Lynn walked around the car, looking left and right. Before long, he had a thorough understanding of the crude but effective magical modifications on the vehicle.
"Hmm... the core of the Flight Charm is grafted onto the engine's ignition system, which is a clever shortcut to avoid the trouble of drawing a separate Flight Array... the nodes for the Levitation Charm are arranged a bit crudely, but they excel in stable output... Oh, there are also traces of a Disillusionment Charm, though it's failed now. It seems the magic supply was unstable..."
Lynn muttered to himself as he looked.
"Tsk, in summary, it's just 'with enough power, even a brick can fly.'"
"This car doesn't care about precise design or enchantments at all; it relies purely on stacking materials and brute force to cram the magic in."
"It's mainly built to be sturdy and durable, cheap and useful."
Lynn checked the chassis and tires again, confirming that it... should, probably, maybe... be able to drive.
Lynn rubbed his chin and reached this bold conclusion.
Lynn climbed into the driver's seat.
Yes, he just climbed right in.
He fumbled around and found the key; it was actually left in the ignition. How careless!
Lynn tentatively turned the key.
Sputter, crackle, pop... Bang! Thud!
A burst of noise suddenly exploded from under the hood!
The car's body shook violently.
The few remaining needles on the dashboard swung wildly from side to side.
Lynn was so startled by the commotion that he almost jumped out of his seat, instinctively wanting to abandon the car and run.
But a few seconds later, the terrifying noise gradually died down, turning into a dull "thut-thut" sound.
Although the car was still trembling slightly, it had... finally started.
"Ignore that bit of noise from before," Lynn comforted himself. "It can still run."
He tried shifting gears and gently stepped on the accelerator.
The car jerked forward with a lurch, and then, at an extremely slow pace, it began to... crawl across the ground.
The speed was indeed a bit "unsatisfactory."
He steered the junk car, wobbling in a small circle in the clearing, feeling like it was slower than a snail's crawl.
He didn't dare try the flight function for the time being; heaven knows if this thing would just fall apart in mid-air.
Driving this junk car, which could break down at any moment, near the edge of the Forbidden Forest was far too risky.
Sputter, crackle~ Bang! Bang!
After another round of noise, the car finally stopped moving altogether.
Lynn was stunned for a moment, then decisively turned off the engine and got out.
"Back to the dormitory. It's getting late. Who left a broken car here? So inconsiderate! Honestly!" Lynn made a few pretentious remarks before scurrying back to the dormitory.
The next day at noon, in the Hogwarts Great Hall.
Lynn was leisurely enjoying lunch.
Just then, an elderly-looking Owl carrying a red envelope flew into the Great Hall in a wobbly fashion.
It dived straight toward the Gryffindor table.
Lynn heard the familiar words again: "Didn't get it wrong this time, it's him!"
Lynn: ...Not young, but has a good memory.
"Lynn, look, isn't that the Weasleys' Owl?" The sharp-eyed Edgar nudged Lynn with his elbow.
"If I heard correctly, yes. Wait... that's a Howler!"
Lynn unhesitatingly pulled out his wand and pointed it at his ears.
"Muffliato!"
Almost simultaneously, at the Gryffindor table, Ron Weasley, urged by his brother, reluctantly tore open the red envelope.
The next second—
"RONALD WEASLEY!!!"
A magically amplified soprano voice exploded throughout the Great Hall!
The sound was so loud it made the Pumpkin Juice in the goblets ripple.
"HOW DARE YOU... STEAL THAT CAR... YOUR FATHER... MINISTRY INQUIRY... DISGRACE... IF YOU... FIX IT... DON'T YOU DARE COME HOME!!!"
The last few words were practically roared out, and with a "bang," the Howler disintegrated into several charred scraps of paper, landing in the empty plate in front of Ron.
The world was finally quiet.
"So, what exactly did that enthusiastic letter from home say? It felt like Mrs. Weasley's emotions were quite... full."
Edgar rolled his eyes at Lynn in annoyance and complained, "You have the nerve to ask! Why didn't you cast a Muffliato on me too just now?"
"My ears are still ringing; I almost went deaf!"
Lynn patted his shoulder insincerely and brushed him off. "Next time for sure, next time for sure. Come on, tell me, what happened?"
Edgar rubbed his still-ringing ears and recounted gleefully, "Basically, it said that Ron and Harry flew a car to school!"
"They were even seen by quite a few Muggles on the way, and it made the papers!"
"Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, is facing an inquiry at the Ministry of Magic. He's in big trouble."
"The letter also roared that Ron must fix the car, or he shouldn't even think about coming home for the holidays."
Lynn: "..."
Good grief! So that junk car last night was driven here by these two.
William pulled out his mobile phone, tapped the smooth screen, and checked the digital time.
"Alright, time to go. There's a Defense Against the Dark Arts class in a bit; can't be late," he said, neatly tucking the phone back into the inner pocket of his robes.
Edgar groaned and reluctantly put down the half-eaten Pumpkin Pasty, grumbling as he stood up.
"Sigh, let's go... To be honest, I'm really curious: what earth-shattering skills will our new Professor Lockhart teach us in the first lesson?"
His tone carried obvious expectation.
The usually quiet Ollie also joined the conversation, tidying his books.
"Theoretically, it... shouldn't be any worse than Professor Quirrell, right?"
He recalled the smell of garlic filling the classroom and the stuttering lectures last semester, feeling that the bar was already low enough.
Lynn paused slightly at Ollie's words; his perception of Professor Quirrell was quite different from the general consensus.
After all, Professor Quirrell had privately taught quite a few "practical" Dark Arts and even generously given him a pass to the Restricted Section... This was truly a "precious" teacher-student bond.
Of course, he would never say that out loud.
So, while his roommates waited for him to voice his opinion, Lynn just took a sip of Pumpkin Juice.
He sighed softly from the bottom of his heart.
"Praise Professor Quirrell!"
William, Edgar, and Ollie all looked at him with "Are you okay?" expressions.
Edgar even reached out to feel Lynn's forehead.
"Lynn, did you run into something nasty during your night stroll? You're actually missing Quirrell?"
Lynn dodged Edgar's hand. "It's nothing. I just suddenly feel that contrast can sometimes create beauty."
"Let's go and see what... 'higher morale' Professor Lockhart has brought us."
---
Happy Reading. Be sure to leave a review!!!
Visit my Patreon for early access to 20+ chapters!!!
P@treon: mrfanfiction140