Hogwarts doesn't need a savior

In the following week, he taught Hermione completely how to transform and operate the floating cannon - although they were reluctant to admit it, in the eyes of the little wizards, its puppet and toy attributes clearly outweighed its practical value.

He also entrusted this excellent assistant with the scheduling of the first practical courses for grades one to three.

As for himself, he returned home on Friday night.

But this is not because he is lazy, but because of reasons.

On Friday afternoon, a snow-white owl came to his office and dropped a dark red envelope on the desk.

The moment she saw the envelope, Lynn's face lit up with joy.

This was a reply to the letter he had sent at the beginning of the school year.

The sender of the letter is a mysterious and powerful wizard.

The two had dealt with each other more than once, buying or exchanging intelligence from each other, each getting what they needed, and it was quite pleasant.

The corpses of a dozen Death Eaters in exile overseas can testify to that.

This time, they are working together again.

-----------------

Saturday evening, Florence, Italy.

Lin En, wearing a long black trench coat, walked on the streets of this historic ancient city, weaving among the lazy crowd.

Around six o'clock, he entered the deep alley and gently touched a few wooden boxes piled haphazardly on the ground.

The wall of the dead end immediately split in two, revealing the bustling Wizard Street.

This is the largest wizarding commercial district around the Mediterranean, nicknamed "Paradise" by wizards from all over the world.

All wizards entering this commercial street need to wear special animal masks, each of which is specially made by the block management, with only the eyes, mouth and nose exposed, and covered with special magic to hide the identity.

Therefore, this is also the most important meeting and trading place for many wizards across Asia, Europe and Africa who do not want to reveal their identities and secrets.

Lin En, wearing a fox mask, was already familiar with the place. After turning several corners, he walked into a bar.

"Room three, the person who made the reservation is codenamed Hunter, please don't disturb us."

Without waiting for the waiter to ask, he said bluntly, then went upstairs and entered the room with a dirty number 3 sign.

A man in a hound mask was waiting inside.

Without any greetings, the wizard named Garcia pushed over a piece of parchment written in Portuguese.

"The results of the astrological divination and the confirmation of the sacrifice are all here. He lost an eye, so the price needs to be renegotiated."

Garcia spoke in a flat tone, his voice had obviously been changed, and his appearance did not reveal his gender or age.

After years of cooperation, Lin En only knew the other party's surname, and based on magic, he roughly judged that he was from South America, had close ties with local astrologers and African wizard priests, and had killed a black wizard alone against five others. His strength was quite impressive.

Hearing what Garcia said, he nodded slightly: "An ancient magic of the Sobieski family." This is a long-standing Eastern European magic heritage, an extremely tempting offer.

But Garcia was not satisfied.

"Not enough." He pressed the parchment with his backhand and shook his head. "I want to study the golden crown."

"Ha! You're so bold." Lin En was amused by the high price. "Garcia, I just came to you because I don't want to risk destroying the Room of Requirement."

"But this is the wisdom of Rowena Ravenclaw." Garcia was unmoved, and he was obviously also eager for the treasure.

"You know this is impossible, be realistic." Lynn's eyes were sharp. "My goal is to destroy the Horcrux. I don't want to destroy that place unless it's absolutely necessary. But you'd better not doubt my determination. In order to completely eliminate the Dark Lord, there is nothing I can't do."

“Don’t you want this power?” Garcia seemed to be hurt by Lin’s eyes and stood up suddenly. “You can’t destroy the masterpiece of a great wizard like this. This is a crime!”

"Everything you gain has a price to pay." Lynn calmly poured him tea, "That's Ravenclaw and the Dark Lord. You're going to get stuck."

He spoke slowly but without any room for argument, and the faint glow of magic was awe-inspiring.

The enthusiasm in Garcia's eyes dissipated instantly.

"…What did you do to me?" He silently picked up the teacup and drank it all, his tone difficult.

"I'm just helping you regain your sanity." Lin En poured him another cup of tea. "Although we are not friends, we have always cooperated happily. I advise you not to be too clever. My magic is so bad, let alone these two masters who play with souls?"

Having said that, Lin En couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

There are always many ambitious people, but some of them are not well-known.

Many powerful wizards are exploring the way to the top.

The wizarding world isn't just Europe.

No matter when, we should never underestimate the heroes of the world.

He added cup after cup of tea, and Garcia drank it down.

Only after he drank half a pot of tea did he sigh and say, "You're right, Eric, although I'm very unwilling to accept it."

The flame of ambition slowly subsided, but it did not go out.

Lin En saw through it but didn't say anything. He just whispered, "I can increase the reward."

"I don't need wealth." Garcia's eyes did not hesitate any longer. "I hope you can try to preserve the golden crown while destroying the Horcruxes, and cooperate with me in research and explore this knowledge together."

"If you admire Rowena so much, maybe you should have come to Hogwarts back then." Lynn's eyes were playful. "That's difficult. Do you have that much confidence in me?"

"I know you can, and I need this knowledge," Garcia said solemnly.

His eyes were complicated, showing envy and resentment.

The path of a wizard is like climbing a mountain. Many people lose their way while walking.

Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, there will be people willing to pay a huge price.

He had guessed Lynn's identity long ago, and therefore made the decision.

This was also the psychological expectation he had set early on, to ask for a high price and pay it back on the spot.

After a moment's thought, Lin En nodded: "If your information is accurate, it will be limited to one year."

"Deal, you know how to use it." Garcia breathed a sigh of relief and took out his wand, "I promise the authenticity and effectiveness of the divination, it will locate Rowena Ravenclaw's golden crown."

Lynn frowned slightly when he heard Garcia's promise, but still picked up the wand and touched it lightly with him.

"I promise, within one year, that if I find the Ravenclaw crown through your divination, I will do my best to keep the crown intact when destroying the Horcrux, and cooperate with you in research."

As the words fell one after another, dark golden lines appeared on their foreheads at the same time, like the trajectory of a galaxy.

This is a South American astrological contract. The price for breaching the contract will be an eye - the punishment in South American magic second only to life.

After the contract was signed, Garcia showed an irrepressible joy on his face and pushed the parchment over.

"I hope we can still work together happily." He stared at Lin En, "I'll go first, you follow in ten minutes."

"Okay, take care."

"the same as you."

Garcia left quickly, and the wooden stairs made a noise.

Ten minutes later, Lynn disappeared as a phantom.

-----------------

At the other end of Paradise Street, there is a dim narrow alley.

Lynn's figure suddenly appeared in a hidden place.

"How's it going?" he asked softly.

A man slowly walked out of the shadows and stood beside him. He was even taller than he was.

"He was very cautious. We can only confirm that his first stop was in Cairo, but he did not stop there at all. It is difficult to determine his subsequent route. Sorry."

"His level is not inferior to Professor McGonagall. It's normal that he can't find it. Thank you for coming all the way to help me, Brian."

"Your business is my business. Do you have any gains here?"

"Luckily, I have roughly guessed his identity and will be able to verify it soon. However, what's interesting is that he left a little trick in this contract. I plan to fight him a few times to kill time."

"You are always so omnipotent. In that case, I will leave first. I have things to do in the ministry. See you on Halloween."

"No one is omnipotent, including Dumbledore." Lynn shook her head and said briskly, "See you on Halloween. There will be a little surprise then."

"But not you—I'll look forward to surprises."

The tall, sturdy man laughed heartily and slowly disappeared into the shadows.

Lin En also turned and left, blending into the lively crowd.

Chapter 39: Lord of the Forbidden Forest

Hogsmeade is one of the few pure wizard settlements today.

According to legend, it has a slightly younger history than Hogwarts and was founded by a wizard named Hengis.

It is worth mentioning that this [Hengis of Woodcroft] is also a well-known alumnus of Hufflepuff.

Because it is close to Hogwarts, in that era when wizards and Muggles were in conflict, this was the favorite place for many wizards with mediocre magical powers to live - after all, not every wizard could fool around with the Muggle burning at the stake.

As for another important historical event of this village, it may be traced back to the Goblin Rebellion in 1612.

But today, it is just a village made up of rows of stone houses and a few famous shops, that's all.

On Sunday, Lynn, who had just returned from Italy, did not go directly to Hogwarts, but came here instead.

When he was in school, he was keen on finding various secret passages for emergency use, and he knew the village like the back of his hand.

He came here specially this time to take a detour to his real destination, the vast Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts.

He wanted to visit his friends and confirm this information.

Divination in any civilization is full of secrets and also means uncertainty and danger.

Even a powerful and knowledgeable wizard like Lin En often keeps his distance.

Different fields are like different mountains, and it is best to have a professional prophet to make the distinction.

-----------------

Walking on the sparsely traveled path, Lynn thought of the little wizard in school.

The reason for choosing this route is, on the one hand, to be hidden, and on the other hand, to avoid facing the assistant who is too diligent too early.

Even he would be ashamed of the amount of work he assigned to Hermione - although the person himself enjoyed it, he still considered himself a decent person.

In addition, the vast scope of the Forbidden Forest and the migration of the centaurs are also unavoidable topics.

As the eight-eyed giant spiders became more and more rampant, the real owners of the Forbidden Forest, the centaurs, had to migrate again and again.

Now they were far away from the castle, and closer from Hogsmeade.

Even Lynn, his drinking buddy, couldn't help but complain when thinking of Hagrid's "little pet" - his values ​​derived from the blood of giants made him incompatible with most wizards.

This is not discrimination, but an objective difference.

Creatures that Hagrid considers safe have often crossed the danger line, and only because of Dumbledore's restrictions have they avoided disaster.

But it's only a matter of time.

Lin En recalled a meeting with Firenze a few years ago. At that time, he brought carefully cultivated sage and sweet mallow to him at the request of his good friend. It was also on that night that the descendants of Aragog tried to expand their territory again.

Overnight, Lynn's collection of venom increased by several large glass bottles, as well as the bow and arrow given by Bane.

In Firenze's words, Lynn was the first human to be recognized by Bane - thanks to the corpses of three of Aragog's own offspring and the lives of several centaurs, women and children who were saved directly or indirectly.

Soon, the deserted trail came to an end and the environment became dark.

But this was not because it was getting dark - on the contrary, it was the warmest time of the day - but because the trees in the Forbidden Forest were tall, straight and very lush. The leaves had not yet fallen, and the sunlight could only barely seep through the cracks.

The soil, full of humus, was fertile and soft. It was difficult to walk on it without taking one deep step and one shallow step. Even though Lin En had walked on it countless times, he still couldn't get used to it.

He muttered to himself in a slightly frustrated tone: "If only we could break the anti-Apparition spell at Hogwarts someday..."

The only response he got was the rustling of leaves in the wind, and he could vaguely see the silhouette of a giant eight-eyed spider.

These invasive species have no natural enemies and have strong reproductive capacity. Even if they are hunted on a large scale, they can easily come back to life.

In the spirit of helping his friend out of trouble, Lynn took out his wand and waved it into the distance.

Since you are idle anyway, you might as well move around.