By the time Lin Yue finished reading the fourth book, it was already seven thirty in the morning.
Another bruise had appeared on Lin Yue's left arm. The pain constantly reminded her that she needed to make the most of every moment when studying and couldn't afford to waste any time.
After packing everything she needed for Potions class into her bag, Lin Yue got up and left the Dormitory, hurrying toward the Great Hall. The whole way, she silently recited the points she had memorized from the four books.
The moment she entered the Great Hall, food appeared on all four tables.
Sitting down at the Ravenclaw table, Lin Yue continued wolfing down her food.
By the time she had finished breakfast and left the Great Hall for the Potions classroom, the other students and professors were only just beginning to trickle into the Great Hall for breakfast.
The Little Eagles looked around for Lin Yue but couldn't find her. They couldn't help gathering in twos and threes to whisper among themselves.
"Do you think... Lin Yue will earn points again today?"
"She probably will. She's so brilliant." The two speakers were first-year Little Eagles from Ravenclaw.
"Not necessarily," a senior Ravenclaw girl chimed in. "If I remember right, don't you have Potions this morning?"
"Yes." The first-year Little Eagles nodded, looking a little nervous.
"Then there you have it." The senior girl's face fell. "I hate to say it, but Professor Snape really is biased toward Slytherin. He hardly ever gives points to students from Toothbrush Academy—especially Gryffindor."
The two Little Eagles exchanged a glance after hearing the senior girl's words. It seemed they had no chance of earning points that morning.
Lin Yue, who was in the Potions classroom, knew nothing about the conversation at the Ravenclaw table.
She sat quietly in the seat closest to the front, with the book Professor McGonagall had recommended propped behind her cauldron. She kept her head down, reading intently.
As the students gradually filed into class, a black-clad figure strode in. The hem of his black robes billowed behind him like a surging black wave, giving him an imposing air.
Lin Yue put away the book on her desk and took out her Potions Textbook. Her gaze was calm and vacant as she looked toward Professor Snape.
Professor Snape walked up to the lectern and turned to look down at the Little Eagles and Little Badgers.
His gaze paused when it swept over Lin Yue. Vacant, lifeless, devoid of emotion... As a master of Legilimency, he instinctively thought that this little Troll might be using Occlumency.
And she wasn't bad at it, either. A first-year little Troll... who knew Occlumency, and was already quite skilled at it? There was something strange about the whole thing.
On top of that, Potter was starting school this year. Professor Snape decided to speak with Headmaster Dumbledore after class. Potter's safety, after all...
Pulling his thoughts back on track, Professor Snape drawled out the same opening speech he gave to every new class of students each year.
Then he turned around and used his wand to write the instructions and precautions for brewing the Wart-curing potion on the blackboard.
After a brief explanation, he simply told the students to get started.
With no Gryffindors in the room, Professor Snape's sharp tongue was a little less venomous.
Even so, plenty of Little Badgers were still stung by his words. They shrank where they stood, their hands trembling as they tried to carry out the next step.
The Little Badgers who had asked their seniors for advice beforehand and paired up with Ravenclaw students looked at the potion in front of them. It seemed to meet the requirements, so they silently breathed a sigh of relief. They'd escaped disaster...
Hannah from Hufflepuff was Lin Yue's partner for the potion-making. The moment she entered the classroom, she had hurried to claim the seat beside Lin Yue.
Everyone had seen how talented Lin Yue was the day before. For that alone, they all believed that even if her Potions skills weren't as good as her Charms and Transfiguration, they couldn't be far behind.
So pairing up with Lin Yue had been Hannah's first choice. She really didn't want to experience the feeling her seniors had described—being nearly reduced to tears by Professor Snape.
And now, Lin Yue was proving through her actions that her Potions skills were no worse than her Charms and Transfiguration.
Every step she took matched the instructions in the book exactly. She measured each potion ingredient with perfect precision.
Hannah's eyes lit up as she swallowed nervously. She felt as if she'd hit the jackpot. Next Potions class, she'd have to arrive even earlier and save the seat beside Lin Yue!
Lin Yue completed her steps, and the potion was almost ready for the porcupine quills. But Hannah still hadn't moved.
So Lin Yue raised a hand and gently tapped Hannah on the shoulder, her voice utterly emotionless.
"You should add the porcupine quills."
"Oh! Right, right, I'm on it!" Hannah quickly snapped back to attention and dropped the prepared porcupine quills into the cauldron.
Lin Yue continued working with smooth, precise movements, as mechanical as ever.
Professor Snape, who had been watching her out of the corner of his eye, knew from what he saw that their potion would be fine.
Sure enough, just a few minutes later, Lin Yue bottled the potion and handed it to Professor Snape.
"Miss Lin Yue, Miss Hannah," Professor Snape said, raising the potion they had handed in and inspecting it carefully. "You've successfully brewed the potion."
"I can give you an E. The reason I'm taking off points is that Miss Hannah's participation was lacking."
"That makes me question your ability."
Hannah lowered her head in embarrassment as she listened to Professor Snape. She also stole a cautious glance at Lin Yue.
Lin Yue had brewed the potion without a single flaw, but now she'd lost points because of Hannah. She must be angry...
The next moment, Lin Yue spoke. "Thank you, Professor." Her expression remained as calm and unruffled as ever, without a trace of the anger Hannah had expected.
"I'll remember that. Next time, I'll make sure Hannah does more. I'm sorry—I didn't think of it this time."
Then she turned to Hannah and spoke in a mechanical tone. "I'm sorry, Hannah. I should have let you do more, too."
Hannah's eyes widened in bewilderment. She waved her hands about awkwardly. "No, no, no, I'm the one who held you back..."
Professor Snape frowned. "All right, Miss Lin Yue, Miss Hannah. Perhaps you'd like to discuss who was responsible after you leave?"
"I've already told you your grades for today's Potions class. You may go."
Lin Yue turned back to Professor Snape and nodded politely. "All right. Thank you, Professor Snape. Goodbye, Professor."
She returned to her seat, quickly packed her things, and left the Potions classroom.
Hannah hurriedly said goodbye to Professor Snape, ran back to her seat to gather her things, then hurried out of the Potions classroom in an attempt to catch up with Lin Yue.
But by the time she got out of the classroom, Lin Yue was already nowhere to be seen.
Having been allowed to leave the Potions classroom early, Lin Yue quickly walked down the corridor where it was located. She turned a corner, entered the Girls' Lavatory, and went into a stall.
As soon as she shut the stall door, the E she had just received appeared in her mind.
At Hogwarts, O was the highest grade, followed by E, P, N, and T. She had just received an E, which meant... she hadn't earned full marks.
That realization made Lin Yue instantly straighten up. Without a moment's hesitation, she raised her hand and began slapping herself hard across the face.
Her pale cheeks slowly reddened. After a dozen or so slaps, they had even started to swell. At last, after hitting herself thirty times, Lin Yue stopped.
There was already a little blood at the corner of her mouth. She opened the stall door and went to the sink, using the mirror to check her cheeks.
Once she had confirmed that she had met the standard for punishment her mother had set, she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and left the lavatory.
When Lin Yue entered the Great Hall, some of the young witches and wizards had already started eating lunch, since she had spent a while in the lavatory.
Lin Yue sat where she had sat before and quickly took food to eat her lunch.
But the injuries on her cheeks slowed her down, and the obvious swelling and handprints on her face drew other people's attention.
"Was Lin Yue... hit by someone?" A first-year Little Eagle like Lin Yue stared at her swollen face, dumbstruck.
"Hmm?" Penelope, Ravenclaw's female prefect, immediately put down her knife and fork when she heard that and turned to look at Lin Yue.
Seeing the obvious swelling and handprints on her cheeks, Penelope frowned tightly and looked sternly at the first-year student.
"Do you know what happened? Who hit her?"
The first-year student blinked in surprise, then quickly shook their head.
"I don't know, either. Her face was fine during Potions class. Then her group finished their potion early and left, so we don't know what happened after that."
"Okay, thanks." Penelope nodded, then got up and sat down beside Lin Yue, looking at her gently.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
Lin Yue paused in the middle of eating quickly, swallowed her food, and shook her head. "I don't mind. Please sit."
Hearing the same emotionless voice she had heard on the first night of term, Penelope pressed her lips together.
"Lin Yue, did someone hit you just now? What happened to your face?"
Lin Yue looked at Penelope. Her eyes were calm and empty, like a still pool with no sign of life.
"No one hit me. I did it myself."
"You did it to yourself?!" Penelope's eyes widened in disbelief. How could Lin Yue say that so calmly?!
"Why would you hit yourself?"
Lin Yue answered as if it were obvious. "Because I didn't get full marks for my Potions grade. I need to punish myself so I remember my mistake."
Penelope felt as if she could barely catch her breath. "You... you hit yourself because you didn't get full marks?!"
"No one gets full marks in Professor Snape's Potions class unless they're in Slytherin!"
Lin Yue nodded. "Oh..."
Penelope opened her mouth, at a loss for words. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly and lightly touch Lin Yue's cheek.
The skin was still warm, and Penelope felt a suffocating pressure in her chest—a tightness she couldn't explain.
She drew her wand and pointed it at Lin Yue's cheek. "Episkey."
The swelling on Lin Yue's face gradually disappeared, and the handprints faded away. Her small face returned to its delicate, pale appearance.
After doing the same to Lin Yue's other cheek, Penelope folded her arms and looked at her sternly.
"Lin Yue, no matter what grade or marks you get, you can't hurt yourself like that again. Do you understand?"
"If I see you do this again, I'll have to take you to Professor Flitwick. I'll be keeping an eye on you every day."
Penelope sighed after speaking, then reached out and gently stroked Lin Yue's head.
"Silly girl. Doesn't it hurt to hit yourself? Honestly..."
Lin Yue turned back to her food and continued eating. Of course she couldn't understand the concern in Penelope's voice, not when she had no feelings.
Just as she couldn't understand why Penelope objected to her punishing herself and had forbidden her from doing it again.
After all, none of her previous teachers or classmates had ever commented on it.
Although she didn't understand, she still remembered what Penelope had said.
If Penelope was going to keep an eye on her every day... then she'd have to make sure her next punishment happened somewhere Penelope couldn't see.
Lin Yue shifted her gaze slightly toward her left arm. Her father had told her that punishment would make her remember her mistakes, which would improve her grades.
After lunch, Lin Yue got up and headed to the Library. Hannah, who had planned to find her after finishing her meal, came up empty once again.
Lin Yue found a book about Quidditch in the library and began reading it carefully. It was the only subject without a textbook.
It was like the P.E. classes she'd had before, but she still needed to study exactly what she was supposed to do and how to do it.
After memorizing the entire book and understanding how to ride a Broomstick, Lin Yue closed the book, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed to the lawn in front of Hogwarts Castle. She left her bag and wand by the wall.
The book said that students mustn't carry their wands while flying. If anything went wrong, the wand could break or they could hurt themselves.
A few minutes later, Madam Hooch, the Flying class professor, arrived on the lawn.
The Little Eagles and Little Badgers couldn't help excitedly chattering among themselves. Flying always made children happy, of course, that had nothing to do with Lin Yue, whose face remained "calm."
No one paid much attention to Lin Yue because of what had happened at noon. After Lin Yue left, Penelope had sought out the young witches and wizards who had seen her injured cheek.
She had told them not to spread the story, since it couldn't be allowed to affect Lin Yue or make other people point fingers at her.
The young witches and wizards had all nodded in agreement, so only a few of them knew what had happened at noon.
Following Madam Hooch's instructions, Lin Yue mounted her Broomstick and slowly rose into the air at the sound of her whistle.
She followed the book's instructions and Madam Hooch's directions to the letter, flying low for the entire class. Then she slowly landed.
When Madam Hooch dismissed the class, Lin Yue picked up her bag and wand from beside the wall and hurried toward the Great Hall.
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