The arrival of a workday always brings misery, and it's always difficult to get through.
For Lyla, if she was merely a consultant, it would actually be quite interesting, especially when Director Scrimgeour wasn't present. But unfortunately, Mr. Guster Parkinson always made up for that deficiency.
"Miss Hamilton, is this not a Dark Arts artifact?"
Lyla pursed her lips beneath her mask, looking at the simple glass ashtray he held in his hands.
"Could someone be hiding magical creatures under the sofa?"
'Probably not...' Lyla kept her distance, silently watching Parkinson use his wand to aggressively lift the sofa cushions.
"Is there a possibility of a Dark wizard hiding in the flowerpot?"
'I don't think that's very likely, is it?'
Operating with Mr. Parkinson usually followed this exact exhausting process. But Lyla eventually got used to it. Mr. Parkinson's loud, constant words were just like the wind passing by.
In one ear and out the other, in a second.
She had to admit... after hearing him so much, it even started to sound like white noise... like the sound of rain.
Lyla curled up in her bathtub back at her lodgings, shrinking her body into the warm water. Tomorrow would be the last day of her agonizing Ministry consultant work.
According to Mr. White Noise... it should be a check-up in Knockturn Alley? After tomorrow, this entire terrible matter would be over... and her research on Magic Arrays could resume in peace.
Lyla buried her face in the water, blowing a few bubbles. Her pointed Veela ears swayed gently with the ripples, and her wet silver hair fanned out elegantly on the surface.
Speaking of which, Mr. Lupin had also returned yesterday. He had dragged his exhausted body over just to greet Lyla. For some reason, his face was terrifyingly pale and scarred.
'Perhaps Dumbledore is conducting some unspeakable experiments...' Lyla speculated wildly. 'Maybe even human experiments.'
'Don't worry, Mr. Lupin, I'll come save you after I revive Grindelwald's cause and defeat Dumbledore... Wait, I should stop saying things like that.'
Dumbledore was like a cursed charm. Whenever she even thought about defeating Dumbledore, he would suddenly appear.
'But if he appeared in this situation...' Lyla buried her face deeper into the bathwater. 'Then there would finally be a legitimate reason to send him to Azkaban, right?'
'Wait... what am I even thinking!'
...
"Good morning, Miss Hamilton."
Before she even reached the entrance of the Auror Office the next day, Mr. Parkinson's voice had already reached her. He, who was usually so vibrant, seemed rather unhappy today.
"Oh, Miss Hamilton, the thought of not seeing you after today makes me sad." He shook his head casually. "I really enjoyed our time together."
'Why don't I like it at all...' Lyla, hidden safely behind her silver mask, subconsciously quickened her pace. Mr. Parkinson followed closely behind like a lost puppy.
"I'm sure you feel the exact same way I do, don't you?" Parkinson continued to ramble. "Our cooperation at work is so seamless."
"If you ever decide you don't want to be a professor anymore, you must come join our Auror office permanently..."
'Don't worry, that's absolutely impossible...'
"Oh, right, today we're going to Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley to take a look... that old fellow must be hoarding a lot of Dark Arts artifacts, so we'll be counting on your expertise then."
'Hoarding a lot of Dark Arts artifacts?'
Hearing this, Lyla felt even worse. She recalled Dumbledore's deceptive words when he had first tricked her into becoming a consultant here... something about encountering rare Magic Arrays, and complex array mechanisms passed down from ancient times.
Lyla could only conclude that Dumbledore was a cunning old liar.
In the past few days of tedious investigation, besides those incredibly simple Dark Arts artifacts, she hadn't even seen complex array mechanisms like the ones protecting the Rosier Family estate on the first day.
And so, she had been tricked into doing manual labor... and even worse, doing it with Aurors.
"Ugh!"
Lost in her thoughts, Lyla crashed into something solid. She clutched her head and stumbled back a few steps, then subconsciously looked up.
"Ah?!"
What met her eyes was a massive, tall wall. Or rather, a person built exactly like a tall wall. He also seemed stunned by the sudden collision, his dark eyes under his incredibly messy hair showing a hint of surprise.
"G-G-Giant?" Lyla stammered, rapidly retreating a few steps to hide behind Parkinson.
"Ah, Hagrid?" Parkinson, however, seemed to recognize the massive person. He smiled and waved, cheerfully greeting the half-giant.
"Gust?" The giant, named Hagrid, also seemed to recognize Parkinson. He laughed heartily, then wrapped his massive arms around Mr. Parkinson in a bone-crushing hug.
'Is this some kind of giant's attack method?' Lyla subconsciously wanted to pull out her wand, watching Parkinson being held tightly enough to pop.
"It's really... been a long time." Even while being hugged, his voice audibly distorted by the pressure, Mr. Parkinson still didn't forget to speak. "Not since graduating from Hogwarts."
'Hogwarts?' Lyla was momentarily stunned and quickly put away her ebony wand. 'So, the giant in front of me is a professor at Hogwarts?'
'Miss Lovegood... have you never suspected Dumbledore of assembling an army of giants?'
"Ah, perfect, Miss Hamilton, you can get to know Hagrid." Parkinson turned his head slightly towards Lyla, seemingly having just thought of something. "Hagrid is the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, you'll be colleagues now."
"Colleagues?" Hagrid and Lyla mumbled simultaneously. However, compared to Hagrid's confusion, Lyla felt nothing but pure terror.
She was already severely afraid of normal people and wizards, and now there was such a massive... colleague. Hagrid alone put more physical pressure on her than three Muggles combined.
"Isn't Lockhart a man?" Hagrid muttered, looking down at Lyla. Then he said, as if remembering something, "Are you Miss Hamilton?"
"Eek!" Lyla quickly and violently shook her head.
She hadn't forgotten that she needed to use her alias in front of the Aurors, though she didn't fully understand Dumbledore's reasoning for it.
'And Dumbledore, don't tell such secret things to people with such big mouths!'
"Hagrid, you must have misheard?" Parkinson didn't seem to realize the tension. "She's Miss Hamier! Lola Hamier, not the Hamilton family."
"Ah!" Hagrid also seemed to realize his slip-up, scratching his bushy head awkwardly. "Right, right, right, Miss Hamier, Miss Hamier!" He said, flashing a warm smile, and took a heavy step towards Lyla.
"Ugh!" Watching Hagrid approach, Lyla flinched violently and huddled into the corner of the corridor, her entire body trembling.
The man in front of her was nearly two meters taller than her, and Hagrid's shadow alone was enough to completely envelop her. She had to painfully crane her neck just to see Hagrid's face.
His enormous body made Lyla stiffen all over. She bit her lip, paralyzed with fear and unable to say anything for a long time.
'Is he going to give me a 'hug' too? Or will I, because I clearly angered him... be... eaten?'
As Hagrid drew closer, she was overwhelmed by his scent. The heavy scent of a massive stranger made the pointed Veela ears under her hood tremble uncontrollably.
Hagrid, however, didn't notice her panic and continued in a booming voice that rattled Lyla's bones, "Nice to meet you, Miss Hamier." Then he gave another sincere, wide smile.
But Lyla, having tightly closed her eyes behind her silver mask out of sheer terror, didn't see it at all.
"Hagrid, never mind, Miss Hamier doesn't talk much."
It was Parkinson who stepped forward at this critical moment. The severely socially anxious Lyla, for the very first time in her life, was profoundly grateful to Merlin for having met Mr. Parkinson that morning.
He walked to Hagrid's side and shrugged. "And we're just about to go to work for the Ministry of Magic."
"Perhaps you two can chat again in a few days when school starts."
"Ah, yes, yes." Hagrid seemed to remember something urgent and nodded. "I also need to go to Knockturn... Diagon Alley to buy some things."
"Then I'll see you later, Gust, and Hamilton... Miss Hamier!"
Lyla stood entirely frozen, watching the half-giant slowly walk away with heavy, thudding steps. It wasn't until his massive body completely disappeared around the corner that she let out a soft, shuddering sigh.
'It's a good thing I wore a mask... otherwise, I might really have cried in front of Parkinson...'
'Sorry, Mr. Hagrid... I didn't mean to... to be so afraid...' Feeling incredibly rude, Lyla quickly apologized to Hagrid in her mind... desperately hoping he wouldn't track her down and eat her because of her rudeness.