Chapter 263. Black Lake Shore
"Crack!"
A crisp sound came from behind the flowerbed, like a twig snapping.
Adrian Wesson and Remus Lupin tensed at once and looked that way.
"Who's there!?" Lupin raised his wand.
"It's me, Professor."
Cedric stepped out from behind the flowerbed with both hands raised over his head, his face full of embarrassment.
Lupin slowly lowered his wand, though the alertness in his eyes didn't fade.
"I always thought you were a good student, Cedric," Wesson said in surprise. "If I'm not mistaken, it's past curfew. Lingering in the courtyard is against the rules."
"Emily dropped something," Cedric explained awkwardly, his eyes drifting—unconsciously—towards Lupin. "I came to fetch it for her. I promise I didn't see anything."
That was obviously a poor cover-up.
"It's fine, Cedric," Wesson smiled gently. "We won't dock points. It's understandable. Off you go."
Good students do have a few privileges, don't they?
At least Wesson wasn't going to dock him points tonight.
Cedric let out a breath of relief and immediately turned to leave.
As he went, he glanced again at Lupin, and Lupin returned a small smile.
When the footsteps had faded, Lupin looked to Wesson. "That student was probably watching us the whole time."
"Don't worry. Cedric won't spread this around."
Wesson replied offhandedly, then slid both hands into the pockets of his overcoat. "Let's go, Lupin. I think we've observed enough for tonight."
With February's arrival, Hogwarts lay in a mantle of silver and white; blizzards still came very frequently.
On a Sunday.
Sunlight rarely broke through the clouds, but today it spilled onto the frozen surface of the Black Lake, scattering crystalline light.
Harry trod through the soft snow, strolling along the lake's edge, his breath turning white in the frigid air.
Ahead of him, a green, ball-shaped object was rolling over and over.
Harry nudged the ball along with his foot, leaving a clear trail in the snow.
That green, ball-shaped thing was Gulu.
Following Wesson's advice, Harry had brought it outside to burn off energy.
Only, the little thing seemed to have taken a liking to being treated like a football.
There was no one else around Harry—Ron was still in bed, and Hermione was busy with homework for her five elective subjects.
Just then, Gulu suddenly bounced up from the ground, shrank, and landed neatly back in his messy black hair, even giving a deliberate shake to scatter a few flakes of snow.
"Hey!" Harry brushed at his hair in annoyance. "At least clean yourself off, Gulu."
Gulu ignored him, burrowing into his hair; soon it went quiet—it had played itself out.
Harry shook his head helplessly and planned to return to the toasty Gryffindor common room.
At that moment, an airy voice sounded behind him.
"What's that?"
Harry spun around to see Luna Lovegood drifting out from behind a snow-covered cedar.
As always, Luna wore a pair of carrot-shaped earrings, and a necklace strung with Butterbeer corks hung at her neck, sparkling in the sun.
"Luna!" Harry let out a breath. "You gave me a fright."
Luna stared unblinkingly at the top of Harry's head. "May I see it? I saw you hide it."
Harry hesitated, then reached into his hair and scooped out the just-asleep Gulu. He prodded it awake.
Woken, Gulu angrily bit Harry's finger, leaving a few shallow marks.
Harry shook the bitten finger. "It's a bit temperamental..."
"May I touch it?" Luna seemed not to mind at all and held out her hand.
"You can," Harry nodded, but still warned, "just be careful—sometimes Gulu will—"
Before Harry could finish, Luna's fingertip had already brushed Gulu.
Unexpectedly, the little creature that had been in a temper a second ago suddenly quieted down, slowly stretching out, rubbing against Luna's finger like a kitten, and finally even hopping into Luna's arms.
"All right," Harry sighed at the sight. "It only acts up with me."
Luna laughed softly.
"So what are you doing out here?" Harry asked, curious, as he watched Luna gently stroke Gulu.
On a day this cold, almost no normal student would choose to be outside the castle—well, Luna perhaps didn't fall under the category of normal students.
Luna's silvery-grey eyes gazed towards the far side of the Black Lake, her voice drifting. "I'm waiting for someone."
"Waiting for someone? Who?"
Harry looked around. Apart from the snow and the frozen lake, there wasn't the slightest sign of a third person.
"It's—" Luna looked up to the sky before she finished. "Oh, looks like they're here."
Harry followed her gaze skyward.
He narrowed his eyes. In the azure sky, a small white dot flecked with black was closing in fast.
As the distance shrank, the dot revealed its true form—a majestic thunderbird sweeping in with broad wings spread. And astride its back was Wesson.
Rai descended with elegance onto the nearby snow, its wingbeats kicking up a mist of powder.
The two of them ran over at once.
Rai folded its wings, its golden eyes studying Harry and Luna with curiosity.
Wesson jumped down from Rai's back and couldn't help sneezing.
It looked very dashing, yes, but it was truly cold. He rather regretted not casting a Warming Charm on himself.
"Good afternoon, Luna... oh, and Harry," Wesson greeted with a smile. "What brings you out in this bitter cold?" Harry pointed at Gulu in Luna's arms. "You reminded me—I brought Gulu out for a walk."
Next, he glanced between Luna and Wesson a few times, puzzled. "You two..."
By the looks of it, the two of them must have arranged this in advance.
"A small matter," Wesson nodded. "If you're interested, you can come and have a look as well. Unfortunately, Rai can't carry three people in one go."
That only made Harry more curious.
Wesson had said "carry," which meant they were going somewhere not exactly close.
"Where are we going?"
"The Forbidden Forest," Wesson replied simply.
"The Forbidden Forest!"
Harry exclaimed.
That was not a place students were supposed to go.
"Are you in some sort of trouble?" Harry looked at Luna, unable to help feeling a little worried.
"Not at all. Professor Wesson is taking me to see a unicorn." Luna tilted her head, a gentle sway.
At that, Harry looked to Wesson, confusion on his face.
From his point of view, the Professor never agreed to a student's wilful request for no reason.
Of course, Harry himself was the exception.
"That's what we're doing later," Wesson smiled slightly. "Before that, I need your help, Luna."
"Of course."
Luna answered lightly, asking nothing more.
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