Nothing happened today. Fishing… well, fishing was out of the question.
Outside the window, raindrops pattered against the Hogwarts windowpanes, and the world was a gloomy gray.
In this weather, even Lynn, the "King of Air Force," knew that going out would be pure torture.
With nothing to do, Lynn looked at the terrible weather outside and decided to explore the Castle's library.
After all, it was a thousand-year-old school of magic, so the library must have many books, and it should be relatively safe. It was a good opportunity to expand his skill set and add some new things using Engrave.
Actually, he had other reasons.
A few days ago, when he overheard Edgar chatting, he mysteriously mentioned something about "Dark Arts," which sounded very powerful and exciting.
But he clearly remembered not seeing any books explicitly detailing such spells when he was shopping at Flourish and Blotts.
Curiosity led him to the library, wanting to find out more… high ceilings, countless bookshelves, the air filled with the scent of old parchment, ink, and a unique magical dust.
A Witch was moving between the bookshelves, organizing books.
Lynn composed himself, walked up, and greeted politely, "Hello, Madam."
Madam Pince stopped her work, her tone still relatively calm. "Oh, hello, child. What book are you looking for in the library?"
Lynn carefully considered his words. The term "Dark Arts" didn't sound like a good name, and saying it directly might make him seem like a dangerous person.
So he opted for what he thought was a more "tactful" approach:
"I'm looking for some… well… those kinds of books, Madam—the ones with extremely high destructive power."
Madam Pince was visibly stunned, then a look of "I know what you're looking for" appeared on her face.
"You're looking for advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts content, or even more dangerous… Dark Arts books, aren't you? Those books are in the Restricted Section."
She pointed to a section further away that was partitioned off and much darker. "If you wish to consult them, you must have a signed note from a teaching Professor."
Lynn heard this and thought, well, no luck.
He didn't want to face Snape's venom or Professor McGonagall's scrutinizing gaze just for a few books right now.
He had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, choosing a relatively safe direction: "Then… are there any books that can defend against Dark Arts?"
Madam Pince's expression softened a little, and she pointed him to a few bookshelves. "Books on the theory and practice of Defense Against the Dark Arts are over there.
Remember," she emphasized again, her tone brooking no argument, "no loud talking in the library, absolutely no damaging books, and no eating inside!"
Lynn nodded vigorously, indicating that he would strictly abide by the rules, then scurried off to the designated bookshelf area.
"Let me see… 'Common Spells and Counter-Charms'… 'Fighting Fire with Fire: Defensive Spells'… Oh, this one looks good—'Dark Arts: Identification and Resistance'…"
Lynn picked and chose, finally hugging a stack of books he thought might be useful and found a quiet spot by the window to sit down.
He first opened the thickest book, Dark Arts and White Magic.
"Dark Arts, as the name suggests, are those spells intended to cause harm, control, torture, or kill; their core often involves the malicious distortion of life and soul…" The opening introduction sounded quite legitimate.
Lynn quickly skimmed through, mentally noting which practical spells could be found and Engraved in the library's general section using the system.
"Stupefy… not bad, essential for travel and subduing opponents."
"Fire-Making Spell… also good, for starting fires, cooking, or… burning something."
"Freezing Charm… better than nothing; at least it can freeze an iced drink?"
"Disillusionment Charm—yes! This is good, a must-have for night excursions!"
"Expelliarmus, yes, yes, bloodless, elegant!"
"Explosion Charm, absolutely yes! Simple and brutal!"
"Oh, and there's a Reducto! Also very good! But is this really not Dark Arts? It sounds so evil."
Lynn was like shopping at a supermarket, mentally tagging these spells.
Engrave activated silently, copying these spells one by one into his skill library.
He flipped through books extremely fast, almost reading ten lines at a glance…
"Hello, excuse me…" a slightly clear female voice sounded beside him, interrupting Lynn's "shopping" process.
"Have you finished reading this stack of books next to you? There's a book I need in there."
Lynn looked up from the sea of books and saw a girl standing in front of him with thick brown hair and prominent front teeth, wearing Gryffindor robes, appearing to be about his age.
Lynn looked at the stack of books she pointed to; they were all books he had already Engraved and planned to return later.
"Yes, I've finished them all. If you need them, just take them," he said generously.
"You've finished all these books?"
The girl seemed very surprised, casually picked up the top book, Dark Arts: Identification and Resistance, and flipped through it. "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Hermione Granger."
"I'm Lynn, from Hufflepuff."
Lynn nodded. "I guess I've finished them—just learned some spells."
He said this without batting an eyelid, perfectly logical. Isn't finishing Engraving them the same as finishing reading them? he thought righteously.
After a brief exchange, Lynn learned that Hermione also came from a Muggle family, and her academic performance was excellent. Her original goal, like his good friend William, was Eton College, and her father was a dentist.
Lynn secretly complained to himself: Is Hogwarts trying to poach all the students named Eton? Why are all these academic prodigies being lured here?
"I've been talking about myself—are you also from a Muggle family? What do your parents do?" Hermione politely asked back, trying to find common ground.
Lynn replied very naturally, "Yes, I don't have parents."
The air instantly fell into a brief, awkward silence.
Hermione's face immediately flushed red, looking a little flustered.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" she quickly apologized.
"It's okay, I don't mind." Lynn waved his hand; he genuinely didn't mind. After all, all transmigrators were like this.
The two didn't talk much more about the topic. Hermione took the book she needed and sat opposite him, while Lynn continued his fast and efficient Engraving project.
In Hermione's eyes, this Hufflepuff boy was simply a genius, flipping through books as fast as counting money. Could he really learn spells like this? This made her, who always prided herself on being a diligent scholar, feel a hint of frustration and astonishment…
After an unknown amount of time, Lynn finally finished Engraving the last book in his hands.
He stretched contentedly and casually cast a newly learned Time-Telling Spell to check the time.
"It's dinner time!" His eyes lit up.
Food is paramount! Nothing could stop an eleven-year-old boy who was still growing from rushing to the Great Hall.
He tidied up the books he had read, preparing to put them back on the shelf.
Passing Hermione's table, he saw her still engrossed in her reading, so he nodded at her as a farewell, then walked briskly toward the Great Hall, from which the aroma of food wafted.
His trip to the library was very fruitful; it was time to reward himself with some delicious food!
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Read my other novel: Naruto: Multiverse Adventures.