Chapter 118, Section 116. The Soviet Witch
"So he's been on the card all along!"
"So why didn't we see him before?"
Harry and Ron looked extremely frustrated. They both had collections of wizard cards, and Dumbledore's cards were the most numerous, yet they hadn't noticed Nicolas Flamel was on this particular card.
Hermione looked at the card in her hand, as if she remembered something.
"Dumbledore… I think I saw that name in a book of entertainment!"
Lynn didn't give her a chance to recall further, but directly told them who Nicolas Flamel was.
"He was a 14th-century wizard, the inventor of the Philosopher's Stone, a great alchemist, and also an opera enthusiast. He should be over six hundred years old now."
"Yes! That's right! The only current owner of the Philosopher's Stone is this Nicolas Flamel!" Hermione said excitedly, finally remembering where she had heard of Nicolas Flamel.
"The Philosopher's Stone? Over six hundred years old?"
Harry and Ron looked blank. These two academically challenged students didn't even have enough time to play, let alone read extracurricular books.
Hermione glared at them, exasperated.
"It's a magical substance with amazing powers. The Philosopher's Stone can turn any metal into pure gold, and it can also create an elixir of immortality, making whoever drinks it eternally alive."
Harry and Ron suddenly understood. They not only knew what the Philosopher's Stone was, but also what Dumbledore had hidden in the fourth-floor corridor!
The three Gryffindors were ecstatic.
Hermione was about to share their discoveries with Lynn when Harry and Ron pulled her away.
Lynn watched them leave, smiled slightly, and returned to the picnic camp.
"What did they say to you?" Cedric asked.
"They wanted to know who Nicolas Flamel is." Lynn didn't dwell on that topic, instead continuing their discussion of their modified Imperius Spell, "So why does someone always mess things up when we're working together?"
"Because the slogan is too embarrassing," Ian said expressionlessly. "
Don't make excuses for your mistakes. It has nothing to do with the slogan; it's definitely because you're not proficient enough. We need to practice more."
Lynn devised a study plan for them.
"Practice from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., all day Saturday, and rest on Sunday. Until we are perfectly coordinated and the spell achieves the desired effect!"
...
"Why didn't you let me tell Lynn about what happened on the fourth floor!" Hermione glared angrily at Harry and Ron.
Harry explained to her, "The fewer people who know about this, the better, especially since Lynn is a Slytherin."
Hermione looked at him angrily.
"You don't trust him?"
Harry and Ron recalled the scene they had witnessed Lynn performing a cult ritual, and they felt he wasn't a good person. They wanted to say yes, but Hermione and Lynn were close, and they didn't dare to say it directly.
"It's not that we don't trust Lynn," Ron began to argue.
"We don't trust Snape. He's Lynn's headmaster and he deceived Lynn's trust. If Lynn tells Snape what we know, we'll be in danger."
"But I don't think Professor Snape is the thief either," Hermione said.
Harry added,
"But we can't completely rule out the possibility that Snape is the bad guy. After all, he's the prime suspect right now."
"The Quidditch match is about to start again, and I heard Snape is the referee this time. If he really was the one who messed things up last time, he definitely won't give up this opportunity. You guys have to keep a close eye on him while I'm on the field."
Hermione finally agreed with their assessment.
Lynn was, of course, someone to be absolutely trusted, but Snape remained to be seen; whether he was good or bad would have to wait and see.
Gryffindor's second Quidditch match soon began.
This match was Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor, with Cedric being Harry's opponent.
Dumbledore was also in the stands watching the match.
This disappointed Harry and his friends, but also relieved, because with the headmaster present, no one would dare to harm Harry in public again. However, at the same time, they couldn't tell if Snape was the same person who had tampered with Harry's broomstick last time. Lynn
didn't come to watch this match.
The day before the match, Dumbledore had assigned him a thankless task.
Rewind to yesterday.
Lynn was summoned to the Headmaster's office, where Dumbledore and another person were seated.
A witch with long, pale blonde hair.
She looked young, perhaps around thirty, wearing a dark green cloak and a pointed hat like Professor McGonagall's.
When Lynn arrived, she was chatting happily with Dumbledore.
"...Of course, I support your ideals. Everyone hopes to resolve this peacefully, but I'm not one of you. So, I can only offer some advice in my capacity as President of the International Wizarding Federation. The final decision rests with you."
He smiled and introduced Lynn to the witch as he entered.
"This is Lynn Belloc, the outstanding Slytherin student I mentioned earlier. He achieved first place in his class in his first year and has many good friends at school."
He said to Lynn.
"This is Ms. Yelena Shayk. She's an education specialist from the Magical Council of the Soviet Union, here at Hogwarts for observation and study. She'd like a young wizard from Hogwarts to show her around the castle, so I called you over."
Before coming, Lynn had considered many possibilities of why Dumbledore had summoned him.
Perhaps he had discovered his intentions and wanted him to back down early so as not to interfere with his grand plan to cultivate a savior.
Or perhaps he was telling him, "I'm laying my cards on the table. I'm not going to pretend anymore. You, a remnant of Grindelwald, can spend the rest of your life with Gellert in Nurmengard."
It's no wonder Lynn had so many wild thoughts, because this was the first time Dumbledore had contacted him after the first-year holidays, and he had a feeling it wasn't going to be anything good.
But all he got was to entertain this witch from the Soviet Union?
He and the witch from the Soviet Union exchanged a glance.
She was very beautiful, her features not as defined as those of typical white women, but rather softer, giving her a mixed-race look.
"Hello, Mr. Bellok, you can call me Ms. Shayk. I'll be leaving the Hogwarts sightseeing to you."
This is the first update today. Since the free period has lasted almost three weeks longer than I expected, I need to summarize the later plot. Also, because of the controversy caused by the last original plot, I'll take this opportunity to conduct a survey. As originally planned, I will start a major original plot after this school year ends. The plot hole has already been dug: it's about the disintegration of the CCP and some ideas and secondary creations about the magical world there. So, are you interested in this part of the plot? Do you want to continue seeing school life, or an expansion of the original magical world? You can leave a message here, and I will decide the length of this part based on your feedback. Just
so you know, I think my concept for this part is pretty good, and I won't touch on the same old "magic disappearance" trope as before.
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(End of Chapter)