News always spread quickly among crowds, especially when that crowd consists of a group of teenagers and the news involves an element of adventure. The message about Lin Yue using a levitation spell to lift a wall and crush a troll spread rapidly throughout Hogwarts in this context. While it garnered admiration from some students, it inevitably instilled fear in another group of students towards her. This fear is a biological instinct, arising from the comparison to a stronger presence.

However, Lin Yue herself felt nothing about it, she continued to maintain her routine of attending classes, doing homework, and reading. The troll incident brought her not only a significant boost in points but also two more bruises on her left arm, as well as a more closely following Hermione. Sometimes, because Hermione was following her, even Harry and Ron would tag along.

"Lin Yue, how do you write this?" Ron held out his potions homework in front of Lin Yue.

At first, he and Harry were genuinely a bit afraid of this classmate who could take down a troll. But after spending some time together, they found that although Lin Yue usually spoke without emotion and had no expression on her face. But similarly, she never gets angry with people, just as she wouldn't get upset. No matter what questions Harry and Ron ask her, she never gets angry, no matter how many times they ask.

It's worth noting that even if they go to ask Hermione, although they eventually get an answer, they will still be lectured by her about not paying attention in class. It's different with Lin Yue; not only do they not get scolded, but they also end up getting the correct answers they want.

So, Harry and Ron played a trick; whenever they encountered a question they couldn't solve, they would ask Lin Yue, pretending to listen to her explanation while zoning out, and then wait until the end to hear the correct answer. Unfortunately, Ron's plan was destined to fail this time. Sitting next to Lin Yue, Hermione saw her raise her head to answer and directly reach out to press down on the parchment in Ron's hand.

"Ron Weasley!" Hermione glared at Ron with a serious expression, her entire demeanor radiating authority. At that moment, she resembled a smaller version of Professor McGonagall, making Ron feel a bit intimidated.

"You, and Harry too," Hermione said, shooting a glance at Harry, who instinctively shrank back a little. "Don't keep trying to get Lin Yue to give you the answers."

"I've observed several times that when she explains things to you, you don't listen at all. You're making her work hard for nothing!"

"Well, Lin Yue didn't say she was unwilling..." Ron said, feeling a bit guilty as he lowered his head, but he still muttered under his breath, somewhat unconvinced.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and looked at the two boys across from her, "From now on, for your assignments, either write them yourself or come ask me. You're not allowed to ask Lin Yue anymore!"

Harry and Ron nodded obediently, wondering how they could not be obedient. Hermione knew far more spells than they did. After giving these two a lesson, Hermione turned her head to Lin Yue, who was sitting next to her. At that moment, Lin Yue had been interrupted by Hermione while explaining homework to Ron and had instinctively started to look at her own book again.

In front of Lin Yue, Hermione's attitude unconsciously softened, and her voice became gentle.

"Lin Yue."

Hearing Hermione call her name, Lin Yue looked up from her book and turned to face Hermione. Hermione bit her lip, reached out to touch her cheek, and gently rubbed it.

"You are so smart in your studies, but why are you... why are you so, silly usually?"

Hermione thought for a long time before coming up with such a relatively mild description. Lin Yue stared steadily at Hermione, allowing her to hold her face, with not trace of emotional fluctuation in her heart. She felt nothing about Hermione's comment that she was "dull." In her view, it was completely normal for Ron and Harry to ask her about their homework and for her to explain it to them.

Hermione frowned at Lin Yue, who showed no reaction.

"Can't you see that they are using you to get the correct answers and aren't even listening to you?"

"I can see that," Lin Yue replied in a flat tone, her cheeks being held by Hermione bobbing up and down slightly along with her head, gently rubbing against her palm.

"Then you still tell them every time," Hermione said, her eyes wide with surprise. "Aren't you angry at all?"

"They came to me," so I told them, Lin Yue blinked, her eyes as calm as a still pond, "I won't get angry."

"You... you don't feel angry at all? Not even a little bit?" Hermione swallowed hard, sensing that something seemed a bit off.

Lin Yue thought for a moment in her mind and then spoke directly, "Anger is generally used to express a person's emotions, such as being furious or feeling unhappy due to something not going as one wishes."

Seeing Hermione's stunned expression, Lin Yue made further associations in her mind and continued to explain, "Anger describes an emotional state that arises from extreme dissatisfaction."

"I am not emotionally agitated," Lin Yue paused for two seconds and then instinctively added, "I have no emotions."

After saying that, she turned back to her book, while Hermione, watching her read, felt a chill rising from her feet to the top of her head.

Just now, when Lin Yue was explaining to her, she felt that the person in front of her was not Lin Yue, and not even a human! Instead, it was a computer, a computer that surpassed the imagination of current Muggle scientists—precise, rational, powerful, but devoid of human characteristics. Thinking back to what Lin Yue had just said about emotions, she mentioned that she herself had no emotions, and the more Hermione thought about it, the more she felt the cold sweat on her back increasing.

Turning her body back, Hermione lowered her head and forced herself to focus intently on the book, trying not to think about anything Lin Yue had said. However, this had little effect, Lin Yue's words echoed in her mind like a looped playback. At the same time, for some reason, her heart was constantly aching, to the point where her eyes couldn't help but become moist.

Merlin... God knows how healthy her heart is; she doesn't have any heart-related issues at all! What on earth is going on?

Harry and Ron on the opposite side also clearly sensed that something was off in the atmosphere. Even Ron, who had the emotional intelligence of a teaspoon, knew that staying silent was the best option at that moment. So, the two of them tacitly lowered their heads, not making a sound, and with their focus, they actually wrote their assignments faster. After studying for two hours straight, Lin Yue was still seriously reading, while Hermione was also intently looking down at the book in front of her. Only her tightly bitten lower lip could reflect how conflicted and uncomfortable she felt at that moment.

The two of them are focused on their studies; one is completely absorbed in learning, while the other, despite the emotions swirling inside, is still able to concentrate. However, Harry and Ron can't sit still! At this age, kids are naturally energetic and love to run around, especially on a night without classes.

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Having finished their homework, they feel an even stronger urge to go back to the common room to relax or play something. However, looking at Hermione across from them, biting her lip and clearly in a bad mood, and Lin Yue, who is seriously reading and obviously hasn't finished studying, they really don't dare to interrupt. If they disturb Hermione... they might end up being her emotional outlet, and that would be a disaster for them.

If they disturb, Lin Yue... She might not say much herself, but Hermione is very likely to speak on her behalf, and the two of them end up being each other's emotional outlets. So, they didn't dare to speak, they simply couldn't bring themselves to talk, and they could only sit there in silence. It wasn't until Harry and Ron were almost dozing off that Lin Yue finally closed her book, as it was getting close to curfew, so they should head back to their dormitory. Hearing the sound of the book closing, the two drowsy boys finally woke up, rubbing their eyes and instinctively looking around.

Hermione suppressed the inexplicable emotions and pain swirling inside her and forced herself to nod at Harry and Ron.

"Let's go."

Upon hearing this, the two of them felt as if they had been granted a reprieve and quickly began to pack their things, their movements much faster than when they had taken out their belongings from their bags upon arriving at the library.

Seeing Hermione's discomfort, she couldn't help but twitch her lips.

Lin Yue completed the book borrowing procedures with Madam Pince and then led the way out of the library.

Along the way, neither she nor Hermione spoke, and Harry, who had just been dozing off and was still a bit groggy, naturally didn't say anything either.

So until the moment they were supposed to part, Hermione looked at Lin Yue and smiled lightly.

"Good night, Lin Yue, sweet dreams."

"Good night, Hermione." Lin Yue nodded expressionlessly.

Seeing her emotionless face, Hermione felt a sharp pain in her heart as if it had been tightly squeezed. In an instant, she cast aside everything else—etiquette, reason—all of it was forgotten as she stepped forward and hugged Lin Yue tightly.

Lin Yue lowered her head without any waves of emotion, looking at Hermione who was embracing her. Just like last time, she mirrored Hermione's actions and hugged her back.

Hermione rested her chin on Lin Yue's shoulder, took a deep breath, and slowly released her.

"It's okay now, you should go back quickly, it's almost time."

"Mm." Lin Yue nodded, turned around, and walked briskly towards the Ravenclaw tower.

Hermione turned to look at Harry and Ron, "You two go back first, I'm going to find Professor McGonagall."

"Professor McGonagall?" Harry and Ron exchanged glances.

"It's almost curfew, Hermione, aren't you afraid..." of losing points? The last three words from Harry faded away under Hermione's determined gaze.

"Alright, you're not afraid." Harry nodded and turned to lead Ron back to the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione lowered her gaze, feeling a mix of questions and inner turmoil... She wanted to find an elder to talk to, and this thought was urgent, so urgent that she didn't want to wait until tomorrow to discuss it. Among the people she could think of, Professor McGonagall, who had introduced her to the wizarding world and was also the head of Gryffindor House, was clearly the best choice.

Standing in front of Professor McGonagall's office door, Hermione took a deep breath and resolutely raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Professor McGonagall, are you resting?"

A few seconds later, the office door was opened from the inside, and Professor McGonagall stood in front of Hermione wearing a bathrobe.

"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall was momentarily taken aback when she saw Hermione, then stepped aside to let her in. "Please come in."

Hermione walked in and stood awkwardly at the door, while Professor McGonagall walked over to a sofa and sat down, gesturing for Hermione to take a seat on the opposite sofa.

"Please sit, Miss Granger."

Hermione sat down across from Professor McGonagall, looking up at the usually stern professor, who now appeared particularly gentle.

"Have a drink; you'll feel much better." Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and a cup of hot cocoa appeared on the table beside her. She picked up the cup of hot cocoa and handed it to Hermione.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said as she took a sip of the hot cocoa. "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here so late?"

Professor McGonagall smiled slightly and shook her head. "It's written all over your face, Miss Granger."

"Confusion, worry, fear, guilt—it's all there."

Hermione took another sip of her hot cocoa and smiled a little shyly, feeling much better inside.

"Well then, perhaps you'd like to tell me why you have these emotions?"

Looking into Professor McGonagall's gentle gaze, Hermione felt a sense that no matter what she said, this professor would accept her with understanding.

So she spoke without reservation, "It's because of... Lin Yue, Professor McGonagall."

"Miss Lin Yue?" Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I thought you two were very good friends? She even risked her life to save you before."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall... that's why I'm so conflicted, scared, and guilty," Hermione said, putting down her hot cocoa and nervously tugging at her hair.

"Don't be anxious, Miss Granger, it's alright. You can take your time to talk," Professor McGonagall gently reassured her.

"Um..." Hermione nodded, her voice low and soft, as if coming from another place. "The first time I met Lin Yue was on Hogwarts Express. At that time, she had a blank expression, spoke without any tone, and even... I felt she was devoid of life. I was scared... Seeing her like that, Neville and I ran away."

Professor McGonagall listened quietly, and Hermione slowly lifted her head. "Then we arrived at Hogwarts. She was so outstanding, so outstanding that I unconsciously wanted to get closer to her, to learn how she studied during her free time. But we were in different houses, so I didn't have much time to be close to her. But even in such... limited interactions, she risked her life to save me." As Hermione spoke, she couldn't help but smile. Perhaps she didn't even realize it, but Professor McGonagall felt that this smile was very sweet.

"After that, I truly regarded her as my best friend, my closest friend. But just tonight... due to some things, when we were discussing anger, she said she had no emotional fluctuations, no emotions. Listening to her explain what it means to be angry, what it means to feel rage, hearing her state that she has no emotions... I felt a deep pain in my heart, and I was also very scared. At that moment, I even though she didn't seem like a person sitting in front of me, but like a... a computer."

Hermione closed her eyes, took a deep breath to continue speaking, "So I feel very guilty. I considered Lin Yue to be my best friend, but I actually... I'm still afraid of her. I feel... I feel like she needs help, but I don't know what to do! I'm still... I'm still afraid of her! I...!"

At this point, Hermione couldn't help but grab her hair tightly with her hands while continuously hitting her head, as if she were trying to make a solution pop out this way. Professor McGonagall stood up and grabbed her hands that were tormenting her hair and head, pulling her into her embrace.

"Miss Granger, calm down, you need to calm down."

Hermione was gasping for breath, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. It wasn't until a while later that she slowly calmed down in Professor McGonagall's arms.

Professor McGonagall crouched down, looking into Hermione's eyes.

"Miss Granger, do you know that geniuses are often eccentric? They are different from ordinary people; they can make others feel strange, even frightened, because they have talent and are unique."

Hermione stared intently into Professor McGonagall's eyes and murmured, "Are you saying that Lin Yue is like that?"

"Of course," Professor McGonagall said with a kind smile.

"To be honest, I haven't seen a genius like Miss Lin Yue in many years—both talented and hardworking. I’m a bit envious of her being in Ravenclaw. Of course, you are also excellent; you are a rare talent, and I am proud to have you in Gryffindor." Professor McGonagall winked at Hermione as she spoke.

Hermione smiled slightly, pressing her lips together as her emotions slowly settled.

"Miss Lin Yue's situation... is really quite special. I've never seen a child who studies as hard as she does. Both Filius and Sprout have left her extra study materials, but she can finish them all in a week. To be honest, I'm very curious about how she allocates her time, but there's no doubt that the vast majority of her time is definitely devoted to studying."

"Mm." Hermione nodded affirmatively.

Professor McGonagall sighed, "So, she doesn't have time to make friends, no time to connect with friends, and even... she might not have time to interact with the outside world, not counting class time."

"Are you saying that... because of this, she doesn't show much expression or emotion?" Hermione bit her teeth tightly, the pain in her heart starting again.

"Yes," Professor McGonagall nodded. "You said you're scared, which is normal. You don't need to blame yourself or feel ashamed for that."

"You said you're worried and that it hurts you," Professor McGonagall said, gently tapping Hermione's forehead with a smile. "Isn't that very normal? You're feeling upset for your friend."

Hermione felt the pain in her heart, and she sensed that her heart was gradually becoming clearer.

"Let's put it this way, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow and looked at Hermione, "Will you distance yourself from Miss Lin Yue because she is different?"

"I won't," Hermione shook her head without hesitation.

"Will you leave her because she can't reciprocate your emotions well?"

"I won't," Hermione shook her head again, and a determined smile began to bloom on her face. "No matter what Lin Yue is like, I will be by her side. I believe in myself and in her."

Professor McGonagall reached out to gently stroke Hermione's hair, smiling as she praised, "Good girl, don't have any worries. Follow your heart and let Lin Yue feel that there are more important things in this world besides studying."

"Mm!" Hermione nodded vigorously.

"Of course," Professor McGonagall stood up and looked down at Hermione, "Your own emotions are also very important. Don't just focus on her and neglect yourself."

Hermione also stood up, smiling confidently. "I won't, Professor McGonagall. While I accompany Lin Yue, I will also take care of my own emotions."

"Very good," Professor McGonagall nodded in satisfaction and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh! It really is getting late. Let me take you back. Get a good night's sleep."

"Okay, thank you, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said with a smile as she followed Professor McGonagall out of the office. Now, in her heart, she was no longer entangled or afraid.