Chapter 98. Inducement
"Take this to Professor Fawkes."
Lynn stuffed the letter he had written into the owl's claws.
Lynn's owl stood there dumbfounded, as if it hadn't heard him.
"I know you're having a hard time. Professor Fawkes is far away right now. I understand how you feel," Lynn sighed.
No, you don't understand!
The owl rolled its eyes, looking very unwilling.
Lynn suddenly became righteous again.
"Don't worry, I definitely won't treat you badly for doing this for me. Last time I made you run so far in such a sorry state because I was inexperienced. This time I've prepared everything."
As he spoke, he took out a small hanging bag filled with rice, wheat kernels, and other dry rations, and then hung it around the owl's neck.
"And there's more."
He then took out a small postman's hat and put it on the owl's head; it was the perfect size.
After fully equipping his owl, Lynn pushed it outwards.
"Go, go, go quickly, I'll prepare some delicious food for you to come back."
The owl turned back and gave him a resentful look, then spread its wings and flew out of the auditorium to serve the evil capitalists.
Cedric watched him finally see his owl off with glee, laughing so hard he almost fell over, before finally suppressing a laugh and asking,
"Where are you sending it? Why is it so unwilling?"
"To find Professor Fawkes, he's probably already in Asia."
"No wonder."
Lynn looked up and calculated the days.
"Today seems to be another full moon, right? It's Ian's transformation day again."
Ian, who was leisurely cutting a steak, nodded slightly.
Lynn suddenly perked up.
"We'll meet at the Whomping Willow tonight. I might be a little late, around nine o'clock."
"What are you going to do?"
"It's a secret," he said mysteriously.
Cedric shrugged. "Alright, I'll ask again when it's no longer a secret."
That afternoon, in the Hogwarts library,
Lynn was diligently copying notes into a notebook. It was a book from the restricted section, about the formation of ghosts. Snape had given him a pass allowing him to borrow it but not take it out of the library.
So Lynn could only record the key information in the library, to organize and summarize it with other materials later.
However, he wasn't alone in the library today; a chattering little girl sat beside him.
"Seriously, I really can't understand why their sense of collective honor is so poor. If they're provoked by someone like that, why don't they just go to the teacher and complain?
Why do they have to fight on the spot? That will only cause Gryffindor to lose points, and all the points I worked so hard to get from Professor McGonagall using the Conversion Charm will be gone. Harry might even be expelled!"
Lynn noticed Mrs. Pince's sharp gaze and quickly patted Hermione on the shoulder to calm her down and lower her voice.
"I understand your thinking. You want them all to follow the rules, to do everything according to the rules, right?"
Hermione nodded, looking dejected.
"Everyone following the rules is just your ideal world. Not everyone thinks like you. Like I just heard you say, in flying class, wasn't it my fellow student Malfoy who broke the rules and caused trouble first? He broke the rules first, so why do you still expect Harry to follow the rules?"
"Was I wrong?" Hermione asked weakly.
Lynn, who had been multitasking with Hermione, put down his quill and said seriously,
"You didn't do anything wrong, Hermione. It was right to fight for the collective honor, and it was right for Harry to stand up for his friend. The only one who was wrong in this matter was Malfoy. It's just that your approach was wrong."
Hermione blinked at Lynn.
"Back then, you were taking flying lessons together as Gryffindor and Slytherin. After Harry and Malfoy got into a fight, your first priority wasn't to stop Harry, but to stand with him.
Then, prepare for the professors' arrival, presenting evidence in your favor to minimize damage to your house.
Finally, in private, criticize Harry for his reckless and thoughtless actions, explaining to them how you could have maximized Malfoy's damage without incurring punishment.
This way, they won't blame you or be angry with you; they'll think of you first in any future situation and consult you, always following your lead."
Hermione stared, mouth agape, eyes wide, speechless for a long time.
"Have you ever used this trick on me?"
Lynn looked at her innocently.
"How could I? When have you ever said that to you?" I
wouldn't need that trick on you. Just put a pine cone in the middle of the rope, and you, you silly squirrel, would fall for it yourself.
"Well... Malfoy is one of your Slytherin students. You're teaching me like this, and now Slytherin is losing points because of him. Aren't you upset?"
Lynn sighed and ruffled Hermione's hair.
"Isn't it because of you? If you feel bullied, just come to me. I'll teach him a lesson for you."
The little girl's head struggled slightly under Lynn's hand, her ears turning a little red, her hands clutching the hem of her robe.
"You're so kind, Lynn."
"Of course."
Even ignoring the fact that Malfoy could lose points for Slytherin with Snape protecting him, he could easily earn those points back in Potions class with Snape's help.
Of course, what he said wasn't entirely just to appease the little girl.
If he ever discovered Malfoy bullying Hermione, he wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson.
After cheering up the upset little girl, Lynn finished his studies at the library for the day.
He returned to his single dormitory room with a thick stack of parchment filled with notes.
He had cleared out a cabinet on his desk specifically to store his materials, which were already piled high with thick parchment and black notebooks.
They were all about souls, ghosts, and spirits.
After putting everything away, Lynn didn't bother with them anymore; he had something more important to do today.
He took out a small glass bottle he had prepared beforehand from his locker, then unfolded the parchment that Kira had given him with the steps for Animagus transformation, and checked the contents again.
Today was another full moon, and he was lucky; the weather outside was clear, without a single cloud.
The next step in the Animagus transformation could continue.
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(End of Chapter)