After entering March, the weather became slightly clearer.
Sunlight would occasionally spill through the gaps in the clouds, plating the icy surface of the Black Lake with a faint layer of gold. The drafts in the Castle corridors were no longer as bone-chilling as they had been in winter; at least when walking outside, one no longer felt like their face was about to freeze off.
This evening, Lynn, who had just finished dinner in the Great Hall, did not return directly to the common room.
He indeed had a very important matter to attend to.
Something he had been thinking about for an entire week—making Dumbledore feel pain.
At that moment, Lynn was standing in a secluded corridor on the third floor of the Castle, with no one around.
In his left hand, he held a piece of parchment—the Marauder's Map borrowed from Fred and George. In his right hand, he held a crystal bottle containing a vial of evil liquid.
He stared at Dumbledore's office on the map, falling into deep thought.
He had heard from Edgar that the Ministry of Magic would be holding a meeting tonight and had invited Dumbledore to attend. Edgar had heard it from his parents during a casual conversation, so the information should be reliable.
Lynn took out his Magic Phone and glanced at the time.
Seven fifty-three.
The meeting started at eight o'clock; Dumbledore should be leaving soon.
Sure enough.
The next second, the "Albus Dumbledore" who had still been pacing around the office on the map suddenly disappeared.
Along with him, "Fawkes" also disappeared.
The corners of Lynn's mouth curled up slightly.
He put away the map and slipped the crystal bottle into his pocket.
And then—
With a gentle wave of his wand, he cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. Then he pulled out a self-made invisibility cloak and draped it over his body.
Two layers of camouflage. Double insurance.
He pushed open the corridor window, and his entire body soared directly into the sky.
The cold wind rushed at him, making his robes flap loudly. But Lynn couldn't be bothered with that. He stayed close to the Castle's outer wall, flying upward silently.
Soon, he arrived at the tower.
The window outside the Headmaster's Office was right before his eyes.
Lynn pressed himself against the wall and carefully peered into the office.
Thick curtains hung over the window, leaving only a small gap. Through that gap, the situation inside the office could be seen.
At that moment, only a faint light illuminated the Headmaster's Office—likely the embers in the fireplace or some magical lamp that hadn't been fully extinguished.
On the walls, the portraits of the past Headmasters had been covered by a layer of curtain. Only the blurred outlines of the frames could be seen, hanging quietly on the wall without any movement.
It seemed the former Headmasters had already gone to sleep.
Lynn nodded in satisfaction.
Very good. Everything was going smoothly.
He reached out and gently pushed the window.
Clack, clack.
The window didn't budge.
Lynn: "..."
He pushed again.
Clack, clack.
Still no movement.
Lynn took a deep breath and leaned in for a closer look. Between the window frame and the sash, a thin line could faintly be seen.
It could only be said that Dumbledore's anti-theft awareness was quite strong. He remembered to lock the doors and windows before going out.
But this wouldn't stump Lynn. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to cast a spell directly on the window.
In case Dumbledore had left some sort of alarm magic on it, the moment he acted, Fawkes might bring Dumbledore back the very next second.
Lynn took out his wand and gave it a gentle wave.
Inside the office, a small silver object on Dumbledore's desk slowly floated into the air.
Through the window, Lynn controlled it to drift toward the window.
And then—
It gently touched the window latch.
Click~
After an extremely faint, crisp sound, the window unlocked from the inside.
Lynn put away his wand, pushed the window open, and flew straight in.
The moment his feet touched the floor, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Looking at this familiar office, he felt, for the first time, the guilt of a thief.
The embers in the fireplace were still glowing faintly red, shrouding the entire office in dim light. The tall bookshelves were filled with various books and strange objects. Fawkes's perch stood empty, with only a few golden feathers scattered beneath it.
Lynn did his best to restrain his itching hands and resist casually shoplifting from the office.
He carefully bypassed the silver instruments on the floor, bypassed the large Pensieve, bypassed Fawkes's perch, and moved step by step toward the large desk.
He circled behind the desk, crouched down, and began searching.
According to his guess, Dumbledore's stash of sweets should be nearby. That old sugar addict felt uncomfortable if he went a day without sweets, so there had to be plenty hidden around the office.
The moment he pulled open the first drawer, Lynn made a discovery.
An entire large box of Cockroach Clusters.
The box was transparent, allowing him to clearly see the densely packed black candies inside. Each one was shaped like a cockroach, lifelike and looking...
How should he put it?
Very unappetizing.
But Lynn had already inquired and knew these were one of Dumbledore's favorite sweets.
Without another word, Lynn pulled out the crystal bottle.
He carefully selected a few Cockroach Clusters that looked the plumpest and most appealing, gently pried open the box with his wand, and aimed at them—
Drip.
A drop of transparent liquid landed on one Cockroach Cluster and was instantly absorbed, disappearing without a trace.
Drip.
A second drop landed on another one.
Drip.
A third drop.
Lynn treated a total of five, making sure they were evenly distributed throughout the box. This way, no matter which corner Dumbledore picked from, there was a chance he would get one.
Job done.
He slipped the crystal bottle back into his pocket, returned the box of Cockroach Clusters to the drawer exactly as it had been, and gently closed it.
Lynn crouched there, looking at the drawer as the corners of his mouth curled upward.
This potion was something he had spent an entire week repeatedly testing and continuously refining before finally brewing successfully.
Colorless, odorless, and non-toxic—completely undetectable by any conventional means.
Its only effect was—
Bitterness.
The bitterness wasn't ordinary bitterness. It was an ultimate, explosive bitterness that directly assaulted both the taste buds and the nerves.
According to Lynn's own testing, it was roughly equivalent to concentrating dozens of pounds of coptis into a single drop, then mixing it with bitter gourd extract and some sort of magical ingredient that even he couldn't explain.
He had only licked the stirring rod during the experiment, yet the bitterness had been so overwhelming that he lay on the floor for ten whole minutes.
And now, five Cockroach Clusters had been infused with this potion.
No matter which one Dumbledore ate—
Just imagining that scene made Lynn want to laugh.
That's what you get for suggesting my fishing rod be used as a treasure.
...
The cold wind howled outside the tower.
Lynn hovered quietly outside the window, staring motionlessly at the office.
Time passed minute by minute.
Eight-thirty. No one.
Nine o'clock. No one.
Nine forty-five. Still no one.
Lynn wrapped his invisibility cloak more tightly around himself and pressed even closer to the wall. The cold wind scraped across his face like a knife, forcing him to cast a small Warming Charm just to keep the bone-chilling cold at bay.
He began to doubt Edgar's source of information.
What Ministry of Magic meeting? What starting at eight o'clock? More than an hour had passed, and not even a ghost had shown up.
Ten o'clock.
Eleven o'clock.
Twelve o'clock.
The last few lit windows in the Castle went dark as well, and all of Hogwarts fell into dead silence. Only the occasional cries of night birds from the distant Forbidden Forest echoed clearly through the quiet night.
Lynn waited from shortly after eight until one in the morning, but Dumbledore never returned.
Forget it.
I'm not waiting anymore.
Lynn rolled his stiff neck and was just about to turn and leave—
Firelight suddenly flared inside the office, and Fawkes emerged from the flames. The phoenix landed lightly on its perch, shook its wings, and scattered a shower of warm golden sparks.
Immediately afterward, Dumbledore stepped out of the flames.
Lynn instantly perked up.
He pressed himself against the window, held his breath, and fixed his eyes on the office.
Dumbledore walked behind the desk and set down the thick stack of documents in his hands. He let out a long sigh, rubbed his brow, and then—
His hand unconsciously reached for the drawer where the sweets were kept and pulled out the box of Cockroach Clusters.
Dumbledore's eyes lit up slightly.
Lynn's heart began to race.
Dumbledore picked up the box, opened the lid, glanced inside, and nodded with satisfaction.
He casually rummaged around with his fingers before pinching a Cockroach Cluster from the middle of the box.
Lynn's eyes widened instantly.
That was one of the five he had drugged!
Dumbledore held the Cockroach Cluster before his eyes and examined it carefully for two seconds. Its lifelike cockroach shape looked exceptionally eerie in his hand.
He smiled faintly.
Then he popped it into his mouth.
His movement was completely natural, as though he were simply enjoying an ordinary piece of candy.
And then—
Dumbledore's chewing suddenly stopped.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he forced himself to swallow. His brows knitted together slightly, and he sat there motionless, his hand still suspended in the air as though he were about to take another piece.
Several seconds later, Dumbledore took a deep breath and reached for the water cup on his desk.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
He drained the entire cup in one go.
Setting it down, he lowered his eyes to the box of Cockroach Clusters, his expression extraordinarily complicated.
He looked at it as though he were staring at an old friend who had betrayed him.
He reached out, intending to take another one. His fingers even touched the edge of the box.
Then he slowly withdrew them.
Outside the window, Lynn watched the scene with complete satisfaction.
Covering his mouth to keep from laughing out loud, he quietly slipped away from the scene of the crime.
Inside the office, Dumbledore sighed, closed the box, and returned it to the drawer.
"Sigh... next time, I'll have to find a different place to hide the candy."
---
Enjoying the story?
You don't have to wait for the next chapter!
Read up to 40+ chapters ahead on Patreon.
Access to all active translations with a single membership.
If you'd like to support my work and binge ahead, consider joining my Patreon:
Patreon: patreon.com/mrfanfiction140
Happy Reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!