Chapter 72. Lynn Disappears
The newly acquired title, though still embarrassing to utter, was quite effective.
It perfectly compensated for the fact that the "newly enrolled rookie" title had disappeared after entering the second year.
Furthermore, this stat allocation gave Lynn a crucial piece of information: normally, stat allocation could only add a talent to a maximum of 7 points; any more would require something called Legendary Points.
He currently had none and didn't know how to obtain them, but there was no rush. For now, 7 talent points were enough for him to learn advanced dark magic.
A week of revelry was short-lived for most young wizards.
On the night before leaving Hogwarts at the end of the term, Hogwarts held a grand banquet.
Green and silver ribbons floated throughout the Great Hall, and the Slytherins on the long table all wore expressions of joy. On the platform, Dumbledore was announcing that Slytherin had won this year's House Cup, their seventh consecutive victory.
What Lynn appreciated most about Dumbledore was that he never launched into long speeches,
especially when everyone was hungry.
A sumptuous dinner was laid out on the long tables of the various houses. While the food was still delicious, Lynn felt that ever since Kira had been captured and Freed by Dumbledore, the food served to him at mealtimes was far less palatable than before.
Clearly, the food served to Lynn previously had been specially prepared for him by Kira in the kitchen.
This time, Lynn, of course, didn't join Cedric at the Ravenclaw table with Ian; that would be too tactless.
The atmosphere within Slytherin was actually quite good. Although Lynn had already gotten into fights with a classmate and an upperclassman after only one semester, at least on the surface, the upperclassmen were still quite friendly towards him.
The banquet didn't last very late before Dumbledore announced the end of the term and wished everyone a pleasant holiday.
Lynn returned to his dormitory; his luggage and various odds and ends were already packed, and as usual, he brought back a piece of meat for Umaru.
Lately, he'd spoiled the suspected spy hamster; she no longer seemed afraid of Lynn's suspicions, openly complaining about her usual bread and biscuits, and now eagerly awaiting meat from the Great Hall for every meal.
Lynn was happy to keep her this way. Kira was a house-elf left by his parents from his previous life; since she considered him her master, she certainly wouldn't want to harm him.
Her three attacks at Hogwarts, though extreme, showed that Kira's actions were indeed aimed at protecting him.
Therefore, Lynn had no reason to mistreat his spy hamster.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, the new Slytherin prefect was already knocking on each room door, waking the young wizards from their beds to make sure they didn't miss the Hogwarts Express.
The train was still parked at the same shabby platform where they had first arrived at the school. They boarded empty-handed, their luggage carried to the train by house-elves.
Lynn, Cedric, and Ian sat in a compartment, discussing the next term's courses.
"Have you heard who's going to take over as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Cedric whispered to them, sharing his inside information.
"Professor Quirrell."
"Who's he?" Ian didn't recognize the name.
Lynn explained, "He's the professor of Muggle Studies, supposedly a good teacher, and a graduate of your Ravenclaws."
Lynn certainly remembered this Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who appeared in the first book and then met his demise.
Wasn't he the one who was possessed by Voldemort this summer?
Lynn thought to himself, his memory of the original plot a little hazy.
"And another one!" Cedric said excitedly, "Next year, another big shot will be enrolling!"
Ian wasn't interested in the so-called big shot: "Who is it? The Minister of Magic's son?"
"Of course not, it's Harry Potter!"
"Who is he?"
"He's the savior who killed the Dark Lord. He was only born then, and he already accomplished such a feat. It's unimaginable what he'll do at Hogwarts!"
Ian and Lynn were both uninterested. Ian didn't know anything about the history of the wizarding world, while Lynn knew everything about the future, so he was indifferent to the mere fact that Harry Potter was enrolling.
Seeing their lack of interest, Cedric found the conversation pointless and changed the subject.
"What are your plans for this summer?"
"Me?" Lynn tilted his head and thought for a moment. "I don't think I'll be doing much this summer. I'll just stay home all day. I can't use magic, so I'll just read books, plant flowers, and tease the neighbor's little girl or something."
He also wanted to ask Kira about his true parentage, but he didn't mention that. Lynn subconsciously felt that it was best not to be too public about such things.
"My family goes to the beach every summer," Ian said.
"That's not bad either. A summer vacation at the beach would be nice. I'm just worried you'll be much darker next semester,"
Cedric said wistfully, seeing that they all had plans.
"I don't know what my dad is thinking. He wanted to take our family on a trip last summer, but he was too busy with work at the Ministry of Magic, so it was postponed until this year. I don't know if we can go this year."
Lynn and Ian didn't know how to comfort him, so they bought a huge amount of candy when the candy cart came to their compartment, trying to numb him with food.
The Hogwarts Express, despite its name, was really slow. It traveled leisurely for a whole day, and they didn't arrive at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters until almost dusk.
Lynn and the other two helped each other unload their luggage from the train and put it on a trolley. There were no house-elves to help them here.
Next to Lynn's suitcase, in Umaru's cage, the hamster that had been sleeping with its eyes closed suddenly opened its little eyes.
It glanced around furtively, and seeing that Lynn, who was saying goodbye to Cedric, hadn't noticed it, it cautiously opened the cage and leaped away.
Cedric's parents were wizards, so they would meet him inside the platform; he had to say goodbye to Lynn and Ian beforehand.
"I'll go first, you follow me," Lynn said, still unaware that his pet had escaped, discussing the order of passage through the enchanted wall with Ian.
Ian nodded, indicating no problem.
He watched Lynn push the cart, close his eyes, and accelerate through the wall, silently counting to ten.
This ten-second interval was to avoid attracting the attention of Muggles outside, as people frequently emerged from the wall.
Ten seconds later, like Lynn, he closed his eyes, pushed the cart, and jogged through the wall.
When he opened his eyes, people were coming and going, modern-clad figures hurrying through the station; no one noticed he had emerged from a wall.
He was back in the world of normal people.
Ian felt a pang of emotion, but then he realized something was wrong!
Lynn was nowhere to be seen.
Ian frowned, carefully observing his surroundings for a long time, but still couldn't find Lynn.
Lynn had vanished!
Read 60+ advanced chapters ahead on Patreon!
patreon.com/Horizons685
(End of Chapter)