20demayo Chapter 176 Construction Plan
Chapter 176 Construction Plan
Chapter 176 Construction Plan
The next morning, Professor McGonagall was in her office, the tip of her wand precisely aimed at a gray mouse trying to escape, preparing to send it back to its cage—one of the lessons she had prepared for her Transfiguration class that day—to transform the mouse into an exquisite snuffbox.
The only sounds in the office were the faint squeaking of mice and the soft hum of the tip of a magic wand.
Just then, a short knock sounded on the door.
"Please come in." Professor McGonagall didn't even look up, her gaze fixed on the restless mouse, before closing its cage door.
The office door was pushed open, and the person who knocked came in.
Professor McGonagall looked up when she heard footsteps, and when she saw who it was, her hand holding the wand froze in mid-air.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall." Lynch, dressed in a suit, stood in the doorway, a perfectly curved smile that was neither overly enthusiastic nor lacking in a rare gentleness.
But that smile made Professor McGonagall wary.
If McGonagall were to choose someone she absolutely would never want to be in this office, then Snape, the Head of Slytherin, would be the undisputed choice.
But since last year, Snape’s position has been strongly challenged by Jim Lynch – especially after the Halloween incident involving the escaped trolls, Lynch’s relationship with Snape has completely plummeted.
Professor McGonagall slowly lowered her wand, and the mouse darted back into the corner of its cage.
She adjusted her square glasses, her sharp gaze sweeping across Lin Qi's face as if searching for the reason for his sudden visit.
"Good morning, Professor Lynch." Her voice maintained the composure expected of a vice-principal, but the ending syllable rose slightly, revealing a hint of barely perceptible tension. "Is there something you need to see me about at this hour?"
Without beating around the bush, Lin Qi went straight to her desk, placed a roll of parchment between the open lesson plans and the inkwell, his smile undiminished, yet his true thoughts remained a mystery.
"Headmaster Dumbledore is not at the school," he said calmly. "As Vice-Headmaster, I need your approval for a temporary alteration of the castle's interior."
Professor McGonagall's eyebrows shot up in surprise, almost disappearing into her hairline. Her gaze shifted from Lynch's face to the rolled-up parchment, then back to his face. Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, then paused.
"That's really surprising," she finally said, her voice slightly hoarse. "You actually—followed the rules and came to apply for permission?"
Professor McGonagall walked back to her desk and gestured for Lynch to sit down.
Lin Qi sat down as she suggested, his face still bearing the smile he had when he entered.
"Professor McGonagall," he said, "I always respect rules when they function properly and effectively serve a higher purpose."
Professor McGonagall stared at him for two seconds, her gaze sharp as if trying to see through the plans hidden beneath his smile.
Finally, she pursed her lips, said nothing, and reached out to pick up the roll of parchment.
The only sound in the office for a moment was the rustling of parchment being rubbed together.
Professor McGonagall's gaze swept quickly over the complex floor plans, annotations, and construction instructions. Her brows furrowed more and more, and her breathing, which had seemed even, became slightly heavier.
A few minutes later, she suddenly looked up, her eyes behind her glasses filled with doubt, and looked at Lin Qi.
"Is this a comprehensive plan to modify and reinforce the main nodes of the castle's entire sewage and water supply piping system?" Her voice was filled with even greater doubt. "It also includes adding a large number of fences at all pipe inlets and outlets? Professor Lynch, this project is too massive! What exactly are you trying to do?"
"To capture the monster in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets," Lynch replied quickly.
"What?" Professor McGonagall was somewhat shocked.
"I conducted a thorough examination of the scene of Mrs. Lorris's attack and found traces of the monster in the secret room," Lynch's voice was flat. "It wasn't moving in the corridors, Professor McGonagall. It was inside the castle walls, in these—" He pointed to the intricate network of pipes on the parchment, "—the pipes."
"Pipes?!" Professor McGonagall repeated in a daze. The numerous washrooms in the castle flashed through her mind, and her face turned pale instantly. Her fingers, gripping the edge of the parchment, tightened slightly.
Almost immediately, as a vice principal who considered protecting student safety her highest responsibility, she realized the most terrifying implications of this.
She suddenly stood up, placed her hands on the table, and leaned forward.
"Then the students!" Her voice rose slightly with shock, tinged with obvious anxiety.
Lynch nodded, continuing her unfinished sentence, his tone still calm: "That's right. This means that, theoretically, any pool, toilet, or even drain in the castle connected to the plumbing system could become its outlet. Therefore, I'm afraid you need to announce to the entire school as soon as possible that, effective immediately until further notice, all students may only use the largest public washrooms on the first, third, and fifth floors of the main castle building, whose pipes are specially reinforced with magic. All other smaller washrooms and prefectural bathrooms must be closed immediately."
Professor McGonagall's face turned very pale. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She looked down at the detailed plan again, her sharp gaze sweeping over every single detail.
She did not ask for any further details.
Lynch has given reasons that are both convincing and disturbing enough.
She abruptly picked up the quill pen on the table, dipped it in ink, and forcefully signed her name, Minerva McGonagall, in the approval column at the end of the parchment.
The pen tip grazed the parchment, making a soft, scratching sound.
She put down her pen, pushed the parchment back to Lynch, her expression still grave: "I want you to know what you're doing, Professor Lynch."
"I've always known." Lynch put away the parchment, stood up, and nodded slightly. "Thank you for your approval, Vice Principal."
After saying that, he turned and left the office.
Lynch disappeared behind the closed door, and the office returned to silence, with only the gray rats scurrying restlessly in their cages.
Professor McGonagall did not sit down immediately.
She stood there, her lips pressed tightly together, processing the astonishing news Lin Qi had just brought her.
A few seconds later, she began to act.
She first waved her wand, and a stack of parchment and a quill on the table immediately flew in front of her and began writing an emergency notice automatically.
Then, she strode to the fireplace, pinched a pinch of Floo powder from the delicate ceramic jar, and tossed it into the flames.
"Professor Flitwick," she said to the flames that had instantly turned emerald green, "please inform the other professors to assemble in the faculty common room in ten minutes. There is an urgent announcement to make."
The flames returned to their orange-red color, but she did not stop and continued to call Professor Sprout and several other professors.
After doing all this, she returned to her desk, glanced at the automatically writing notice, then unfolded a piece of parchment and began to write it down herself. She needed to report this situation to Dumbledore in a timely manner.
Meanwhile, Lynch arrived at the office of Mr. Filch, the castle caretaker.