I Let My Guard Down

As the eight-hour mark hit, the effects of the Dreamless Sleep Potion wore off completely. Lin Yue's eyes snapped open the very moment the potion lost its potency.

Her body had long been trying to force her to "reboot," but the influence of the Dreamless Sleep Potion had left her struggling repeatedly between wakefulness and sleep.

Now that the potion had fully worn off, it was no surprise that Lin Yue woke up instantly.

At the foot of her bed, Professor McGonagall transformed back from a tabby cat. The stern witch now sat with her lips pressed into a thin line, watching her.

Professor Flitwick was sitting nearby as well; seeing her wake up, he handed her a glass of water.

Lin Yue took the glass with both hands, uttered a blank "thank you," and lowered her head to take a small sip.

Madam Pomfrey walked over from the nearby beds where Hermione and the others were resting and waved her wand at Lin Yue.

"There's nothing wrong with your body anymore, but your spirit hasn't fully recovered. You need to stay here with me for a while. Is that understood?" Her imposing gaze fell upon Lin Yue. Within the confines of the Medical Wing, few dared to challenge Madam Pomfrey's authority.

Lin Yue was silent for a moment, looking at Madam Pomfrey with a calm, indifferent gaze. "I might need to go out to get some books. My books are all in the dormitory, and I've already finished a few of them. I need to go to the library to exchange them."

Hearing Lin Yue's words, Madam Pomfrey took a deep breath. Just listen to this child—her mental state was like this, and she was still thinking about studying?!

"Miss Lin Yue, what you need right now is rest. Put your studies aside for a moment. Your health is the most important thing, do you understand?"

The words ringing in her ears triggered an immediate reaction in her brain. Study first. This thought occupied Lin Yue's mind in an exaggerated manner.

Lin Yue's tone remained devoid of inflection as she spoke mechanically, "Studying is the top priority. My body is merely trying to be lazy and delay my study time."

Madam Pomfrey felt genuinely exasperated. She turned to look at Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, signaling for them to say something.

"Miss Lin Yue, I understand your desire to study, but Madam Pomfrey is right. How about this," Professor McGonagall reached out and gently took Lin Yue's hand. "You may read in the Medical Wing, but you must listen to Madam Pomfrey. When she tells you to rest, you must rest."

As professors, it was truly difficult for them to forcefully stop a student who loved to learn... Besides, if Madam Pomfrey was watching, she likely wouldn't let Lin Yue overdo it.

Lin Yue's brain performed a rapid analysis. Professor McGonagall told her to listen to Madam Pomfrey; when she was told to rest, she would rest.

That meant Professor McGonagall was also requiring her to rest whenever Madam Pomfrey ordered it. This was the professors' intent.

"Very well, I will comply." Lin Yue nodded with stiff movements.

The three adults present finally felt a bit more at ease, though there was still one thing they didn't quite understand.

That was why Lin Yue had woken up once every hour after taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion—a situation that had never occurred before.

However, since their examinations showed nothing wrong with her body other than extreme exhaustion and some gastrointestinal damage, they simply defaulted to the assumption that Lin Yue had a unique constitution.

After all, even the Potions Master, Professor Snape, and the professional healer, Madam Pomfrey, didn't understand what was going on. A first-year student like Lin Yue surely wouldn't know either.

Asking her might only cause her psychological pressure, which would do more harm than good.

"Rest well, Miss Lin Yue." Professor Flitwick smiled and stood up.

"There is no need to worry about the exams; you achieved an excellent score."

"Yes," Professor McGonagall added, nodding with a smile, "you also scored very highly in my subject."

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick." Lin Yue nodded mechanically, automatically analyzing that she must have received a perfect score.

Although surviving the end-of-year exams required placing in the top two-thirds, and placing in the top third would secure upper-middle-class resource allocation for one's family, for her, only a perfect score could be considered passing. That was what her parents had told her.

Only a perfect score would spare her from punishment; therefore, she subconsciously interpreted the professors' praise as confirmation that she had achieved full marks.

But it was just a perfect score—why praise her? Wasn't this the bare minimum she was expected to achieve?

Without any trace of doubt or emotion, Lin Yue calmly let these thoughts pass through her mind.

After praising Lin Yue, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick departed, and Madam Pomfrey returned to her office to prepare a dietary plan to nurse Lin Yue's stomach back to health.

The curtains on both sides were pulled back. To her left was Harry, to her right was Hermione, and to Harry's left was Ron.

The three of them had woken up while Madam Pomfrey was checking their vitals. At this moment, Ron was pulling a bitter face and couldn't help but groan.

"I'd barely opened my eyes before I heard the professors discussing grades... Merlin, I feel like my mood is ruined."

"You reviewed well enough, Ron, have a little confidence in yourself," Hermione said, turning her head to roll her eyes without ceremony. "Even if you don't have confidence in yourself, please have some trust in my level of expertise. There is absolutely no problem with the material I helped you review."

"Or is it," Hermione narrowed her eyes dangerously, "that you didn't memorize what I told you to?"

"I did, I did, I memorized it all, really!" Ron hurriedly raised his hands to defend himself.

For Merlin's sake, he was still a recovering patient; he didn't want to be struck by one of Hermione's heavy tomes again.

Nodding in satisfaction, Hermione got out of bed, walked over to sit by Lin Yue's bedside, and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"How did you sleep last night?" Since Professor McGonagall and the others hadn't mentioned it, Hermione was unaware that Lin Yue had been waking up every hour.

"Quite well." Lin Yue nodded, her expression blank.

Raising her right hand to check the time, Lin Yue immediately calculated that she had slept for eight hours... eight hours.

You've become lax!

Four large characters suddenly appeared in Lin Yue's mind, causing a sharp, throbbing pain in her brain.

In the courtyard of a villa, a girl wearing short sleeves and shorts stood barefoot on the ground, surrounded by snow that had been specifically swept there to ensure it completely covered the girl's feet.

A middle-aged woman stood at the villa's entrance, wrapping her down jacket tightly around herself. "You've become lax, haven't you! Do you know that the person in second place is only ten points behind you now? Why were you deducted one point in Physics? Why didn't you get a perfect score?"

"Are you satisfied with yourself like this? Have you reached the standard of passing?"

"No..." White snow covered the girl's body, and she couldn't stop her body from trembling physiologically, yet not a shred of pain could be found on her face or in her eyes.

"Say it yourself: you slacked off." The middle-aged woman glared at the girl.

"I slacked off."

"Say it again!"

"I slacked off."

"Say it again!"

"I slacked off."

"Very good," the middle-aged woman said, a satisfied expression appearing on her face. "Remember this lesson."

The girl's lips were black, and her feet, buried in the snow, were already bright red.

"Yueyue, Mother is doing this for your own good. You have to maintain your absolute first-place ranking."

The middle-aged woman wore a look of earnest concern. "The usual rules: come inside yourself in ten minutes." With that, she turned and headed back to the villa.

With a bang, she shut the door. The middle-aged woman rubbed her arms through her down jacket. "Freezing to death. Why is this winter so cold?"

You slacked off!

The four large characters flashing in her mind kept stimulating Lin Yue's brain, and memories of the past surged forth.

She should do something... she should be punished. A thought in Lin Yue's mind reminded her of this.

Hermione said not to punish yourself for studying anymore. Another thought emerged in her mind as well. The two pulled at each other, as if trying to tear Lin Yue's brain in half.

Even as the memories surged and her brain throbbed with pain, the expression on Lin Yue's face did not change in the slightest.

But even so, as Hermione looked into her eyes, she vaguely sensed that she was thinking of something bad. Was she... struggling?

Without a moment's hesitation, Hermione kicked off her slippers, lay down on the hospital bed, and reached out to pull her into her arms, gently patting her back.

Harry and Ron "obediently" turned around, facing away from the two girls embracing.

"What's wrong? What are you thinking about?" Hermione lowered her head, looking at Lin Yue in her arms, and asked softly.

Warm... so warm... Lin Yue lifted her head, dazed. There was no villa in front of her, no goose-feather snow falling slowly; there was only Hermione's gentle smile and her warm embrace.

"I slacked off..." Lin Yue subconsciously spoke the conclusion from her mind.

"Who says?" Hermione frowned. "The professors just praised your grades earlier."

"I slept for eight hours yesterday, and I haven't started studying yet today. I slacked off. I..." Lin Yue's voice was devoid of emotion.

Hermione raised her hand to cover Lin Yue's mouth, looking at her with a serious and earnest gaze. "You didn't slack off, okay? You didn't. You just took a normal, necessary rest."

"I haven't slacked off, have I?" Lin Yue asked Hermione, her heart devoid of emotion.

"You haven't," Hermione nodded firmly.

"But I slept in, and I didn't use my study time for studying."

"That's called giving yourself a break," Hermione said, gently smoothing Lin Yue's hair with her hand.

"A break..." The definition of the word immediately surfaced in Lin Yue's mind. A break? In her way of thinking, a vacation was time for self-directed study—it should be filled with books and practice papers, not lying in bed.

"This is a break?" Lin Yue stared fixedly at Hermione's slender, fair neck.

"This is a break." Hermione reached out and pulled her completely into her arms, tucking Lin Yue's face into the crook of her neck.

"Stop thinking. Let your brain rest for a while."

"Mm..." The thoughts in Lin Yue's mind were swept away. She just stayed there, dazed, nesting in the crook of Hermione's neck without a single thought, her nose filled with Hermione's scent.

Nearby, Harry had already silently drawn the curtains around his bed, cutting them off from the two girls.

"Harry..." Ron clutched his stomach and looked at his best mate. "Do you think I could ask Madam Pomfrey for a Stomach-strengthening Potion? My stomach hurts a bit."

"You could try?" Harry replied, sounding unsure.

"Come to think of it, when can we get discharged?" After a moment, once his stomach had settled, Ron reached out, grabbed the chocolate Madam Pomfrey had prepared for them by the bedside, and took a large bite.

"We should be able to leave this afternoon, but Lin Yue has to stay for a few more days. Didn't the professors say she needs to rest here?" Harry thought for a moment before answering.

"True, she really does need a good rest," Ron nodded in agreement.

"Sigh..." Harry let out a breath. Having spent so much time with Lin Yue, he could vaguely sense a subtle feeling of contradiction and conflict within her.

It was as if what she was doing wasn't what she actually wanted to do. This feeling was faint—much less pronounced than what Hermione felt regarding Lin Yue—but he still had an impression of it.

As a friend, he was genuinely worried about Lin Yue's state.

He used to think she truly loved studying, and while that still seemed to be the case, Harry just felt like something was off.

Just as Harry had said, the three of them were released from the Medical Wing by Madam Pomfrey that afternoon, while Lin Yue was, without question, kept behind.

That same afternoon, Cho Chang and Marietta were finally permitted by Madam Pomfrey to enter the Medical Wing for a visit.

"Merlin's beard, Lin Yue, thank goodness you're alright," Cho Chang said, patting her chest as she looked at the younger student sitting on the hospital bed, reading a book with an expressionless face.

Merlin knew how terrified she and Marietta had been when they heard the rumors.

The rumors claimed that a Dark Wizard—Professor Quirrell, no less—had attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, only to be discovered by Gryffindor's "Chosen One" trio. They had gone to stop him, and in the end, Ravenclaw's Lin Yue had dueled the Dark Wizard and defeated him.

Although the rumors said Lin Yue had defeated the Dark Wizard, who knew if she had been injured? Or if she had been hit by a hex?

That's a Dark Wizard we're talking about! Didn't you see that Lin Yue had to be admitted to the Medical Wing? She didn't even come back that night.

Lin Yue broke out of her study state, closed her book, and politely greeted Cho Chang and Marietta, "Good afternoon, Senior Cho Chang, Senior Marietta."

"Good afternoon," Marietta replied with a smile. "How are you feeling? Is there anywhere you still feel uncomfortable?"

Lin Yue shook her head, her voice as calm as an ancient well. "No, it's just that Madam Pomfrey believes I need more rest, so she had me stay in the Medical Wing."

"Absolutely right!" Cho Chang and Marietta said in unison.

"It's a pity you won't be able to see tomorrow's Quidditch match, though. It's Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor."

The two of them sat down on the chairs beside Lin Yue's hospital bed, one on each side. Cho Chang looked at Lin Yue with a regretful expression on her face.

"Indeed," Marietta nodded. "Fortunately, we have you. Ravenclaw is currently leading the other houses by over eight hundred points; there's no way they can catch up."

"That's right, you're Ravenclaw's greatest hero. Everyone is saying that once you get out, they want to hold a private celebration for you," Cho Chang added, looking at Lin Yue with a beaming smile.

The expression on Lin Yue's face remained unchanged. "I only did what I was supposed to do."

Cho Chang and Marietta exchanged glances and shrugged helplessly.

Meanwhile, inside the watch on Lin Yue's right wrist, Rowena Ravenclaw, who had just woken from an intermittent slumber, suddenly heard the words of Cho Chang and Marietta.

Before she could even feel happy for Lin Yue, she was shocked to discover that this child had been admitted to the Medical Wing.

Admitted to the Medical Wing?! This child had stubbornly refused to be brought to the Medical Wing even after being hit by the Cruciatus Curse before. What kind of situation could it be this time to have landed her in the Medical Wing?