Splash!
Swish~
A stone was thrown hard into the lake, sending up a large spray of water.
"This is a scam!!"
Lynn's angry roar echoed along the lakeshore.
He had been here, braving the biting cold wind, fishing from sunrise to sunset for a whole day!
He hadn't even returned to his warm and comfortable home once, and the result?
Aside from a nose turned red from the cold and fingers nearly frozen into popsicles, he hadn't seen a single fish scale!
Lynn threw the fishing rod in his hand onto the ground and watched it bounce twice.
Returning home, Lynn couldn't even be bothered to start the stove and cook.
He silently sliced a few pieces of dry bread, haphazardly smeared on some equally hard butter, and stuffed them into his mouth.
Eating this "dinner," which offered no sense of happiness, and thinking of the roast turkey, honey-glazed ham, and pudding that might be wafting through other people's homes right now… Lynn looked up at Levi, who was preening its feathers.
"Levi… why can't you cook?"
Levi's preening paused for a moment as it raised its head to look at its master. "Master, why don't you listen to yourself and see if that's something a human would say?"
Despised by his own pet, Lynn curled his lip. Then his eyes darted around. He threw away the hard bread in his hand, suddenly feeling energized.
"Levi, do you want to go on a trip? Anyway, staying at home just means idling away time fishing… and not even catching anything."
"I'll go wherever Master goes."
"Russia? It seems like there's nothing particularly interesting besides the cold and vodka… Switzerland? We just went there, so there's no sense of novelty anymore…"
Lynn stroked his chin, his gaze scanning the world map on the wall, until his finger finally landed on the country famous for romance.
"Then let's go to France! I heard the desserts and food there are great!"
He automatically ignored the fact that France might also be very cold…
Having made up his mind, Lynn walked to the window, pushed it open, let the cold air pour in, and then shouted outside:
"Old White!"
After a few seconds, accompanied by the fluttering of wings and a few falling feathers, old white landed precisely on the back of the chair.
"What's up? Opening the window on such a cold day—are you trying to freeze a bird to death?"
"Cut the crap. I've never heard of a Snowy Owl freezing to death. I have serious business."
Lynn handed a sealed letter to Old white's talons.
"Deliver this letter to the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic. Look for Mr. or Mrs. Burns. You should know the way, right?"
Old white tidied its chest feathers with its beak and replied lazily, "Yeah~ got it. I know the way. Don't worry, I'll make sure it's delivered. What's the content? Going abroad to show off again?"
"Hurry up and go!" Lynn gently patted its head.
Old white picked up the letter in its beak, grumbled, "So much trouble," and disappeared into the night…
A few days later, in the early morning.
Lynn stood in the center of the living room, performing a final check of the open Undetectable Extension Trunk.
"Let's see… wand… got it. Change of clothes… got it. Broomstick… got it as well. Hmm, and snacks, Galleons…" Lynn muttered to himself while checking the inventory.
Then he looked at Old white, standing on the perch, and instructed, "Old white, look after the house. I'll be back before school starts.
Your owl treats, dried fish, and dried mice are all in the usual spot, and the water has been changed. Don't turn the house into a mess like it's been burgled while I'm away."
Old white flapped its wings impatiently. "I know~ I know. Why are you so naggy? Just leave already! Don't stop me from getting back to sleep!"
Lynn shook his head helplessly, took one last look around the house he hadn't actually stayed in for very long, and walked out the door dragging his trunk.
Dragging the trunk to the roadside, he looked at the empty surroundings and raised his wand.
Bang!
A garish purple, triple-decker Knight Bus appeared out of thin air, screeching to a halt in front of him with a near-drift tail whip that almost hit a roadside mailbox.
On the side of the bus, the words "Knight Bus" were written in crooked gold letters.
Lynn was startled by this wild entrance and dragged his trunk onto the swaying bus.
A conductor asked with a yawn, "Welcome to the Knight Bus. Where to, young sir?"
"The Exit Checkpoint."
Lynn answered succinctly and found a seat that looked relatively stable.
"Oh~" the conductor raised an eyebrow, tearing off a ticket while saying, "It's rare to see such a young wizard traveling abroad alone. Eleven Sickles."
Lynn paid the fare and then gripped the handrail next to him tightly.
The next second, with Stan's shout of "Hold on tight!", the bus let out a roar and surged forward.
The scenery outside the window instantly blurred into streaks of color, and the intense acceleration pinned Lynn firmly to his seat.
The bus wove and jumped frantically between various obstacles in a way that defied the laws of physics.
Screech—!
There was another tooth-gritting sound of emergency braking, and Lynn felt like he was almost thrown into the front row.
The bus came to a sudden halt, and the conductor shouted cheerfully, "Exit Checkpoint! Have a nice trip, sir!"
Lynn's face was pale as he stepped off the bus with unsteady steps, a familiar churning sensation in his stomach.
He leaned against a roadside pillar for a good while before angrily making an uncivilized gesture at the receding back of the Knight Bus.
"Fu**! Why can't underage wizards use magic outside of school during the holidays!"
"Sonic Flight is ten thousand times more comfortable than this junk bus! Which damn 'safety-conscious' expert came up with this brain-dead regulation!"
Lynn grumbled as he straightened his rumpled robes, dragged his trunk, and walked into the Ministry of Magic's Immigration Checkpoint.
The inspection process was much simpler and faster than he had imagined.
The staff members were probably used to seeing underage wizards traveling alone; they merely went through the routine of checking Lynn's exit registration, wand registration records, and his Floo Network permit for France.
As for where the registration records came from?
That was thanks to the letter Lao Ba delivered a few days ago and the efficiency of the Burns couple.
The inspector quickly waved him through.
Standing before the row of fireplaces connected to the International Floo Network, Lynn took a deep breath and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder.
"France, Paris, Arrival Hall!"
After a brief sensation of spinning and squeezing, Lynn stepped out of a fireplace decorated with Rococo-style patterns.
This was so much better than a certain master's Portkey or a certain bus.
Finally, he—Lynn—set foot on the soil of France.
---
Happy Reading. Be sure to leave a review!!!
Visit my Patreon for early access to 20+ chapters!!!
P@treon: mrfanfiction140