Chapter 119, Section 117. This is an exception!
Hogwarts has a considerable number of students, neither too many nor too few.
Each house has several outstanding young wizards in their upperclassmen.
Yet, this task of receiving a foreign education commissioner fell to Lynn.
Lynn stared into Dumbledore's gentle blue eyes, eyes that seemed to put anyone at ease. If there wasn't something fishy going on, he'd dare rush up to Quirrell and rip off his turban to give him a good wash!
But he'd already been summoned here, in front of outsiders, and Dumbledore had personally asked him to do this. If he didn't show any courtesy and refuse, Lynn felt he might lose a hundred points for stepping out of the Headmaster's office with his left foot.
So, after quickly weighing the options in his mind, Lynn put on a sincere smile.
"It's no trouble at all, Ms. Shayk. It's my pleasure. You can just call me Lynn."
The witch named Shayk nodded and stood up from her seat.
"Then I'll have to trouble you with this matter, Headmaster Dumbledore. I still hope you can put in a good word for us, since what they're doing is getting increasingly outrageous."
Dumbledore nodded slightly.
"I will."
Madam Shayke ended her conversation with Dumbledore and then followed Lynn out of the Headmaster's office.
"Where would you like to go first, madam?" Lynn asked.
She seemed very interested in the murals in the castle corridors, strolling around with Lynn, stopping occasionally to talk to the figures in the paintings.
"Let's just wander around the castle. Could you tell me about the four houses of Hogwarts?"
Since she said just wander around, Lynn really did lead her around the castle aimlessly.
"I'm just an ordinary second-year student, and I knew nothing about the wizarding world before entering Hogwarts, so my knowledge of the history of the four houses of Hogwarts might not be as extensive as you might imagine."
Lynn's grades in magical history were actually quite good; he just didn't want to have much interaction with this witch from Sue.
However, Shayk didn't seem to notice Lynn's disdain.
"It's alright, I don't want to hear about the history of these four houses, but rather their current situation,"
Lynn thought to himself, finding it troublesome.
He had originally planned to take this witch on a tour of Hogwarts, taking her wherever she wanted, talking less and doing more, and ensuring her safe departure—that would be fulfilling the task Dumbledore had given him.
Who knew this witch would actually treat him like a tour guide?
Lynn could only use his brain cells to deal with her.
"Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff are the four houses named after the four founders of Hogwarts, and each house's admission standards are based on those of the founders. Each house has its own characteristics, its own representative animal, color, and style.
For example, my house, Slytherin, has a snake as its representative animal, and its robes are mainly silver and green. Although Slytherin doesn't have a great reputation, we are a group of little wizards who love Hogwarts and unite with our classmates..."
Lynn recited the official speech without any emotion as he led the witch to the vicinity of the library.
Now that it was the second semester of the school year, there were many more little wizards near the library than usual, as the pressure of final exams weighed heavily on their shoulders.
Lynn had just finished gushing over his house when they saw Malfoy at the library entrance.
He was wearing a long robe with a predominantly dark green color scheme, clearly a Slytherin student.
Behind Malfoy were his two henchmen, Goyle and Crabbe.
They blocked Neville's path with wicked grins.
"I've always wanted to find someone to test this spell on, Longbottom. I'm glad you're willing to be my guinea pig."
Malfoy then cast a Leg-Locking Charm on Neville.
Poor Neville, terrified but unable to resist, could only sob and hop away like a rabbit with his legs locked.
Malfoy and his friends laughed loudly behind him.
Shayke watched this scene with interest, pointing at the utterly despicable Malfoy and asking,
"Is this little wizard from the Slytherin house you mentioned earlier, the one that promotes unity among classmates?"
"..."
Lynn, his face swollen from the slap, stared expressionlessly at the smug Malfoy in the distance, wishing he could rush up and beat him to a pulp!
"This is an exception,"
he explained, leading Shayke away from the library.
"There are all sorts of birds in a big forest; it's not surprising that a couple of scoundrels emerge from the supposedly united and friendly Slytherin."
Shayke seemed unconcerned about the earlier incident.
"What about the other houses? Don't feel awkward; I'm not your professor. You can talk to me more."
To be on the safe side, Lynn decided it was better to talk to the mature and composed Ravenclaw.
"Ravenclaw is arguably the best house in Hogwarts in terms of academic atmosphere. The young wizards sorted here are all diligent and studious. They are rational and calm, providing many talents for the British wizarding world."
Lynn was trying his best to maintain Hogwarts' public image when, at the corner of the corridor at the end of the hallway they were in, a group of young wizards dressed in blue robes walked towards them, talking amongst themselves.
They seemed to have just finished Charms class and were discussing the universal anti-charm taught by Professor Flitwick.
Lynn breathed a sigh of relief.
At least there weren't any oddballs in Ravenclaw. Just
as he had this thought, a familiar voice and words rang in his ears.
"Steamed buns, four for a dollar, hehe. Steamed buns, four for a dollar, hehe…"
Ian, trailing behind the group, muttered this strange phrase expressionlessly, his eyes vacant, as if he hadn't seen Lynn, and walked past them.
He had been driven crazy by Lynn these past few days because the modified Impaler's Spell kept malfunctioning, and their coordination was always unsuccessful.
Although Lynn didn't say anything, Ian felt that it might really be a problem with his spell not being powerful enough.
So, he practiced the spell—which was initially embarrassing, but became quite natural after repeated use—almost whenever he had a spare moment.
Shayk watched with a smile as Ian walked away as if bewitched.
"This is the calm and resourceful Ravenclaw student?"
Lynn helplessly covered his face with his hands. It was no one else's fault; Ian's state was entirely his fault.
"Can I still call him an exception?"
I'm going to adjust the update schedule from the previous "underworld" mode. There's one more chapter tonight, but starting tomorrow, I'll update one chapter at 8 AM and one at 9 PM.
That way, readers can read one before bed and another after waking up—isn't that wonderful?
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(End of Chapter)