The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 24 Before Going Out

He stood at the door, making no attempt to invite Lin Qi in.

"This is the potion you requested; it's already been prepared."

He pulled a transparent glass bottle from his pocket, which was mostly filled with a colorless and transparent liquid. Amazingly, tiny sparkles of starlight shimmered continuously inside the liquid.

Lin Qi took the glass bottle, held it up to his eyes, and examined the unusual-looking potion inside by the light of the torches in the underground corridor.

"This isn't quite what I envisioned... Did you change the recipe?"

Lynch put down the glass bottle and looked at Snape.

Snape keenly sensed Lynch's distrust of the finished potion.

He replied, "I did change the formula, adding some moonstone powder to make the poison less violent and deadly." Snape's face broke into a mocking smile. "Instead, it will be a prolonged, agonizing pain, which I expect to last for months..."

He paused for a moment: "Whether you want to drink it or not is up to you."

Lynch looked at Snape calmly, concluding that he was not lying.

So he twisted his wrist and put the glass bottle away.

"Thank you, Severus."

Without lingering, Lynch thanked Snape and turned to leave.

Behind him, Snape watched Lynch's retreating figure, his face darkening.

"Wait a minute." Snape's deep voice sounded from behind Lynch.

Lynch turned his head and saw Snape walking quickly toward him, his wide black robes still billowing in the wind like bat wings.

Snape walked up to Lynch and looked at Lynch's calm face, his expression frighteningly grim.

He reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and tossed it to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi pointed a finger, and the thing floated in front of him.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a large piece of dung.

He looked up at Snape.

"If you experience severe pain after taking medication, put this in your mouth; it will make you feel much better."

Snape's voice was somewhat muffled, as if he didn't want to be heard but had no choice but to speak.

However, his voice turned sharp again for the next sentence: "This is for that memory. From now on, we're even!"

Lynch looked at Snape meaningfully.

Snape seemed to be burned by that gaze; he straightened his face, flicked his sleeves, and strode back to the Potions office.

With a bang, the wooden office door slammed shut.

Lin Qi stretched out his finger and pinched the dung stone floating in front of him.

Recalling Snape's earlier actions, he chuckled softly, then turned and left the castle.

Lynch did not return to the stone house immediately, but went to the lakeside again, where he took a walk and sat down on the ground.

Make sure the people in the castle can see him.

He didn't return to the stone house until noon.

After returning home, Lin Qi ate lunch first, and then sat down at his desk.

After a moment's thought, he wrote several large words on the parchment in front of him with a quill pen: "Application report and related course content for conducting the 'Magic Research' course".

Next, he started writing and drawing on the parchment while thinking.

As evening approached, he had filled seven or eight pages of parchment, and only stopped when Totz brought him dinner.

After finishing dinner, Lynch put the parchment pages filled with writing on his desk into a large envelope.

He handed the bag to Tots and said, "Take this to Headmaster Dumbledore's office and then come back. If Headmaster Dumbledore isn't there, give it to Vice-Headmaster McGonagall."

"Toltz understands!"

Totz nodded vigorously, then solemnly extended his right hand and pressed the name branded on the chest of his clothes.

A silver ripple swept by.

A house-elf dressed in a black tuxedo and standing ramrod straight appeared before Lynch.

A satisfied smile appeared on Lin Qi's face.

Thors carefully took the envelope from Lynch, then hugged it to his chest and ran out.

Watching Totz run out through the wooden door, Lynch's smile faded, and he walked back to his desk.

On the desk, the sand in the hourglass in the corner had run out.

Lynch opened the drawer, and a rough brass key lay quietly inside.

Lynch picked up the keys and put them in his pocket.

He walked to the sofa in front of the fireplace and sat down.

With a wave of his right hand, the cup and teapot flew out of the cabinet, and in no time, a cup of green tea with a delicate fragrance was automatically brewed.

A crow flew out of the alchemy room and landed on the table in front of him.

Lin Qi looked at the crow in front of him and gently tapped its head with his finger.

Like an inflating balloon, the raven's body grew proportionally little by little until it appeared on the table.

Controlling the raven to keep its wings spread, Lynch began to check whether the newly inscribed runes on the raven were functioning properly and whether they conflicted with the original incantations.

Those pure-blood families won't give up so easily; he had a feeling that tonight, they would inevitably have to take action.

At that time, with hundreds of kilometers between them, the power of their magic would inevitably be greatly reduced.

His only reliance will be the speed at which he casts spells, and the Raven's Eye is a spell he created himself, one that has never appeared before.

Even he himself could not fully predict what problems might arise from controlling the aircraft hundreds of kilometers apart.

So he checked repeatedly to make sure there was nothing wrong with the raven.

The raven is functioning normally, and the newly added runes have been well integrated into the existing structure.

Lynch reached out and pressed down on the raven's head again.

The raven turned into a crow again.

The crow hopped, spread its wings, and flew up, landing on the back of Lynch's sofa.

Lin Qi closed his eyes and went through tonight's plans again in his mind.

A little while later, Totz returned with the result of handing the envelope over to Professor McGonagall.

A fleeting smile appeared on Lin Qi's lips.

He said to Torts, "Torts, I have a task for you."

Still dressed in his black tuxedo, Thors immediately straightened up and loudly replied, "Thors guarantees it!"

Lynch continued, "Your job is to stay here tonight. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm not feeling well and can't see anyone. If they insist on seeing me, knock on my bedroom door, and I'll come down then."

"Are you feeling unwell, sir?" Totz asked with concern.

Lin Qi was certainly not uncomfortable; he just needed a little cover-up.

I don’t expect that I can get away with going out without Dumbledore’s knowledge, but it would be useful to delay the time it takes for him to find out.

Playing your cards too quickly isn't a good thing either.

"A little, but don't worry, I'll be fine after a rest."

After saying that, Lin Qi walked towards the stairs, with the crow perched on his shoulder.

"Tortz will make sure no one disturbs Mr. Lynch's rest!" Thortz called out from behind him.

Lin Qi smiled but didn't turn around.

He returned to his bedroom, stood by the window, and looked outside. The Forbidden Forest was beginning to come alive at night, but not in his own little corner.

Lin Qi took the brass key out of his pocket and placed it on the windowsill, then sat cross-legged on the bed.

He closed his eyes and began to meditate.

He plans to try and revisit his past.

Time passed second by second, and finally, the hands of the clock on the wall reached 19:30.

Lynch opened his eyes, his gaze becoming sharp and resolute.

He took out the potion Snape had concocted from his pocket, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip.

In an instant, the pain that erupted from every cell in his body almost overwhelmed him.