My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Lynn seems to have had a change of fortune.

The day after the Sukuri witch incident, he, Cedric, and Ian finally succeeded in releasing the modified Soul Seal for the first time.

Because it was the first successful attempt, even though the release was completed, the effect seemed rather ordinary.

But once they succeed the first time, they will gradually become more skilled until they have completely mastered it.

Although, Lynn doesn't have much time left.

Furthermore, Lynn made a substantial breakthrough in his research on the spread of dark magic.

He can make his spell explode like fireworks after it's released.

The effect wasn't as dramatic as Professor Fox's, but it was still a significant start. No matter how small the expansion was, Lynn had managed to spread his spell and achieve the effect of area damage.

Lynn was in an exceptionally good mood after two consecutive breakthroughs in magical research.

On the weekend at noon, he made a special trip to the Hogwarts kitchen to cook a big meal, not only to reward himself but also to treat Cedric and the others.

They were really driven crazy by Lynn. Putting everything else aside, just the phrases "Steamed buns, four for a dollar, hehe" and "Who the hell buys millet!" were spoken with perfect accents.

If you put them on the streets of China and they were hawking their wares, no one would be able to tell they were foreigners just by their voices and not by their faces.

He wanted to call Hermione over as well, but the little girl mysteriously told him that they were exploring a big secret and were busy at noon, and would come to find him in the afternoon.

Lynn estimated the time and guessed that the so-called big secret they had discovered must have been the secret meeting between Snape and Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest on the afternoon of the Quidditch match.

In other words, the time he's been waiting for is fast approaching.

Lynn has now basically completed all the necessary preparations. The only thing that hasn't progressed is the bottle of Animagus transformation potion buried in the Forbidden Forest.

That really is up to fate. Nobody knows when the storm Lynn has been waiting for will finally come.

He has been studying the weather patterns in Britain over the years and has concluded that the most likely time for thunderstorms to arrive is in March or April.

If it doesn't rain heavily by then, Animagus's transformation probably won't be completed before his plan is actually implemented. If he's even less lucky and doesn't come by the end of the semester, then all the potion preparations he's done will have to be redone.

However, Animagus is not essential for him right now. Having it would only be a bonus, but not having it wouldn't have a significant impact, so Lynn isn't particularly insistent on it.

At noon, the three of them had a big meal by the Black Lake. Cedric even got a rare moment of playfulness and tried to feed a giant squid in the lake with a grilled fish.

The young wizards at Hogwarts are not afraid of the giant squid in the Black Lake.

Although it is very large and scary, every time new students enroll, the upperclassmen would tell the young wizards that it is a good squid.

It not only doesn't harm students, but it also often helps bring students who have fallen into the water back to shore.

It would even come out to play with the Weasley brothers when they swam in the Black Lake in the summer.

Cedric dangled the grilled fish by the lake for a long time, and then a squid actually swam up from the bottom of the water and stretched out a tentacle to catch the grilled fish.

Ian watched this scene with wide eyes.

He had only heard that the squid living in the Black Lake were very docile, but today he had truly witnessed it for himself.

They stayed by the Black Lake until the afternoon before dispersing.

Lynn didn't leave; he was still sitting by the Black Lake, sipping his pumpkin juice. Hermione was supposed to come to him soon, as agreed.

Hermione arrived ten minutes early, which Lynn appreciated, because punctuality inspires trust.

"Lynn, you must keep your distance from Professor Snape!"

This was the first thing the little girl said after meeting Lynn. Her expression was very serious, not like she was joking.

But the more serious she seemed, the more Lynn wanted to laugh, because he knew what Hermione was trying to tell him.

Hermione carefully crafted her words, afraid that Lynn would portray her as the kind of person who would sow discord between him and the professor.

"Really, you have to believe me. You told me to discern right from wrong for myself, and everything I'm telling you is what Harry saw with his own eyes!"

Lynn nodded solemnly and poured her a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Okay, of course I'll believe you."

Hermione took the pumpkin juice Lynn poured for her, took a small sip, then hugged the glass to her chest and began to tell Lynn about their discovery.

All the discoveries.

This includes the three-headed dog in the fourth-floor corridor, the trapdoor guarded by the dog, and the magic stone hidden inside the trapdoor.

"...Just a few days ago, right after the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match, Harry noticed Professor Snape's unusual behavior again. He secretly followed him to the Forbidden Forest on his broomstick and overheard Professor Snape's conversation with Professor Quirrell. He was threatening Professor Quirrell to take sides, trying to get the information from him about how to obtain the Philosopher's Stone!"

Lynn exclaimed in amazement.

"Wow! You guys are amazing, you actually discovered so many secrets."

Hermione felt that Lynn's praise was perfunctory and that he didn't believe her at all.

The little girl was a bit angry.

"I'm not kidding you. Professor Snape is highly suspicious. You need to be careful when you're with him and don't let him fool you."

Lynn didn't respond to her question; instead, she asked her another one.

"So, you secretly learned so many codes, didn't Harry and Ron tell you not to tell anyone?"

Hermione tilted her head back.

"Of course they warned me, especially emphasizing that I shouldn't tell you these things, saying they were afraid you'd be misled by Professor Snape and tell him everything we knew."

"Then why did you tell me all this?"

Hermione seemed very dissatisfied with Lynn's words.

"Of course I'm telling you. Don't think I can't see through it. Harry and the others say they're afraid you'll tell on them to Professor Snape, but that's just an excuse. They're just keeping an eye on you. I stopped using these kinds of tricks when I was six."

Lynn watched the little girl's angry expression with a smile, finding it quite amusing, and he called out to her.

Hermione.

"Um?"

"Have you been thinking about getting a new hairstyle? Like... pigtails?"

————————————————————First dividing line of 2021——————

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

As I typed this, it was exactly 1:44 AM. Everyone else was still happily celebrating the New Year, while I was stuck in my dorm, miserably staying up all night typing away (つД`).

A new year is a new beginning, of course. Starting today, the rules for monthly tickets on Qidian have changed. Books that are not yet available for purchase can now be voted for with monthly tickets. So, in addition to asking for recommendation tickets, gentlemen, if you have any monthly tickets on hand, you can also vote for me.

As for why?

Would you vote for someone else besides me?

If you say you can, I'll yell at you!

(Pah! What a heartless man!)