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Fortunately, William was calm enough.
After the Basilisk was turned into an oversized plush toy snake that only knew how to rub against legs and act cute by his "Riddikulus" spell, the Boggart quickly retreated back into the trunk.
Over the next while, several more curious students stepped forward to try.
When Lupin encouraged the next student to step forward and prepared to open the lid, a strong force came from inside the trunk, preventing him from opening it.
Lupin tried tapping the trunk. "Come on out."
The trunk didn't budge; the lid didn't even pop open a crack.
(The Boggart inside the trunk: Are you kidding me?! I get transformed the moment I go out! I'm done!)
Lupin looked at the eager students below the stage, feeling a bit embarrassed. Why had the Boggart gone on strike?
"It seems... the Boggart is a bit 'tired.' Let's end the practical session here. Everyone's performance was excellent; the first step in overcoming fear is always the hardest. You'll have chances to encounter other magical creatures in the future."
He walked back to the lectern, moved the battered trunk to the corner, and picked up his textbook:
"Now, please turn to page 25 of 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.' Today, we're going to learn about another small, nuisance-like dark creature you might encounter in homes or ancient buildings—the Red Cap. Their characteristics are..."
Edgar, Ollie, and William all froze simultaneously upon hearing "turn to page 25," then looked at each other in dismay.
Their textbooks were still in the dormitory!
The three of them turned to look at Lynn beside them.
They saw Lynn calmly reach into his dark robe pocket, fumble around for a bit, and then... pull out a map with irregular burn marks remaining on its surface.
Lynn spread it out before him with a serious expression. He even went as far as to point at it with his finger, his brow slightly furrowed, as if he were studying the illustrations or key passages about Red Caps on page 25.
Well, even though he didn't bring his textbook, his attitude toward learning was correct! Look, he'd even prepared "reference materials"!
Edgar and the other two watched in stunned silence, wanting to laugh but not daring to. They could only lower their heads, their shoulders shaking.
On the platform, Professor Lupin was explaining the habits, danger levels, and methods of repelling Red Caps. At a key point, he paused out of habit, his gaze sweeping over the class to check if the students were listening attentively and taking notes.
This sweep caught that bit of "disharmony" in the back row.
First, he noticed the empty desktops in front of Edgar, Ollie, and William.
No textbooks? Lupin's brow furrowed slightly, but considering they had arrived in a hurry that morning, perhaps it was excusable. He planned to remind them after class.
However, when his gaze fell upon Lynn next to them, the Professor's frown deepened.
There was something spread out in front of him, but it certainly wasn't 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.' It seemed to be... a piece of parchment? And a very poor-quality piece of parchment that looked like it had been burned!
Was he... "making up the numbers"? This thought surfaced in Lupin's mind.
Although he hadn't been teaching for long, he had seen a few of the little tricks students played to hide the fact that they hadn't brought their textbooks.
But using a piece of charred, broken parchment to pretend it was a textbook—that was just too perfunctory, wasn't it?
Professor Lupin decided to take action.
While continuing his explanation, he stepped down from the platform, walked through the rows of desks, and headed straight for Lynn's seat.
He intended to remind this student, who liked to "take shortcuts," that his attitude toward learning was important.
Lynn, who was silently chanting "You can't see me~ You can't see me~" in his head, suddenly felt a shadow loom over him.
He looked up and met Lupin's eyes.
"Mr. Lynn," Lupin said in a low voice, "may I see the... material you are 'studying'?"
Lynn's heart skipped a beat. It was over; he'd been caught. "Um... Professor, let me explain, actually..."
While trying to find the right words, he reluctantly handed over the charred Marauder's Map.
Lupin reached out and took it. The moment his gaze fell upon the parchment, his body stiffened imperceptibly.
Then, as if to confirm something, he brought the map closer, carefully examining the faintly visible patterns beneath the scorch marks and several corner annotations that, though damaged, were still recognizable...
"Hiss—" Lupin sucked in a breath of cold air.
Merlin! This was... the Marauder's Map! The treasure created by me, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs! Their "strategic guide" for night excursions, pranks, and dealing with Snape back in the day!
How did it end up like this?! Charred, damaged, its magic almost dormant... who did this?
Should he confiscate it?
Looking at Professor Lupin's expression, which was as if he'd seen a ghost, Lynn cried out in his heart: Holy crap!
Not good! That look in his eyes... surely he doesn't want to confiscate it?! Lynn became instantly alert.
This map belonged to Fred and George; he had promised to fix it and return it!
"Um... Professor," Lynn quickly spoke up, his tone sincere, "this map... it's not mine! I... well, I borrowed it from two friends to study. It accidentally... suffered some damage. I promised to fix it and return it to its original owners in one piece. So..."
He looked at Lupin pleadingly, his meaning clear: Please don't just confiscate it! My reputation will be ruined!
Lupin stared at the map for a long time, then gave Lynn a deep look.
He didn't ask anything—not about the map's origins, the cause of the damage, how Lynn got it, or who he was returning it to... he didn't mention a word. He just sighed softly and handed the map back to Lynn.
"In class... you must listen attentively and use the correct textbook, Mr. Lynn."
Lupin's voice was somewhat low. "Hufflepuff... never mind. Don't let it happen again. Now, please share a textbook with the student next to you for now."
---
The next day, in the Great Hall.
Lynn's gaze searched the Gryffindor table, and he soon spotted two conspicuous redheads in the middle section.
Fred and George were flanking their younger brother Ron. One was waving a piece of bacon on a fork in front of his eyes, pretending it was a broomstick, while the other was trying to sneak marmalade onto the pages of 'Quidditch Strategy and Tactics' that Ron was reading, making Ron cry out in helpless frustration.
Lynn sat down in the empty seat opposite the twins.
"Good morning, everyone."
Lynn got straight to the point, pushing the repaired map in front of the twins.
Fred and George's attention immediately shifted from teasing Ron.
The moment they saw the map, their eyes lit up.
"Merlin's fattest underpants!" Fred grabbed the map, repeatedly stroking its smooth surface.
"You fixed it! You actually fixed it!"
"Mate, you're really fast!" Fred slapped Lynn hard on the shoulder. "We thought we'd have to wait at least a few weeks, or even months! To celebrate the map's 'recovery'..."
George chimed in, "We've decided—"
The two of them, one on each side, hooked their arms around Lynn's shoulders and said in unison, lowering their voices:
"To take you on a night excursion!"
Lynn: "..."
"How's that? Tempted?" Fred winked.
Lynn thought about it; he had nothing better to do. "Sure. Time? Place?"
Fred and George exchanged a look.
"Tonight!"
"After curfew!"
"The eighth floor!"
"The tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls!"
"See you there!"