Hogwarts nights were somewhat chilly.
It was already November, and temperatures occasionally dropping below ten degrees was nothing unusual.
In the Slytherin boys' dormitory, inside Lynn's private bedroom.
A pure-white hamster named Umr by its owner sneakily and skillfully used its tiny paws to open its cage.
Then, with a leap, it jumped from the desk onto the carpet. It instinctively wanted to search Lynn's bag for snacks, but then it saw that Lynn was still fast asleep and remembered that he had grown suspicious after noticing some of his cookies were missing last time.
So Umr reluctantly changed its mind.
It raced along and soon ran from Lynn's bedroom into the Slytherin common room.
Faced with a door that required a password to open, it did not stop. It ran straight beneath the door and skillfully squeezed out through a small hole beside it.
Once out of the Slytherin common room, it ran in one direction like a child freed from parental supervision. Every so often, it would tease the sleeping portraits in their frames or leap into the air and do a somersault.
When it reached the corner of a staircase, a skinny, dark-gray creature suddenly jumped in front of it, blocking its path.
It was an ugly cat named Mrs. Norris, the pet of Hogwarts caretaker Filch.
Mrs. Norris glared furiously at the white hamster with eyes that bulged like light bulbs.
This clearly was not their first meeting. They had evidently held a grudge against each other for some time.
A human-like look of disdain appeared in Umr's tiny mung-bean-sized eyes. It leaped from the spot and launched a flying kick straight at the cat's head, which was twice as large as its own body!
Mrs. Norris failed to dodge in time. It seemed to have been kicked in the eye socket. She let out a shrill cry, then ran off blindly to who knew where.
Like a Champion who had just slain a dragon, Umr planted its paws on its hips and smugly hummed twice before dropping back onto all fours and speeding through Hogwarts Castle.
It seemed extremely familiar with the castle's layout, scrambling up and down all the way before finally arriving beside a wooden door leading to one of Hogwarts' underground storage rooms.
Under the cover of night, a startling scene unfolded in one corner of Hogwarts Castle.
The hamster named Umr began to swell in size. The fur on its body faded away, some of it turning into a snow-white dress and some into long, fluffy white hair.
Lynn's pet transformed into a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old.
Wearing little black leather shoes, she kicked the wooden door hard and called out playfully:
"Reporting, sir! Hamster Agent 007, Sophia Bashak, reporting for duty!"
A voice from the other side of the wooden door seemed to be reprimanding her, making the little girl visibly dissatisfied.
"What? How could there possibly be anyone here? I already chased off that stinky cat on the way here. That stupid caretaker won't find this place."
The person on the other side of the wooden door said something.
"Hm? You're asking what Lynn has been doing lately?" Sophia tilted her head up, bit her finger, and recalled, "Every day, all he does is read books or practice spells. Ehh, it all feels so boring. But the candy he gave me a couple of days ago was really good! I heard those two redheaded twins gave it to him."
At that, her face fell again.
"But most of the time, he feeds me wheat kernels and whole-grain biscuits. I'm practically sick of eating them, but I don't dare not eat them in case I give myself away. Could you give me something extra to eat today? I haven't had meat in ages. My face has gotten thinner..."
The scolding from behind the wooden door seemed to grow louder.
Pouting, Sophia crouched down, covered her ears, and shook her head unhappily as she shouted:
"Don't call Sophia an idiot! Sophia isn't stupid at all!"
The person behind the door was also afraid that she would run off in a huff, so they gently praised her for a while before asking another question.
Sophia's delicate brows scrunched together as she lowered her head and thought hard for a long time before finally remembering.
"Lynn has already finished learning poisonous curses with that professor whose name I can't remember. Next, they seem to be planning to start learning curses. What should we do? Lynn seems to be getting stronger and stronger. If he finds out, will he turn me into a pile of hamsters and eat me?"
The person behind the door seemed very satisfied with the information she had brought. They gave the girl a few more instructions, then finally allowed her to leave.
Sophia puffed up her cheeks in grievance and left unwillingly, muttering things like, "No meat, and you still make me work. Even the real 007 would get caught without any strength."
She transformed back into a hamster, wandered around Hogwarts for a few laps, and finally returned to her cage before Lynn woke up.
After winter arrived, the days gradually grew shorter, and Lynn's daily wake-up time shifted back from four o'clock by an hour.
Five in the morning.
The sky outside was still dark. After changing into his robes and adding some water and biscuit crumbs to Umr's cage, Lynn left the warm dormitory.
The sleepy Hamster007 glanced at the biscuit crumbs in its little bowl with resentment before going back to sleep.
Lynn stepped out of the Slytherin common room, raised his hands in front of his face, breathed warm air into them, and rubbed them together.
The weather was getting colder and colder. Lynn had already decided to wear gloves when he went out tomorrow.
As usual, he carried his wand to the edge of the Black Lake. At the entrance to Hogwarts, he happened to run into Cedric, who was also heading out.
"Are you free tonight, Lynn?" Cedric asked warmly, draping an arm around his shoulders.
Lynn rolled his eyes and slapped his arm away.
"The way you're acting and talking right now makes you sound like a dead gay."
Cedric looked innocent. "Why would you think that?"
"Don't give me that pathetic look." Lynn looked at him disdainfully. "Just say what you want."
Cedric rubbed his hands together. "Well, Professor Sprout, my Head of House, asked me to find someone to help collect some dittany leaves from the greenhouse tonight. You know, I get along pretty well with people in Hufflepuff, but you're the one I'm closest to, so..."
"That's it?"
Lynn did not refuse. He had nothing to do that evening anyway.
"No problem. I'm free anytime tonight."
Cedric beamed and grabbed Lynn's arm.
"Come on. Today, I'll be your personal sparring partner. Whatever spell you want to practice, I'll practice it with you."
After several months together, Lynn and Cedric had become extremely close. At the same time, Lynn's talent for magic had shocked Cedric immensely.
In just two or three months, Lynn had learned no fewer ordinary spells than Cedric, who was already in his second year.
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