"Except for the pile of cockroach clusters, take three portions of each of the other snacks!"
Lynn noticed the dilemma of the Weasley twins, and their actions moved him even more. Generously, he took a handful of gold Galleons from the bag enchanted with an undetectable extension charm and planned to use them as a gift next year, aiming to become a nouveau riche like Harry Potter.
The plump woman looked at Lynn with surprise, then took three portions of every snack except for the pile of cockroach clusters and handed them to him, also giving three extra chocolate frogs to the Weasley twins.
"Let's eat together! I can't finish all of this!" Lynn said with a smile to the twins after the woman left the compartment.
Fred and George exchanged glances.
Fred grabbed a fizzing whizbee from the pile of snacks and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, he exclaimed, "Hiss, it's so sweet! I bet Professor Dumbledore would love this!"
George handed one of his chocolate frogs to Lynn.
Without hesitation, Lynn took the frog, unwrapped it, caught its escaping legs with one hand, and stuffed it into his mouth.
After finishing the chocolate frog, Lynn pulled out the card from the package.
The card featured a picture of a man with bright blue eyes and short black hair. The man's glasses reflected two white lights, giving him a serious appearance, though his deep eyes held a somber expression.
Lynn turned the card over and read the text on the back:
Wallison Green, a famous French alchemist and direct disciple of the great alchemist Nicolas Flamel.
Green's most notable contributions include:
Participating in the capture of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945,
Inventing the alchemical product Forbidden Magic Stone,
Advancing alchemy alongside his mentor, Nicolas Flamel.
...
After reading the text, Lynn's eyes narrowed.
This Wallison Green was a character unfamiliar from the original work, and his involvement in Grindelwald's capture conflicted with Lynn's understanding of the events.
Of course, the magical world was vast and could not be fully encapsulated in a single novel. It wasn't surprising that there were powerful wizards unrecorded in the books.
However, Lynn was particularly wary of the Forbidden Magic Stone invented by Wallison Green.
At that moment, Fred and George also unwrapped their chocolate frogs, lamenting that all their cards were of Dumbledore.
Noticing the card in Lynn's hand, George said with interest, "Wallison Green? That card is rare. Lynn, you're lucky!"
Seeing the twins looking at him, Lynn asked directly, "Do you know about Wallison Green? I'd like to know more about the alchemical product, Forbidden Magic Stone, listed among his contributions."
Noticing Lynn's nervous expression, the Weasley twins burst out laughing.
After a while, Fred clutched his chest and explained to Lynn, who looked puzzled:
"The Forbidden Magic Stone invented by Wallison Green has a certain ability to suppress magical power. After its release, it was sought after by various Ministries of Magic and used to secure important locations, like the Department of Mysteries in the British Ministry of Magic."
"However," Fred continued, "its ability to suppress magic isn't as powerful as you might think. A Forbidden Magic Stone the size of a Quaffle can only reduce a wizard's ability to cast spells within ten meters by less than 10%. It has no effect on powerful wizards like Professor Dumbledore."
Understanding dawned on Lynn.
"Of course," Lynn mused aloud, "if the Forbidden Magic Stone were too powerful, it wouldn't be sought after—it would be outright banned."
At that moment, George grinned and added, "You've seen how useful alchemical products can be! From the shorthand quills reporters use to the dungbombs at Zonko's Joke Shop—they're all products of magical alchemy!"
Lynn nodded slightly. He had some impression of these things, remembering that the Weasley twins would eventually open their own shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
Fred sighed wistfully. "We've wanted to learn alchemy for a long time, but it's an elective course only available to sixth- and seventh-years. And you can't even take Ancient Runes until third year."
George chimed in, "So we borrowed A Simple Introduction to Ancient Magical Texts, Magical Text Dictionary, and Phonetic Chart of Magical Words from a sixth-year Ravenclaw. We're planning to study Ancient Runes ourselves so we can learn alchemy later!"
Fred added, "George and I have thought about it. Once we've mastered these runes, the first thing we'll do is improve the dungbombs and give Filch a good scare! Oh, by the way, Filch is the caretaker at Hogwarts."
Lynn hadn't expected the Weasley twins to dive into alchemy so early.
Then again, it wasn't surprising—when Harry Potter started school, the twins were already improving dungbombs, and they were only third-years at the time.
After the twins' explanation, Lynn found himself growing interested in alchemy as well.
"Could I take a look at the books you borrowed? I'd like to get a head start on Ancient Runes too," Lynn asked.
The Weasley twins agreed without hesitation.
Fred went to the corner of the compartment and pulled three tattered magical books from the luggage on the floor. These were the ones George had mentioned earlier: A Simple Introduction to Ancient Magical Texts, Magical Text Dictionary, and Phonetic Chart of Magical Words.
Lynn accepted the books. As thanks, he handed the twins a notebook containing his mother's insights into fire spells.
"This notebook holds some of my mother's notes on fire spells from her time at Hogwarts," Lynn explained.
Fred took the notebook and joked, "Lynn, with this notebook, your fire spells must be really impressive, huh?"
Lynn nodded, took out his wand, and waved it gently. With a silent incantation, a ball of fire appeared, hovering and dancing in the air.
Feeling its heat, the twins' mouths dropped open.
Fred hadn't expected Lynn's fire spells to be this powerful—he'd only been joking!
Silent casting—this is silent casting!
Even adult wizards who had graduated from Hogwarts rarely mastered silent spellcasting.
The twins were left stunned, silently marveling at Lynn's talent.