Haunted House

The two girls had been playing all morning, and it was now time for lunch.

There wasn't much variety in the food at the amusement park, and most of it was fast food for convenience.

They each ordered a meal. While her parents were away, Hermione even treated herself and Lin Yue to a Coke each, so they could really indulge.

Having parents who were both dentists had one downside: she hardly ever got to drink anything sweet, since sugary drinks were bad for her teeth.

Even the pastries the Granger family made at home were sugar-free.

So even now, the thing Hermione looked forward to most was Christmas. On that day, she could drink as much soda as she wanted.

But today, her parents weren't around, so she could drink as much as she wanted!

Looking at the two large cups of Coke in front of her, Lin Yue remained as calm as ever. Truth be told, though, she didn't know what this bubbling black liquid was.

The only "drinks" she had ever had were boiled tap water and the pumpkin juice she'd tried after going to Hogwarts.

As for Coke, orange juice, and other drinks, she knew their history and had a general idea of what they were.

But if someone simply put a cup of one in front of her, she still wouldn't recognize it.

She turned to look at Hermione. Hermione eagerly picked up the Coke in front of her and took a huge gulp.

Her face scrunched up at first, then relaxed. A contented smile spread across it.

Lin Yue tilted her head and asked in an even tone, "Hermione, what is this?"

Hermione, just about to take a second sip, froze. She glanced at the Coke in her hand and gestured uncertainly.

"Are you asking about this?"

"Mm." Lin Yue nodded firmly.

"It's Coke," Hermione replied. "A carbonated drink. It tastes great, but it's not very healthy."

"Oh." Lin Yue nodded. As soon as Hermione said it was Coke, Lin Yue was able to match the drink to the concept in her mind.

Hermione pressed her lips together, set down her Coke, and gently rubbed Lin Yue's back.

She'd been overthinking it... If Lin Yue's parents couldn't even let her eat properly, how could they possibly let her drink soda?

"Try some. It tastes really good, and it'll cool you down, too."

Lin Yue nodded blankly, picked up the Coke in front of her, brought it to her lips, and started gulping it down.

Hermione's eyes flew open. She hurriedly patted Lin Yue's arm to stop her. "Stop, stop! Merlin's beard, the Coke is ice-cold, and the carbonation is really harsh. If you drink it like that, you'll hurt your throat!"

At Hermione's words, Lin Yue stopped and lowered the cup. The bite of the carbonation burst through her mouth and throat.

But not a trace of it showed on her face. Hermione watched her anxiously, looking her over again and again. "Are you... is your throat all right?"

Lin Yue felt the sting gradually fade from her throat and shook her head. "It's fine."

"That's good..." Hermione let out a sigh of relief and gently pressed a hand to her chest. "You scared me. Don't drink like that!"

"No, you shouldn't drink water that fast either. If the water's too hot or too cold, you could ruin your throat!"

"It won't," Lin Yue said firmly. "It'll just hurt for about a week, and my voice will get very hoarse."

Hermione's brow twitched sharply. Her hand on the table tightened around the tray holding her burger and fries.

"What do you mean? Don't tell me you've always drunk water like that..." Please don't! Hermione gripped the tray tighter and tighter.

Unfortunately, it was exactly what she feared. Lin Yue's calm face even held a hint of matter-of-factness. "Yes. Drinking as much as possible, as quickly as possible, saves more study time."

"I..." Hermione looked at Lin Yue and swallowed the words she hadn't yet managed to say.

"All right," Hermione said, taking a deep breath and holding Lin Yue by the shoulders. "Listen carefully. From now on, you're going to take your time eating and drinking, okay?"

"Put your body first. As for that damn important studying, put it second."

As Hermione spoke, two conflicting thoughts clashed in Lin Yue's mind once again.

My body comes first? But studying should be the priority. That was what Lin Yue's understanding of things told her.

But deep in her mind, another voice joined Hermione in shouting, No! That's not right! Your body should come first. Your health is what makes everything else possible!

The two thoughts collided, and Lin Yue briefly "stalled." But Hermione's earnest face was right in front of her.

Lin Yue heard her own voice tremble slightly as she said, "All right. I'll remember."

Hermione smiled, a little reassured, and ruffled Lin Yue's hair. "Hurry up and eat."

"Mm." Lin Yue nodded and picked up her burger, taking a huge bite.

Hermione took a sip of the Coke beside her and watched Lin Yue with a complicated expression. The more she learned about her, the more tragedies she discovered in Lin Yue's past.

It was one tragedy piled on top of another, a chain of misery that had locked Lin Yue inside.

She could feel herself slowly breaking that chain and drawing Lin Yue out.

She set down her Coke and took a huge bite of her burger, chewing fiercely. Don't worry, Lin Yue. I'll get you out of there for good!

After lunch, the two girls slumped in their seats, burping repeatedly.

With the Grangers gone, they'd each finished two Cokes and felt bloated. Add the large meal they'd each eaten, and they were left too full to stand for half an hour.

"Burp." Hermione covered her mouth as she let out a little burp. "I don't think I'll want to drink Coke again for at least a month."

Lin Yue sat beside her, her expression unchanged, though she burped from time to time as well.

They walked around the amusement park for a while to help their food settle. Once their overly full stomachs had more or less settled, Hermione turned to Lin Yue.

"Lin Yue, want to try the haunted house?" Hermione was still set on her plan to use the haunted house's atmosphere to stir Lin Yue's emotions. And, of course... it would be lovely if Lin Yue got scared and threw herself into her arms~

Lin Yue had no opinion about any of this. Whatever Hermione said was fine with her, so she agreed at once and let Hermione lead her toward the haunted house.

When they reached the entrance, the employee looked at the two little girls hesitantly, then bent down to meet the eyes of the more outgoing-looking Hermione.

"Are you two here by yourselves, little miss?"

"Mm. We can go in, right?" Hermione nodded and pointed toward the haunted house behind him.

"You can, but..." The employee scratched his head. "It gets pretty dark in there, and there are staff whose job is to scare people. Would you like us to find someone to go through with you?"

Hermione immediately shook her head. No way. One of her reasons for bringing Lin Yue in was to wait for her to get scared and throw herself into Hermione's arms.

What if having a staff member with them stopped Lin Yue from getting scared? Or worse, what if Lin Yue threw herself into the wrong person's arms?

"Thanks, but we'll be fine by ourselves."

"All right." The employee smiled kindly. "In you go, you brave little girls."

He took the money Hermione handed him, gave them two tickets, and led them to the haunted house entrance.

Hermione wasn't fazed by the dark opening in front of her. She'd already been through Hogwarts' trapdoor.

After thanking the employee along with Lin Yue, she took her hand and led her inside.

As soon as they entered the haunted house, Lin Yue's vision was swallowed by darkness. It was pitch-black all around them. Only after her eyes gradually adjusted could she make out her surroundings.

Various creepy props lined the path. Ahead, a model skeleton hung upside down, with bits of something that looked like scraps of flesh dangling from it.

These things would certainly have been frightening to most children—and even to adults.

But Lin Yue had no emotions. No matter how dark and scary the atmosphere was, she didn't feel the slightest trace of fear. As she looked at the props, she simply found herself wondering what they might be made of.

Hermione looked just as unimpressed beside her. She'd spent a whole year at a school full of magic, grown used to the ghosts and moving portraits, and even faced a troll and a year-end adventure.

Now, looking at a haunted house like this, all she could think was, Seriously? That's it?

They entered a small, separate room. Inside, an employee dressed as an evil witch was brewing a potion.

Lin Yue instinctively looked into the cauldron. Her nose twitched slightly. The smell of mung beans instantly filled her nostrils. Mung bean soup.

Her brain made the judgment in an instant: that large pot was full of soup.

Hermione watched the employee's movements and shook her head inwardly. She's doing everything wrong. There's no way she'll brew a potion like that. But what was in the pot? It really did look faintly green.

The evil witch, who had been "brewing a potion," heard footsteps and looked up, ready to scare them. But the moment she saw Lin Yue's East Asian face, her enthusiasm vanished.

A visitor from the East. She wouldn't be able to scare that one... After all, she'd learned how to make this soup from her East Asian roommate.

It came out a pale green, so it could pass for an evil witch's potion. It also helped cool you down, so in the height of summer, her boss had put her here to pretend to brew potions. She could even give the visitors some to drink.

She figured she wouldn't scare the girl from the East, but the local girl beside her might be an easier target. The evil witch ladled out two bowls of mung bean soup and carried them over.

"Come... You two lovely girls, drink my potion. Only one of you can leave this place~"

She tried to lower her voice, making it sound hoarser and more sinister.

But it didn't work at all. Neither Hermione nor Lin Yue was frightened. Hermione just pointed uncertainly at the mung bean soup in front of her.

"What is this? Is it really safe to drink?"

Lin Yue took a bowl from the evil witch without hesitation and drank a sip. After confirming it had been made properly, she turned to Hermione.

"It's mung bean soup. It's fine. It helps cool you down in summer, and it's been simmered well. It's had plenty of time."

The evil witch's mouth twitched. The two little girls were both so calm... She hadn't managed to scare either of them.

And had it ever! She'd been simmering it since morning!

Hearing that, Hermione took the other bowl and tried a small sip. She nodded. The taste was certainly unique, and it felt good going down.

Since they weren't scared, Lin Yue and Hermione weren't in a hurry to leave. They strolled around the haunted house, drinking mung bean soup as they went, turning it into something that felt more like a park.

The various NPCs took turns appearing, and the different mechanisms kept triggering, but not one of them managed to scare the girls. Watching it all on the monitors, the person in charge of the haunted house was nearly in tears.

It was too demoralizing. God knew he'd come to watch the monitors specifically because he was afraid the two little girls might get so scared they'd stop and cry, unable to go on. But now they weren't just unafraid—they didn't seem to feel anything at all.

Seeing what was happening, the person in charge became even more certain that the haunted house needed an update. It had to be updated. How could it fail to scare even two little girls?

By now, Hermione had given up on the idea that the haunted house's atmosphere would get under Lin Yue's skin and teach her to be afraid. She'd given up even more on the hope that Lin Yue would get scared and throw herself into Hermione's arms.

If even Hermione wasn't scared, how could Lin Yue be?

Then again, it made sense... She'd been too optimistic. Lin Yue had dared to face Voldemort head-on. How could she possibly be scared of a haunted house full of fake props?

When they came out of the haunted house, Lin Yue and Hermione were still adjusting to the light when the person in charge walked up to them with a solemn expression.

He earnestly told Lin Yue and Hermione that they would be updating the haunted house and doing their best to make it scarier. He also asked whether they'd be willing to come back once the renovations were done.

Hermione turned to look at Lin Yue. Even if she couldn't get Lin Yue to throw herself into her arms, she was still perfectly happy just to explore a haunted house with her!

"Lin Yue, what do you think?" Hermione blinked and looked at her hopefully.

Lin Yue turned her head and nodded expressionlessly. "Either way is fine with me. You decide."

Hermione smiled and turned to the person in charge. "All right. We'll definitely come back next time."

After that, the person in charge asked Hermione to leave her home phone number, so he could call and let her know when the haunted house had been updated.

Once she'd left her number, Hermione led Lin Yue away. They'd already done just about everything there was to do at the amusement park, and they were both getting tired. It was time to go home.

As they left the amusement park, Hermione turned to Lin Yue and gently brushed the loose hair away from her face. "How was today? Did you have fun? Did you feel your heart beating really fast, or like bubbles were rising inside you?"

Lin Yue froze. My heart beating fast? Bubbles rising inside me?

As Hermione calmly placed a hand on her own chest, Lin Yue carefully checked how she felt and nodded. Yes, her heart was beating very fast.