift for you." He said with a mischievous grin.

Hermione lowered her head. "Crookshanks, come here."

The ginger cat had something in its mouth, and she just hoped it wasn't a big spider; she would have to clean up after it again. Crookshanks leapt onto the table and spat out the thing in its mouth.

"This is—" Hermione's eyes widened.

"It's a magical puppet Professor Lupin had with him today," Harry confirmed, tinkering with it. "Looks like a castle's armor design. He even greeted me with it."

Hermione patted the big cat's head. "How could you take something from the professor? We should return it to him."

"Absolutely," Harry immediately agreed, wondering if it was a good time to inquire about Professor Lupin. If he had a valid reason, Percy wouldn't stop him, right?

On the table, a knight—or rather, Sirius—looked frustrated. He had been thrown out by Lupin and knew he was of no help, just causing trouble. So he hurried to find Felix.

He first went to Classroom Seven, but there was no one there. Then he went to Lupin's office, dodging the dirty paws of small wizards along the way, pounding on the door. No response. He crawled up the window after much effort only to find the room empty.

He didn't know what to do for a moment. Perhaps finding Dumbledore was a good choice? But he didn't know the password at all. Exiting the office, he encountered Crookshanks.

Crookshanks was his ally, providing him with a lot of information about the castle. He was grateful. This cat was intelligent enough to recognize him, not only as a human but also to gauge his intentions.

This time was no different. Crookshanks recognized him and kept trying to communicate, but he had been hit with a spell that prevented him from speaking—unless he got rid of the candy armor.

He could only gesture, but unfortunately, Crookshanks, though smart, wasn't that smart yet.

After an ineffective attempt at communication, Crookshanks carried him to the common room.

Ron looked at him with great interest. "Can you talk? Hey! Percy has one that talks." He held the knight's foot and shook it. "Do you have any skills?"

"Ouch!"

Sirius poked Ron's finger irritably with the knight's sword, and in Ron's moment of pain, he let go, causing the knight to fall onto the table, making him feel dazed.

"Stop it, Ron!"

Sirius heard a voice like a siren; what was her name again? She was Crookshanks' owner, a truly kind person.

Hermione picked up the knight, "Come on, let's return it to the professor."

They walked towards the door, and Harry nervously stared at Percy, but he didn't intervene. Maybe he thought that two hours had already exceeded Professor Lupin's expectations?

Harry was relieved to see him lower his head again, fiddling with the advanced magical puppet, while the twins kept circling him.

"You should let us have a look; we might add some new features, like suddenly pulling out dung bombs and smearing them on someone's face?"

Harry closed the common room door, leaving behind the bickering of the Weasley twins. Two older students approached them excitedly, "Have you heard? A Slytherin girl caused quite a commotion..."

"What happened?" Harry's companion asked, quite intrigued.

"You'll never guess; she released a giant snake in the Slytherin common room!"

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