Three minutes for a combat-speed shower; Lynn gave her hair a rough towel-dry, made sure it wasn't dripping, changed clothes, and walked straight out.
Stepping out of the Ravenclaw Common Room, Lynn strolled through the vast Hogwarts Castle.
Since the Professor hadn't said which classroom early self-study would be in, she searched room by room, trying to find one that held a Professor or a student.
Yet when she reached the last classroom, she still hadn't found a single person.
The enormous Hogwarts Castle lay wrapped in sleep; only Lynn was awake, even the portraits on the walls still resting.
She lifted her wrist—five-thirty. It should be time for early study; she couldn't waste any more.
With that thought, Lynn spun around and headed straight for the Library she had passed moments earlier.
Inside the Library she sat, dropped her bag beside her feet, and pulled out the textbook she hadn't finished, attacking it at once.
Head down, she read until seven o'clock; at last she finished the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms Class textbooks, leaving only the Astronomy Class book unread.
Breakfast time had arrived, so she closed the book, packed her bag in quick, neat motions, and flew down the stairs toward the Great Hall.
All along the way the staircases shifted of their own accord, carrying her as fast as possible to where she needed to go.
She burst into the Great Hall to find it, again, silent and empty.
Her mind wavered for a heartbeat, then she walked to the exact spot she had occupied at the Ravenclaw Table the night before and sat down without the slightest error.
She pulled out the Astronomy textbook and began speed-reading and memorizing.
By the time she had finished the entire Astronomy book and committed it to memory, it was nearly seven-fifty.
At seven-fifty sharp, breakfast appeared on the deserted Ravenclaw Table; mechanically she reached out and repeated last night's wolfish devouring.
During her three-and-a-half-minute assault on the food, a few early-rising Young Wizards drifted in; seeing her ravaging the Ravenclaw Table, they instinctively froze.
One reason was shock that someone could be up so early; the other… Lynn ate too fast and too ferociously.
Pansy Parkinson, who had risen early to do her make-up before coming to breakfast, wrinkled her nose at the sight.
"By Merlin's breakfast… has she never eaten? No table manners at all."
Daphne Greengrass, walking beside her, also frowned.
"I thought the Gryffindors were the worst-mannered; apparently there's someone even worse."
"Hmph," Pansy sneered. "She's from the East, probably a mudblood too—no pure-blood would have such dreadful manners."
After delivering their critique, the two seated themselves contentedly at the Slytherin Table to enjoy their own breakfast.
At the same moment Hermione arrived; she swept her gaze across the Hall and instantly spotted the conspicuous Lynn at the Ravenclaw Table.
Watching her stuff food down as if forcing it into her throat, Hermione's mouth opened slightly in astonishment.
Eating like that… doesn't it hurt?
Yet seeing Lynn's face remain as placid as still water, Hermione wondered if she even knew what discomfort was.
Shaking her head, Hermione abandoned the puzzle, sat down at the Gryffindor Table, and hurried through her own breakfast—she wanted to reach the classroom early and make a good first impression on the Professor.
In three and a half minutes Lin Yu finished, utterly unaware of either the criticism or the concern.
Bag on her back, she strode out of the Great Hall and raced toward the Charms classroom.
While she ate, the timetable had appeared beside her hand; according to it, her first lesson was Charms, and she had spotted that very classroom earlier while searching for early-study rooms.
She needed only retrace the route in her memory.
All the way she remained expressionless, machine-like.
That alone jolted many half-awake Young Wizards fully awake: a blank-faced figure charging straight at you looks like payback on the way.
Whenever students met her on the stairs, they suffered sudden shifts: as long as Lynn was on a staircase, Hogwarts' stairs pivoted to prioritize her direction, leaving the others clinging to the banisters, bewildered and horrified, watching her recede and waiting for the stairs to swing back.
Thanks to her pace and the castle's cooperation, she reached the Charms classroom before twenty-to-eight.
Inside, without hesitation, she took the front-row seat, pulled out her Charms textbook, and began reviewing once more.
After revising the day's first lesson, she slipped her wand from her robe pocket.
She turned, arm outstretched, and stared blankly at the chair beside her.
Her right hand traced a motion identical to the book's, down to the very angle.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Perfectly pronounced, the spell leapt from her tongue; the chair rose instantly into the air.
A scene that should have sent a first-time spell-caster into rapture evoked not the faintest flicker on her face.
She lowered her wand; the chair settled gently down.
Her goal achieved: she had confirmed she could already apply the lesson.
Yet the book said the larger or more numerous the objects, the harder the Levitation Charm; mechanically she rose, faced all the chairs in the room, and duplicated the wand-movement.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
A soft scrape of wood on stone sounded as every chair slid free and floated skyward.
Expressionless, she watched them, then instinctively raised her wand high and began to draw slow circles in the air.
Above, the chairs followed her wand, lining up and revolving in formation—an awe-inspiring sight.
This was the scene Professor Flitwick found when he reached the Charms classroom.
He had thought himself early; surely no student would be here yet.
That way he could stack the books he needed to stand on before the students arrived, but he hadn't expected to walk in and find a student already there.
Worse, the student was levitating chairs with the Levitation Charm—and not just one chair, but a whole group of them, spinning them in circles!
For a first-year Young Wizard to manage this, the difficulty lay not just in raw magical strength but in the focus required to control it.
First-years are at an age when they love to play and make noise; their emotions are so volatile that their attention is easily diverted.
Because of that they struggle to rein in their magic, and some even suffer magical outbursts.
Yet this student… had actually refined her control to the point where she could keep so many chairs revolving steadily in mid-air without the slightest collision.
Professor Flitwick felt Ravenclaw House had just struck gold; perhaps this Young Wizard was a once-in-a-generation prodigy.
With that thought in mind, Professor Flitwick didn't interrupt Lynn's spell.
Only when Lynn was satisfied that she had reached a certain level of mastery did she flick her wand downward, sending each chair back to its exact original spot.
Clap, clap, clap… Professor Flitwick beamed at Lynn's back and couldn't help applauding her performance.
The sound jolted Lynn out of her focused study, and she realized someone was behind her.
She turned, saw Professor Flitwick, and bowed calmly in greeting.
"Good morning, Professor."
"Good, good, good." Professor Flitwick nodded approvingly—talented and polite, a truly wonderful student.
At this point, his delight at her magical gift automatically glossed over the odd lack of expression on her face and the flat tone of her voice.
He had even forgotten the conversation he'd had with Professor McGonagall at yesterday's feast about reminding Lynn not to eat so fast.
Right now he only wanted to talk with her about her grasp of Charms.
When Professor Flitwick beckoned, Lynn walked quickly to his side.
Professor Flitwick gazed at her warmly, excitement in his eyes. "Miss Lynn, your casting and control of the Levitation Charm are excellent. I believe Ravenclaw deserves twenty points for that!"
Lynn showed no joy; she simply nodded impassively. "Thank you, Professor."
Her calm acceptance only deepened Professor Flitwick's satisfaction.
Not becoming complacent over a single success or compliment—utterly superb.
His fondness for talent swelled; unable to contain himself, he asked excitedly,
"Miss Lynn, may I ask how much of the textbook Charms you've mastered?"
Lynn answered mechanically, "I've memorized all the incantations and wand movements, but only the Levitation Charm has been practiced so far."
Professor Flitwick's eyes lit up—knowing every incantation and movement was impressive in itself!
"Then perhaps you wouldn't mind trying them out?" he added hopefully.
Lynn nodded obediently. "Of course, as you wish, Professor."
She raised her wand. "Lumos."
A soft sphere of light blossomed at her wand-tip, and Professor Flitwick nodded repeatedly at the glow.
"Extinguishing it—can you manage that?"
At his request, Lynn nodded, spoke the counter-charm, and the light vanished instantly.
"Excellent!" Professor Flitwick kept nodding. "Now, the Alohomora?"
Lynn pointed her wand squarely at the Charms classroom door, performed the precise wand movement, and said, "Alohomora."
Click—the door stood open, yet the lock inside clearly shifted.
Professor Flitwick nodded again, delighted. "Very good, very good."
Next he had her cast every spell in the first-year Charms curriculum.
Unsurprisingly, each succeeded; every gesture was as precise as a programmed machine.
Every pronunciation and pause was as exact as a talking pen—emotionless but flawless.
When she finished demonstrating every first-year spell, Professor Flitwick was already waving his arms in excitement.
Ravenclaw House gained another twenty points. Several passing Professors stared at the hourglass in bewilderment.
What was Professor Flitwick doing? Awarding points before class had even begun?
And not just one or two—forty points in total.
Of course, their confusion would vanish once Lynn attended their lessons; soon they would be the ones lavishing points on her.
"I believe the first-year Charms textbook can teach you nothing more," Professor Flitwick said, beaming at her.
As if programmed, Lynn nodded in agreement.
"Then, Miss Lynn, would you like to study ahead?" he asked eagerly—offering extra help to an outstanding student was a "weakness" every teacher shared.
"Certainly, thank you, Professor Flitwick." Lynn accepted at once.
With a flick of his wand, a parchment and quill flew over and began writing by themselves.
When four titles had been listed, Professor Flitwick handed the parchment to her.
"These are the books I think you can tackle next. The spells are more advanced than first-year work, but well within your reach."
Lynn accepted it with both hands, glanced at the list, and thanked him politely.
"Thank you, Professor Flitwick."
"You're welcome, Miss Lynn. In my classes you may read these freely and study on your own."
Lynn nodded obediently. "Understood, thank you, Professor Flitwick."
He smiled contentedly. "Ask me anything you like; I'll be happy to help."
Lynn nodded once more. As the other Young Wizards filed in, Professor Flitwick climbed onto his stack of books behind the podium, and Lynn returned to her front-row seat, gaze fixed on him.
By now she had subconsciously tuned out everything else.