"You still haven't answered that question, what's your dream?" Gary looked up at the stars, circling back to the previous question.
"Oh, my..." Alfrina blushed and waved her hand, giggling embarrassedly. "My dream..."
She suddenly fell silent, then continued after a moment, "Actually, I don't really have a dream. When I first entered Hogwarts, I wanted to do something to prove myself. I studied hard, participated in extracurricular activities... I achieved good results, but I never had a clear direction."
"I also don't know what I want to do in the future," Alfrina also looked up at the sky. "You were right before, after experiencing the colorful magic world, it's very difficult to go back to the Muggle world."
"If I had to say a dream, would traveling the world count?" Alfrina pulled a random answer, then immediately shot back at Gary, "Don't just ask me, what about you?"
"Me? Living a happy and content life is my dream. There's nothing wrong with being a carefree 'A Maverick Pig' and drifting through life," Gary said. "Waking up early and then taking a nap, eating whatever I want for lunch, doing things I enjoy in the afternoon, writing some articles by the window to earn some Galleons, cooking a couple of my signature dishes in the evening, pouring a glass of bulk whiskey, or going out with a few good friends..."
"Isn't that just living life without ambition? It sounds different from most people's dreams." Alfrina understood and teased him.
"Yes, in most people's eyes, my dream lifestyle is a bit maverick, but that's my dream," Gary propped his chin up. "It sounds simple, but it's really difficult to do. Something that's impossible to achieve right now can only be dreamt of."
"...Then it's settled. When we're free someday, you'll travel the world with me first, and then you can stay home and be your 'A Maverick Pig'," Alfrina laughed.
"How do I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick?" Gary said. "I travel the world with you, and then you just let me stay home alone and be an 'A Maverick Pig'?"
Alfrina giggled and pushed Gary, her cheeks flushed.
...
After a big argument with Gary, James returned to the dormitory fuming. They had stayed up all night yesterday, finally adding all the necessary spells to the map. At this moment, Sirius and the other two were still sleeping soundly in their beds.
"Bang!" James slammed the door, immediately waking the few people lying in bed.
"What's wrong?" Sirius clutched his head, feeling a splitting headache after staying up all night.
"That Gary guy is driving me crazy..." James complained to Sirius. "You were absolutely right, that guy just loves to meddle."
"What's he gossiping about now?" Sirius yawned and got out of bed, grabbing his toothbrush to wash up in the bathroom.
James pulled the half-asleep Remus and Peter up. "He knows about Remus's Werewolf identity."
That one sentence jolted the groggy Remus and Peter awake.
"He knows?" Remus had felt uneasy ever since he listened to James and Sirius and didn't tell his friends in "A Maverick Pig" about his identity. Now, hearing that his secret had been exposed, he felt a surge of panic.
"He wouldn't go and report Remus, would he?" Peter got out of bed and tied his hair back with a rubber band.
"No way, Gary isn't that kind of person." Remus just felt that if this issue came out, he wouldn't be friends with them anymore. He had been in contact with Gary and them for a year and knew he wasn't someone who would betray a friend.
"Yes, he won't tell anyone, but he just told me that we should stay away from you, because once you have ill intentions, the three of us will be finished!" James roared angrily. Sirius, who was washing up in the bathroom, also ran out.
"He..." Remus lowered his head in disappointment. "He really said that?"
"Yes, those were his exact words!" James was so angry his nostrils were practically smoking. He had slept in the same dormitory as Remus for three years; how could he not know what kind of person he was? Did he need Gary Shafiq to remind him?
"I told you Shafiq loves to meddle. Does he really think he's some kind of savior?" Sirius said disdainfully, putting on his robes, intending to go down for dinner.
"He's not wrong to think that... I am a Werewolf, that's already a given. Werewolves are inherently brutal, and he's just worried about you guys." Remus rubbed his face. Waking up to such news felt too surreal.
"At a time like this, you're still defending him!" James slammed the table, making the water glass jump twice.
"He's imagining you as a murderer, Remus, get a grip!" Sirius threw his hands up.
"Before I fell out with him, every time he saw me, he'd pull me aside and just ramble, 'Sirius, you need to apologize to your mother, Sirius, you can't be so rebellious, your family is very worried about you.' How am I supposed to use what he taught me?" Sirius mimicked Gary's tone, and Peter and James both laughed.
Sirius had been living a comfortable life recently. Although his parents had stopped his allowance, his uncle Alphard was still secretly funding him. His living expenses were much more luxurious than those of an average child, and he increasingly felt that leaving the House of Black was the right decision.
His sister Andromeda had insisted on marrying a Muggle-born Wizard, even being disowned by the House of Black for it. His sister lived a happy and fulfilling life, and her child, a Metamorphmagus, was born last year and was adorable.
After all this, Sirius scoffed at Gary's overly strong emphasis on parental respect.
His parents were complete scoundrels, with only blood purity in their minds.
"Don't think about that guy. Remus is right, he's not someone who would report others. We'll just have less contact with him from now on." Sirius put on his robes and sat on the bed, crossing his legs.
Peter and James nodded in agreement.
Remus sat on the bed, gloomy. He felt that his already few friends were about to decrease again.
...
After that night, Gary and Alfrina's relationship underwent a qualitative change. For example, originally in the Great Hall, Gary sat in a row with Howard, and Kona sat in a row with Alfrina, with the four of them facing each other, two men and two women. Now, Gary, without Kona's consent, directly switched places with her. Every time Gary looked up, he could see Kona's resentful gaze.
"Hey, try today's stew, it tastes much better than before." Alfrina pushed the plate of stew in front of her towards Gary.