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The Hogwarts Yule Ball was like a beautiful dream that one never wanted to wake up from.
The swirling skirts, the flickering lights, the falling magical snowflakes, and those intoxicating waltzes—it was all so beautiful that it felt unreal. Many hoped that time would slow down, just a little longer.
But some people were different. For example, those who had accidentally stepped heavily on their partner's feet. At that moment, they only wanted to disappear as quickly as possible.
When the final note faded into the air, the entire hall erupted into thunderous applause.
The members of the Weird Sisters waved to the audience before disappearing from the stage in a puff of colorful smoke.
Albus Dumbledore stood up and announced with a smile, "I wish you all a Merry Christmas. Goodnight."
The Yule Ball had ended.
The students began leaving the Great Hall one after another, walking back to their respective common rooms in groups of twos and threes.
Although the ball was over, the students' enthusiasm had not faded in the slightest.
This directly led to a sharp increase in the number of couples appearing together throughout the Castle in the following days.
In the corridors, the library, by the Black Lake, and near the greenhouses—figures could be seen strolling hand in hand everywhere.
In the corners of the common rooms, the tables originally used for wizard chess were now frequently occupied by couples whispering sweet nothings to each other.
As for how long this situation would continue...
No one could say for certain.
In any case, Professor McGonagall was already considering whether the school rules needed another revision.
...
Hufflepuff Common Room.
The fire in the warm fireplace burned brightly, the orange-red flames dancing and bathing the entire room in warmth. A few students were sprawled across the sofas, lazily chatting about various trivial matters.
Passing through the common room and following the corridor leading to the dormitory area, the room at the very end was Lynn and the others' dormitory.
At this moment, someone was standing outside the dormitory door—Cedric Diggory.
He was holding a large, bulging bag in his hand, standing motionless at the entrance.
His brow was furrowed, and his gaze shifted between the bag in his hand, the closed door, and the ceiling.
He was clearly experiencing an intense internal struggle.
To knock? Or not to knock?
Cedric took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"Forget it, I'm already here. It would be a waste not to knock."
Steeling his resolve, he made up his mind.
He raised his hand—
Thud!
A muffled sound rang out.
"Ouch!"
Edgar's surprised cry came from in front of him. He clutched his forehead and staggered backward.
Cedric was also startled by this sudden "ambush." His heart raced, and he almost instinctively threw a punch.
Fortunately, he recognized the face in time.
Edgar rubbed his forehead and looked at him with a pleasantly surprised expression.
"Cedric, how did you know I was coming to find you?"
Cedric froze for a moment.
Then he realized—Edgar thought he had been standing there waiting for him.
"No," Cedric waved his hand, feeling slightly awkward. "I'm not here for you."
Edgar's hand stopped rubbing his forehead.
"...Huh?"
"I'm here for Lynn."
Edgar fell silent.
He stood there, still clutching his forehead, his expression becoming extremely awkward. It turned out he had completely misunderstood the situation.
He lowered his hand as if nothing had happened and cleared his throat.
"Oh," he said. "Lynn is inside."
Cedric nodded and was about to speak—
"Who's looking for me?"
Lynn appeared at the door, holding the book he had been reading with great interest. He was wearing a comfortable lounge robe, and his hair was slightly messy, clearly showing that he had not put much effort into his appearance.
Seeing Cedric, he raised an eyebrow.
"Cedric? What brings you here?"
Cedric gave an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry, Lynn. I'm sorry for interrupting your reading. I really had no other choice but to come to you."
Lynn glanced down at the book in his hand—Nicolas Flamel's Notes—then casually closed it and placed it aside.
"Eh, don't worry about interrupting," he said casually. "We're all in the same House. So, what's the matter?"
Seeing Lynn being so straightforward, Cedric did not bother hiding anything either.
He carried the large bag into the dormitory and walked straight to the desk.
Edgar also slipped inside, curiously craning his neck. William Smith sat up from his bed and adjusted his glasses. Ollie Thorne stopped what he was doing and turned his gaze over.
Cedric tipped the contents of the bag onto the desk.
Clatter—
A large pile of glittering golden fragments poured out of the cloth bag, piling up on the desk and reflecting the light.
Lynn's eyes widened.
He stared at the pile of fragments, stunned for several seconds.
This stuff... looked incredibly familiar. Where had he seen it before?
He leaned closer and picked up one of the fragments, examining it carefully.
Golden, curved, with a smooth surface and jagged edges—
Lynn suddenly looked up.
"This couldn't be... your two golden eggs, could it?"
Cedric gave a wry smile and nodded.
Lynn fell silent.
He looked at Cedric, then at the pile of fragments, and then back at Cedric.
"What did you..." He carefully chose his words. "What did you do to these two golden eggs?"
Cedric could not have looked more embarrassed.
He stood beside the desk, staring at the pile of golden fragments, his face shifting between red and pale.
Beside him, Edgar was still flipping through the fragments, occasionally making thoughtful "tsk-tsk" sounds, which only made Cedric more uncomfortable.
"Well..." Cedric cleared his throat, trying to make himself sound less guilty. "Didn't Ludo Bagman say they should only be opened under special circumstances? We thought we'd research what counted as a 'special circumstance.'"
Lynn nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"Didn't you say before that there was a seam on it?" Cedric glanced at Lynn. "We figured the problem was our method of opening it."
Lynn's expression became slightly complicated.
Cedric did not notice and continued.
"So we made full preparations. We found a quiet place and tried various methods. First, we tested it with our wands—no reaction. Then we used several opening charms, but still nothing happened. Finally, we thought it must be an alchemical item."
Lynn raised an eyebrow.
"It is an alchemical item, that's true. But the problem is that this thing isn't supposed to break that easily."
"Don't rush me, let me finish," Cedric said. "We specifically went to the library to look up information and found some records about similar alchemical items.
"It said that some alchemical items require a specific frequency to activate. So we tried adjusting the way we output magic, trying to find that frequency."
Lynn listened with interest.
"And then?"
"And then..." Cedric's voice lowered. "We tried many times, but nothing worked. Finally, Harry suggested that maybe we should just try prying it open. So we used our wands together and applied force along the seam—"
Lynn's eyelid twitched.
Some people really never learned, did they?
"You pried it open?"
"This time we were fully prepared and managed to pry it open," Cedric said with a bitter smile. "Then we started studying the internal structure. It really was ingenious and complicated. We studied it for a long time and thought we could figure it out."
Lynn nodded.
"And?"
Cedric's face turned completely red.
"And then... it became like this."
He pointed at the pile of fragments on the table.
Lynn fell silent.
He did not know what to say.
This felt like—like what?
He thought for a moment, and an image appeared in his mind.
A thief breaking into someone's house.
A normal thief—the kind with a brain—would first observe the place, learn the owner's schedule, and confirm when nobody was home. Then, while the owner was away, they would quietly pick the lock. Once inside, they would move carefully, avoid making unnecessary noise, avoid disturbing anything, take the valuables, and leave as quickly as possible.
That was a thief with professional standards.
But these people...
They observed. They prepared.
The problem was, after observing, their decision was—
To take a sledgehammer and smash open the front door.
And smashing open the door was not enough. After entering, they would tear through every room, turning everything upside down. If rummaging through things was not enough, they would even feel the need to study the structure of the toilet and smash that apart too.
Then, when the police arrived and looked at the chaos everywhere, they would ask with an innocent expression:
"How did it become like this?"
Cedric felt increasingly guilty under Lynn's gaze.
"Well..." he whispered. "We really didn't mean to..."
Lynn sighed.
"I know you didn't mean to," he said. "But the problem is that you used the wrong method."
He walked to the desk, picked up a fragment, and weighed it in his hand.
"This thing is an official prop for the Triwizard Tournament. What is its purpose? To provide the champions with clues for the second task. How do you think the people who designed it wanted the champions to handle it?"
Cedric was stunned.
Lynn continued:
"Ludo Bagman already made it clear—it should only be opened under 'special circumstances.' What does 'special circumstances' mean? It means this thing has a specific method of opening. You need to find that method, not use brute force."
He placed the fragment back on the desk.
"You noticed the seam, which was correct. But the existence of that seam wasn't telling you to pry it open. It was there to make you realize that the thing could be opened.
"The next step should have been figuring out exactly how to open it, not immediately forcing it apart.
"Didn't I already help you eliminate one wrong answer before?"
Cedric's face turned red again.
Since Lynn was an authority in Alchemy, he could only quietly defend himself.
"We looked up information..."
Lynn nodded.
"Looking up information was right. But what did you do after that? Adjusting the magic frequency was also correct. But when that failed, you gave up and chose brute force."
"It's like you're studying a treasure chest. You observed the keyhole, studied its structure, tried different methods of unlocking it—and then discovered none of them worked. What should you do next?"
Cedric opened his mouth.
"I should..." he said hesitantly, "think of another way?"
Lynn nodded and pointed at the fragments.
"—You chose to use explosives to blow the treasure chest open."
Beside them, Edgar and the other two struggled to hold back their laughter, their shoulders shaking.
Seeing Cedric looking like he wanted to crawl into a hole, Lynn softened his tone and returned to the main topic.
"So... you came here because you want me to help repair them?"
Cedric nodded vigorously.
"We'll pay you. We won't let you do it for free."
"Why are you talking about payment? We're all friends, don't be so formal," Lynn said casually.
Then his tone changed.
"How many Galleons?"
Cedric: "..."
...
After the door closed, the dormitory remained quiet for several seconds.
Then Edgar finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
"Blowing open the treasure chest—" he laughed so hard he could barely stand straight. "Lynn, that analogy was brilliant!"
Lynn glanced at him.
"What are you laughing at? If you had gone, you probably would have blown it up even faster than they did."
Edgar's laughter came to an abrupt stop.