The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 2 Dumbledore's Visit

An old man stood in the gentle morning sunlight outside the door.

The old man was tall and thin, with long silver hair and beard that could be tucked into his belt. He wore a purple robe, and his nose was long but crooked, as if it had been broken at least twice. He wore glasses on the bridge of his nose, and behind the crescent-shaped lenses, his bright blue eyes were still as piercing as he remembered.

At this moment, those deep blue eyes were fixed on the young man who had opened the door.

He stood upright, a perfectly timed smile on his face, and the way he opened the door was natural and relaxed.

"It has indeed been a long time, Mr. Lynch."

Dumbledore responded.

His voice was deep and soothing, with a humming quality that was very pleasant to listen to.

"Last night, Hagrid told me you wanted to see me, so the first thing I did this morning was come here to see you." Then he changed the subject, "It's been a long time since I've been to the Forbidden Forest. I have to say, walking through the Forbidden Forest this morning reminded me of many things from the past. Maybe I should go out more often."

“I don’t usually recommend that people take a walk in the Forbidden Forest; it’s too dangerous. But I think the greatest wizard in the world can go wherever he wants,” Lynch replied. “Now, please come in, Headmaster Dumbledore.”

His deep gaze swept over Lin Qi's smiling face once more.

"Then I'm sorry to bother you."

Dumbledore walked past Lynch and went into the stone house.

Lin Qi glanced at the forbidden forest outside the door, and a gray figure quietly shrank behind the bushes.

Lin Qi's gaze flickered slightly, then he closed the wooden door without making a sound.

Lynch turned around, and Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the room, slowly turning his head to look around at the layout and furnishings of the stone house.

"I've never been inside this room before, but now that I look at it, you've done a great job renovating it. I must say, it's a very clever and seamless expansion spell."

His gaze then turned to the desk by the window. "A desk made from a single piece of yew wood is truly rare. Few people use this kind of wood to make furniture. I can't remember the last time I saw such a large piece of yew wood furniture."

"This is a gift from a friend, right after you, Principal, lifted the restrictions on my communication with the outside world."

Lynch replied, "He delivered it to the school first, and then Hagrid helped move it over with my other personal belongings."

"Oh, I remember now. Hagrid told me that someone gave you a desk, but he only told me that it was an ordinary wooden table with no magical traces and didn't mention that the desk was made entirely of yew wood."

"Yew is an extremely precious wood, so he must be a very good friend," Dumbledore joked. "I wish I had a friend like that, but I would be happy if he just gave me a big bag of sweets."

Dumbledore's meaningful gaze lingered for a moment on the dark, uniquely textured tabletop, then swept over Lynch. Just as he was about to speak again, his peripheral vision caught something else.

He turned and looked closely. On the wall directly above the fireplace, in the shadows cast by the firelight, hung a half-broken bird's beak mask.

The left half of the mask had a large hole in it, almost completely broken and gone, leaving only a hideous metal beak stubbornly attached to the remaining leather of the right half of the mask. A charred, twisted mark was deeply imprinted above the metal beak, and spiderweb-like cracks spread from the edge of the thick, round glass lens on the right side.

"You still keep this mask..."

Dumbledore's voice was still deep, but the lightness in it had disappeared.

Lynch's smile remained unwavering as he calmly replied, "It constantly reminds me of the path I came from."

"Is that so...?"

Dumbledore murmured softly.

Just when Lynch thought he was going to continue the topic of masks, he turned to look at the bookshelves that filled the walls of the room, and his voice became cheerful again.

"Last Christmas, Mrs. Pince protested to me that you were systematically emptying the library..." Dumbledore glanced at the bookshelves that lined the walls of the stone house. "I initially thought it was just her possessiveness of books that made her exaggerate."

Despite being feinted, Lynch maintained his perfectly timed smile: "Books can take you anywhere—especially when someone suddenly has a lot of free time, the wisest choice is to give it to books."

He added, "I enjoy learning new things and applying them to my study of magical arts."

"When I'm engrossed in reading and studying magic, I forget where I am."

As Lin Qi spoke, he raised his left hand, opened it, and positioned his palm against the armchair in front of the fireplace. Then, starting with his little finger, he tucked in his fingers one by one while rotating his wrist until his left hand formed a fist with the palm facing him.

Then he tapped the side of his left hand lightly with his right index finger together.

With a soft "click," another identical single sofa popped out from the original sofa and landed steadily on the left side of the small square table, sitting opposite the original sofa like a mirror image.

Lynch extended his right hand and said, "Please sit down, Headmaster Dumbledore."

Having witnessed the entire process of the sofa's appearance, Dumbledore's gaze sharpened slightly.

Following Lin Qi's words, he walked to the sofa and gently ran his fingertips over the smooth leather surface of the sofa.

He praised, "A very sophisticated copying spell. The structure of the object is very stable. Few wizards can cast such a profound copying spell."

"I'm glad you didn't just stop at reading those books."

As Dumbledore sat down on the sofa, he asked, "Would you mind if I made some minor changes?"

As Dumbledore sat down on the sofa, the sofa's surface changed color to a Gryffindor gold and red pattern, the backrest rose and pressed forward, and the cushions became softer, making Dumbledore more comfortable.

"Sorry, I'm getting older, so I need to sit more comfortably."

Lin Qi's smile faded, and he sat down on another sofa.

He steadied himself before replying with a smile, "I understand. Only you know what's best for you."

"Please have some tea," Lin Qi pointed, and two exquisite ceramic cups and a ceramic teapot flew out from the cabinet under the simple stove. "Please forgive me for only having tea here. My usual food and drinks are brought by those house-elves. I don't have anything else here, just some tea from the East. I personally like it very much, and I hope you will like it too, Principal."

The cups landed automatically on the small square table, one in front of the two people. Steam suddenly billowed from the spout of the teapot, and emerald green tea poured out, releasing a delicate fragrance.

Dumbledore took a deep breath of the fragrance: "This aroma is very pleasant."

Pick up the teacup, gently blow away the steam, and then take a small sip.

"A very peculiar tea, a little bitter. It would be much better with some milk and honey," Dumbledore said, setting down his teacup.

Lynch also picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Don't rush, Headmaster Dumbledore. This is green tea brought from the East. Its characteristic is that it is bitter at first and then sweet. Give it some time, and it will give you a different experience."

Dumbledore stopped speaking and quietly savored the bitterness in his mouth transform into a slight, lingering sweetness, like tasting the green grass after a spring rain.

Lin Qi sat quietly on the sofa, and the air fell into stillness, with only the fragrance of green tea spreading with the rising steam.

After a long silence, Dumbledore exclaimed, "It is indeed a novel experience."

"Now." After a long silence, Dumbledore decided to get straight to the point. "Tell me, you've been here for almost ten years, why do you only want to see me now?"