Potions Class and a Red, Swollen Cheek

By the time Lin Yue finished reading the fourth book, it was already 7:30 in the morning.

A bruise had appeared on Lin Yue's left arm again, the pain a constant reminder that studying should be done with every second counted, without any delay.

Packing the necessary items for Potions class into her bag, Lin Yue got up and walked out of the dormitory towards the Great Hall, silently reciting the knowledge points she had memorized from the four books along the way.

The moment she entered the Great Hall, food appeared on the four long tables.

Sitting down at the Ravenclaw table, Lin Yue continued her ravenous eating.

By the time she finished breakfast and left the Great Hall for the Potions classroom, other students and professors were gradually entering the Great Hall to begin their breakfast.

The Little Eagles, looking around and not finding Lin Yue, couldn't help but gather in twos and threes, whispering to each other.

"Do you think... Lin Yue can still get extra points today?"

"She probably can, she's so amazing." These were two first-year Little Eagles from Ravenclaw.

"That's not necessarily true," a senior Ravenclaw student interjected from nearby, "I remember your class this morning is Potions, right?"

"Yes," the first-year Little Eagles nodded somewhat timidly.

"That's it then," the senior student's face showed a hint of distress, "Although it's not good to say, Professor Snape does favor Slytherin. He basically never gives points to students from Toothbrush Academy, especially Gryffindor, of course."

After hearing the senior student's words, the two Little Eagles exchanged glances. It seemed that the extra points this morning were likely out of the question.

Lin Yue, currently in the Potions classroom, was completely unaware of the conversation at the Ravenclaw table.

She was sitting quietly in the seat closest to the podium, placing the book recommended by Professor McGonagall behind her cauldron, looking down intently.

As the students for the class gradually arrived, a figure clad in black strode in. The black robes billowed behind him like a black tidal wave, exuding an imposing aura.

Lin Yue put away the book on her desk, took out her Potions Textbook, and looked at the approaching Professor Snape with a vacant, unfocused gaze.

Professor Snape walked to the podium, turned, and looked down at the assembled Little Eagles and Little Badgers.

His gaze paused when it swept over Lin Yue. Vacant, unfocused, devoid of emotion... Such eyes, as a master of Legilimency, made him instinctively think that this little troll might be using Legilimency.

Moreover, her Legilimency skills were not bad. A first-year little troll... actually knew Legilimency, and at such a high level. It seemed very suspicious.

Coupled with Potter's enrollment this year, Professor Snape decided to speak with Headmaster Dumbledore after class. After all, Potter's safety...

Recalling his scattered thoughts, Professor Snape uttered the opening remarks he gave to every batch of new students each year in a drawn-out tone.

Then, he turned around and wrote the brewing process and precautions for the Wart-curing potion on the blackboard with his wand.

After a brief explanation, he immediately instructed the students to begin brewing.

Without the presence of Gryffindor, Professor Snape's sharp tongue was slightly restrained.

However, quite a few Little Badgers were still sprayed with his venom, standing there trembling, their hands shaking as they prepared for the next step.

The Little Badgers who had asked senior students beforehand and teamed up with Ravenclaw students looked at the potion ingredients that met the criteria before them and silently breathed a sigh of relief. They had narrowly escaped disaster...

Teaming up with Miss Lin Yue for potion making was Hannah from Hufflepuff. The moment she entered the classroom, she had snatched the spot next to Miss Lin Yue.

Everyone had witnessed Miss Lin Yue's excellence yesterday. Based on that alone.

It was generally believed that even if Miss Lin Yue's potions weren't as good as her spells and Transfiguration, they wouldn't be too far off.

Therefore, teaming up with Miss Lin Yue became Hannah's first choice. She really didn't want to experience the feeling of almost being scolded to tears by Professor Snape, as described by a senior student.

And now, Miss Lin Yue had proven with her actions that her potions were no worse than her spells and Transfiguration.

Watching her perform every step without any deviation, watching her measure the potion ingredients with perfect accuracy.

Hannah's eyes lit up, and she swallowed hard, feeling like she had latched onto a golden thigh. Next time in Potions class, she would definitely come even earlier to secure the spot next to Miss Lin Yue!

After Miss Lin Yue completed her steps, she saw that the potion was almost at the stage where porcupine quills needed to be added, but Hannah hadn't made any move.

So, she raised her hand and gently patted Hannah's shoulder, her tone devoid of emotion.

"You should add the porcupine quills."

"Ah, oh, right away!" Hannah quickly snapped back to attention and swiftly added the prepared porcupine quills into the cauldron.

Miss Lin Yue continued her operations smoothly, her movements still as precise as a machine.

Professor Snape, who was secretly observing her from the side, knew from this scene that their potion would definitely be fine.

As expected, after just a few minutes, Miss Lin Yue bottled the potion and handed it to Professor Snape.

"Miss Lin Yue, Miss Hannah," Professor Snape held up the potion they had submitted and examined it carefully. "Your potion making is successful."

"I can give you an E, but the reason for the deduction is that Miss Hannah's participation was not high."

"This makes me doubt your abilities."

Hannah lowered her head in shame upon hearing Professor Snape's words, casting a cautious glance at Miss Lin Yue in between.

Miss Lin Yue had made the potion without a single flaw, and yet because of her, she was going to lose points. She must be angry...

The next moment, Miss Lin Yue spoke, "Thank you, Professor." Her face remained as calm and indifferent as ever, completely unlike the anger Hannah had imagined.

"I'll remember this. Next time, I will definitely let Hannah do more. I'm sorry, I didn't think of it this time."

Then she turned to Hannah again and said in a mechanical tone, "I'm sorry, Hannah, I should have let you do more as well."

Hannah's eyes widened in confusion, and she waved her hands haphazardly. "No, no, no, it was me who held you back..."

Professor Snape frowned, "Alright, Miss Lin Yue, Miss Hannah, perhaps you two would be willing to discuss who is responsible after you leave?"

"I've already told you your grades for this Potions class, you may go."

Lin Yue turned back and nodded politely at Professor Snape, "Okay, thank you Professor Snape, goodbye Professor."

After speaking, she returned to her seat, quickly packed her things, and left the Potions classroom.

Hannah hastily bid farewell to Professor Snape and ran back to her seat to pack her things, then jogged out of the Potions classroom, intending to catch up with Lin Yue.

However, by the time she ran out of the Potions classroom, Lin Yue was already long gone.

Allowed to leave the Potions classroom early, Lin Yue quickly walked away from the corridor where the classroom was located. She turned a corner and entered the Girls' Lavatory, opened the door, and went into a stall.

Closing the stall door, the grade of E she had just received instantly appeared in Lin Yue's mind.

At Hogwarts, O represented the highest score, followed by E, P, N, and T. She had just received an E, which meant... she hadn't gotten a perfect score.

This realization made Lin Yue immediately stand at attention. Without any hesitation, she raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face.

Her fair cheeks slowly turned red. After more than a dozen slaps, they were even swollen. Finally, after hitting herself thirty times, Lin Yue stopped.

At this point, there was even a little blood at the corner of her mouth. She opened the stall door and walked to the sink to check the condition of her cheeks in the mirror.

After confirming that she had met the punishment standard her mother had set, she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her hand and turned to walk out of the lavatory.

Entering the Great Hall, because she had been delayed in the lavatory, some of the little wizards had already started eating lunch.

Lin Yue sat down in her usual spot and quickly took food to eat lunch.

However, the injury on her cheek had ultimately slowed her down. The obvious redness, swelling, and slap marks on her face also attracted the attention of others.

"Lin Yue... was she hit by someone?" a first-year Little Eagle, like Lin Yue, stared at her swollen face in shock.

"Hm?" Penelope, the Ravenclaw prefect, heard this and immediately put down her fork and knife, turning to look at Lin Yue.

Upon seeing her cheek was indeed red, swollen, and bore clear handprints, Penelope furrowed her brow tightly and looked sternly at the first-year student.

"Do you know what happened? Who hit her?"

The first-year student who was asked was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook her head.

"I don't know either. She didn't have any injuries on her face in Potions class just now. Later, her group finished their potions early, so they left early. We don't know what happened after that."

"Alright, thank you." Penelope nodded, stood up, walked to Lin Yue's side, and sat down, looking at her gently.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Lin Yue, who was eating quickly, paused and swallowed the food in her mouth, then shook her head, "I don't mind, please sit."

Listening to the emotionless voice, exactly the same as on the first night of school, Penelope pursed her lips.

"Lin Yue, did someone hit you just now? What's wrong with your face?"

Lin Yue looked at Penelope, her eyes like a pool of dead water, devoid of life and calm.

"No one hit me, I hit myself."

"You hit yourself?!" Penelope's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Lin Yue. How could she say that so calmly!

"Why did you hit yourself?"

Lin Yue responded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Because my Potions grade wasn't a perfect score, I need to punish myself to remember my mistakes."

Penelope felt like she almost couldn't catch her breath, "You... you hit yourself just because you didn't get a perfect score?!"

"Except for Slytherin students, no one can get a perfect score in Professor Snape's Potions class!"

Lin Yue nodded, "Oh..."

Penelope opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. In the end, she could only sigh helplessly and gently tap Lin Yue's cheek.

The still somewhat warm temperature made Penelope feel suffocated, a suppressed suffocation, though she didn't know where this suppression came from.

Taking out her wand, Penelope pointed it at Lin Yue's cheek, "Episkey."

The redness and swelling on Lin Yue's face gradually disappeared, and the handprint slowly faded. Her small face returned to its fair and delicate appearance.

After doing the same to Lin Yue's other cheek, Penelope crossed her arms and looked at her sternly.

"Lin Yue, no matter what score or grade you get, you can't hurt yourself like this again, understand?"

"If I see you doing this again, I'll have to take you to Professor Flitwick. I'll keep an eye on you every day."

After speaking, Penelope sighed and gently stroked Lin Yue's head.

"Silly girl, doesn't it hurt to hit yourself? Really..."

Lin Yue turned her head back to continue eating. Her emotionless self naturally couldn't understand the heartache in Penelope's words.

Just as she couldn't understand why Penelope would object to her punishing herself and forbid her from doing so.

After all, her previous teachers and classmates had never commented on it.

Although she couldn't understand, she still remembered Penelope's words.

She'd keep an eye on herself every day... then her future punishments would have to fall on places that couldn't be seen.

Lin Yue slightly turned her eyes to her Left Arm. Her father had told her before that punishment would help her remember her mistakes, thereby improving her grades.

After lunch, Lin Yue got up and went to the library, causing Hannah, who had wanted to find her after the meal, to miss her again.

Lin Yue found a book about Quidditch in the library and began to read it carefully. This was the only subject without a textbook.

It was equivalent to her previous Physical Education classes, but she still needed to carefully understand what she needed to do and how to do it.

After firmly memorizing the entire book and understanding how to ride a Broomstick, Lin Yue closed the book, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and went to the lawn in front of Hogwarts Castle, placing her backpack and Wand by the wall.

The book had stated that one should not carry a Wand while flying, as it could easily break or injure oneself in case of an accident.

A few minutes later, the Flying class professor, Madam Hooch, also arrived on the lawn.

The Little Eagles and Little Badgers couldn't help but discuss excitedly. Flying always made children feel happy, though this had nothing to do with Lin Yue, who still had a "calm" expression on her face.

No one paid too much attention to Lin Yue because of what happened at noon. After she left, Penelope had specifically found the Little wizards who had seen her injured cheek earlier.

She had warned them not to spread the word, not to affect Lin Yue, and certainly not to let her be pointed at by others.

The Little wizards nodded in unison, agreeing to Penelope's request. Therefore, only a very small number of Little wizards knew what had happened at noon.

Following Madam Hooch's instructions, Lin Yue mounted her Broomstick and slowly ascended into the sky with her whistle.

After meticulously flying at a low altitude for the entire class, following the book's instructions and Madam Hooch's requirements, Lin Yue slowly descended.

After Madam Hooch announced the end of the class, Lin Yue picked up her backpack and Wand from the wall and quickly walked towards the Great Hall.