The perspective shifts back to Lynn's side.
Carrying a few alchemy tools that might come in handy, Lynn sauntered over to the familiar Whomping Willow near the castle.
From a distance, he saw that in the shadow cast by the willow, there were more than just the two conspicuous redheads of Fred and George.
As he drew closer, Lynn saw clearly that besides the twins, there was also Ron and a little girl who looked somewhat pale but had the signature red hair of the Weasley family.
Lynn felt the girl looked a bit familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't recall where for the moment.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
Lynn stepped forward, greeting them with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the group. "What's this today... a Gryffindor team-building event? Or a family gathering?"
"Good afternoon, Lynn!" Fred and George responded enthusiastically.
Fred patted the little girl's shoulder and introduced her. "This is our sister, Ginny. She just started school this year."
Ginny shot a quick glance at Lynn before immediately lowering her head. She then nodded in greeting.
Lynn returned a brief "Nice to meet you," but that sense of familiarity lingered in his mind.
He had definitely seen her somewhere...
"Mate, we really have to trouble you this time," Fred said, pulling Lynn over to the briefly cleaned Ford Anglia and beginning to vent his frustrations.
"The problems with this car are too tricky! The Flight Charm fails intermittently, the levitation nodes have severe magical leakage, and the Disillusionment Charm won't start at all. We've tinkered with it several times, but whenever we fix one thing, something else breaks..."
Lynn listened while walking around the car, observing it closely. His fingers brushed over some of the rough modifications as he began his analysis.
In his eyes, although these problems were trivial, the core structure was still intact, so repairing it wouldn't be too difficult. It mainly required precise magical guidance and material replacement.
Just then, Ron couldn't help but interject, his tone carrying a hint of grievance and confusion. "Harry and I parked it at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and it could clearly still move when we got out! Though it was a bit noisy, it definitely wasn't as broken as it is now..."
Lynn: "..."
His mouth twitched slightly, and he felt a pang of guilt.
How awkward... The state the car was in now was likely—probably, possibly—the result of his "miracles through brute force" attempt during his last night outing, which had completely wrecked it.
"Alright, Ron, we get it, Ron," George quickly interrupted his brother's rambling. "You've said that no less than fifty times since we found this car."
Shut down by his brothers, Ron curled his lip and sensibly fell silent.
"So, mate, look... can it still be fixed?" George asked expectantly.
"Of course."
Lynn nodded affirmatively, pushing aside his guilt as he pulled tools from his pocket.
"It's not a big problem—mainly some wear on the core runes and blockages in the magic circuits."
As Lynn worked, he asked casually, "By the way, how's the investigation into Mr. Weasley by the Ministry of Magic going? It hasn't affected him too much, has it?"
Fred shrugged with a 'no big deal' expression. "What problem could there be? He works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office!... Well, there's always a way."
Lynn understood.
The modified car itself might be in a gray area of Ministry regulations, and Mr. Weasley had his own ways of dealing with that. The real trouble was that it had been witnessed by many Muggles and reported in the newspapers, causing a negative impact.
Clink, clank—crackle, pop—
Lynn began the repair work with practiced skill.
He first used a special alchemical solution to clear the blocked magical pathways, then repaired the worn rune nodes, and finally injected stable magic to activate them.
The entire process was smooth and seamless, leaving the twins and Ron dazzled.
After a series of metallic clicks, the Ford Anglia's old engine let out a "chug-chug" sound that was much smoother than before. The chassis vibrated slightly, and the four wheels slowly rose a few inches off the ground before settling back down steadily.
Although it still looked dilapidated, the feeling that it might fall apart at any moment had vanished.
"By Merlin! It's actually fixed!"
Fred and George excitedly slapped Lynn on the shoulders. "Thank you so much, mate! We don't even know how to thank you!"
"How about this!" Fred's eyes lit up. "Once we open our own joke shop, everything in the store will be a flat 50% off for you... er, or maybe 40%? 30% off works too!"
"Alright, alright," Lynn said, amused by their enthusiasm, waving them off. "It was just a small favor. Do you really think I'd take your stuff?"
After all, he felt guilty—really guilty!
Of course, Lynn's small amount of guilt didn't last long.
As he packed his tools, he subconsciously pondered the repair process and suddenly thought: perhaps with the knowledge "Tom" possessed in that diary, he could also find a way to fix this car...
Wait! The diary!
This thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.
Lynn suddenly looked again at Ginny, who was standing quietly to the side, her face pale.
That sense of familiarity... Lynn finally remembered!
Wasn't this the Gryffindor freshman who had dropped her books in the corridor and run away in a panic a few days ago?! That diary had fallen out from her!
Lynn looked closely at Ginny.
Her face was indeed pale—not a shy blush, but a bloodless pallor. Her gaze was somewhat vacant, lacking the sparkle a girl of her age should have. She looked listless, drained of energy.
"Fred, George," Lynn said, pulling the twins aside and gesturing toward Ginny with his eyes. "Is your sister... not doing so well lately? I noticed she looks pale and very listless."
Fred and George exchanged a look, their joking expressions vanishing.
George sighed. "We think so too. Not long after school started, she seemed to lose her energy. When we ask, she just says she's fine, or that she's not sleeping well because of nightmares."
"We try to ask more, but she ignores us and gets a bit irritable. That's why we brought her out today, thinking a change of scenery might help," Fred added.
Lynn was almost certain of his suspicion.
The diary was indeed draining life force from Ginny, and those so-called "nightmares" were likely the entity inside the diary affecting her mind.
He thought for a moment. He couldn't just stand by—but he also couldn't mention the diary directly, so he chose a more persuasive explanation.
"Um... Fred, George, I suggest you take Ginny to Madam Pomfrey for a thorough check-up."
Lynn's tone grew serious.
"Her condition looks a bit like... the symptoms of having one's life force drained by some kind of Dark Arts object or curse."
Seeing the twins' expressions instantly turn tense and suspicious, Lynn quickly added:
"I saw similar descriptions in a book about Dark Arts omens in the Restricted Section—persistent paleness, listlessness, avoiding questions from family and friends, losing interest in surroundings... these could all be early symptoms."
When Fred and George heard terms like "Dark Arts" and "draining life force," their faces immediately changed.
They might be pranksters, but their concern for their family was beyond doubt.
"What?! Such a thing exists?!" Fred exclaimed.
"Damn!" George was equally shocked.
The two no longer cared about the repaired car. They immediately turned around, each grabbing one side of the still-dazed Ginny.
"Let's go, Ginny, we have to go to the school infirmary!"
"Now! Right now! Immediately!"
"Mate, excuse us for now!" Fred shouted back hastily to Lynn.
Then, along with George, they practically dragged the reluctant Ginny and rushed toward the castle's school infirmary.
"Where are you guys going? Wait for me!" Ron shouted.
---
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