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Perhaps that still wasn't tactful enough for a little wizard.
Hearing that, Lupin looked incredibly awkward.
"…Alright, fair enough, I forgot Muggles have their own communication methods too." Scratching his head, Lupin quickly tried to change the subject. He noticed Ian was also carrying a small present.
"That gift is it for that bucktoothed little girl?" Lupin's eyes carried a strange glint.
"?????"
Ian felt like this guy's brain must be slightly misshapen.
"Didn't I show you the invitation yesterday? Miss Greengrass invited me to visit her home. So I'm going to the Greengrass residence first, then heading straight to Diagon Alley. I'll start receiving Miss Hermione Granger and her family tomorrow." Ian pulled out the invitation letter and explained his time management plan in full.
He was someone who genuinely enjoyed socializing with his classmates.
And it absolutely had nothing to do with the fact that Daphne Greengrass mentioned in her letter that if he visited, her father would reimburse Ian's ridiculously expensive travel fee of 200 gold Galleons.
The fact that the Greengrass family would be serving dragon meat tonight might be a real attraction for him, actually, that was the main reason he had prepared a gift.
"You're going alone?"
Lupin spoke up, clearly a bit concerned. "The Greengrass family is no soft lot. Their ancestors amassed massive wealth through the trafficking of unfortunate African slaves."
This down-and-out werewolf seemed to know a fair bit about the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Then again, to be fair, most of the wealthy pure-blood houses had been involved in the slave trade to some extent…
Back in the Age of Exploration.
Whether it was Muggle or wizarding Britain, there were virtually no great houses that hadn't dabbled in that business.
"Slave trading? Yeah, that's a despicable act, and that's exactly why I should go to this dinner," Ian's logic made Lupin completely confused.
"What the hell?"
The tall and lanky Lupin puzzled over it for quite a while, but still couldn't figure out the causal link.
"If the Greengrass family's gold came from such shady means, then obviously I should do my best to take as many Galleons from them as I can. Did you know they're going to reimburse me 200 gold Galleons for travel expenses?"
Seeing Lupin wearing his classic "werewolf question mark" face, Ian patiently explained, "I can't save the ancestors of my African friends, but I can rescue the Galleons that were earned off of them!"
Such a righteous declaration!
Spoken with complete seriousness by a little wizard from a rather… unexpected angle.
"..."
Lupin had no idea how to respond. His rational mind told him this was clearly a hell joke, but at the same time, he couldn't shake the faint feeling that maybe, just maybe, there was some twisted logic buried in it?
Pah! Nonsense!
Am I just sleep-deprived and confused?
"Aren't you afraid they might have bad intentions toward you?" Lupin shook his head, trying to clear the "polluted" thoughts from his brain, and once again seriously warned the young wizard.
"If they do have bad intentions… then that's even better."
Once again, Ian's response completely blindsided Lupin. "That would be a dream come true! If any kind of conflict breaks out, I could round it up and say I helped avenge all my African friends' ancestors!"
His voice even carried a slight sense of anticipation.
Like he was low-key looking forward to something happening.
It took Lupin several seconds to fully register what this little wizard actually meant.
"???????"
The look on his face could only be described as utterly indescribable, as if ten thousand galloping magical llamas were trampling through his mind. How could a twelve-year-old wizard's thoughts be this twisted?
"If you're really that uneasy, you could always come with me, you know? Dumbledore did ask you to keep an eye on me… and hey, they're serving dragon meat tonight. Who knows? We might even be able to take home half the carcass."
Ian looked full of expectation.
He'd been craving dragon meat for quite some time.
"Even these so-called noble pure-blood families wouldn't be so extravagant as to openly buy a whole dragon just to butcher it…" Lupin wasn't trying to kill Ian's excitement; he was just stating what he knew to be realistic.
However—
"See, it really is a whole dragon. Daphne said it was from a Dragon Breeding Field her family invested in, one of the dragons accidentally fell and died, so they're inviting me over to try some dragon meat."
Ian pulled out the invitation letter he had received the previous night. The attached photograph of the dragon's slaughtered body was actually what convinced him that, even if it was a trap, it was still worth attending.
"I'm guessing her dad forced her to write the letter." After saying that, the little wizard added, "The tone of the invitation doesn't match Daphne's personality at all."
He and Miss Daphne Greengrass didn't exactly have a great relationship at school.
"Uh…"
Lupin looked a bit stunned as Ian handed him the photograph. In the center of the image, a massive Western dragon lay still, its gigantic body covered in shimmering, faint-blue scales.
The apex predator of the natural food chain was now being butchered like a dead pig. An elf, holding what looked like an ordinary knife that shimmered with magical light, skillfully maneuvered between the hard scales of the Western dragon. Each cut was precise, causing the scales to gently fall away and reveal the tender meat beneath.
Another elf was in charge of collecting the meticulously sliced parts. Its hands seemed to possess invisible strength, effortlessly lifting the heavy portions into baskets that had been prepared in advance.
"This family really knows how to splurge…" Lupin followed behind Ian. He honestly wasn't all that interested in eating dragon meat; what mattered more to him was the task Dumbledore had entrusted to him.
"You know they're trying to win you over, right? Invest in you? That's a typical tactic of pure-blood families." Lupin felt he should continue helping the little wizard understand the truth of human nature.
"Of course I know." Ian nodded matter-of-factly.
"It just means they have good taste."
There was a touch of smugness in his tone.
"Investments are made with the expectation of returns. What do you think they're hoping to get back from you?" Lupin continued in a low voice, trying to guide the young wizard's thinking.
However—
"Just take the benefits first and worry about the rest later. As long as I don't sign any contracts, there's always room to maneuver in the future, right?" Ian's reply left Lupin slightly speechless.
Sometimes, this kid's thinking felt even more shameless than the people in Knockturn Alley.
No.
He is even more shameless than Tom Riddle himself.
(To Be Continued…)