Entering the Forbidden Corridor

After listening to Lin Yue's explanation, Harry stood there for a long time without making a sound. Hermione and Lin Yue remained embraced until Harry closed his eyes and spoke again, only then did they let go.

"I'm going to the Forbidden Corridor on the fourth floor tonight, to get the Philosopher's Stone before Professor Quirrell."

"No! Harry, that's dangerous!" Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at Harry, clearly disapproving of his plan.

"We can go tell a professor, tell Headmaster Dumbledore—they'll handle this, not a bunch of first-years taking risks here."

Harry pondered for a moment, realized Hermione had a point, and nodded immediately.

"Alright, I agree. Let's go try telling a professor first."

The four of them wasted no more time, sprinting across the grass straight toward Hogwarts Castle.

Lin Yue, pulled along by Hermione at the back, rapidly analyzed and organized the known information in her mind.

Her meticulous brain quickly connected everything that had happened this semester: the duel with Malfoy, fleeing into the Forbidden Corridor on the fourth floor, discovering the Three-headed Dog and what it guarded.

Harry receiving his father's Invisibility Cloak from an anonymous sender at Christmas, and then conveniently finding the Mirror of Erised.

Hagrid leaking top-secret information to them, like Nicolas Flamel and the Three-headed Dog Fluffy.

One incident after another—though the information and evidence were too scarce for Lin Yue to deduce the truth, a vague thought lingered in her mind: none of this was coincidence. There had to be a puppeteer behind it all.

Someone was pushing Harry, or rather pushing them, to do something. Coincidence could happen once, twice, but if it happened every time, someone was deliberately manufacturing it.

Even though she'd thought this far, no one asked, so Lin Yue said nothing. Expressionless, she let Hermione drag her into Hogwarts Castle, where they ran straight into Professor McGonagall.

Seeing the Gryffindor trio pulling Lin Yue into the castle, Professor McGonagall gave a fairly warm smile. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Lin Yue—why aren't you relaxing after your exams? The sun is truly lovely today."

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall, we have an urgent matter. Where is Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry asked anxiously.

At Harry's demeanor, Professor McGonagall visibly paused. "Headmaster Dumbledore has gone to a meeting at the Ministry of Magic."

"At a time like this?!" Harry couldn't accept it. The Philosopher's Stone was about to be taken by Voldemort, and Headmaster Dumbledore—the only person Voldemort feared—had gone to a Ministry meeting?

"Headmaster Dumbledore is very busy; he has many matters to attend to," Professor McGonagall frowned. "Mr. Potter, what exactly is the matter?"

Harry blurted out without thinking, "It's a secret."

Hermione took a deep breath. Ron couldn't help but cover his face with his hand. Harry had definitely said the wrong thing!

Only Lin Yue, devoid of any emotion, thought Harry had spoken the truth. The Philosopher's Stone was indeed a secret, wasn't it? A top-secret one, at that.

Hearing Harry's words, Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared slightly. "Very well, Mr. Potter. If that's the case, you can wait until tomorrow when Headmaster Dumbledore returns, then go to his office to find him."

Harry's heart pounded twice. He spoke urgently, "Tomorrow might be too late. Fine—it's about the Philosopher's Stone. Someone's trying to steal it!"

Clatter... The books Professor McGonagall was holding scattered to the floor.

She quickly recovered, bent down to pick them up, then looked at the four children with a stern expression.

"I don't know how you learned about the Philosopher's Stone, but it is heavily guarded. You need not worry."

"Alright," she shook her head as Harry tried to speak again. "Go relax properly."

With that, Professor McGonagall strode away, nodding at Hermione before leaving, as if signaling her to take Lin Yue to rest.

Seeing Professor McGonagall nod at her, Hermione guiltily averted her gaze. She knew deep down—if they couldn't get help from a professor... they'd have to do it themselves.

Sure enough, Harry turned to face his three friends and spoke.

"You all go rest. I'll go back and prepare. Tonight, I'll go through the Trapdoor and get the Philosopher's Stone."

He immediately saw Hermione's face saying "what nonsense are you talking about" and Ron's face saying "are you kidding me."

Even Lin Yue stared at him blankly. "Personal analysis: the probability of them agreeing to let you go alone is infinitely close to zero."

Lin Yue spoke as Harry watched her. Hermione and Ron subconsciously nodded along.

Hermione lifted her chin slightly. "Actually, it's normal that the professor didn't believe us. After all, a student suddenly saying the Philosopher's Stone is about to be stolen—that really is absurd."

"So I've already prepared myself to go with you tonight to get the Stone."

"That's right," Ron chimed in. "You didn't think we'd let you go alone, did you?"

"Wait, you don't have to—" Harry waved his hands anxiously. Didn't they understand? Going this time might mean facing Voldemort. They could die!

"Doesn't matter," Ron stepped forward and slung an arm around Harry's shoulder. "If Voldemort really comes back, none of us will be better off."

"My family's pro-Muggle, Hermione's Muggle-born. So rather than waiting for him to get the Stone and resurrect, we might as well strike first."

Hermione linked her arm with Lin Yue's as she followed behind them. "Exactly. And the three of us going together gives us a better chance."

She had already subconsciously excluded Lin Yue from this plan. Not taking Lin Yue to relax was one thing, but risking her life like this... she absolutely didn't want to bring Lin Yue along.

Clearly, Harry and Ron felt the same way. From then on, they didn't discuss the plan to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone early in front of Lin Yue at all.

If someone had to sacrifice, the three of them were enough. No need to drag another person into it.

Lin Yue, utterly emotionless, was led by Hermione's arm to the entrance of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Hermione reached out to straighten Lin Yue's collar, then looked into her eyes.

"Get some good rest. We're going now."

With that, Hermione turned and left. She had a feeling—if she stayed any longer, she might not want to go.

Lin Yue's gaze fixed steadily on Hermione and the others as they walked away. She knew clearly: they were going to prepare for tonight's trip to the Forbidden Corridor on the fourth floor, to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone.

At the same time, she was well aware that Hermione and the others had sent her back precisely because they didn't want her involved.

But lacking emotion, she couldn't grasp—or rather, couldn't comprehend—what worry truly felt like, so she couldn't figure out why Hermione and the others hadn't brought her along, when bringing her would have increased their safety and survival odds.

Mechanically lowering her head, Lin Yue turned to answer the bronze knocker's question and entered the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Back in the dormitory, she sat down at her seat, instinctively reaching for a book to continue studying, yet the reality was that her mind could no longer recall any knowledge points.

Her brain was a chaotic mess, her heart felt as if someone were clenching it tight; she couldn't engage in any thought, only sitting dumbly in her seat.

What was wrong with her... What was this situation? Why did her heart keep tightening? Why was her brain frantically screaming and trembling?

She had never experienced this before... Wait, she had—when was that?

It seemed like a very, very long time ago, so distant that her memory had blurred. It was when she was just a few years old, watching two fully armed, gun-toting people drag a sister she knew from next door away.

Back then, she had been in the same state as now. But why was that? She had been very... very, what?

Lin Yue's brain kept stuttering, like a computer trying to boot up something but failing repeatedly.

She remained sitting there on the chair for several hours, until Qiuzhang and Marietta finished dinner, played with friends for a while, and returned just before curfew.

Seeing Lin Yue sitting blankly on the chair, both Qiuzhang and Marietta were taken aback.

Qiuzhang furrowed her brows, stepped forward slowly, bent down to look, and was astonished to see that Lin Yue's perpetually unchanging face actually showed a faint crease between her brows.

This discovery made Qiuzhang's heart lurch violently—making Lin Yue frown?! What serious thing had happened to cause this!

"Lin Yue, Lin Yue, what's wrong with you?"

Lin Yue's slightly furrowed brows instantly smoothed out, her face returning to its usual expressionless state. She turned to look at Qiuzhang and spoke in a tone devoid of any inflection, posing a question.

"I thought of some people, thought of what they're about to do. My mind is chaotic, my heart is racing. Why?"

Qiuzhang was momentarily at a loss for how to answer Lin Yue's question, but Marietta behind her spoke gently.

"If you were talking about one person, I'd say you might like them. But since you said several people, it probably means... you know they're going to do something dangerous, and you're worried about them."

"Worried..." Lin Yue raised a hand and gently pressed it to her chest, where a heart was pounding wildly. "So this feeling is what worry is." Not just a noun defined in a book.

"Lin Yue, did something happen?" Qiuzhang crouched down, gently taking Lin Yue's hand and looking at her with concern.

Lin Yue turned her head, her gaze calm as she looked at Qiuzhang. In her mind, the scenario of her telling the truth, and Qiuzhang Senior Student and Marietta Elder Sister following her to the fourth-floor forbidden corridor, instantly surfaced.

Her heart tightened again for no reason—worry, this was worry...

"It's a secret." Lin Yue answered truthfully, while simultaneously preventing Qiuzhang and Marietta from going with her.

Yes, to the fourth-floor forbidden corridor. Just now, having understood what worry was, her brain immediately made this decision.

Abruptly standing up, Lin Yue strode toward the door. "Wait..." Qiuzhang called out to her.

Lin Yue turned back, her face expressionless as she looked at her. Qiuzhang forced down the worry in her heart and gave a gentle smile.

"You haven't had dinner yet, have you?"

"No." Lin Yue shook her head.

"We'll go get some for you. When you come back... you can eat." So make sure you come back!

"Okay, thank you, Senior Student." Lin Yue nodded, turned, opened the door, and walked out with long strides.

Marietta walked over to Qiuzhang, looking uneasily at the dormitory door. "Just letting her go alone?"

"With the two of us as strong as we are... going would probably just be a burden to her."

Qiuzhang shook her head. "Come on, let's go out one more time. At least she shouldn't come back to an empty stomach."

Marietta nodded, sighed, and followed Qiuzhang out, heading straight for the Hogwarts Kitchen, hoping Lin Yue would return quickly and safely, so she might still get to eat hot food.

Arriving at the fourth-floor forbidden corridor, Lin Yue thought about her night tour and the fact that she was about to break into the restricted area, so she reached down and pressed her left thigh. But then she thought about what she was about to do.

Lin Yue withdrew her hand. She needed to be able to move quickly, she thought without any emotion. So, she would accept punishment only after everything was over.

Looking at the wooden door blocking her path, Lin Yue raised her wand and cast an unlocking charm. The door swung open instantly.

Stepping through the door, the three heads of the three-headed dog immediately turned toward her.

Before the three-headed dog could start barking, Lin Yue tightened her grip on her wand and shouted flatly at it, "Stupefy."

Bang! The powerful spell sent the three-headed dog Fluffy flying, crashing heavily onto the ground behind it.

However, this didn't cause too much damage to the thick-skinned three-headed dog; it merely forced it into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Pulling open the trapdoor on the floor, Lin Yue leaped down without hesitation.

After a period of falling, Lin Yue landed steadily on the Devil's Snare below. Recognizing the plants at a glance, she waved her wand expressionlessly.

"Fire-Making Spell."

Vigorous flames immediately began to burn beneath the Devil's Snare. The plant frantically retracted its tendrils, and Lin Yue dropped downward, her mind neither flustered nor stalled. She adjusted her posture mid-air and landed nimbly on the ground.

Waving her wand again, the flames ceased. She looked up at the Devil's Snare; even though she had consciously weakened the spell's power, the plant had still sustained some damage.

The three-headed dog Fluffy belonged to Hagrid, and the Devil's Snare belonged to Professor Sprout.

Both fell under the category of personal property. Though she had damaged them out of necessity, she had still violated the rules and destroyed their personal belongings.

Two more points requiring punishment, Lin Yue firmly noted in her mind. Then, without any emotional fluctuation, she walked forward.

Opening the door and entering the next room, Lin Yue looked up to see a flock of keys flying around the ceiling. Glancing at the door on the opposite side of the room and the keyhole on it, she immediately understood what this room wanted her to do.