Today is a day of great joy!
Even Professor Quirrell's "extracurricular tutoring," which was tinged with the smell of garlic, couldn't dampen Lynn's good mood.
As soon as class ended, for the first time ever, he didn't rush to the Black Lake for his daily "Air Force ceremony." Instead, he dashed straight back to the Hufflepuff Dormitory.
"How is it? How is it? Has it hatched? Any movement?"
Lynn practically burst through the door, panting. Before he could even steady himself, he hurled a barrage of questions at his three roommates.
William pushed up his glasses and pointed at the table. "It's not completely out yet, but there are more and more cracks on the shell. It looks like it'll happen any minute now."
Edgar and Ollie were also gathered around the table, their faces filled with the same tension and anticipation.
Lynn lunged toward the table, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the gold and red egg.
As if in response to his anticipation, the eggshell let out a series of fine "crack-crack" sounds, and cracks spread rapidly like a spiderweb!
And then...
Vwoom—!
An invisible suction force emanated from the egg, and the magic within the dormitory surged frantically toward the about-to-shatter shell!
A visible vortex of magic even appeared in the air, causing the books and papers on the table to rustle loudly.
The gold and red light leaking from the cracks grew brighter and brighter, as if a miniature sun had been ignited in the Hufflepuff Dormitory, bathing the entire room in a brilliant glow!
Qiang-qiang—!
A clear, resonant cry rang out from the center of the light!
[Ding! Successfully hatched creature—"Phoenix (Variant)"!]
As the system notification faded, the blinding light slowly receded, and the creature's appearance was clearly revealed to the four of them.
It had an elegant posture, with feathers that shimmered between gold and red.
Its head resembled a rooster's, carrying an air of inviolable majesty.
Its jaw was like a swallow's, with smooth lines.
Its neck was as long and slender as a snake's, winding and nimble.
The contour of its back was rounded like a tortoise shell, exuding stability.
Its tail feathers were like a magnificent fish tail, trailing specks of starlight.
It was vastly different from the phoenixes of Western legend.
Lynn's eyes met those of the newborn creature.
It tilted its head, observing Lynn for a moment, and then a clear voice filled with a sense of dependence spoke directly into Lynn's ears:
"Master~"
Lynn was overjoyed! His heart bloomed with happiness, and he felt that all the Potions he had brewed, the materials he had gathered by venturing into the Forbidden Forest, and even the points Snape had deducted were all worth it!
"Wh-what kind of creature is this?" William stuttered—a rare occurrence. His brain searched frantically, but he couldn't find any known magical creature that matched it.
Edgar and Ollie were also dazed, their mouths agape, too shocked to speak.
"It told me it's a Phoenix."
Lynn tried his best to keep his voice calm, but the frantic upward curve of his lips betrayed him.
"This is a Phoenix? But according to the description in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Headmaster Dumbledore's Fawkes..." William adjusted his glasses, which were sliding down his nose, as he tried to find a basis for comparison.
"It's a magical creature," Lynn interrupted, using a "you just don't get it" tone to force an explanation.
"Different regions have different breeds; it's normal. Maybe this is... a local specialty I picked up?"
But he knew in his heart that this one was more than just "different."
He gazed at the Phoenix, and a ridiculously long list of skills granted to it by the system automatically appeared in his mind:
[Eternal Embers: Can be reborn even if body and soul are completely destroyed.]
[Star-Whirl Fire: Wings release star-whirls; the flames carry a powerful gravitational field capable of warping space for instantaneous movement.]
[Frozen Frost: Seals living beings or objects.]
[Luminous Chord: Feathers act as strings to weave walls of light, create illusions, heal allies, and suppress the healing and recovery of enemies.]
[Plume Beacon: Uses a single feather as a beacon. The Phoenix can teleport to your side regardless of distance, or vice versa.]
[Heart-Flame Pact: Choose a creature to establish a life link for a certain period, sharing vitality. If one is injured, the other shares the burden, and vice versa. If the Phoenix dies during this period, it will be reborn within the contractor.]
[Carol of Purification: The Phoenix sings aloud to dispel the undead, purify evil, lift curses, and restore polluted land and water sources.]
[Seed of Nirvana: Every rebirth produces a golden seed that can be planted in a dying or recently deceased creature. That creature will undergo a nirvana; success heals all injuries, while failure results in immediate death...]
Looking at this long list of skills that felt heaven-defying just by their names, and then comparing them to his own "little toys" like Tongue Twister and Torrential Impact, Lynn's heart was filled with mixed emotions.
'Is this a freaking pet? This is practically a max-level boss creating a smurf account to experience life! There's no comparison at all!'
"Master~" the crisp voice came again. It flew up lightly, circling above Lynn's head and scattering specks of warm light. "You haven't given me a name yet..."
Lynn watched its elegant form and felt a stir in his heart.
"Levi," he extended his finger, and Levi landed obediently, rubbing its head against his fingertip. "I'll call you Levi. Do you like it?"
The Phoenix let out a joyful chirp and flew back to the table, elegantly preening its tail feathers. "Whatever Master says~"
"Drink all of these... nutrient solutions!" Lynn said to Levi, taking out the pile of Potions he had brewed earlier from his trunk.
It looked at the massive pile of "nutrient solutions" and then at its own currently modest size. "Master~ even pigs aren't fed like this!"
"Then drink them slowly. In any case, they mustn't be wasted," Lynn said.
Watching Levi sip the vitality tonic little by little, a gratified, fatherly smile appeared on Lynn's face.
But then Lynn thought of a very practical and urgent problem—where should he keep Levi?
Although this Phoenix was powerful, it had just hatched after all. Its size was only a bit larger than an ordinary rooster, far from being able to roam the world freely.
Keep it in the peril-filled Forbidden Forest? Lynn immediately rejected the idea; that would be no different from throwing his own son into a wolf's den.
Keep it in the dormitory?
That didn't seem reliable either. Although the Hufflepuff Dormitory was warm and comfortable, there was no guarantee that classmates wouldn't drop by.
If someone sharp-eyed saw it, how would he explain it when they started questioning him? Say it was a local specialty Phoenix hatched from an egg he found near the Forbidden Forest?
Not only would others not believe it, but Lynn himself felt guilty just saying it.
A Phoenix never seen before, clearly different from Western phoenixes like Fawkes—once exposed, it would definitely attract endless trouble.
Lynn rubbed his chin, his gaze scanning the dormitory, finally landing on the seemingly ordinary undetectable extension trunk in the corner.
A thought flashed through his mind—Newt Scamander!
Didn't that legendary magizoologist have a magical suitcase comparable to a mobile zoo?
It had various simulated ecological environments inside and housed a multitude of magical creatures!
Lynn's eyes instantly lit up.
He walked quickly to the trunk, patted its hard shell, and then looked at Levi, who was elegantly preening its feathers on the table.
"This has potential!
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