Hagrid was also taken aback for a moment, stammering, "He got injured..."
He explained the whole situation, during which Ms. Rosmerta brought the mead he had ordered.
After listening, Lupin sighed deeply, both proud and worried:
"Harry is so much better than we were back then, he'd risk his life to save even his enemy... just like James and Lily..."
"Yes." Hagrid nodded vigorously and took a big gulp of his drink, "Thanks to Vid and Harry this time, or I might have lost my job as Gamekeeper."
Lupin shook his head and said, "Malfoy's power isn't that great. If he wants to drive you away, he'd have to get rid of Dumbledore first."
"That's right, Professor Dumbledore has always trusted me... If I messed things up on the first day, I don't know how I would have faced him... Luckily, today's class was very successful, the children helped me a lot."
Hagrid said emotionally.
When he was first hired as a professor, he couldn't have been happier. But when he really started working, Hagrid realized how vastly different being a professor was from being a Gamekeeper.
Previously, he just needed to patrol once or twice a day to ensure that the students in school wouldn't sneak into the Forbidden Forest and get hurt.
During his free time, he could grow vegetables, raise pets, or livestock, with little responsibility and not much on his mind.
He was very happy as a Maze referee, and the students grew to trust him more and more, although some still looked down on him, thinking he was just the school's hired handyman, which made Hagrid a bit uncomfortable.
He thought becoming a professor would earn him students' respect and affection, but in reality, the responsibility he must bear as a professor, the students' scrutiny, and external evaluation, all became pressures on Hagrid's mind.
How to prepare lessons? How to assign homework? How to make those unruly students learn to abide by classroom rules?
Hagrid had too much to learn. He thought several times to tell Dumbledore he wanted to give up, but he was too embarrassed to speak up, so he gritted his teeth and kept going.
Luckily, today's class was very successful, all the children responded very well, helping Hagrid regain some confidence and start to feel that his efforts were worthwhile…
With the help of alcohol, Hagrid rambled on about the worries in his heart that weighed on him, and Lupin listened attentively, occasionally offering him some advice.
"The Flöbo Caterpillar is too absurd; no student would like it. The Fire Crab is pretty good though, but attention to safety is needed."
"The assignments don't have to be too complicated. One paper a week is enough... At the start, they can be simple, a few inches would do..."
"If you don't know what to do, why not consult Professor Kettleburn? He lives right in Hogsmeade, not far away."
"Professor Kettleburn has taught this course for decades and surely has encountered all kinds of situations, with invaluable experience... He is also very aware of what the Ordinary Wizarding Level and Ultimate Wizarding Level exams will test..."
"You're right!" Hagrid agreed, "Tomorrow morning... no, I can't, I have class in the morning... I'll go find Professor Kettleburn tomorrow noon. He likes Nobeta so much; as long as I give him some of Nobeta's scales... Oh!"
Hagrid suddenly remembered he had given all the Dragon Scales to Vid.
But that was no big deal; he could go find Nobeta first—conveniently complete his deal with Malfoy Jr.—pick up a few scales, and then go to Professor Kettleburn.
Hagrid listed the tasks in his mind, feeling the seemingly difficult things suddenly became clear and simple, thanks to Remus's advice...
Then, he slowly remembered that Lupin had invited him because he had something to ask.
"By the way, Remus, what did you want to ask?" Hagrid inquired.
"Well—"
Lupin set down the barely touched pear soda and, after some thought, asked, "—I want to know who was at school this summer?"
Hagrid put down his drink, pondered for a while, and then said:
"There were indeed many more people than usual."
"Dumbledore, me, Filch, we were always here."
"There was also the Prophet Daily reporter who came to interview and took photos of the Chamber of Secret and Snake Shedding, accompanied by Professor McGonagall... It seemed to be because the Basilisk's corpse was with Snape, some people even interviewed Snape, and he was at school during those days..."
The United States' Ilvermorny, France's Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang also sent professors to the school to discuss something important; most professors were at school during those days.
"Did Ilvermorny come too?" Lupin asked.
If it were just the other two schools, he'd think of the Triwizard Tournament that had been stopped for centuries. But with the addition of Ilvermorny, Lupin became unsure.
"Yes, Ilvermorny." Hagrid said unhappily, "These people were wandering around the Maze, some even wanted to take our Tree-Protector Lofa away, but I stopped them... A bunch of thieves!"
"Well... July 16th to July 19th, who visited Hogwarts during that time?" Lupin asked.
Hagrid froze, his mouth open, and after struggling to think for a while, he asked, "What time did you just say?"
Lupin: "..."
He patiently asked again:
"July 16th to July 19th, when the Flow Mirror first started selling in Diagon Alley, do you remember? Harry and the others defeated the Ball Python in the Maze, and the footage was broadcasted, and people must have talked about it in Hogsmeade shortly before then—you should have an impression."
"Ah—no wonder there was a period where so many owls were flying in every day! I was wondering—with the students on vacation, who were those owls delivering things to?"
Hagrid said as he suddenly realized.
Then he closed his mouth, his brows furrowed, thinking again and again.
Time passed, and after a long time, Hagrid apologized and shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry, Remus, I really can't remember."
"I just remember a time when Argo had a poor appetite, and I was preoccupied with that, hardly noticed anything else."
Argo was the Acromantula Hagrid had raised since he was young, and during Lupin's time in school, they had encountered the spider while night adventuring in the Forbidden Forest.
Lupin had already guessed from Hagrid's reaction, and sighed, "Then let's drop it."
He had initially thought that the number of people who had access to the Snake Shedding in the summer would be very few, making the suspect range easy to narrow down. But hearing Hagrid say that even Hogwarts was busy during the summer, Lupin didn't hold out much hope.
Even if Hagrid recalled who came, what difference would it make?
Hagrid also ate, rested, and patrolled, perhaps when Will's client entered and exited the school, Hagrid simply hadn't seen them.
The investigation hit a dead end... but no news might also be good news.
Lupin forced himself to look on the bright side, but internally he couldn't feel genuinely optimistic.