" Expecto Patronum!"

After a shout that still sounded somewhat weak, a massive silver-white creature burst forth from the man's wand, charging towards the Dementor at the entrance of the box.

The Dementor immediately retreated, drifting away from the entrance.

Lin Yue, who was already immersed in the "pain" illusion, suddenly felt a release in her mind, as if a string had snapped.

Her claws could no longer support her, and with a loud crash, the velociraptor that Lin Yue had transformed into fell heavily to the ground.

Her entire body trembled incessantly, resembling both sobbing and shaking from immense pain.

Tears streamed from the velociraptor's eyes, and Lin Yue's breathing was so labored that Hermione, and the others could hear it without straining.

As Lin Yue collapsed, the tail that had been blocking Hermione and the others also fell to the ground.

Hermione immediately jumped up, disregarding the tear stains on her face, and rushed to embrace Lin Yue's velociraptor head. "Lin Yue, Lin Yue, wake up! Don't scare me, please don't scare me!"

At that moment, she had completely forgotten the books she had read, forgotten that Dementors do not kill but that their "kiss" takes away a person's soul.

She had also forgotten that Lin Yue had not been "kissed" by the Dementor.

All she knew was that Lin Yue had fallen again, and it was right in front of her, having collapsed to protect them.

Tears blurred Hermione's vision, and sadness and guilt shattered her rationality.

"Miss Granger! Miss Granger!"

The man's calls pulled Hermione out of her sadness and guilt, and she finally regained her composure and looked at the man in front of her.

Seeing that Hermione had finally come to, Professor Lupin let out a big sigh of relief. He stood up and carefully stepped over Lin Yue to walk outside.

"I need to check on the other compartments. Don't worry, Miss Lin Yue just fainted. I've left some chocolate for your two friends."

"When Miss Lin Yue wakes up and regains her senses, you should feed it to her; it will help her a lot."

Professor Lupin said as he walked, and just as he finished speaking, he was about to rush towards the other compartments.

However, before he could make a move, a series of thundering footsteps came from the connected compartments on both sides.

It sounded like two large groups of people were rushing towards this direction.

"What is this?"

Professor Lupin was momentarily stunned, not quite understanding what the footsteps were about. The Dementors had already checked the train; the students shouldn't be hiding in the compartments, right?

How could there be such a large-scale rush out?

Just as his confusion arose, a dozen silver-white Patronuses burst out from the places where the footsteps were coming from on both sides of the compartment.

Moose, hawks, cheetahs, sharks... all sorts of Patronuses charged towards this compartment from the front and rear of the train.

Professor Lupin was completely stunned. Are the current Hogwarts students really this high in overall quality? They were able to unite so effectively to drive away the Dementors on the train? No, there's another question: how could so many students master the Patronus Charm? This spell is quite difficult.

A silvery Patronus charged into the compartment, followed closely by the older Ravenclaw students. The seventh-year students led the way, with the sixth-years right behind them; nearly all the students from these two grades were waving their wands. It looked as if everyone had mastered the Patronus Charm. Even among the fifth and fourth years following closely behind, quite a few were waving their wands to encourage their Patronuses to move forward.

Seeing the fierce Ravenclaws rushing towards them, Professor Lupin swallowed hard and leaned against the wall, clearing the entrance to the compartment. Since it was the Ravenclaws coming over, it was obvious who they were looking for—it could only be the little girl who had transformed into an Animagus. After all, Harry and the other two were from Gryffindor, but these Ravenclaws...

Professor Lupin looked at them with a complex expression as they rushed to the door of the private room.

Usually quiet and studious, they gave the impression of being mere bookworms, incapable of anything beyond studying.

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But now, he truly doubted whether there was anyone like a dark lord who could unite the Ravenclaws.

The fear and destruction caused might be far greater than that inflicted by Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

“Lin Yue!” ×3

Having seen Lin Yue's Animagus form, Cho Chang, Marietta, and Penelope looked at her, who was lying on the ground motionless, tears streaming down her face, and shouted in terror.

They immediately ran out of the crowd to gather around Lin Yue, keeping a close watch on her dragon head along with Hermione.

“It’s all my fault… it’s all my fault… Lin Yue did this to protect us.”

Hermione covered her mouth, and tears fell drop by drop onto Lin Yue's face as she lowered her head.

Lin Yue's resilient skin seemed to soften as her tears flowed over it.

Taking a deep breath, Cho Chang quickly adjusted herself, stood up, and walked over to Hermione, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"Silly girl, the first thing Lin Yue would think of is definitely to protect you, to protect all of you."

"If it were me, or if it were everyone from Ravenclaw by Lin Yue's side, she would do the same."

"This is not your fault."

Cho Chang gently reached out to wipe away the tears on Hermione's face. "You just started third year; you can't expect yourself to master the Patronus Charm right away."

"That spell is really difficult, you know. Don't forget what you told Lin Yue—don't set your expectations too high and push yourself too hard."

"But... but I’ve always been a burden!"

Hermione's emotions, which had started during the basilisk incident last year, finally erupted. She cried loudly, burying her face in Cho Chang's arms.

"The basilisk incident was... now, it's still!"

"I’ve never been able to help her... I’ve never been able to!"

Cho Chang sighed and gently patted Hermione's back.

His gaze kept drifting towards the limp dinosaur on the ground. Lin Yue... if you keep sleeping, Hermione is really going to cry herself into a faint.

Marietta and Penelope also exchanged worried glances between Lin Yue and Hermione.

The other Ravenclaws were considerate enough not to approach, giving Lin Yue enough space for air to flow, quietly standing a little distance away from her.

They formed a semicircle, keeping a vigilant watch on the scenery outside the car window that was slowly receding, while anxiously looking at Lin Yue.

Harry and Ron also lowered their heads in silence, and the atmosphere became oppressive. The only sound in the entire carriage was Hermione's sobbing.

"It's not Hermione's fault..."

Before anyone could react, a claw that had turned back into a hand grabbed the corner of Hermione's clothes.

Lin Yue, lying on the ground, struggled to lift her head to look at Hermione, who was still sobbing in Qiu's arms. Hermione's face remained absolutely calm.

Even though just a moment ago, she had been "experiencing" doing push-ups in the snow with bare hands and feet.

"It's my own fault for not learning the Patronus Charm... I'm so stupid..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Hermione pulled her into an embrace, completely blocking Lin Yue's view.

In front of Lin Yue, Hermione's crying immediately stopped. She seemed to be quickly gathering her strength.

She was returning to that strong figure, like steel, the shield that could stand in front of Lin Yue, even if she couldn't do that right now.

With her hand tightly covering Lin Yue's mouth, Hermione's voice was a bit hoarse from crying.

"You mustn't say that about yourself," Hermione sniffed, "If you say it again, I won't hold back and will use something else to block you."

Lin Yue blinked, her heart calm and unperturbed, and her still somewhat painful brain even began to ponder what Hermione meant by using something else to block her mouth. What could it be...

Harry took a deep breath, cautiously stepped forward, and offered a piece of chocolate.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Professor Lupin said Lin Yue would feel much better if she had a little."

"Thank you." Hermione took the chocolate, thanked Harry and Professor Lupin, who was standing a short distance away, and unwrapped the chocolate, feeding it to Lin Yue piece by piece.

"Hermione is not a hindrance."

Lin Yue chewed on the chocolate and suddenly spoke.

Hermione's hand, which was feeding her chocolate, paused slightly, but she continued to feed Lin Yue without saying anything.

"According to calculations, without Hermione... my condition would decline by fifty-four percent, and the mortality rate would increase by twenty-nine percent."

Although it was impossible to determine all the influencing factors, the data calculations clearly showed that Hermione's presence had indeed improved her condition and survival rate.

It was Hermione who ensured she got six hours of sleep every day, who made her slow down when eating, and who told her not to punish herself for studying.

Aside from these variables, there was another factor that Lin Yue couldn't quite calculate, which had changed her condition.

It had improved her state by fifty-four percent compared to before.

Without Hermione, there was no doubt that her condition would be the same as before, or even worse, both mentally and physically.

Moreover, if Hermione hadn't told her that her life should not be compared in an inequality, she might have ended up comparing her life to others' or to other valuable things in dangerous situations, thus sacrificing her own life, which held less value.

Therefore, Hermione's presence was not a hindrance; rather, it had uplifted her and saved her.

Hearing Lin Yue mention those two statistics, Hermione lowered her head and gently kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, Lin Yue, thank you."

Lin Yue swallowed the chocolate in her mouth with a blank expression and shook her head, "I should be the one thanking Hermione."

Hermione, wiping the tears from her face, broke into a smile, feeling that the emotional knot she had been carrying for so long had finally disappeared.

Looking at Lin Yue, whom she was holding in her arms, Hermione secretly resolved that she could never let Lin Yue see her tears so easily again.

She needed to grow faster and become a solid wall of steel that could protect Lin Yue.

This growth... should start with the Patronus Charm.

Once her rationality returned, Hermione keenly realized that Lin Yue was currently unable to cast the Patronus Charm.

This was because her emotions had not fully developed, and the Patronus Charm required a person's happiest memory as its source of power.

For Lin Yue, who still did not have a good understanding of happiness, this was undoubtedly impossible.

That was why she seemed so powerless when facing the Dementors; therefore, Hermione should first learn this spell.

She wanted to prevent a similar situation from occurring again in the future, where they would find themselves in a scene like today.

She wanted her Patronus to properly protect Lin Yue.

"We'll head back first. If you need anything, just call out; we can hear you."

A seventh-year girl bent down and whispered to Penelope.

Penelope nodded, "Okay, thank you, seniors."

Lin Yue also raised her head to look at the Ravenclaws surrounding her, propping herself up with Hermione's help to stand up.

"Thank you all for coming because of me, I’m sorry for the trouble."

"Don't say that," a gentle fourth-year senior looked at Lin Yue, her warm demeanor causing her boyfriend standing next to her to click his tongue in admiration, "You are a treasure to all of us in Ravenclaw."

"Yeah!"

In the next moment, her boyfriend joined the many Ravenclaws in a loud chorus of agreement.

Lin Yue's lifeless gaze trembled slightly as she nodded. With Hermione's support, she walked back to the booth and sat down.

Cho Chang, Marietta, and Penelope also entered the booth and sat on Lin Yue's other side.

Harry and Ron sat across from them with Professor Lupin.

"When we get to school, I'll go with you to the hospital wing to have Madam Pomfrey check you out," Hermione said softly to Lin Yue, looking down.

Lin Yue shook her head, "I can go by myself, Hermione. You don’t need to come with me; just go have dinner."

By the time they arrived at Hogwarts, it would likely be dinner time. If Hermione accompanied her to Hogwarts, it would inevitably delay her from eating dinner.

That would make Hermione feel hungry, and hunger is uncomfortable, Lin Yue thought firmly in her mind, having experienced it deeply before.

"No rebuttals," Hermione said, poking Lin Yue's nose with her finger, "I'm going with you."

"Eating dinner ten minutes later won't kill me."

Lin Yue blinked and replied in a calm voice, "Okay, then Hermione can accompany me."

"Mm." Hermione smiled satisfactorily, while Qiu and the others exchanged glances and shook their heads with smiles.

Looking at the current situation between Lin Yue and Hermione, it seemed that once Lin Yue fully developed her emotions, she would probably fall directly into Hermione's arms.

The Hogwarts Express finally arrived at the school amidst a drizzle.

As Hermione linked arms with her and walked to the train door, Lin Yue was just about to pull out her wand to cast a waterproof charm for herself and everyone else when her hand was stopped by Hermione.

"I'll handle it, you don't need to use magic yet. Let's wait until we get to the hospital wing for a check-up."

After saying that, she took out her wand and tapped it on both Lin Yue and herself, softly murmuring a couple of waterproof spells.

The few people following them also cast a spell on themselves, and the seven of them stepped off the train together.

When they arrived at the place to take the carriages, Lin Yue looked at the Thestrals in front of the carriages with a glimmer in her eyes. Just as the books described, they had wings and were bony and thin.

Harry, who could also see the Thestrals, looked at them with slight surprise and then said with a somewhat complicated expression, "These... horses? Why are they so thin?"