Chapter 50. The Strangest Person.
The day after the conflict.
In the Slytherin common room, Betty approached Lynn again.
This time, Lynn didn't avoid her; in fact, he was waiting for her there.
"I heard, Lynn, that Raphael gave you trouble yesterday. He even used those filthy words to call you. Are you alright?"
Lynn thought to himself that childhood sweethearts were no match for newcomers.
Raphael had been thoroughly humiliated by him yesterday, and Betty's first question was whether he was alright.
"I'm fine, Senior." Lynn was grateful for her kindness.
"But Senior Raphael... he probably isn't doing well."
Betty didn't show any pleasantness at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. "
He deserved it. After this incident, Professor Snape might even strip him of his prefectural status. Saying those things was truly awful."
Betty twirled a strand of hair on her shoulder with her fingers, pretending to be casual.
"Why have you been eating at that Ravenclaw table all the time lately? Are you free tonight? My family sent me some snacks, we can eat together by the Black Lake..."
"Sorry, senior." Lynn took a deep breath. Although he had never been in a relationship in either of his two lives, this wasn't the first time he'd rejected a girl.
He was a proficient hand at it.
"I know you like me, but I'm too young, I don't plan on having a girlfriend right now, and... you're a good person."
Lynn's rejection was too direct, leaving Betty no chance whatsoever, which made her feel disappointed and embarrassed.
"Okay, okay."
...
It's better to be direct.
This way, it prevents lingering feelings and any more melodramatic misunderstandings later.
After Herbalism class on Thursday, Lynn decided to look for the Room of Requirement hidden in the castle.
He definitely couldn't go back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom; who knew if something similar would happen again?
He only vaguely remembered one clue about the Room of Requirement: opposite it on the wall was a tapestry of a troll and a ballet teacher.
He didn't know its exact location.
However, there were plenty of "people" to ask for directions in Hogwarts Castle. He asked for clues from the portraits along the corridors and unknowingly arrived at the third floor of the castle.
There weren't many people there, and there was a statue of a one-eyed hunchbacked old woman.
Just as he passed in front of the statue, a hand suddenly reached out from behind it and grabbed his arm.
Lynn wasn't alarmed because he recognized the owner of the arm.
"What are you two doing hiding here?"
He looked helplessly at the grinning Weasley twins, who always seemed to appear out of nowhere.
George put his arm around Lynn's shoulder.
"We've all heard about what happened to you, Lynn. I've had my eye on that Raphael guy for a long time. He's always looking down on everyone. Who's looking down on whom?"
Lynn was at a loss with these two troublemakers who seemed to thrive on chaos. He glanced at Fred, who was furtively hiding something behind his back.
"Don't change the subject. You haven't answered my question yet."
The twins exchanged a glance, as if they had reached an agreement on something.
"We're planning to sneak into Hogsmeade to buy some materials to make dung bombs," Fred said.
"Behind this statue, there's actually a secret passage leading to the cellars of Honeydukes Sweets. We plan to go there in a bit."
Then, the brothers pulled Lynn behind the statue, and Fred mysteriously took out something he had hidden behind his back.
"We were just observing the people in the castle. Otherwise, if someone had passed by when we opened the secret passage, it would have been a disaster."
Lynn looked at the object Fred was holding—a tattered piece of parchment covered with dense, dark lines that clearly outlined every part of the castle, including all the secret passages.
Most remarkably, it also marked the location of every person in Hogwarts, and their names changed position as they moved.
Lynn saw Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape in their offices. Professor Dumbledore's name wasn't on the map; he had probably left Hogwarts. Professor Sprout, as usual, was tending to the precious magical plants in the greenhouse.
Professor Fawkes wasn't in the castle either; his name indicated he was in a hut with Hagrid near the Forbidden Forest, possibly discussing Red Hat.
He also saw Raphael in the Hogwarts infirmary, pacing around as if he was about to be discharged.
And Filch and his cat, whom the twins were most worried about, were somewhere on the first floor of the castle, so there was no need to worry about them suddenly appearing.
And where Lynn and his companions were now, there was no one else around.
Clearly, it was safe for the Weasley brothers' plans.
"What's this?" Lynn asked, feigning curiosity, even though he knew the parchment's name.
"The Marauder's Map!" George proudly announced its name, as if introducing a rare treasure to a friend.
"Fred and I found this in Filch's office when we were first year. At first, we thought it was just a piece of parchment, but it took us a lot of effort to figure out its purpose,"
Fred boasted.
"Because of it, George and I have never been caught by Filch during our nighttime outings or trips. We keep track of everyone's movements in the castle."
Lynn nodded slightly, then suddenly remembered something.
"Did you pay attention to the Marauder's Map on the morning of the attack on Hubert?"
George and Fred both shook their heads.
"No, we usually get up close to class time, and we were still sleeping when the attack happened."
"We're leaving now, Lynn. Do you want to come with us? There are lots of interesting shops in Hogsmeade."
Lynn shook his head; he wasn't very interested in that wizarding town.
"No, maybe next time."
George shrugged.
"Alright then, but I hope you can keep this a secret for us."
"No problem."
Just as the Weasley brothers opened the secret passage and were about to go inside, Lynn suddenly asked again.
"Since the start of this semester, have you noticed anyone acting strangely while observing the Marauder's Map?"
Fred and George seriously considered Lynn's question, and finally they both named one person.
"If we're talking about the strangest one, it's definitely Professor Fawkes.
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