Chapter 23: Christmas

Lynn shook his head. He didn't care about the danger just now. Nothing in the world was foolproof. If he was really afraid of being in danger, then he wouldn't have come here.

Lynn looked at Professor Green with stern eyes and said, "Professor, I want to learn the method you just used to conjure the alchemy array out of thin air and battle with the alchemy array!"

Hearing this, Professor Green was startled. He didn't expect that Lynn had been watching their duel so early. He thought that Lynn had just arrived at the moment when he was almost unable to hold on anymore.

But soon, Professor Green's eyes showed some relief. With his Mage Sight ability and his strength, they were able to detect the changes around them. Since Lynn was not discovered by them, it meant that Lynn must have heeded his previous advice to Lynn and applied it.

However, in response to Lynn's request, Professor Green shook his head and said, "Whether it is conjuring the alchemy array without a wand, or inscribing the alchemy array without any medium, it will not matter. It requires a huge amount of magical power as a foundation."

"Based on your current growth rate of magical power, I can teach you how to condense magic power and use a wand instead of a carving knife when you are in your fourth year; and when you are in your fifth year, I can teach you how to create alchemy arrays out of thin air without requiring any medium. For now, all you need to do is to improve your alchemy skill and create your own wand."

Professor Green said so.

Lynn nodded slightly disappointedly. The magical power foundation in his body was one of his biggest shortcomings at present. This was a fact.

"I have to go back, Professor." Lynn estimated the time. If he returned immediately, he would have time to return to the castle before the Weasley twins reported to the professors.

Professor Green waved his hand, signaling Lynn to go back first.

So, Lynn retraced his steps and returned to the castle from the entrance of the one-eyed witch's hump.

"Luckily you're back. If it had been two minutes later, we would have reported to Professor Dumbledore!" Seeing Lynn returning, George took a deep breath and said thankfully.

Fred noticed the scar on Lynn's neck. He looked solemn and said, "Lynn, you are injured! What danger did you encounter?!"

Lynn shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I just met a dark wizard, and I defeated him with the alchemy product Professor Green gave me. Unfortunately, I didn't meet Professor Green in Hogsmeade Village, so I had to return the same way."

Lynn did not tell the two of them the truth because the existence of the Dampening Stone was the secret of Lynn and Professor Green and should not be disclosed to the outside world at this time. Even if the Weasley twins were his friends, he would not just reveal Professor Green's privacy to them.

"That's good." Fred breathed a sigh of relief.

Lynn forced a smile and said, "Okay, everything was a false alarm. Now it's time to enjoy our Halloween!"

Hearing this, Fred and George cheered.

...

In the next nearly two months, Lynn returned to his normal study life. He and Professor Green tacitly did not mention what happened on Halloween night. Lynn's learning progress in various subjects continued to advance.

In Transfiguration class, he could easily transfigure inanimate objects, and transform smaller animals such as cockroaches and mice into buttons, vases, and other inanimate objects. Basically, in every class, Lynn could earn extra points for Slytherin House.

In Charms class, he was able to cast all the spells in the first-year courses non-verbally, and after class, he even learned from Professor Flitwick the skills to cast some of the spells in the second- and third-year courses non-verbally. Lynn's performance made Professor Flitwick call him a prodigy.

In Potions class, Lynn's talent for potions seemed to be gradually awakening. When brewing potions, his partner was often Erwin Foley. The two of them worked together more and more skillfully, and his relationship with his partner in the potions class also made Lynn and Erwin become relatively good friends.

Of course, there were also some subjects that Lynn was not good at, such as Herbology and Astronomy. Lynn's talent in these two subjects was not very high. If the final exam came, Lynn estimated that he would only be able to get an 'Exceeds Expectations' grade instead of the 'Outstanding' grade that represented excellence as easily as in the Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions classes.

As for the History of Magic course...

Professor Binns's teaching style was really soporific. Even a studious pupil like Lynn had to treat it as a way to catch up on his sleep.

But even so, just self-studying from the History of Magic textbooks was enough for Lynn to easily achieve excellence.

In addition to the compulsory courses for these young wizards from years one to five, there was also a flying class that only first-year students needed to take. Lynn was not very good at flying class, which made him take it as it came.

The weather was getting colder, and the Hogwarts grounds seemed to have put on thick woolen socks.

In mid-to-late December, Christmas at Hogwarts arrived.

In the early morning, Hogwarts Castle woke up from a dream. The castle was covered with several feet of snow, and the surface of the Black Lake was covered with hard ice.

Several owls delivered the mail in the wind and rain. They went through a lot of hardships. Only after they regained their strength under Hagrid's care could they continue to take off.

The young wizards were eagerly looking forward to the holiday. Although there were blazing fires in the common rooms and Great Hall of each House to bring warmth to the young wizards, it was still very cold in the drafty corridors, and the classroom windows rattled from the biting cold wind.

On Christmas Day, even Lynn rarely slept in. 

When he got up, he found seven gifts at the foot of his bed.

Lynn opened the first gift that was wrapped in a square shape. This gift was sent by his mother, Rowena, through the owl post office. Inside was a silver short sword with very beautiful craftsmanship. This was Lynn's gift. He had written a letter a week ago hoping that his mother would send it to him.

For more than a month, Lynn had been inscribing alchemy circles on his clothes, and he could no longer inscribe any more. And his other belongings were not suitable for inscribing alchemy circles, so the arrival of the short sword just solved his urgent need.

The next three gifts were given by Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Snape respectively. These may be rewards from the three professors for Lynn's outstanding performance in class. To be honest, Lynn did not expect that he would receive such gifts. Professor Snape, a cold-faced and arrogant man, actually gave him a Christmas gift.

(end of chapter)