After finishing the last piece of ice cream that Cho Chang helped to get, Lin Yue put down her knife and fork, confirming that she was full and could eat no more.
Seeing this, Cho Chang, Marietta, Penelope, and other Ravenclaw students also gave up on feeding her further.
Lin Yue sat in her seat, staring blankly at her empty plate, her mind quickly flashing through the content of the Potions and Transfiguration classes she would have the next day.
She spent the remaining time of the opening feast recalling and reciting her memories.
Once everyone had taken their last bite, the desserts on the four long tables instantly disappeared.
Principal Dumbledore stood up and walked to the front of the staff table, extending his hands to signal everyone to be quiet.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts."
He smiled gently at the young wizards below, "The first thing I want to mention is that, as you may have noticed, there are Dementors stationed at the entrance of our castle and the entrance to the grounds."
"They are here to ensure your safety as required by the Ministry of Magic."
Marietta glanced at Lin Yue sitting next to her, and thinking about how she had been made to look so disheveled by the Dementors on the Hogwarts Express, her face immediately darkened several shades.
"I don't think those guys coming to Hogwarts will protect our safety."
"They're doing well if they don't give us a Dementor's kiss," Penelope, sitting beside her, nodded in agreement. "Indeed, the Ministry of Magic hasn't thought this through."
"Bringing Dementors to ensure the school's safety... it's unnecessary and could easily backfire."
In fact, it wasn't just the two of them; when they heard Headmaster Dumbledore admit that the Ministry of Magic had sent Dementors to protect Hogwarts, the entire Great Hall erupted into various discussions.
Voices of doubt and criticism of the Ministry of Magic were heard everywhere.
Lin Yue, who had momentarily stepped out of her studying state because the professors were speaking, was rapidly calculating in her mind.
Based on estimates, under the premise of Sirius Black's escape, and considering whether or not there were Dementors at Hogwarts as a variable condition, the calculations showed that Hogwarts would be safer without Dementors.
This was because Dementors were simply too uncontrollable, with too many influencing factors; any one of those factors could become a danger.
Lin Yue blinked stiffly, wondering why the Ministry of Magic insisted on doing this when it was clearly more dangerous. Isn't this something that could be easily calculated to reach the optimal conclusion? However, the officials wouldn't make mistakes, just like schools, teachers, and parents wouldn't make mistakes. They must have some more important, overarching factors to consider.
"Alright, alright everyone," Principal Dumbledore said, raising his hand to stop all the students' discussions. "Don't worry, the professors and I will do our utmost to prevent any accidents from happening to you."
"So I also ask everyone here not to harbor any illusions of luck and not to attempt to leave the castle on your own."
"Dementors are not like humans; they have no sympathy, no patience, and they will not listen to your explanations."
"There is no way to deceive them, including using an invisibility cloak," Principal Dumbledore said, deliberately glancing at Harry and giving him a slight nod. "Please do not give them an excuse to harm you."
"Now, let's talk about something lighter."
Principal Dumbledore changed the subject and gestured to Professor Remus Lupin, who was seated among the faculty.
“I am pleased to introduce to you our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for this year, Professor Remus Lupin.”
Professor Lupin stood up, smiling shyly as he waved to everyone.
Lin Yue's gaze lingered on the professor as she observed him closely for the first time.
His shyness was evident on his face, and he often hunched his back, exuding an air of caution.
He seemed to be someone who was not well-liked in everyday life, or more accurately, someone who was not accepted and was marginalized.
This instinctive posture of his was a way to protect himself at all times.
Continuing to deduce why Professor Lupin was marginalized, Lin Yue realized that she did not have a complete understanding of the information regarding this issue and could only hypothesize.
On the Hogwarts Express, although she had just woken up from a faint, she had noticed that Professor Lupin was very kind to the students.
Moreover, there were no signs of deceit in his micro-expressions, leading to the conclusion that there was over an eighty percent chance that his character was genuinely good.
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Thus, the possibility that he was marginalized due to his character could be ruled out.
Next was the common issue among Slytherins in the magical world: blood purity.
However, aside from the vast majority of Slytherins, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs did not have a consciousness of blood purity.
The magical world was not entirely composed of Slytherins who believed in blood purity; in fact, their proportion was relatively small within the entire magical community.
Therefore, it was unlikely that Professor Lupin faced marginalization in his life due to this reason, to the extent that it would lead to such a cautious daily habit.
The reason of blood purity could also be fundamentally ruled out.
With the first two possibilities eliminated, what remained could be something that the entire magical world despised.
The clearest reason in Lin Yue's mind was that he was a werewolf.
Werewolves transform into their wolf form during every full moon, and once transformed, they lose all consciousness and will actively attack others; those who are attacked can also be infected and transformed into werewolves.
Because of this, werewolves are despised by the entire magical community, and many people even wish for the complete extinction of werewolves in the magical world.
Looking at Professor Lupin's obviously pale and weak face, Lin Yue immediately recalled that yesterday was a full moon, which was precisely the day when werewolves transform.
After transforming, werewolves experience a brief period of weakness, and Professor Lupin's current state corresponded perfectly to that period of weakness.
Professor Lupin is a werewolf, and this guess, with an accuracy of fifty-five percent, appeared in Lin Yue's mind.
Regarding this guess, Lin Yue remained unfazed; the school would not make mistakes. There must be a reason for the school to choose Professor Lupin to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and whatever his identity was had nothing to do with her. All she needed to do was attend class properly.
After Professor Lupin stood up and waved to all the little wizards in the auditorium, Principal Dumbledore officially announced the end of the opening feast. Lin Yue stood up with the rest of Ravenclaw, while on the other side at the Gryffindor table, Hermione quickly stood up and walked over to the nearby Ravenclaw table.
Harry and Ron were momentarily stunned by this scene, not quite understanding what Hermione was up to. Was she going to talk to Lin Yue? But they were about to head back to the dormitory soon, and curfew was approaching; a little conversation wouldn’t hurt, would it?
Not only they, but even many Gryffindor students, as well as those from the other two houses, looked on with curiosity and surprise at this scene. The students of Ravenclaw actively made way, allowing Hermione to walk smoothly to Lin Yue's side.
Feeling her right arm being embraced, Lin Yue turned to look at Hermione.
"Hermione, why did you come over?"
With a tone of certainty in her inquiry, Hermione smiled and ruffled Lin Yue's hair.
"I'm going to stay in your dormitory in Ravenclaw. Principal Dumbledore said it was okay before, and Professor McGonagall agreed too. You should be willing, right?"
Lin Yue blinked stiffly and nodded awkwardly, "I’m fine."
As soon as the two girls finished speaking, the students of Ravenclaw began to walk out.
Lin Yue allowed Hermione to hold her arm and walked outside with her.
Seeing this scene, Harry and Ron exchanged knowing glances and silently withdrew their gaze.
It was clear that Hermione intended to stay in the Ravenclaw tower.
"What’s going on? That Granger is actually following Lin Yue? Is she going to stay in the Ravenclaw tower? Isn’t that against the rules?"
As Hermione approached the Great Hall doors with her arm around Lin Yue, a senior student from Slytherin couldn’t help but make a snide remark.
Draco Malfoy immediately rolled his eyes, wishing he could sew the other person's mouth shut.
Did they really have to provoke Granger from Gryffindor and Lin Yue from Ravenclaw?
Couldn’t they see all the other people from Gryffindor? Why did they have to pick on just Granger?!
Even if they provoked that annoying Potter, it might not provoke the wrath of the entire Ravenclaw!
Hadn’t he suffered enough last year without a single meal going smoothly?
The other Slytherins were clearly not learning their lesson by provoking Hermione, who was obviously standing next to Lin Yue. What was the difference between that and angering the entire Ravenclaw house again?
Draco’s mouth twitched in irritation, and he quietly shrank back behind the others to show that this matter had nothing to do with him.
At the same time, he was also warning the Ravenclaws not to take revenge on the wrong person.
The students of Ravenclaw, who knew how much Lin Yue valued the rules, instantly erupted in outrage.
Breaking the rules? Nonsense, can this matter be casually discussed?
What if Lin Yue thought that because of this comment, Hermione was violating the rules by staying in Ravenclaw and ended up punishing herself?
Would Slytherin take full responsibility for that? Don’t say that it’s just Hermione going to stay with Lin Yue; even if Lin Yue were to beat up Fudge or tear down the Ministry of Magic, it would still be the Ministry’s failure to fulfill its duties, and Lin Yue would be justly punishing them!
Holding onto this thought, before Lin Yue could even turn to look at the source of the voice, a sixth-year student who specialized in magical law and had memorized Hogwarts rules spoke up angrily.
"Nonsense! Hogwarts rules prohibit students from going to other houses' common rooms without permission."
"Miss Granger is invited by all of us in Ravenclaw; she is our guest, not someone who went there on her own."
"Exactly!"
"That’s right, we invited Miss Granger here. What’s wrong with us building good relationships with our classmates?"
Aside from the first-year little Ravenclaws who looked confused, the other years of little Ravenclaws all spoke in unison, loudly declaring that they had collectively invited Hermione.
They effectively silenced Slytherin who had just spoken.
He had originally spoken out because he was annoyed by that Gryffindor Granger, especially since Ravenclaw had won the House Cup for two consecutive years, so he had made a jab at her.
Who would have thought he had poked the nest of these little eagles? He hadn’t even said anything that shouldn’t have been said!
He didn't use a single insulting word like "mudblood"! Merlin above, let him prove it!
Why did Ravenclaw get so agitated?
Professor Snape, standing at the teacher's table, took a deep breath and cast a dark look at the Slytherin who had just spoken.
"Foolish sir, Slytherin will lose two points because of you, as a reminder to always be cautious with your words and actions."
After saying this, he subtly glanced at Lin Yue. When he saw her retract her gaze and continue to walk out dazedly with Hermione, showing no other reaction, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Principal Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall exchanged amused glances at Snape's subtle sigh, thinking it would be better if Severus could be a bit more direct and cheerful.
As if sensing the gaze of his former professors beside him, Professor Snape's body stiffened slightly, then he strode down from the teacher's table without looking back.
His black robe billowed as he walked to the end of the Slytherin table closest to the door, then he quickly turned around.
"Now, everyone shut your mouths and follow me back to the common room."
The students of Slytherin obediently fell silent and followed Professor Snape out of the hall after the Ravenclaws had left.
Back in the dormitory, the room that originally had only three beds now had a fourth bed set up, with all of Hermione's luggage placed on it.
As soon as Lin Yue entered the dormitory, she took out her Transfiguration textbook from her trunk and sat down at the desk to begin "reviewing" her reading.
Hermione looked at the scene with a helpless sigh; she had gotten used to it while living with Lin Yue during the summer vacation. As long as she didn't call Lin Yue to play, Lin Yue would definitely be reading or thinking about the contents of those books in her mind. Compared to her, Hermione felt her own enthusiasm for studying was small.
Cho Chang and Marietta gave her a knowing look and then went to the bathroom one after the other to take a shower. After their showers, the two seniors sat on their beds, leisurely starting to preview the lessons for the next day. Meanwhile, Hermione put down her book, grabbed her pajamas, and walked into the bathroom.
For a moment, the entire dormitory was filled with the sound of running water, with only the rustling of turning pages remaining. Lin Yue sat at her desk, completely focused on her book, unaware of the significant impact she was having on her two dorm mates.
It’s worth noting that if it weren't for Lin Yue, on the first night of the new semester, Cho Chang and Marietta would have definitely chatted happily all night. But now... seeing Lin Yue study, they couldn't help but feel they couldn't just rest nearby.
At the same time, there was no doubt that Hermione, living in Lin Yue's dormitory, would see a significant improvement in her grades this semester.