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Hermione subconsciously turned her gaze toward Ron and Harry beside her, as if seeking support.
Receiving Hermione's look, Ron nudged Harry next to him with his elbow, neatly passing off this hot potato.
Harry: "!!!"
Harry's face instantly turned redder than Ron's hair.
His eyes darted around, looking at the floor, then at a nearby suit of armor—doing everything except looking at Lynn.
"So... Harry," Lynn fixed his gaze on him, genuinely curious, "why would you have such an idea? Do I not look like the Heir of Hufflepuff, but rather like Slytherin's?"
"This... well..." Harry stammered, his brain working frantically to find a reasonable excuse.
"You... you're very good at business, that alchemy shop... um... and you're very smart. You learn everything so fast... very... impressive..." Harry scraped together words from the bottom of his vocabulary.
Seeing Harry's eyes clearly darting everywhere, Lynn waved a hand to interrupt him.
"Alright, Harry, stop making things up. Although I appreciate you calling me smart and impressive, let's just stick to the truth."
Knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, Harry finally decided to come clean.
"Well..." Harry's voice dropped, sounding a bit embarrassed, "the day my arm was fractured by the Bludger... it actually wasn't an accident."
Lynn nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"It was because of a House-elf," Harry said, carefully observing Lynn's expression.
"His name is Dobby. He found me and warned me... saying there would be great danger at Hogwarts this year and that I must leave... He also said..." Harry's voice grew even lower, "he said you've been to his master's house... that you're a... very dangerous... bad person..."
After saying this, Harry quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at Lynn again.
Lynn was stunned for several seconds after hearing this.
He had imagined all sorts of possibilities—like accidentally showing off some Dark Arts or saying something misleading—but he had never expected the root cause to be a House-elf!
"So," Lynn pointed at himself, "just because a House-elf called me a 'bad person,' you think I'm the legendary heir of Slytherin who can open the Chamber of Secrets?"
Lynn almost laughed himself into anger at this bizarre train of thought.
"No! It's not entirely like that!" Harry immediately denied. "I... I thought it was strange too! That's why I came to verify it with you! I actually suspect Malfoy more than you!"
Harry quickly clarified his position.
"First of all, I am not the heir to the Chamber of Secrets. I have no interest in Salazar Slytherin's legacy, nor do I have that bloodline."
Lynn paused, as if remembering something.
"Secondly, the House-elf you met... if I'm not mistaken, he is most likely the Malfoy family's House-elf.
I saw a House-elf when I visited their home over the holidays."
After saying this, Lynn didn't stay any longer and prepared to leave.
"Hey, hey, hey! Lynn! Don't go!"
Lynn's footsteps stopped, and he let out a helpless sigh. "Is there something else?"
Lynn felt that the amount of absurd information he had received this morning had already exceeded his limit.
A flash of embarrassment crossed Hermione's face. "Well... we do have one more thing to ask you. Do you... have any African tree snake skin? We want to... um... buy some from you."
African tree snake skin?
That wasn't a common Potion ingredient; its most famous use was as a core ingredient for the Polyjuice Potion.
Lynn thought back to the Potion supplies in his trunk.
African tree snake skin was indeed very rare and difficult to purchase. He had gone through a lot of trouble to get a small piece for an alchemy experiment, so his stock was low—and he might still need it himself.
Thus, Lynn put on an apologetic expression and shook his head. "Sorry, Hermione. I only have a little bit of African tree snake skin left for backup; I really can't spare any for you."
Lynn suddenly had a thought.
"However... when I went to deliver a Potion essay to Professor Snape last time, I caught a glimpse of the top shelf of his private ingredient cabinet. There seemed to be several pieces of high-quality African tree snake skin."
"Um... about this wide," Lynn gestured a width with his hands, "they looked dark and shiny, probably well-preserved."
Hermione's eyes instantly lit up. She didn't even have time to say much, only throwing back a "Thanks!" before grabbing Harry with one hand and Ron with the other, disappearing around the corner of the corridor.
Lynn watched them, muttering to himself, "With that momentum... they wouldn't really be planning to raid Snape's ingredient cabinet, would they? That would be truly courageous."
Lynn shrugged. Whatever—it was none of his business. The sun was shining, and the fish in the Black Lake were calling.
Go back to the dormitory, get the fishing rod, and go fishing!
However, while the ideal was plump, reality was skinny.
A few hours later, Lynn returned to the castle, carrying his empty bucket once again.
Skunked!
Time flew by, and it was soon Saturday.
This morning, Lynn rarely skipped sleeping in. Even while Edgar and the others were still tangled in their blankets, he had already climbed out of bed, full of energy.
The reason was simple: today was a "big day"—the Hogwarts Dueling Club, Slytherin's star Draco Malfoy versus Gryffindor's Savior Harry Potter!
Moreover, this duel was, to some extent, sparked by the few of them stirring the pot in the Great Hall back then.
If he didn't go see such excitement with his own eyes, it would be a disservice to his previous efforts of "fanning the flames," and even more so to a hard-earned Saturday morning.
By the time Lynn and his roommates rushed to the dueling venue, it was already bustling with noise, with almost the entire school's students gathered there.
The dueling stage had been cleared, surrounded by excited students.
On the stage, Harry and Malfoy were already in position, standing at opposite ends and glaring at each other. Their wands were gripped tightly in their hands, and the air was thick with tension.
Lynn and his friends quickly found a spot with a good view and squeezed in. Edgar even pulled out a small bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from somewhere, prepared for a long watch.
Just as everyone held their breath, waiting for Professor Flitwick to arrive and announce the start—
"Calm down—! My dear students!"
A loud, affected voice, amplified by magic, suddenly echoed throughout the Great Hall.
As soon as Lynn heard this voice, he felt his temples begin to throb with pain. He closed his eyes in agony, knowing exactly who it was without even looking.