Author's Note: Don't forget to vote, comment and leave a 5 star review to help the story grow and reach more people.
Read upto +30 Chapters worth of content ahead and receive extra updates daily by going to my Patreon and becoming a fellow Patreon.
Patreon: mrfanfiction140
Be sure to read my other Novels as well:
- Naruto: Multiverse Adventures
- Hunter x Hunter : The Alchemist.
- One Piece : Reincarnated As A Genderbent Charlotte Linlin.
----
By the time Lynn left that small room, dinner had already been over for who knows how long.
He grumbled a few words about Edgar and the others not waiting for him and strolled back to the common room alone.
Just as he reached the entrance to the common room, the door was opened from the inside.
"Pop—pop—pop—"
A dozen Party Poppers exploded simultaneously, and gold, red, silver, and green confetti rained down from above, covering Lynn's head and shoulders.
"Welcome home, Azkaban champion!!!"
Dozens of voices shouted in unison, interspersed with a few whistles.
Lynn froze in the doorway, still in the posture of pushing it open.
He blinked.
The common room was packed with people.
Almost all the Hufflepuff students were present, crowded in groups of two or three on the sofa backs, the carpet, and even the windowsills.
Several small tables had been pushed together into a long line, covered with a large pile of things that Lynn didn't look at too closely.
And at the very front of the crowd, two faces with overly bright smiles were waving empty Party Popper tubes at him.
Fred Weasley.
George Weasley.
Lynn brushed the confetti off his shoulders, a bit surprised.
"...What are you two doing here?"
"Good question!" Fred tossed the Party Popper tube aside and stepped forward enthusiastically. "First, the Gryffindor common room is currently holding a special hearing to 'question Harry Potter on whether he secretly signed up,' and the atmosphere is far too tense for peace-loving people like us."
"Second," George picked up the thread seamlessly, "the Hufflepuff common room is only thirty-seven steps from the Kitchen. For geniuses like us, who need to supplement a large amount of sugar to maintain our creativity, this distance offers an unparalleled strategic advantage."
"Third," the two said in unison, pointing at Lynn at the same time, "the Azkaban champion is here, so how could we not come for the fun?"
Lynn: "..."
What the hell is an Azkaban champion?
"Where's Cedric?" George poked his head behind him. "How come only you're back?"
"He's not with me; he went to accompany his girlfriend."
The twins were both stunned for a moment.
"...Oh," Fred said.
"...Alright then," George said.
The two looked at each other with a complex expression that clearly said, "We haven't eaten anything, but suddenly we feel full."
"Anyway," Fred cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject, pointing to the lavish late-night snack on the table behind them, "look at the delicious food we prepared for you."
"I also prepared Butterbeer..." George said. "It hadn't even been three minutes before the house-elves in the Kitchen bought it back from Hogsmeade."
Then Lynn was pulled by a group of people to the joined tables, which were covered in various delicacies. Although there was a bit less than at the feast, it was still quite lavish.
Lynn wanted to say he had already eaten quite a bit at the feast, but...
His mouth told him, "I can still fight!"
...
The party lasted until one in the morning.
The fireplace in the Hufflepuff common room burned brightly. Someone had set up a wizard's chess board in the corner, some were sharing new candies from Honeydukes, and some were dozing off on the sofa armrests, only to be woken up by their companions throwing cushions at them.
Lynn leaned against the window, the Butterbeer in his hand already empty.
The twins had somehow produced a deck of Exploding Snap and were locked in a fierce battle with several Hufflepuff third-years. Fred's hair had been blasted into several curls, and George was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
Edgar squeezed in to sit next to Lynn, holding half a Pumpkin Pasty in his hand.
"Seriously," he lowered his voice, "who exactly made up the name 'Azkaban Higher Institute'?"
Lynn didn't speak, just gave him a look.
That look clearly said: Do you think if I knew, I'd still be sitting here?
Edgar tactfully changed the subject.
"So, you're really going to participate?"
"The Goblet of Fire spat it out; I have to go whether I want to or not." Lynn placed the empty bottle on the windowsill.
Edgar was silent for a while.
"True," he said. "It's a contract, after all."
He paused, took another bite of the pasty, and added indistinctly, "Anyway, you're tough. You'll be fine."
Lynn thought to himself that he didn't know whether he was tough or not.
But the person who put his name in the Goblet of Fire had better stay well hidden...
...
The next morning.
Sunlight pierced through a gap in the curtains, stabbing precisely at Lynn's eyelids.
He frowned and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow.
A Niffler in the pillow grumbled dissatisfiedly, struggled out from under his head, and staggered to the foot of the bed to continue sleeping.
Quiet.
It was too quiet.
So quiet that Lynn's subconscious finally gave him a warning kick.
Something's wrong.
He snapped his eyes open.
It was bright outside; the sunlight was no longer the thin gold of early morning, but a bright, unabashed white that only appeared with such confidence after at least nine-thirty.
He grabbed the Magic Phone by his bedside.
09:47
Before Lynn could react to what was wrong, a heart-wrenching scream came from the neighboring bed.
"Fuck!!!"
William bolted upright and began feeling around the floor for his trousers before even putting on his glasses.
Edgar poked his head out from under the covers.
"...What's wrong? Is there a fire? Who died—"
"Professor Moody said he was giving us a make-up Defense Against the Dark Arts class today for the one we missed, and we're late!!!"
Edgar's sleepiness evaporated completely within 0.3 seconds.
He sprang out of bed, stepped into his right shoe with his left foot, slammed his head into the bedpost, and began frantically searching for his wand without even stopping to cry out in pain.
Ollie opened his eyes.
He lay there quietly, listened quietly to William's wails and Edgar's cursing, sat up quietly, and dressed quietly.
Meanwhile, Lynn had already put on his robes and was struggling with a scarf that had somehow wound itself around his ankle.
The four of them sprinted through the empty corridors, feeling as though the hallways of Hogwarts had never been so long.
Every turn seemed endless, and every flight of stairs felt like it was intentionally delaying them—
Of course, some stairs were indeed intentionally delaying them. Lynn saw with his own eyes that, as they ran up, a staircase began slowly turning toward another corridor.
Lynn kicked off the railing and vaulted directly over it.
Edgar watched from behind, dumbfounded.
"What kind of move was that—"
"Don't worry about it, just run!"
The classroom for the make-up Defense Against the Dark Arts class was on the third floor.
When they reached the door, they happened to hear Moody's roar coming from inside—
"Hannah! Don't just keep dodging! A spell will hit you sooner or later!"
"Justin! That's not how you cast a Shield Charm! Are you waving a wand or swatting at flies?!"
"Susan! Faster! By the time you finish the incantation, the body's already cold!"
The classroom door was ajar, and a scene of chaos could be seen through the gap.
Students were scattered in groups of two or three throughout the classroom, waving their wands and struggling to maintain a few scattered, translucent barriers.
And Moody—
He stood in the center of the classroom, leaning on his crutch, his wand continuously firing off spells—red, blue, yellow—pelting in all directions like a rainstorm.
His magical eye spun madly, scanning the movements of every student in the room.
Edgar peered through the gap in the door, his face turning pale.
"Merlin's beard..."
Without any warning, Moody struck again.
He didn't even turn his head. His normal eye was still fixed on Ernie Macmillan at the other end of the room, but his wand swung around with almost imperceptible speed toward the door, its tip erupting in a blinding light.
Before Edgar could even let out a cry of alarm, Lynn's wand had already slid from his sleeve into his palm.
A Shield Charm instantly expanded in front of him.
"Clang—!"
A dull sound like metal clashing against metal.
The spell shattered against the barrier and dissipated into the air. Lynn's wand pointed steadily forward, and he didn't retreat a single step.
The classroom fell into a brief silence.
All the students stopped what they were doing and turned their gazes toward the door in unison.
Moody slowly turned around, scanning Lynn.
A second later, Moody pulled his mouth into a grin.
"Good, very good." He paused. "I'm glad to see there's still someone who knows to maintain constant vigilance at all times."
He didn't even look—
"Bang!"
An Expelliarmus shot blindly from the tip of his lowered wand, precisely hitting Ernie Macmillan, who had just breathed a sigh of relief nearby.
Ernie fell to the ground, his wand flying three meters away.
"You!" Moody pointed his crutch at Ernie on the floor. "Dazing off when your Shield Charm was only halfway cast? You think a Dark Wizard will wait for you to be ready before they strike?"
He withdrew his crutch, his gaze falling back onto Lynn.
"You," he said, "are half a class late."
Lynn showed a good attitude in admitting his mistake and quickly promised it wouldn't happen again.
After apologizing, Lynn looked up to meet Moody's gaze. He still wasn't sure whether Moody was truly problematic and could only observe for a bit.
In the face of Lynn's sincere gaze, Moody only said, "Don't let it happen again," before turning back to continue firing spells at the students.