Chapter 126, 124. Foggin.
"Twin ponytails?"
Hermione's attention was drawn to Lynn's words, and she even forgot her anger.
She said shaik,
"Why change your hairstyle? What's the difference between not tying your hair up and wearing twin ponytails?"
Lynn said confidently.
"Of course it's different. I think twin ponytails would suit you very well, or a single ponytail would also work."
Hermione casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, hiding the lower half of her face in her school uniform, her cheeks flushed.
"Then, will you help me style it?"
Lynn's eyes widened.
"Are you kidding me? I've never had long hair before, how could I tie it up? I was just giving you a suggestion, recommending a hairstyle. You can try it yourself when you have time. Why do you want me to comb it?"
Hermione
clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Her face was pale with anger, and she took deep breaths, trying to suppress her rage.
"Lynn,"
the little girl called out calmly.
Lynn didn't see Hermione's expression; he was rummaging through the leftovers from lunch. He remembered there was still a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans left uneaten.
"What?"
Before he could finish speaking, Hermione suddenly pounced on him, biting his arm like an angry puppy!
Lynn didn't react, turning to look at Hermione, who was taking a big bite, staring at her wide-eyed.
His skin was thick and tough; Hermione's bite barely even scratched him.
"What are you doing?"
Lynn asked again, popping a weird-flavored Bean into his mouth, seeing Hermione's bewildered expression.
Hmm, lucky him, it was lemon flavored.
Hermione was devastated.
She thought Lynn was made of stone, inside and out!
"You! You bastard!"
the little girl shouted, her eyes red, and ran away.
Lynn grinned at Hermione's retreating figure, then popped another Bean of the Wild Flavor into his mouth.
Teasing little girls was really fun.
Suddenly, he nauseously spat out the Bean of the Wild Flavor.
Ugh! Pepper flavor!
...
The Library.
Lynn, Cedric, and Ian were doing their homework together.
Cedric was a year ahead of them and studied different subjects, but Lynn and Ian were in the same year, and all their Hogwarts professors were the same, so their homework was the same too.
"Have you done your Potions homework?" Ian was looking for instructions on how to prepare dried nettles in his book.
Lynn shook his head.
"You can write this last, because the next Potions class will likely be a self-study period. I overheard Professor Snape saying yesterday, while I was helping out in his office, that he seems to have something to do in Diagon Alley the day after tomorrow."
Lynn's information was usually accurate; he often helped out in Professor Snape's office and could easily get advance notice.
Ian closed his Potions textbook and started working on his Transfiguration homework, which was due tomorrow.
Just then, a commotion broke out in the library; many young wizards looked up at the ceiling in surprise.
A crow had flown in from outside.
A letter was hanging from the beak of the black bird. It spread its wings and circled in the air above the library, finally settling on Lynn's table and flying over.
A crow, carrying an envelope in its beak, approached Lynn and stared at him with its scarlet eyes, gesturing for him to take the letter.
Lynn, looking incredulous, took the letter from the crow's beak.
"Crows can be messengers now?"
Cedric and Ian also looked bewildered, shaking their heads.
Cedric hesitated before speaking.
"Putting aside whether this kind of bird can be a messenger, its symbolism is quite bad. I guess only enemies would use crows to deliver letters."
Lynn frowned, looking at the letter in his hand. The envelope was completely blank; there was nothing on it.
"Get out! All of you! Including this crow, get out!"
Before Lynn could even open the envelope, Mrs. Pins, the librarian, angrily chased them out.
Cedric and Ian, carrying their own belongings, stood with Lynn outside the library.
They looked at the crow perched on Lynn's shoulder and asked with some concern,
"Do you know who sent you this letter?"
Lynn didn't answer, but instead turned the envelope over.
On the lower left corner of the back was a strange mark.
It was a cross with four equal sides.
"I think I know who sent it," Lynn said softly.
Cedric and Ian had no intention of prying into Lynn's privacy. They parted ways at the library entrance and went back to their respective rooms.
The crow that delivered the letter wasn't afraid of strangers at all; it perched on Lynn's shoulder, as if waiting for him to open the envelope.
The combination of man and crow attracted the attention of many young wizards along the way. Some acquaintances curiously asked if it was his new pet, to which Lynn casually brushed them off.
He returned to his dormitory before finally opening the envelope.
The letter was short, only a few lines: "
Someone of our people recently returned to their old haunts, bringing back some rather useful things. I've selected a few that are somewhat useful and am sending them to you. Please don't refuse; it's a token of our gratitude, and we hope you'll find them useful.
The items will arrive within an hour of receiving this letter.
Please don't mind Foxy, as he's also one of our companions."
—Sister
Lynn of Abros turned her head to look at the crow perched on her shoulder and asked tentatively,
"Your name is Fokin?"
The crow seemed to understand him and nodded in a human-like manner.
"Then do you have a brother named Woolly?"
Fokin met Lynn's gaze with its blood-red eyes but did not answer his question.
Wizards' pets are mostly said to possess sentience, so Lynn didn't dwell on the crow's name. He was currently troubled by the letter Rozier had sent.
Wouldn't sending something to him so openly attract the attention of that old bee?
Or had they reached some kind of agreement, relaxing the restrictions on their contact with him?
Lynn couldn't guess what this meant, and since the letter was already in his hands, he couldn't refuse it.
Lynn didn't stay in his dormitory any longer. He didn't know how much Rozier had sent him.
If several owls suddenly appeared, carrying a huge pile of stuff, it would be too conspicuous.
Sure enough, Lynn's premonition was correct.
He hadn't been waiting long on the grass outside the castle when he saw a flock of owls flying in from the horizon.
They struggled to carry a large package and slowly landed in front of Lynn.
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(End of Chapter)