Chapter 137, Section 135: I Have a Suggestion.
Lynn hurriedly ran back to his dormitory, clutching the Daily Prophet.
He rummaged through drawers, finally finding newspapers from the previous two weeks. He searched through them page by page until he finally found what he was looking for.
It was a newspaper from last Sunday. The front page featured gossip about Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, but Lynn wasn't interested in that. Instead, on a small side page, there was a wanted poster.
A group of dark wizards from France had escaped into England. Their leader was a former Gringotts employee named Lagno, who was also a goblin. He led three wizards—two men and one woman.
They had stolen from a Gringotts vault and killed the owner with dark magic. Lagno stole the wizard's wand, and the four of them had been wandering around Europe.
The newspaper also included a photograph of the goblin named Lagno. He looked no different from other goblins, except his eyes appeared particularly sinister.
After seeing the photo, Lynn was 80% certain that the hunchbacked old man who made the deal with Quirrell and his gang was the same dark wizarding group led by the goblin.
If they were caught, they would almost certainly face life imprisonment, and the goblin might even face the death penalty. While
There's no death penalty in wizarding law, the goblin wasn't a wizard.
Moreover, his crime was far too serious; stealing from Gringotts was secondary, the crucial point was that he had actually taken a wand from a wizard, which would undoubtedly greatly offend those in the Ministry of Magic.
Therefore, the Ministry of Magic had offered a large reward of Galleons for their capture.
If they were all apprehended, the French Ministry of Magic would offer 10,000 Galleons, and the British Ministry of Magic 5,000, totaling 15,000 Galleons.
Even just capturing the goblin alone would bring the combined reward from both Ministries of Magic to over 10,000 Galleons; the other three wizards were merely incidental.
Looking at the reward, a smile crept onto Lynn's lips; he suddenly had a brilliant plan.
Snape's office and the Slytherin common room were on the same floor, both in the Hogwarts basement. Lynn, holding the newspaper with the wanted poster, had come to Snape's office for the second time today.
Snape was alone in his office dealing with slugs with tentacles. These things were disgusting, but after being steamed and boiled, they could be used to make a potion to treat scabies.
"What do you take my office for? Your backyard? You come here to stroll around when you have nothing to do in the morning, and you come here to wander around before you go to bed at night?" Snape mocked.
Lynn was already used to his insults, and with a grin, he sat down next to him to help out.
"Oh, how can I trouble you to do such dirty work like this? Just have someone call me over. I'm always free and can come help anytime,"
Snape scoffed.
"Don't pretend with me. You haven't been in the castle all day. I'm already letting you off the hook for breaking the rules, and you still have the nerve to come here."
Lynn's playful expression vanished, replaced by a serious one.
"Professor, I secretly went to Hogsmeade today."
Snape glared at him coldly. "And now you're here to brag to me?"
"No, Professor, I found a group of suspicious people at Hogsmeade today."
Snape seemed uninterested in the suspicious people Snape mentioned. He estimated the time, feeling the slugs in the cauldron were almost cooked, and picked it up. Lynn immediately and discreetly brought him a large glass jar.
"There are plenty of suspicious people in the wizarding world. Is it strange that there are a few at Hogsmeade? If you really have nothing better to do, come find me. I have a lot of work to do."
Lynn waited until Snape had finished bottling the liquid before handing him the newspaper.
"Professor, I found them at the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade today,"
Snape said, glancing at the newspaper with a sneer.
"You found the Minister for Magic's lover?"
Lynn rolled his eyes, pointing to the wanted poster section.
"It's them, Professor. I found this group of dark wizards at the Hog's Head."
Snape's expression finally turned serious. He took the newspaper from Lynn, carefully read through the bounty posters, and then turned to look at Lynn.
"Belok, you should know the consequences of lying to me,"
Lynn said earnestly.
"I promise I'm telling the truth."
He roughly recounted to Snape his discovery of the hunchbacked old man and his group's unusual behavior, omitting, of course, his transformation into a raven.
Except for the part he concealed, Lynn told the truth; all the clues were traceable and verifiable.
Snape paced back and forth in his office a few times, then lifted Lynn from his chair.
"This needs to be reported to Dumbledore. You're coming with me."
Lynn wasn't surprised. He had originally planned to report it directly to the Old Bee, but going to the Headmaster instead of his own Headmaster might upset Snape.
Five minutes later, in Dumbledore's office,
Lynn recounted his findings to Dumbledore again.
Dumbledore listened attentively and then glanced at the newspaper Lynn had brought.
"They are indeed a group of vicious villains. You were right not to act rashly but to report to us first."
"So what should we do next?" Snape asked.
Dumbledore pondered.
"I'll notify the Ministry of Magic immediately. They will send an Auror to handle this."
"Professor,"
Lynn suddenly interjected quietly.
Dumbledore and Snape both looked at him.
"I actually have a suggestion. Not all professors at Hogwarts are flush with cash. Since their bounties are so high, and we've discovered their trail, why don't we ask the professors if anyone needs the money, then we can round them up, collect the bounty, and distribute it among the professors?"
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(End of Chapter)