(As supplemented in the previous chapter, let's continue with the rest of the work!)
Picking up where we left off, for some reason Hector had suddenly grown reticent. He had brought the conversation to a close with such breezy finality that neither Wendell nor Hector himself knew how to handle it, and the atmosphere between them instantly plunged into an awkwardness most abnormal.
This awkwardness persisted for some time as the two of them walked aimlessly through the Hogwarts grounds, until the arrival of an ice-breaker shattered the silence.
Chapter 161