A Plea for Help and a Rescue

Qiuzhang took a deep breath, steadying her startled emotions, then rose and walked over to sit on the edge of Lin Yue's bed. She reached out and gently rubbed Lin Yue's head.

"Don't always talk about studying for everything," Qiuzhang said, her tone full of tenderness. "Aren't you going to go out and have some fun with your family during the summer holiday? It'd be good to relax a bit."

Lin Yue turned her head, her eyes like deep pools, dark and bottomless, eternally unchanging. "My parents aren't in this world."

She stated the absolute truth without any inflection, but both Qiuzhang and Marietta Elder Sister were stunned for a second.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know... I didn't mean to upset you." Qiuzhang was a bit flustered.

Lin Yue shook her head expressionlessly. "It's fine. I'm not sad. I don't feel those things."

Qiuzhang bit her lip, looking at Lin Yue with concern. "Then during the holiday... will you go to your relatives' house?"

Her brain quickly processed the question, and Lin Yue shook her head. "No, I'm staying at a hotel."

"A hotel?! The Leaky Cauldron?" Marietta Elder Sister also walked over, sitting on Lin Yue's other side and looking at her with concern.

"The Leaky Cauldron—where is that?" Lin Yue asked Marietta Elder Sister without any emotion.

"Didn't you notice when you went to Diagon Alley before?" Marietta Elder Sister was taken aback for a moment, then quickly rationalized it to herself.

"Right, you don't care about anything besides studying. The Leaky Cauldron is the name of the pub at the entrance to Diagon Alley. It's the most famous wizard pub in Country Y, and they offer lodging on the second floor."

Lin Yue nodded. She was about to ask where Diagon Alley was when the clock struck twelve. Deciding it was time to sleep, she closed her mouth and silently scooted back into her bed.

Qiuzhang and Marietta Elder Sister exchanged a relieved glance. No matter what, at least Lin Yue was going to sleep earlier now—that was progress.

The two of them leaned down together, gave Lin Yue a ceremonial kiss on the forehead, said goodnight, and then returned to their own beds to rest.

Lying in bed, the moment Lin Yue closed her eyes, she slipped into deep sleep. Even though she had been ensuring six hours of sleep each day lately, her body—or rather, her subconscious—still believed she was severely sleep-deprived. So the instant she shut her eyes, she entered deep sleep, only to wake up an hour later. This cycle repeated through the night.

By the next day, all the little wizards at Hogwarts had their luggage fully packed, waiting only to eat breakfast before lining up to board the Hogwarts Express and head home.

None of them had been home since the Christmas holiday, so nearly all the little wizards were happy and welcoming of the summer holiday's arrival.

Still, a scattered few didn't care one way or the other, or even outright dreaded the summer holiday.

Lin Yue was one of those who was completely indifferent. Her gaze was calm as she observed the cheerful atmosphere in the Great Hall, not a single ripple of emotion stirring within her.

The summer holiday was just a change of location for studying—her brain had a clear understanding of that.

As for the one who absolutely didn't welcome the summer holiday, that was Harry. The mere thought of returning to the Dursley family made him want to frown.

But seeing the smiles of his two close friends, Hermione and Ron, and the lively mood of the classmates around him, he couldn't bear to break the atmosphere. So he forced a smile and chatted with his classmates, pretending to enjoy... savoring the last moments of this school year at Hogwarts.

Only Lin Yue, who had wolfed down her breakfast and was scanning the Great Hall, noticed Harry's strange expression. There was something off about Harry's smile—she reached that conclusion almost instantly.

Harry's smile was clearly different from everyone else's around him. The muscles he used and the range of their movement varied significantly.

So Harry didn't want to smile, but he was smiling anyway. Her brain automatically output this result, and Lin Yue withdrew her gaze. She felt no curiosity about why Harry was forcing himself to smile. Instead, she began silently reciting the Transfiguration textbook.

After breakfast, the little wizards were supposed to board the Hogwarts Express. But before that, each Head of House handed out their report cards.

The little wizards looked at their grades with either joy or worry, but it was fleeting—the next moment, they cast the results aside.

Grades, well—close enough was fine~ As long as they were within their own expectations, the little wizards easily accepted their scores. Even if they were a bit worse, it didn't matter.

At worst, they'd get a few words from their parents at home about trying harder next time. The Hogwarts professors didn't say much to those with poorer results either.

Everyone had their own strengths. It wasn't like a single report card could define whether a little wizard was excellent or not. As long as they could figure out what they wanted to do in the future, work toward it, and not go down the wrong path—that was enough.

At the Ravenclaw table, the Little Eagles were even more curious about Lin Yue's grades than their own.

Lin Yue worked so hard and was so talented... her grades must be amazing, right?

With that thought, many Little Eagles, after glancing at their own report cards, couldn't wait to crowd behind Lin Yue for a look.

When they saw Lin Yue's report card, they couldn't help but click their tongues. Just as expected... Outstanding in every subject, not a single mistake.

After seeing Lin Yue's grades, the Little Eagles didn't make a big fuss or celebrate for her. They just silently returned to their seats.

Based on their understanding of Lin Yue, she'd probably still be as unflappable as ever about this result. Since she herself was like that, they'd better not disturb her.

Putting away her own report card, Lin Yue felt no stir in her heart. Perfect scores in all subjects—she had met the passing standard.

I've passed the end-of-year exams for this school year, Lin Yue summarized in her mind, mechanically turning her head toward the main entrance of the Great Hall.

The grades had been handed out. Next, fully armed people should come in and take away the bottom third of the students for disposal.

At that thought, Lin Yue suddenly felt her heart clench, pounding wildly, and her mind became a blur.

This was the worry that Marietta Elder Sister had told her about... worry. But what was she worried about?

Lin Yue turned her head blankly and saw her classmates laughing and chatting at the Ravenclaw table, saw Hermione and the other two talking at the Gryffindor table, saw Hannah—her Potions class partner for the entire school year—sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

Like a lantern show, images flashed rapidly through Lin Yue's mind: the celebration the Ravenclaw group had thrown for her, the adventures she'd shared with Hermione and the others, the countless potions she'd brewed with Hannah.

What was she worried about... Lin Yue's brain forced out a single thought amid the chaos.

She was worried about her classmates. A tearing pain split through her skull. Her expression remained unchanged, but several cold beads of sweat slid down her forehead.

She was worried about her classmates being disposed of. She was worried about them becoming that last third.

Before, she could have pondered this issue with a calm, unruffled mind. But now that the moment had truly come, she could no longer stay rational.

I don't want... Lin Yue clenched her teeth, her right hand stiff and difficult as it reached toward her robe pocket, where her wand rested.

I don't want my classmates to be eliminated... The thought blazed clearly through Lin Yue's brain.

But immediately after, another equally clear thought burst forth from her mind—these are the rules, rules must be followed, I must follow the rules, I cannot break the rules.

Her right hand, reaching for her robe pocket, froze midair, unable to move another inch.

Lin Yue watched helplessly as the doors of the Great Hall slowly creaked open a crack.

Fully armed execution personnel, the wails of other students, the sensation of potion being injected into a body—everything, everything surged up from her memory.

No! I won't! Lin Yue forced her jaw open and bit down hard on her tongue.

The entire oral cavity instantly flooded with a thick, metallic taste of blood. The sharp pain forcibly spurred Lin Yue onward again; her right hand plunged into her robe pocket, and she yanked out her wand.

The next moment, the Great Hall doors swung fully open—but the one who walked in was not fully armed execution personnel, only Hogwarts' castle caretaker, Mr. Filch, here to inform all the little wizards that it was time to board the train.

Her mouth full of blood, Lin Yue's drawn wand hung limp at her side. All her movements stopped.

No execution personnel, no poised submachine guns. Lin Yue's chaotic brain settled back into calm, and her heartbeat gradually slowed.

Dropping her head, she tucked her wand back into her robe pocket, constantly swallowing the blood flowing from her tongue.

The execution personnel chose to go to the students' homes to catch them... Lin Yue easily arrived at this conclusion.

Lifting her head to look at the little wizards in the Great Hall, Lin Yue didn't know why, but her vision seemed to turn black and white, and a sinking sensation pulled at her whole body.

At the professors' calls, the little wizards filed out with their luggage. Lin Yue stood up and mechanically followed the classmate ahead of her.

Her vision was unusually blurry, as if dotted with speckled patterns, like a glitching old black-and-white television.

Now she had none of her usual thinking ability left; she could only stiffly trail the classmate in front, out of the Great Hall, out of Hogwarts, onto the Hogwarts Express, and then stop inside one of the compartments, staring blankly at the seat opposite.

When the summer holiday comes back... a third of the classmates will have vanished. Lin Yue's vision dimmed in waves; her brain seemed to protest, and her tongue was both sore and numb.

Leaning back against the seat, Lin Yue closed her eyes for the first time during school hours.

In the darkness, she saw a little girl. That little girl studied every day, studied every day.

Even so, her scores could only ever land her in the middle of the year-end exam rankings.

She couldn't move her parents into the villa they dreamed of, couldn't bring them into the elite class they longed for.

She knew it was her fault—she wasn't smart enough... she was a stupid child, not the genius her parents wanted.

So she would squeeze time out of her already meager sleep to read cookbooks and learn knitting.

She could hold a book in one hand and a spatula in the other; she could gift her parents a new pair of gloves every winter before it arrived.

She longed to prove that, even without a villa, a family could live happily together...

But what happened after that? What happened after that?

A piercing sound echoed madly in her mind, a bone-chilling cold pressed against her side. Lin Yue trembled and curled herself into a ball.

So weak... she was so tired... this feeling—when had she felt it before?

"Are you very cold?"

Arms warm as the blazing sun wrapped around Lin Yue. The piercing sound stopped abruptly, and a gentle whisper brushed her ear.

Her trembling body slowly relaxed and unfurled; the darkness in her mind dissolved bit by bit.

A tiny voice, a tiny figure, reached out both hands toward the illusory sky above—save me, please, save me!

Opening her eyes again, Lin Yue's gaze was as dead and still as stagnant water.

Turning her head slightly, she saw that the arms embracing her from behind belonged to Hermione. Harry and Ron were helping load her luggage onto the rack. Qiuzhang and Marietta sat on the opposite seat, watching her with worried expressions.

"Qiuzhang Senior Student and Marietta Elder Sister just found me and said you weren't in a good state, so I came right over. What's wrong?" Hermione lowered her head and gently brushed her cheek against Lin Yue's.

Lin Yue's lips trembled as she opened her mouth; the sound that came out was hoarse and grating, like a broken bellows.

"During the summer holiday... I don't want to stay in a hotel. Can I... stay at your place?"

Lin Yue spoke the thought plainly from her mind; her ability to think had returned.

Hogwarts had not published the full ranking of all students' scores, so she couldn't be sure whether Hermione, the three boys, Qiuzhang, and Marietta Elder Sister fell into that bottom third.

Even though Hermione, Qiuzhang, and Marietta had excellent grades, they could still slip up, or other Hogwarts students might have overperformed and surpassed them.

Under the current circumstances, she couldn't save everyone at Hogwarts, so she could only do her best to save Hermione and the others.

And recalling that the execution personnel went to homes to catch people for elimination, the only method she could think of was to go home with them—only then could she stop the execution personnel.

Even if this meant breaking the rules, she would accept punishment after everyone successfully escaped. The execution personnel could eliminate her; she had no objection to that outcome at all.

Lin Yue's restored mind rapidly refreshed her thoughts, and she unhesitatingly settled on this plan.

Even if the final result of this plan involved her own elimination, she felt no emotional fluctuation at all. The plan's success was her sole purpose.