Chapter 61. Disguised Magus
Professor Dumbledore crouched down, examining Professor Fawkes' injuries.
Lynn watched him anxiously, fearing he might suddenly say, "It's over, there's no hope.
" "Fawkes, tears,"
Professor Dumbledore said, frowning, to the phoenix on his shoulder, also named Fawkes.
The fiery red phoenix flapped its wings, squeezing a tear from its eye, which landed on Professor Dumbledore's hand.
The tear seemed to solidify from liquid, and Professor Dumbledore held it in his hand before gently placing it on Professor Fawkes's horrific wound.
Phoenix tears are excellent healing potions; after the tear was applied, the penetrating wound on Professor Fawkes's abdomen healed at a visible speed, eventually leaving no scar at all.
Lynn stared wide-eyed at this unscientific yet magical scene.
"Professor, is Professor Fawkes alright?"
Professor Dumbledore's brow remained furrowed; he shook his head.
"The surface wounds have healed, but Adrian's condition is very bad. His soul has suffered a severe blow, and he needs a lot of blood-replenishing potions."
He looked at Lynn, who was covered in dirt and looked like a mud monkey, and solemnly instructed him.
"You stay here and don't go anywhere. I need to get Adrian to St. Mungo's Hospital first, where he can receive the best treatment. I'll be back in five minutes."
Lynn nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, indicating that he was an obedient child.
Phoenix Fawkes left with Professor Dumbledore and Professor Fawkes.
Lynn's tense nerves finally relaxed, and he plopped down on the blood-stained wooden board.
Just as he was about to catch his breath, the system suddenly popped up.
[Sudden Mission Completed!]
[Adrian Fawkes is out of danger.]
[Drawing Talents…]
[Talent Acquired: Disguise Magus!]
Lynn stared at the series of system notifications, completely stunned.
When the system initially issued the mission, Lynn hadn't even considered receiving any reward.
A person's talents are incredibly diverse, especially someone as learned as Professor Fawkes; he wouldn't be surprised if he randomly received some random talent like culinary arts, wine tasting, or cooking.
As for Disguise Magus, Lynn had never considered it; he didn't even know Professor Fawkes possessed such a talent.
Only then did he recall what the Weasley brothers had told him—that when they secretly followed Professor Fawkes at night, they always encountered Filch.
Now it seemed that the so-called "Filch" was actually the professor himself in disguise, used to scare the twins.
Disguise Magus was, in every aspect, a top-tier talent in terms of practicality.
It was absolutely the perfect choice for robbery, murder, and arson.
Most importantly, it couldn't be learned later; it was an innate ability—either you had it or you didn't.
Lynn, like a fat kid who'd just gotten his hands on a Switch, couldn't wait to experiment with his new talent.
But in the end, he restrained himself.
The ability to disguise himself as a magical girl is most effective when no one knows he possesses it.
If discovered, especially by Dumbledore, then no matter what misdeeds occur, unless the culprit is caught, this old bee will likely suspect him first.
Professor Dumbledore could return at any time, and he still has a mountain of problems to solve; he wouldn't dare cause any more trouble.
Therefore, Lynn obediently suppressed his urge to transform into a magical girl and focused on figuring out what excuse to use to deal with Professor Dumbledore.
Yes, deal with Professor Dumbledore.
First and foremost, how did he know Professor Fawkes was in danger?
Lynn couldn't explain this, nor did he know how.
Dumbledore wasn't so easily fooled. Even with the system-rewarded Occlumency, preventing his thoughts from being spied on, a lie is still a lie.
He might easily fool centaurs, but that's because they're not particularly intelligent!
Now, with Professor Dumbledore, he had absolutely no confidence.
Telling the truth was definitely out of the question.
The fact that he was a transmigrator and the system was a secret he had to keep hidden for the rest of his life, a secret he'd take to his grave.
Lynn racked his brains for a long time but couldn't come up with anything.
He figured he could only keep quiet and not say anything; surely Dumbledore wouldn't force him to tell, would he?
Just as he was agonizing over this, Dumbledore returned with his phoenix.
Lynn quickly stood up and went to greet him.
"How is Professor Fawkes, Professor?"
Dumbledore's face relaxed considerably, and he smiled and nodded at Lynn.
"The healers at St. Mungo's Hospital said he can be saved, but he'll need a long period of recuperation. At least he'll survive."
Lynn breathed a sigh of relief, but then he immediately became alert again, because Dumbledore was likely to start questioning him.
However, to his surprise, Dumbledore seemed completely unconcerned about why he was in the Forbidden Forest, and instead gave him a kind wink.
"Hogwarts is still under alert, and all students must spend the night in the Great Hall. Let me help you clean up; if you want to take a bath, wait until the alert is lifted."
With that, he cast a Cleansing Charm on Lynn.
Professor Dumbledore's Cleansing Charm was incredibly powerful; Lynn's muddy body instantly vanished, leaving him clean and even smelling pleasant.
He then grabbed Lynn's arm.
"Let's go, I'll take you back to the castle now,"
Lynn said hurriedly.
"Professor, Hagrid is still unconscious in the Forbidden Forest, and there's a Death Eater who was killed by Professor Fawkes.
The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest are there too; they ignored Professor Fawkes, who saved their people, simply because he used a spell to cut off their comrade's arm."
Professor Dumbledore listened attentively to Lynn's explanation and nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll handle that. You should focus on explaining things to Minerva first; she's furious that you snuck out."
Dumbledore's words made Lynn uneasy.
In some situations, Professor McGonagall's anger could be even more terrifying than Dumbledore's.
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(End of Chapter)