"Detention in the Forbidden Forest?!" Hermione turned to look at Harry in disbelief.
The three of them had just finished studying in the Library and were walking with Lin Yue toward their respective house towers.
"Yeah," Harry said with a nod, then looked at her in confusion. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Hermione frowned. "There's a huge problem. The Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts is home to many dangerous creatures, which is why students aren't allowed in. Even professors have to be extremely careful when they enter."
"How could they give you detention in the Forbidden Forest?" Hermione's face had gone a little pale, and she pressed her lips tightly together. "Who told you?"
"Professor McGonagall," Harry said, pulling a slip of paper from his pocket and handing it to Hermione. "She gave it to me at dinner. It says when the detention is and what I have to do."
Hermione took the slip and examined it carefully. "Well... it looks like you really do have to go for a walk in the Forbidden Forest."
"Don't worry too much," Ron said, trying to comfort his two friends. "If you're going into the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid will definitely come along."
"Yeah," Harry said, nodding at Ron. A reassuring smile crossed his face as he gestured for Hermione to calm down. "With Hagrid there, I'll be fine."
Lin Yue watched them talking ahead of her without expression, her mind working rapidly.
Harry had been given detention in the Forbidden Forest. According to her assessment, the danger was relatively high, even with Hagrid accompanying him. Other circumstances had to be considered, such as Hagrid not being able to stay by Harry's side at all times.
In that case, Harry would be a first-year wizard facing all sorts of situations on his own.
Lin Yue reached her conclusion in just a few seconds. Hermione came to her decision just as quickly.
"Harry, I'm going with you," Hermione said firmly.
"What? No, Hermione, you don't have to..." Harry turned to her and waved his hands.
"I'm going," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I went with you to deliver Norbert, and you covered for me. It's only right that I go with you."
"And you're going to the Forbidden Forest. If one more person goes, you'll have someone else to watch your back. You can lend me your Invisibility Cloak then."
Hermione delivered the whole thing in one breath, without pausing to give Harry any chance to refuse.
By the time she stopped speaking, Harry had no chance to turn her down. For one thing, when Hermione looked at him with those bright eyes of hers, he couldn't bring himself to say no.
It was like being stared down by Professor McGonagall. He couldn't even summon the will to refuse.
"All right... thanks," Harry said, nodding helplessly and agreeing to Hermione's plan.
"I'm going too," Lin Yue said abruptly, her voice perfectly flat.
"You don't have to." This time it was Hermione who spoke up to stop someone. She turned to Lin Yue, her expression serious.
"You still haven't completely recovered. You should get more rest. Harry and I can go together."
Lin Yue stared steadily at Hermione, her gaze as still as the Dead Sea.
"If the two of you go, your odds of escaping in an unexpected situation are low. If I go too, they'll increase significantly."
Hermione paused. She knew Lin Yue was right. If something unexpected happened, they would indeed be safer with Lin Yue there.
"Besides, I was there that night too, and Harry covered for me. So it's only right that I go."
Lin Yue spoke mechanically, without a hint of emotion. She didn't understand the emotional meaning behind that line or why Hermione had said it, but since Hermione had just said it was useful, she could use it too.
Hermione gritted her teeth. She really didn't want Lin Yue to come along and put herself in danger. After all, Hogwarts had never sent students into the Forbidden Forest as a punishment in its entire history.
It clearly wasn't an ordinary situation. Who knew what was waiting for Harry in the Forbidden Forest?
If Lin Yue went with her and Harry, might she end up...
Lin Yue spoke slowly and stiffly. "Whether you agree or not, I'm going with you. That's the truth."
"All right, all right..." Hermione gave up completely and raised her hands in surrender. "You can come too, but you have to promise to keep yourself safe first."
"Yeah," Harry added with a nod. "If we run into danger, don't worry about me. Just turn around and run!"
"Merlin's magical creatures..." Ron covered his face with one hand. "Harry, can your Invisibility Cloak cover three people?"
Harry and Hermione both looked at Ron. He shrugged. "I can't just watch you go without me."
"Listen to me, Ron. Don't go," Harry said, patting Ron on the shoulder.
"Too many people will make it dangerous if the Invisibility Cloak can't cover everyone."
Ron looked at Harry reluctantly. He didn't want his friends to face some unknown danger while he hid in the Common Room.
"We need backup, Ron," Hermione said with a reassuring smile. "If something really does happen to us, at least we'll have someone to help from behind. You're the best choice."
"I mean, you're capable of carrying all of us." Hermione pointed to herself, Harry, and Lin Yue.
"Yeah," Harry said, winking slyly at Ron as he made a dark joke. "If something really does happen to us, at least you can bury our bodies."
"Oh, shut up." Hermione unceremoniously smacked the back of his head.
Lin Yue watched Hermione and the others interact calmly, then spoke in an even tone, voicing the conclusions her mind had reached.
"Don't worry too much. According to Hogwarts' history, students have never been sent into the Forbidden Forest for detention. Based on that, Harry's detention this time must be unusual and have a different purpose."
Harry swallowed as he listened to Lin Yue's analysis. Hermione nodded, her face pale. She had already considered that possibility too.
"But Professor McGonagall was the one who gave Harry his detention. The probability of Professor McGonagall wanting to harm Harry is infinitesimally close to zero. From that, we can infer that the chance of Harry facing a genuine threat to his life is low."
"So, after weighing everything, the most likely explanation is that there's something in the Forbidden Forest that someone wants Harry to see, and they're using detention as an excuse to lead him there."
Lin Yue stopped there, her mind rapidly considering and assessing the various possibilities.
"The thing Harry is meant to see has an unknown level of danger, but we can roughly assume it won't threaten his life."
"All right." Harry looked more relaxed now. After hearing Lin Yue's analysis, he no longer seemed to care. If someone just wanted him to see something, he'd go and look.
"As long as I don't die, the worst that can happen is I spend a while in the Medical Wing." Harry reached up and scratched his messy hair.
"You're pretty relaxed about it..." Hermione said with an amused shake of her head. Then she reached over and pinched Lin Yue's cheek. Hmm... soft and smooth.
"Thanks for going through all this."
"It's no trouble," Lin Yue replied honestly.
"Then tomorrow night, Harry and I will come get you at the door of Ravenclaw Common Room?"
"Okay." Lin Yue nodded, then turned and headed in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower.
Hermione watched Lin Yue walk away and sighed. Then she turned back to Harry and Ron and nodded. "Let's head back too."
The two of them answered and silently followed Hermione. Ron nudged Harry with his elbow.
"What is it?" Harry asked quietly, turning his head.
"When you get back from the Forbidden Forest tomorrow night, you have to tell me exactly what happened."
Worry was written all over Ron's face. Even after hearing Lin Yue's analysis, he couldn't stop worrying about his two closest friends.
But he couldn't show it in front of Hermione. Hermione wasn't like Harry; she was a girl and more sensitive. If he showed how worried he was, she might think about it even more and get more nervous.
"Don't worry," Harry said, patting Ron on the shoulder.
Back in the Dormitory, Lin Yue changed out of her clothes and took a quick shower. After roughly drying her hair, she sat down at her desk to read.
Qiuzhang and Marietta had a lot of classes today, so they were already asleep. It wasn't until midnight that Lin Yue finally closed her book and prepared to rest.
Still fully dressed, Lin Yue sat on her bed and thought about what she would do tomorrow: sneak out at night, enter the Forbidden Forest, and break two School Rules.
Without hesitation, she squeezed her left thigh hard twice, leaving two large purple bruises. Only then did she lie down calmly.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep without any pause. She woke once an hour, and at six o'clock sharp, she opened her eyes.
The day held one Potions class in the morning and one Herbology class in the afternoon.
As usual, Lin Yue didn't get full marks in Potions. But because Hermione had asked her not to, she didn't punish herself over the score again.
Instead, she kept condemning herself in her mind, using the very words her father and mother had once used to berate her.
"Other people can get full marks, so why can't you? You're in the same class with the same teacher. They get full marks, and you lose points. What's wrong with you? Is your brain made of pig's brains?!"
Lin Yue hurried along the path to the Great Hall for lunch, unconsciously saying the required response aloud. "I'm... sorry. I was wrong."
She sat at the Ravenclaw table and ate lunch at high speed.
After three and a half minutes, Lin Yue arrived outside the Herbology greenhouse ahead of time, waiting for Professor Sprout to show up.
She stood quietly in place, reading a book about Potions that she had borrowed from the Library. She stood without moving for a full hour.
During Herbology class, Professor Sprout generously awarded her ten points for the way she cared for the plants.
Merlin above, she rarely saw a child as talented as Lin Yue.
Every step of her technique was exactly as the book described, and she worked quickly without making mistakes. To be able to do that at such a young age—Professor Sprout truly liked the girl.
After Herbology class, Lin Yue carried her bag to the Great Hall for dinner, then returned to Ravenclaw Common Room. She sat on the sofa, reading while she waited for Hermione and Harry to come get her.
At nine o'clock that evening, the door of Ravenclaw Common Room swung open.
Hermione led Harry inside. As soon as she entered, her eyes were drawn to the enormous Ravenclaw Academy's internal library on the left.
"Wow..." Hermione gazed at the shelves of books, which seemed to stretch out of sight. It was as if she were looking at an endless treasure trove.
Harry followed Hermione's gaze to the left. When he saw the huge pile of books that seemed to go on forever, he couldn't help but get a headache.
He tugged at Hermione's sleeve and quietly reminded her, "Hermione, it's getting late..."
"Hm? Oh, right." Hermione snapped out of it and nodded quickly.
She walked over to Lin Yue, who was sitting on the sofa. "Lin Yue, we should go."
Hearing her full name, Lin Yue came out of her studying trance. She closed her book, set it aside, and stood up briskly, her voice perfectly flat.
"Okay. Let's go."
Hermione carefully took the Invisibility Cloak from her robes and draped it over herself and Lin Yue. Then she followed Harry out of Ravenclaw Common Room.
"Harry, can you see our feet?" Hermione whispered as she walked behind him with Lin Yue.
Harry turned around and bent down to look carefully. He shook his head. "No."
"Good. Let's go," Hermione said with a sigh of relief.
Walking side by side with Lin Yue, Hermione could constantly feel the warmth and softness of the person next to her. Her heart gave a hard flutter, and her cheeks grew a little warm.
Hermione shook her head in confusion. What was wrong with her? Her heart was fluttering, and her face and body felt warm too. Was she coming down with a cold?
Before she could think it over, she had already followed Harry to a corridor on the first floor, where they saw Filch waiting.
Filch led Harry and the invisible Lin Yue and Hermione to find Hagrid. The whole way, he kept saying all sorts of frightening things in an attempt to scare Harry.
Harry was still young, after all. Although he wasn't too bothered, Filch's words still made him swallow nervously.
Hermione, beside Lin Yue, was the same. Only Lin Yue listened to the various tales about the Forbidden Forest while rapidly comparing them in her mind with what the books in Hogwarts Library said.
The vast majority were false—nonsense, Lin Yue concluded.
When Filch brought them to Hagrid's hut, Draco Malfoy was already there. He looked thoroughly terrified at the thought that he was about to enter the Forbidden Forest.
He kept saying that he was going to tell his father. As Lin Yue listened, her mind instinctively began to sort and analyze the information.
Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy: a former Death Eater, pure-blood aristocrat, and one of the members of Hogwarts' School Board of Governors. After Voldemort's death, when the Death Eaters were brought to justice, he paid a large sum of money to escape punishment.
After instinctively organizing the information in her mind, Lin Yue watched Harry and Draco bicker without expression.
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