Chapter 19. Have you ever seen Hogwarts at four in the morning?
In the Slytherin boys' dormitory.
Lynn calmly looked at Hubert, then slowly pulled his oak wand from his suitcase.
"I'll give you one more chance. Answer me, what are you, McKellen?"
He repeated the question.
Hubert felt uneasy under Lynn's gaze. He avoided Lynn's eyes, his gaze darting around, and he shouted defiantly.
"What are you doing with your wand? Want to have a wizard's duel with me? Don't be ridiculous, Bellok! You're just a Muggle-born orphan! You're nothing and you don't know anything! Do you know what we call someone like you? Mud..."
"Tongue-lock."
Lynn coldly uttered a spell, and a bright red beam of magic shot out from the tip of his wand, hitting its target accurately the next second.
The curse's effects manifested instantly in Hubert; his tongue stuck to his palate, rendering him speechless, only able to utter incoherent "ooh-ooh" sounds from his throat.
But Lynn didn't stop. He strode up to Hubert, grabbed his collar, and slammed him against the wall.
Lynn was incredibly strong; since arriving in this world, he had maintained a daily exercise routine. While not as strong as an adult, he was considered robust among his peers.
Hubert was pinned down, unable to speak and struggling to breathe.
Lynn's expression remained calm, devoid of any ferocity, yet this instilled a deep fear in Hubert. His face flushed red, whether from lack of air or anger, he struggled frantically but couldn't break free from Lynn's grasp.
"I came here simply to study, I didn't intend to cause trouble for anyone, but if someone does… the consequences won't be just like today."
Lynn was half a head taller than Hubert. He whispered in Hubert's ear,
"Do you understand what I mean?"
Hubert's attitude seemed very tough. He glared at Lynn, his clenched teeth seeming to want to tear him apart.
"Looks like your brain isn't very bright." Lynn shrugged. "I've already explained it so clearly, and you still don't understand. Well, there's nothing I can do."
He grabbed Hubert's neck tightly with one hand and his hair with the other, slamming his head heavily against the wall!
A strong wave of dizziness almost made Hubert vomit, followed by intense pain that made tears and snot flow uncontrollably.
"Well, I've given you a little help to temporarily clear your head. Now, can you understand what I'm saying?"
Lynn's voice sounded like a devil's whisper to Hubert. He was only eleven years old after all, and he didn't have any strong will.
Unable to speak, he could only nod desperately to indicate that he understood. Only then did Lynn release his collar.
Hubert immediately collapsed to the ground like a drowning person just pulled ashore, gasping for breath.
Lynn slowly straightened his robe, then, as if his face had changed, a friendly smile appeared on his face. He even knelt down to help Hubert straighten his slightly disheveled school robe.
"I'm sorry, I haven't learned how to break the tongue-locking and throat-locking spell yet, so I can't let you speak for the time being. I can only wait for the magic to wear off and break itself. You won't blame me, will you?"
Hubert hurriedly shook his head, indicating that he didn't mean it that way. He didn't even have the courage to look Lynn in the eye.
"You're such a generous person! I believe you'll let this little misunderstanding between us go, and we can still be good roommates and classmates, right?"
Lynn smiled sincerely, as if nothing had happened.
Hubert nodded mechanically. He just wanted to end this painful torment as soon as possible and then obediently lie down in bed and go to sleep.
Lynn was satisfied with his attitude. Then he turned to look at his two remaining roommates, who had been huddled on their beds, trembling as they watched Lynn and Hubert's "friendly interaction." Now they just wanted to make themselves invisible and avoid being noticed by the victor.
"Goodnight,"
he smiled kindly at them, which immediately scared the two boys into pulling the covers over their heads.
Lynn had lost his appetite for reading. He changed into his pajamas, washed up, and lay down on his bed to rest.
His approach to resolving the matter was brutal, but also the most effective.
That's reality; if you're afraid of trouble, you need to let those who want to cause you know that the consequences of provoking you are severe, so severe that they can't afford it.
The weak fear the strong, the strong fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear the reckless
. Using violence to resolve violence is undoubtedly the most effective.
Of course, this requires equal strength.
Lynn currently knows very few spells, you can count them on one hand. The only one that can be considered somewhat combat-effective is the Tongue-Sealing and Throat-Locking Curse, a curse he learned from a few extra books he bought at Flourish and Blotts.
According to the book, the creator of this curse is his current headmaster: Severus Snape.
So, in the end, it wasn't that Lynn wanted to roll up his sleeves and fight, but rather that he had no other spells to use. Could he possibly cast a Cleanse on Hubert?
That would be a joke.
Nothing more was said that night.
The next morning, Lynn's long-established biological clock woke him up precisely at four in the morning.
After quietly changing into his robes and washing up, he grabbed his wand and the textbooks he needed for the morning and left the dormitory.
The common room was empty.
But a creature that couldn't be called human was standing silently by the fireplace.
Those empty eyes, like whirlpools that could suck in one's soul, made Lynn feel a chill run down his spine.
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet him.
"Good morning, Mr. Barrow."
Bloody Barrow, the resident ghost of Slytherin, had also been present at yesterday's opening banquet, sitting with him at the Slytherin long table.
"Oh, a new Slytherin student." Bloody Barrow's voice was soft, yet clearly audible.
"Why not stay in your warm bed a little longer? The sun hasn't even risen yet."
Lynn said honestly.
"I usually get up this early at home. If I can't fall back asleep, I like to go for a walk and get familiar with Hogwarts."
Bloody Barrow nodded. "Early to bed and early to rise is a good habit. If you get lost in the castle, you can ask the portraits on the walls; they should be happy to guide you."
"Thank you for the reminder."
After saying goodbye to Bloody Barrow, Lynn left the common room.
It was still pitch black outside, but the eastern sky was already showing signs of dawn. He figured he would soon see the sunrise at Hogwarts for the first time.
Lynn pulled his robes tighter and, following Betty's instructions from yesterday, headed to explore the Charms classroom.
The staircases inside Hogwarts Castle were quite unruly; if you didn't familiarize yourself with the route, you could easily get lost on those mischievous stairs.
After an hour, Lynn had a general understanding of the classrooms Betty had introduced them to yesterday. He also managed to wander around the library entrance. He might come here often in the future, so it was necessary to scout ahead.
Around 5:30, Lynn emerged from the castle, intending to do his daily morning run around the Black Lake.
When he arrived at the large lawn by the lake, he discovered he wasn't the only early-rising wizard at Hogwarts.
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(End of Chapter)