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After the dance club ended, Lynn's life returned to its usual tranquility.
The reason was that the news that Beauxbatons' Miss Delacour had become Lynn's dance partner spread like wildfire throughout Hogwarts.
No one knew who leaked it. It might have been a student passing by the stables that day, a Beauxbatons girl who saw them leave together, or little Gabrielle accidentally letting it slip.
In short, once the news spread, Lynn's treatment underwent a subtle change.
Those ambush-style invitations vanished overnight. The looks in the hallways changed from "Is he looking at me? Do I have a chance?" to complex expressions of "He actually succeeded." Occasionally, whispers could be heard:
"Have you heard? Lynn's partner is Fleur Delacour."
"For real?!"
"Absolutely! Someone saw them talking over by the Abraxan stables with their own eyes!"
"Merlin... how did he do it?"
"Don't know, but it definitely wasn't because of his face."
When Lynn heard that last comment, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He decided not to argue with them. As for himself, he made no clarification about the matter.
Edgar also asked him, "Lynn, are you and Fleur Delacour partners?"
Lynn was reading at the time and replied without looking up, "Yeah."
Edgar was silent for a full three seconds.
Then he exploded.
"No—on what grounds?!" He waved his hands. "That's Fleur Delacour! The one every boy in school dreams of inviting!"
Lynn looked up and glanced at him.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying—" Edgar leaned in, sizing him up, "You're just average-looking, and don't even get me started on your personality—sinister, cunning, full of bad ideas. You're annoying when you talk, always making people uncomfortable. How on earth did you get her to agree?"
Lynn thought for a moment and answered seriously, "She asked me to be her partner. I said no special requests, she said none, and I said okay."
Edgar: "..."
Just like that, days passed, and in the blink of an eye, only a few days remained before the Christmas holidays.
Today, Potion Class.
Snape was in an exceptionally bad mood today—or rather, when was he ever in a good mood?
Anyway, Lynn's cauldron had just emitted a wisp of smoke that Snape deemed shouldn't be there, and ten points were deducted. Edgar cut a blade of grass incorrectly, five points off. William Smith said two extra sentences while asking a question, ten points off.
Even someone like Ollie, who was as quiet as a mouse the whole time, had five points deducted—"Brewing Potions with a blank expression is a desecration of the profound science of Potions"—Snape's exact words.
Lynn almost couldn't help laughing out loud.
He held it in.
But Snape still saw that twitching corner of his mouth.
So another five points were deducted.
"Slandering a Professor's facial expression"—a brand-new crime.
Lynn was now walking down the hallway, radiating an aura of "stay away," while thinking about how to get revenge.
Just then, he saw a familiar figure standing ahead.
Harry Potter.
He stood at a corner of the hallway, hands behind his back, fingers tightly clutching something. His expression was as tense as if he were about to take a final exam, and fine beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Don't misunderstand, Harry's target wasn't him; it was Cho Chang standing at the other end of the hallway.
Harry took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Um... Cho Chang," his voice was a bit weak, "can I have a word with you?"
A polite smile appeared on Cho's face.
"Of course, what is it?"
The tips of Harry's ears began to turn red. He brought his hands from behind his back, revealing the somewhat crumpled envelope he had been clutching.
"Uh... could you, I mean... go to the ball with me..."
His voice grew smaller and smaller, but Lynn still heard it clearly.
His eyes widened instantly.
Isn't this poaching?!
Lynn stood there, watching the scene, unsure for a moment whether to mourn for Cedric or light a candle for Harry.
Cho's expression froze for a second.
She looked at Harry, a trace of apology in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Harry." She shook her head. "I've already accepted Cedric's invitation..."
Harry was completely stunned.
"When did that happen?!"
Cho explained, her tone still polite.
"On the very day Headmaster Dumbledore announced the Yule Ball."
Crack.
Lynn seemed to hear the sound of something breaking.
He looked down at Harry's chest—it wasn't broken. So what broke?
Oh, it was his heart.
Harry's face instantly flushed red, from the tips of his ears down to his neck. He nodded frantically and said incoherently, "It's—it's okay! I—I was just asking! Anyway, I've got to go! Bye!"
Then he turned and ran.
His speed was astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared around the corner of the stairs. That speed, that explosive power—one could only say he truly deserved to be praised by Wood as "the most talented Seeker in Hogwarts."
Lynn stood there, looking at the empty hallway, and couldn't help but click his tongue twice.
Cho stood there, softly saying toward the direction Harry had vanished, "I'm really sorry."
But Harry certainly couldn't hear it.
Lynn slowly walked over to where Harry had just been standing.
On the floor, an envelope lay quietly.
Lynn bent down and picked it up.
He looked at the envelope, then at Cho, then back at the envelope.
Cho noticed his gaze, and a flicker of embarrassment crossed her face.
"That... Harry, he..."
"I know." Lynn waved his hand, his tone relaxed. "No need to explain. I didn't see anything."
Cho was stunned for a moment, then revealed a smile.
Lynn stuffed the envelope into his pocket, waved at Cho, and continued walking forward.
As he walked, his eyes darted around.
An idea popped into his head.
...
The next day, Potion Class.
The classroom was filled with the mixed scents of various herbs and Potions, and the liquid in the cauldrons bubbled away. Snape, trailing his long black robes, paced between the rows of cauldrons, his gaze like two ice blades fixed on the trembling students.
Lynn sat in his seat, a pot of strangely colored Potion brewing in the cauldron before him.
He looked serious on the surface, but his eyes occasionally drifted toward the window—where an Owl was flying this way.
The Owl flew steadily, its target clear.
It flew through the open window, circled the classroom once, and then—precisely dropped a red letter at Lynn's feet.
A Howler.
Everyone's eyes were instantly drawn to it.
Lynn looked down at the letter at his feet, his face showing a perfectly timed expression of surprise.
Snape's footsteps stopped.
He turned around, his gaze falling on the red letter, then following the letter to Lynn, finally settling on Lynn's face.
The corner of Snape's mouth curled slightly.
He strode over.
"Don't move, Lynn."
He stood before Lynn, looking down at him, then at the red Howler on the floor.
"Let's hear the new content," Snape drawled. "I think this might be from some poor girl whose heart you've broken."
A suppressed snicker rippled through the classroom.
Lynn's expression instantly turned to horror.
The curve of Snape's mouth widened.
He couldn't wait to bend down, pick up the letter, and tap it lightly with his wand.
The envelope opened automatically.
The red stationery unfolded, and a magically amplified voice instantly rang through the entire classroom—
"Dear Professor Snape!"
The whole room went silent.
Snape's movements froze.
The voice continued, articulate and crystal clear:
"I am a first-year Gryffindor student. I was deeply attracted to you the first time I attended Potion Class. Your greasy black hair, your deep voice, your eyes full of wisdom—you are the one in my heart..."
"Enough!!!"
Snape's voice exploded, cutting off the ongoing reading.
He flicked his wand violently, and the Howler instantly turned into a ball of fire, burning to ashes in the air.
There was a dead silence in the classroom.
Everyone was stunned.
Their eyes moved back and forth between Snape and the dissipating flames, their minds completely blank.
Snape stood there, his chest heaving violently.
"Professor, this has nothing to do with me. I don't know who sent it either."
Snape glared at him, but Lynn still looked at him innocently, even blinking.
Silence lasted for a full five seconds.
Then—
"Get out of my classroom!!!"
Without a word, Lynn stood up and walked out. When he reached the door, he didn't forget to turn back and wave at his dumbfounded classmates.