Dumbledore's gaze quickly swept over the fishing rod still in Lynn's hand and the wooden box by his feet that had been violently kicked open.
"It seems I've interrupted your fishing time, Mr. Lynn," Dumbledore said in a peaceful tone.
"No, no, Professor! I was just about to head back. Are you… here for a stroll by the lake?"
Dumbledore smiled slightly.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lynn, but I am not here for a stroll."
He cut straight to the point.
"In fact, I am looking for a lost item."
"Tell me, during your fishing, did you happen to see a… well, about this big—" he gestured the size of a pigeon's egg—"inside a wooden box, a crimson gemstone?"
Lynn: "..."
Lynn took out the red gemstone he had been clutching in his hand and spread it across his palm.
"Professor… are you talking about this?"
"Yes, that's it. Thank you very much for finding it, Mr. Lynn. This has saved me quite a bit of trouble."
Dumbledore reached out, and Lynn obediently handed the ruby over to him.
Seeing the headmaster personally come to retrieve this gemstone with such seriousness, Lynn couldn't suppress his curiosity and couldn't help asking,
"Professor… this ruby is…?"
Dumbledore tucked the stone into an inner pocket of his robes and, in a flat tone—as if discussing today's weather—gave a world-shaking answer:
"This is the Philosopher's Stone."
"The Philosopher's Stone?!"
Lynn's eyes instantly widened.
"Isn't that the alchemical object made by Mr. Nicolas Flamel that can turn base metals into gold and produce the Elixir of Life?!"
"Professor… how could it be at the bottom of the Black Lake? And inside such a shabby box?!"
Lynn felt like his brain couldn't keep up. The legendary Philosopher's Stone had actually been… caught by him with a fishing rod?!
Dumbledore's tone remained calm, but what he said next was even more shocking.
"I borrowed it from Nicolas to use as bait."
Lynn: …
Using the Philosopher's Stone as bait?! Are you trying to catch a Kraken?!
Dumbledore acted as if he hadn't seen Lynn's Are you kidding me? expression and continued,
"There's a 'big fish' in the castle… it needs some special bait to make it unable to resist showing itself."
Lynn's inner thoughts: Why don't you just say there's a Lord Voldemort in the castle? 'Big fish' indeed! And 'bait'! Are you trying to fool a three-year-old?! Who on earth uses the Philosopher's Stone as fishing bait? The cost is way too high!
Dumbledore looked at the hesitant expression on Lynn's face. His smile deepened slightly, but he didn't explain further.
He straightened his robes, preparing to leave.
However, before turning away, he seemed to suddenly remember a trivial matter and looked back at Lynn.
"Additionally, Mr. Lynn, I must remind you—the Hogwarts Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to students."
"Of course, given that your main area of activity today seemed to be along the shores of the Black Lake, and you unexpectedly did me a small favor… this time, I'll act as if I didn't see you perhaps, possibly, accidentally… approaching the boundary of the Forbidden Forest."
Lynn was speechless once again.
He had only wanted to fish in peace. How had he ended up catching a box containing the Philosopher's Stone, then catching the headmaster, and finally receiving a warning as a bonus?
Dumbledore left rather briskly.
It seems I can't hide it anymore; I'll have to keep it on me, he thought.
I never expected it to be fished out like that… how bizarre.
---
In the blink of an eye, final exams were finally over, and a relaxed atmosphere filled Hogwarts Castle. Now everyone was just waiting for the End-of-Year Feast and the holidays.
Inside the Hufflepuff dormitory, Edgar was holding his newly issued report card and looking it over repeatedly.
How was he supposed to explain this to his parents?
When he caught a glimpse of Lynn's report card lying casually on the bedside table, he finally couldn't help but let out a wail.
"Holy cow! Lynn! Are you even human?!"
Edgar grabbed Lynn's report card, his finger trembling as he pointed at the uniform row of 'O's (Outstanding).
"You're usually either off fishing or tinkering with those alchemical gadgets, and I never saw you studying before the exams. How did you manage to get Outstanding in every subject? What is your brain made of?!"
Lynn was lying leisurely on the bed, controlling a paper crane that circled around the room.
Hearing this, he didn't even bother to lift his eyelids and replied in an extremely annoying tone,
"Standard procedure~ standard procedure."
"Just some measly exam results. Not even worth mentioning."
"Knowledge is just there; I simply put it into my head in passing."
Inner thought: Having a cheat is just great!
"How did you do? Let me observe and learn."
As Lynn spoke, he sat up with a nimble flip and—without taking no for an answer—snatched the crumpled report card from Edgar's hand.
He cleared his throat and began reading aloud.
"History of Magic… P (Poor). Tsk tsk. It seems Professor Binns' hypnotic powers are as strong as ever."
"Potions… P. Hmm… quite reasonable."
"Charms… A (Acceptable). Professor Flitwick is truly soft-hearted."
"Herbology… A. Professor Sprout's mercy."
"Transfiguration… A…"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts… A…"
"Astronomy… A…"
"And finally… Quidditch—O! Congratulations! Your only Outstanding has been born!"
Lynn put down the report card, looked at the red-faced Edgar, and asked curiously,
"I say… Edgar, your specialization is a bit… unique, isn't it?"
"Aside from being a genius when you're flying in the sky, how do you manage to stay so consistently and dangerously close to the passing line the rest of the time?"
Edgar snatched back his report card and stuffed it under his pillow, his face flushing between red and white as he mumbled incoherently,
"Hehe… well… everyone has their strengths… specialization in one's field…"
He tried to muddle through with a silly laugh, determined not to reveal how he had slept through the entire revision week in the library or how he had completed his exam papers by relying on his "solid" guessing techniques.
Lynn then reached over and took William's report card from the desk.
Aside from Quidditch being an 'A', the other subjects were listed in a neat row of 'O's.
"As expected of William. Steady!" Lynn gave a thumbs-up.
Next, his gaze turned to Ollie, who was sitting quietly by the window.
Ollie silently handed over his report card.
When Lynn took it and looked, his eyes instantly lit up.
"Good grief!" he exclaimed. "A hexagonal warrior!"
On Ollie's report card, there wasn't a single 'P', nor was there a single 'O'. They were all uniformly 'E's (Exceeds Expectations).
Every subject was steadily below the Outstanding line, yet far above the passing mark.
"Edgar, look at William and Ollie, and then look at your own studies—"
"I know, I know~!"
Edgar suddenly bounced up from the bed and quickly threw on his robes, interrupting Lynn's lecture.
"It's getting late. Time to head to the Great Hall for the End-of-Year Feast! Let's go, let's go! If we're any later, there'll be no food left!"
As he spoke, he practically shoved Lynn out the door, successfully shifting the topic from his embarrassing grades to the upcoming feast and awards.
William and Ollie shared a smile, tidied their robes, and followed their roommates into the crowd heading toward the Great Hall.
---
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