Hermione didn't answer Lin Yue's question right away. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at her. Why did Lin Yue's mouth look so unusually red when she'd just been talking?
"Lin Yue, open your mouth and let me take a look." Hermione stood up and crouched in front of Lin Yue, holding her by the arms as she studied her with a serious expression.
Lin Yue looked at Hermione without changing her expression. She didn't need to think it over to figure out that Hermione had noticed the injury in her mouth.
She slowly opened her mouth, revealing her tongue, which she had bitten until it was a bloody mess.
"Yikes..." Hermione wasn't the only one who saw it. Qiuzhang and Marietta, sitting opposite her, saw it too. All three girls drew in a sharp breath at the same time.
"Is it because of studying?" Hermione pressed her lips together as she asked Lin Yue, thinking of the final exam results they'd just received.
The question came out of nowhere, leaving everyone else confused. Lin Yue, however, immediately understood the full question Hermione meant to ask.
Did you punish yourself because of your studies?
Lin Yue shook her head without the slightest change in her expression. Her voice was hoarse and broken. "No."
When Hermione heard Lin Yue say no, she finally let out a huge sigh of relief. She reached into the little bag on her seat, took out a bottle of water, and handed it to Lin Yue.
"Have some water in a bit to soothe your throat."
Then she stood up and looked at Qiuzhang. "Qiuzhang Senior Student, do you know a healing spell?"
Qiuzhang nodded. Without wasting a moment, she drew her wand and went over to Lin Yue, bending down in front of her. "Lin Yue, open your mouth."
Lin Yue mechanically opened her mouth, still holding the water bottle Hermione had given her.
The tip of Qiuzhang's wand stopped just in front of Lin Yue's mouth. In a gentle voice, she spoke the spell. "Episkey."
A cool sensation swept over Lin Yue's tongue, and it began to heal right before their eyes.
Within seconds, it had returned to normal. Qiuzhang lowered her wand and sighed as she looked at Hermione. "She bit her tongue, her voice is hoarse, and she was shivering with cold just now... Lin Yue might be a little overheated, and her throat could be inflamed."
Hermione frowned, then leaned down and pressed her forehead against Lin Yue's. Straightening up again, she shook her head. "She doesn't have a fever."
"Drink some more water." Hermione gestured for Lin Yue to drink.
Lin Yue nodded. Her eyes were still dull as she unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip.
Meanwhile, Harry and Ron had worked together to put Lin Yue's suitcase on the luggage rack. Then, like well-behaved boys, they sat quietly to one side, serving as two perfectly good background props.
Hermione smiled with satisfaction as she watched Lin Yue drink, then couldn't help adding, "Drink more."
Lin Yue nodded and tipped her head back for a few more sips.
"Lin Yue, you just said you didn't want to stay in a hotel. Are you not going home for the holidays?"
Hermione asked. Beside her, Qiuzhang and Marietta frantically gestured at her with their eyes. Hermione looked at them, baffled.
"I won't be going home. My home isn't in this world," Lin Yue said without changing her expression.
Marietta stood up and leaned close to Hermione's ear, whispering, "Lin Yue's parents are both gone, so she won't be going home."
When Hermione heard Marietta's words, she instinctively felt a pang of guilt. But then she remembered what Lin Yue had told her: her parents had taught her her daily routine, taught her all those strict rules, and taught her to punish herself.
She immediately felt a little relieved that Lin Yue's parents were gone—even a little pleased.
Hermione shook her head, pushing those messy thoughts aside, and looked at Lin Yue with some anticipation.
"Why don't you come stay at my house for the summer? My parents would be really happy to have you."
Lin Yue's brain instinctively urged her to agree, but she quickly realized that if she only went to Hermione's house, she wouldn't be able to protect Qiuzhang, Marietta, Harry, and Ron.
She turned to look at Qiuzhang and the others, her gaze lifeless. Qiuzhang smiled softly and reached out to ruffle Lin Yue's hair.
"What's wrong? You don't want to be apart from us either?"
Marietta chimed in with a cheerful smile. "You can stay at my house too, Lin Yue. We'd all be happy to have you."
Lin Yue's mind raced. In less than two seconds, she came up with the best solution for the situation and spoke mechanically.
"Can I rent a villa and invite you all to stay there with me?"
"Rent a... villa?" Hermione struggled to form the words. Renting a villa would be expensive. Lin Yue had lost her parents; did she even have a source of income?
She couldn't let Lin Yue pay for it. Hermione instinctively looked at the two older students there, hoping to ask what they thought. Qiuzhang and Marietta exchanged a glance, then both nodded.
"I think that'll work. Leave it to us. We'll rent one," Marietta said, winking at Lin Yue.
"That's right. There's no reason to make a younger student pay to invite us. Leave it to us."
As Qiuzhang spoke, she also reached out and covered Hermione's mouth before she could say anything. Honestly, they weren't going to let Lin Yue pay, so how could they possibly let Hermione pay either?
Lin Yue's eyes, still like dead water, watched them interact. Her heart gave a hard thump in her chest, and an indescribable warmth gathered there.
She could tell that Hermione and Qiuzhang were assuming her parents had died. Thinking it through, they were probably worried she'd been left without money, which was why they wanted to pay for the villa themselves.
But this was Lin Yue's plan. She wanted to protect Hermione and the others, and completely eliminate the possibility of them being destroyed by the executioners.
So how could she possibly let Hermione and the others make that sacrifice for her? "It's fine. I'll take care of it."
Lin Yue's voice held no emotion, but it was so firm that no one felt like arguing with her.
"I have lots of money," Lin Yue continued, still matter-of-fact. "As much as I want."
Good grief... The other five people in the compartment couldn't help thinking it. As much as she wants? Just how much had Lin Yue's parents left her?
Hermione bit her lower lip. Well... Lin Yue's parents might not have been the most decent people, but at least they hadn't neglected her materially. In fact, it sounded as if they'd treated her quite well.
All she could say was... this was one enormous misunderstanding.
Since Lin Yue had put it that way, Qiuzhang and Marietta had no choice but to go along with her plan.
If the executioners weren't going to grab someone right at school, they generally began capturing people and carrying out the destruction procedure two weeks into the holidays.
Lin Yue raised her head and looked steadily at Hermione and the others. "I'll rent a villa within two weeks, then write to you. Is that all right?"
Two weeks would be just enough time to have a good reunion with her family.
Qiuzhang and Marietta both nodded without objection.
Hermione smiled at Lin Yue and poked her cheek. "Then, before you find a villa, why don't you stay at my house first? I'd really like some company over the summer."
And if that company were Lin Yue... even better, Hermione silently added.
"Okay." Lin Yue nodded stiffly, then turned to Harry and Ron.
"You two can come too, right?"
Harry and Ron both froze. They'd thought this was a girls' get-together, but it turned out they were invited too?
Ron thought it over. "Mum... should agree."
"Okay." Lin Yue nodded without changing her expression. Her gaze shifted to Harry.
Harry pressed his lips together, looking troubled. "I don't know if my aunt and uncle will let me go."
"Are your aunt and uncle that strict with you?" Hermione frowned and looked at Harry in confusion. She had a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough, Harry was too embarrassed to say anything, but Ron went ahead and told them about the situation at Harry's aunt and uncle's house, which Harry had described to him on the Hogwarts Express at the start of the year.
"That's abuse!" Hermione smacked the seat beside her, furious. First Lin Yue's parents, and now Harry's aunt and uncle. Why were so many parents like that?
Qiuzhang and Marietta were furious too. They made him live in a cupboard under the stairs?! Had this family raised Harry like a house-elf?
"Why don't you just not go back?" Hermione sincerely suggested to Harry.
"Yeah!" Ron slapped his thigh excitedly, his eyes shining as he looked at Harry.
"You can come straight to our house. We can hang out together and play Quidditch," Ron added quickly under Hermione's increasingly dangerous gaze, "and do our homework together."
Hermione gave a soft snort and withdrew her stare. Lin Yue was staying at her house, so she'd have to keep an eye on things and make sure Lin Yue didn't spend all her time reading and studying.
Harry was going to stay at Ron's house, so she'd have to remind them not to spend all their time playing. That was the difference between people, she supposed.
Harry's eyes brightened with anticipation too. "I'd love to. I mean, if it wouldn't be too much trouble for your family."
"Of course it wouldn't," Ron said, waving a hand. "Trust me, Mum and Dad will be happy. And Ginny—my little sister—she really looks up to you."
Harry blushed and scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed.
"But the Dursley family might come to pick me up," Harry said with some concern. The Station was a public place, after all, and he didn't want to cause even the slightest trouble for Ron's family.
"Hmm... Then you can go home with them first. We'll come get you in three days—no, two days."
Ron looked at Harry with determination. Whatever happened, he'd go pick up his mate in two days.
"Okay, thanks, Ron." Harry nodded gratefully. Thinking that he only had to endure two days before he could get away from the Dursley family filled him with joy.
Two days. Just two days, then he could say goodbye to the Dursley family again.
Lin Yue waited until Harry and Ron had finished making their plans before speaking in her toneless voice.
"I'll write to you within two weeks and let you know where I rented the villa."
"Okay." Harry and Ron nodded in unison.
While the six of them had been talking, the Hogwarts Express had been on its way for quite some time. Even the trolley witch had started selling snacks to the passengers.
They bought some snacks for lunch, and the six people in the compartment spent the last little while they could use magic playing Exploding Snap.
Even Lin Yue got pulled into the game by Hermione. The sole purpose was to get her to take a break and stop thinking about studying.
They'd already received the notice that they weren't allowed to use magic during the summer holidays. Lin Yue had no thoughts on the rule; she simply memorized it and compared it against the relevant Ministry of Magic laws and regulations she'd read before.
She ultimately concluded that after the holidays began, young witches and wizards weren't allowed to use magic except in special emergencies. She made sure to commit that sentence to memory.
After their last game of Exploding Snap, the Hogwarts Express slowly pulled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross Station.
Harry and Ron helped the four girls carry their suitcases down, then took down their own luggage. After that, everyone walked out of the Station together.
Before they had even left the Station, Lin Yue asked mechanically, "I'd also like to invite Penelope Elder Sister. Would you all be okay with that?"
Penelope Elder Sister had always looked out for her at Hogwarts. When Lin Yue thought of the possibility that Penelope Elder Sister might be destroyed, her heart tightened too, so she had to invite her as well.
The five people walking beside Lin Yue all said they had no objection. They were all students, all kids, and more people made things livelier. What was there to object to about gathering together? It wasn't as if she were inviting Malfoy...
Once they had left Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, the six of them said their goodbyes. Before Harry could finish saying goodbye to his friends, a fat man approached with a boy who was just as fat and another woman who was tall and thin.
The man impatiently urged Harry along. The other four people's faces darkened, but they nodded, letting Harry go ahead. Lin Yue watched Harry quietly and nodded goodbye.
Only after Harry had left with his aunt and uncle did Hermione let out a cold snort. She simply couldn't believe people in the world could be so awful. Harry had two awful guardians, and Lin Yue had two awful parents.
Hermione took a deep breath to calm down, then took Lin Yue's hand and said goodbye to the other three. After Lin Yue had said her own goodbye in her usual calm voice, Hermione led her over to her parents.
The Grangers had spotted their daughter long ago, but when they saw her saying goodbye to her friends, they didn't go over to interrupt her.
Now they saw her walking toward them, holding one of her friends by the hand, and couldn't help feeling surprised.
Mrs. Granger was surprised, but she also had a guess. The girl had an East Asian face, so she was probably Lin Yue, whom Hermione had mentioned before.
She did look like a lovely, well-behaved girl, the kind of person anyone would immediately take a liking to.
Hermione really did have good taste. Mrs. Granger silently approved of her daughter's choice and affectionately reached out to pat both girls on the head.
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