Dark Shadow in the Forbidden Forest - Part 1

"Detention in the Forbidden Forest?!" Hermione turned her head, looking at Harry in disbelief.

The three of them had just finished studying in the Library and were walking with Lin Yue towards their respective House towers.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, looking at her with some confusion. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Is there a problem?" Hermione frowned. "There's a huge problem! Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest is home to many dangerous creatures, which is why students are forbidden from entering. Even professors have to be extremely careful when entering the Forbidden Forest."

"How could they send you to the Forbidden Forest for detention?" Hermione's face was a little pale, her lips pressed tightly together. "Who told you this news?"

"Professor McGonagall," Harry said, pulling a note from his pocket and handing it to Hermione. "She gave me this at dinner. It states the time and content of the detention."

Hermione took the note and examined it carefully. "Alright... it seems you really do have to go into the Forbidden Forest."

"Don't worry too much," Ron said from the side, trying to comfort his two friends. "Since it's the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid will definitely be there."

"Yeah," Harry nodded at Ron's words, a comforting smile appearing on his face as he gestured for Hermione to calm down. "With Hagrid there, I won't be in any danger."

Lin Yue watched them talk in front of her with a blank expression, her mind working rapidly.

Harry was being sent to the Forbidden Forest for detention. Based on her assessment, the danger level was quite high, even with Hagrid accompanying him. This was considering other factors, such as Hagrid not being able to stay with Harry at all times.

In that case, Harry, as a first-year Little wizard, would be facing various situations alone.

Lin Yue's judgment was made in just a few seconds, and Hermione's decision also took only a few seconds.

"Harry, I'll go with you," Hermione said decisively.

"What? No, Hermione, you don't have to..." Harry turned to Hermione, waving his hand.

"I'm going," Hermione shook her head. "We went to deliver Norbert together, and you covered for me. It's only right that I go with you."

"Besides, you're going to the Forbidden Forest. One more person means one more backup. Lend me your Invisibility Cloak when the time comes."

Hermione finished speaking in one breath without any pause, giving Harry no chance to refuse.

By the time she finished, Harry had no opportunity to refuse. If nothing else, just looking at Hermione's bright eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say no.

It felt like being stared at by Professor McGonagall, making it impossible to refuse.

"Alright... Thank you," Harry nodded helplessly, agreeing to Hermione's plan.

"I'm going too," Lin Yue said abruptly, her tone completely flat.

"You don't have to," this time it was Hermione who spoke to stop her. She turned back to Lin Yue, her face full of seriousness.

"Your complexion hasn't fully recovered yet. You should rest more. Harry and I will be fine going together."

Lin Yue stared fixedly at Hermione, her gaze as still as the dead sea.

"You two go. Your escape rate is low in special circumstances. If I go too, the escape rate will greatly increase."

Hermione paused. She knew Lin Yue was telling the truth. If they encountered any special circumstances, they would indeed be safer with Lin Yue there.

"Besides, I was there that night, and Harry covered for me, so it's only right that I go."

Lin Yue spoke mechanically, without emotion. She didn't understand the emotional undertones of the sentence or why it was being said, but since Hermione had just said it was useful, she could use it for herself.

Hermione gritted her teeth. She really didn't want Lin Yue to go on an adventure with them. After all, detention in the Forbidden Forest was unheard of in Hogwarts' history.

This was clearly no ordinary situation, and who knew what was waiting for Harry in the Forbidden Forest.

If Lin Yue followed her and Harry, would she encounter...

Lin Yue spoke slowly and stiffly, "Whether you agree or not, I will follow. That's the truth."

"Fine, fine..." Hermione was completely deflated. She raised her hands in surrender. "You come too, but you have to guarantee your own safety first."

"Right," Harry nodded along from the side. "If we encounter danger, don't mind me. You must turn back and run!"

"Merlin's magical creatures..." Ron raised his hand to cover his face. "Can Harry's Invisibility Cloak fit three people?"

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron at the same time. Ron shrugged. "I can't just watch you go."

"Too many people going. If the Invisibility Cloak can't cover us, it'll be more dangerous."

Ron looked at Harry unwillingly, not wanting his friends to go into unknown danger while he hid in the common room.

"We need backup, Ron," Hermione smiled reassuringly. "If something really happens to us, at least someone needs to be able to help us from behind, and you're the best choice."

"I mean, you're capable of explaining for all of us," Hermione said, pointing to herself, Harry, and Lin Yue.

"Yeah," Harry winked slyly at Ron, making a dark joke. "If something really happens to us, at least you can collect our bodies."

"Shut up already," Hermione unceremoniously slapped the back of his head.

Lin Yue watched the interaction between the three of them calmly and stated her deductions in a flat tone.

"Don't worry too much. Although according to Hogwarts' historical records, students have never been sent to the Forbidden Forest for detention, we can infer that Harry's detention this time is unusual and has a different purpose."

Harry swallowed as he listened to Lin Yue's analysis. Hermione nodded with a pale face, which was also something she had considered.

"However, the detention was assigned by Professor McGonagall. The possibility of Professor McGonagall harming Harry is infinitely close to zero. Therefore, we can deduce that the possibility of Harry being in real mortal danger is not high."

"So, based on the comprehensive analysis, the most likely scenario is that there is something in the Forbidden Forest that Harry needs to see, and detention is being used as an excuse to guide him there."

Lin Yue paused here, her mind rapidly processing various possibilities and quantitative analyses.

"What Harry needs to see, the danger is unknown, but we can roughly assume it won't be life-threatening."

"Okay." Harry seemed to have relaxed. After listening to Lin Yue's analysis, he felt it didn't matter anymore. It was just about him seeing something, so he would go see it.

"Anyway, as long as I don't die, the worst that can happen is I'll be in the Medical Wing for a while," Harry said, reaching up to scratch his messy hair.

"You're so carefree..." Hermione shook her head with a laugh. She then reached out and pinched Lin Yue's cheek. Mmm... soft and smooth.

"Thanks for your trouble."

"It's no trouble," Lin Yue said truthfully.

"Then tomorrow night, Harry and I will pick you up at the entrance of Ravenclaw Common Room?"

"Okay." Lin Yue nodded and turned to walk in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower.

Hermione watched Lin Yue's retreating figure and sighed. She turned back to Harry and Ron and nodded, "Let's go back too."

The two agreed and silently followed behind Hermione. Ron nudged Harry with his elbow.

"What's up?" 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 best friends.

But he couldn't show it in front of Hermione. Hermione was different from Harry; she was a girl and more sensitive. If he showed his worry in front of her, she might overthink things and become more nervous.

"Don't worry," Harry said, patting Ron's shoulder.

Back in the dormitory, Lin Yue changed her clothes and quickly took a shower. After hastily drying her hair, she sat down at her desk to read.

Qiuzhang and Marietta had more classes today, so they were already asleep. It wasn't until midnight that Lin Yue closed her book and prepared to rest.

Sitting on the bed with her clothes on, Lin Yue's mind was occupied with her actions for tomorrow: a Night Tour and sneaking into the Forbidden Forest, which violated two school rules.

Without hesitation, she reached down and squeezed her left thigh hard twice, leaving two large bruises before lying down on the bed calmly.

Closing her eyes, she fell asleep without any gaps, waking up exactly one hour later at six o'clock.

Throughout the day, she had one Potions class in the morning and one Herbology class in the afternoon.

In Potions class, Lin Yue still didn't get a perfect score. However, because of Hermione's request, she wasn't punished for her score this time.

She just kept condemning herself internally, using the words her father and mother used to condemn her.

"Others can get full marks, why can't you? You're in the same class with the same teacher. They can get full marks, and you get points deducted. What's wrong? Are you an idiot?!"

Lin Yue walked hurriedly on her way to the Great Hall for lunch, subconsciously uttering the pre-arranged response, "I am... I'm sorry, I was wrong."

Lin Yue sat down at the Ravenclaw table and quickly ate her lunch.

After a three-and-a-half-minute lunch break, Lin Yue arrived outside the Herbology greenhouse ahead of time, waiting for Professor Sprout.

Standing quietly in place, Lin Yue read books on Potions borrowed from the library for an hour, unmoving.

In Herbology class, Professor Sprout generously awarded her ten points for her plant care techniques.

Merlin's beard, she rarely saw a child as talented as Lin Yue.

Every step of her technique was exactly like the book, and she was very quick and error-free. To be able to do this at such a young age, Professor Sprout truly liked the child.

After Herbology class, Lin Yue, carrying her schoolbag, went to the Great Hall for dinner. Afterward, she returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room, sat on the sofa, and read while waiting for Hermione and Harry to pick her up.

At nine o'clock in the evening, the door of the Ravenclaw Common Room suddenly opened.

Hermione entered with Harry. As soon as they walked in, her gaze was drawn to the vast Ravenclaw Academy's internal library on the left.

"Wow..." Hermione's eyes sparkled as she looked at the books that seemed to stretch endlessly, like an infinite treasure.

Harry followed Hermione's gaze to the left. Upon seeing the endless pile of books, his head couldn't help but ache.

He tugged at Hermione's sleeve and whispered, "Hermione, it's almost time..."

"Huh? Oh, oh, right." Hermione snapped back to attention and nodded quickly.

Seeing Lin Yue sitting on the sofa, she walked over. "Lin Yue, we should go."

Hearing her full name, Lin Yue emerged from her study state, closed the book in her hands, and put it aside. She stood up nimbly and said in a flat tone, "Okay, let's go."

Hermione carefully took the Invisibility Cloak out of her Wizard Robes and draped it over herself and Lin Yue. They then followed Harry out of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"Harry, are our feet showing?" Hermione asked softly, walking behind Harry with Lin Yue.

Harry turned his head, looked down carefully, and shook his head. "No."

"That's good, let's go quickly," Hermione said, relieved.

Walking side-by-side with Lin Yue, Hermione could always feel the warmth and softness of the person next to her. Her heart trembled fiercely, and a blush rose on her face.

Hermione shook her head in confusion. What was wrong with her? Her heart was fluttering, and her face and body felt hot. Could she be catching a cold?

Before she could ponder further, they had already followed Harry to the corridor on the first floor and saw Filch waiting there.

Filch, taking Harry and the invisible Lin Yue and Hermione to find Hagrid, spent the entire journey trying to scare Harry with all sorts of terrible things.

Despite his young age, Harry, though not feeling too much, still swallowed nervously at what he said.

Hermione, beside Lin Yue, was the same. Only Lin Yue listened to the various rumors about the Forbidden Forest he spoke of, quickly comparing the information in his brain with what was written in the books in the Hogwarts Library.

Most of it was fake, nonsense, Lin Yue reached his final conclusion.

Brought by Filch to Hagrid's hut, Draco Malfoy was already there, and he looked quite scared by the fact that he was about to enter the Forbidden Forest.

He kept saying he was going to tell his Dad. Listening to him, Lin Yue's brain subconsciously began to integrate and analyze the information.

Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, a former Death Eater, a pure-blood noble, and one of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. After Voldemort's death, when the Death Eaters were purged, he paid a large sum of money to escape punishment.

After instinctively organizing the information in his mind, Lin Yue expressionlessly watched Harry and Draco bicker.