At a considerable distance from Hogwarts, Hermione was enjoying Christmas dinner with her parents at the Granger household. As she watched her mother bring a huge turkey to the table, Hermione's eyes lit up; she really loved the taste of turkey. Just like in previous years, she received one of the turkey legs. Hermione carefully cut a piece of meat with her knife and fork and put it in her mouth, happily squinting her eyes.

It was still the familiar taste; her mother's cooking was just so good. She wondered if she would be able to learn how to cook like that in the future... If she learned, she could also make it for her own family and her loved ones. Thinking this, Hermione couldn't help but picture Lin Yue in her mind.

Why did Lin Yue come to mind? As soon as this thought arose, Hermione answered the question herself. It's quite normal to prepare a Christmas dinner and invite friends over to eat. With a smile, she took another bite of turkey, chewing the meat while continuing to follow her earlier train of thought.

Lin Yue... I wonder what she’s doing now; she should also be having a Christmas dinner. But maybe not... If she still only takes three and a half minutes to eat... she should be done by now. Thinking of this, Hermione's smile slowly faded. If Lin Yue still eats like that, Hermione pressed her lips tightly together. . That would really make her heart ache; a Christmas dinner should be a meal to enjoy... Watching her daughter press her lips together, looking as if she had something on her mind.

Mr. Granger asked in confusion, "Hermione, what's wrong? Are you feeling unhappy about something?"

"Um?" Hermione came back to her senses and shook her head while looking at her father. "I'm fine, just a bit worried..."

"Worried?" Mr. Granger looked at Hermione with a puzzled expression.

However, Mrs. Granger, who had just brought out the remaining dishes from the kitchen, could almost guess what Hermione was worried about just by looking at her expression. It must be about that girl named Lin Yue.

But she didn't know what exactly Hermione was worried about. "Alright, don't ask so many questions."

Mrs. Granger patted her husband's shoulder, signaling him to eat and not to pry.

Then she walked over to Hermione, gently hugged her shoulders, and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Hermione, you don't need to worry. Today is Christmas, and Santa Claus will make sure that everyone has a joyful day."

"Mom..." Hermione pouted, "You know, ever since I was eight, I've stopped believing that there is a Santa Claus in this world."

"Ha," Mrs. Granger chuckled as she ruffled her daughter's hair, "Sometimes believing in fairy tales can be a wonderful thing."

Hermione lowered her head, and some thoughts quietly flowed through her mind. She had not believed in Santa Claus since she was eight.

But tonight, she was willing to believe... and even for every Christmas in the future, she was willing to believe that there is a Santa Claus in this world.

She just hoped that Santa Claus could truly help Lin Yue have a happy day, and that it would be real happiness.

The Granger family's Christmas dinner has begun, and the Christmas dinner at Hogwarts is still ongoing.

Professors and students in the Great Hall are chatting with each other, enjoying dessert and ice cream after the meal.

Lin Yue quietly sits in her seat, taking small bites of the vanilla ice cream in front of her.

Her mind, for the first time in a long while, is completely empty at this moment; she isn't thinking about studying or recalling anything from any book.

It isn't until the dinner ends, and she returns to the dormitory that Lin Yue's mind returns to its usual state.

Subconsciously reviewing her actions over the past two days, Lin Yue's thoughts linger on the time she spent playing in the snow with Harry and Ron for an entire afternoon. She wasted study time playing in the snow, and that wasted study time needs to be made up. At the same time, she should accept punishment for her behaviour of wasting study time.

Lin Yue raised her right hand without hesitation to press against her left arm, but she hesitated to take action. Her mind kept replaying the scenes from the Christmas dinner and the sensation of the Christmas gift Hermione had given her that morning.

Although she still felt no emotional fluctuations, Lin Yue slowly lowered her hand.

"I don't want to punish myself tonight," this thought clearly emerged in her mind.

She decided to punish herself tomorrow instead; even if the punishment was delayed, the amount would double, but she just didn't want to punish herself today. She didn't want the memory of punishing herself to be associated with the gift Hermione had given her and the Christmas dinner, even though she didn't know why. After putting down her right hand that was meant for punishment, Lin Yue stared blankly at her surroundings. Originally, this was supposed to be study time, but now she wasn't studying... she didn't even know what to do.

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Sitting quietly on the bed, Lin Yue stared blankly at the floor until her eyes began to feel sore. Only then did she lift her head to look at the clock in the dormitory. It was one o'clock in the morning. She had been sitting for a full two hours; maybe she could go to sleep. Lin Yue told herself this in her mind, but... should she really sleep?

"You don't need much sleep; an hour a day is enough. The more you sleep, the more mistakes you're making!"

Her mother's voice echoed in Lin Yue's mind. She slowly lowered her head and ultimately did not lie down on the bed. She continued to sit quietly until her break time, and only then did she lie down on the bed and close her eyes. Without any buffer, she fell directly into a deep sleep.

An hour later, Lin Yue suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. It was a new day. Before getting out of bed to put on her shoes, Lin Yue wasted no time and raised her hand to press on her left arm. After a whole afternoon of playing in the snow for four hours, the punishment had been delayed last night, so the original four strikes had now turned into eight. After the exhausting eight strikes, Lin Yue's left arm was already trembling slightly.

Her left upper arm is now covered in dark purple bruises, with one handprint overlapping another, looking quite horrifying.

Struggling to lift her left arm and move it in circles, Lin Yue's expression remains calm, showing no signs of pain.

Once the trembling in her left arm subsides a little, Lin Yue gets out of bed, puts on her shoes and socks, grabs her backpack, opens the door, and walks out of the dormitory.

Arriving at the library, she finds that it is still too early, and Madam Pince has not yet arrived to start her work.

So, Lin Yue can only place the books she needs to return on the table next to her and wait for Madam Pince to come before returning them.

She then walks over to the bookshelf, pulls out a few new books, and sits down in her usual spot.

After quietly reading for two and a half hours, at exactly seven o'clock, Madam Pince arrives at the library.

Lin Yue steps forward to return the books she had borrowed earlier and also borrows some new ones before leaving the library with her backpack.

Watching Lin Yue's retreating figure, Madam Pince can't help but marvel at Lin Yue's diligence in her studies, and at the same time, she can't help but think how wonderful it would be if all the students at Hogwarts were as hardworking.

Just as this thought crosses her mind, she is startled by it and feels a pang of pain in her heart. Those children really do have it too hard... It would be better if they just maintained their current state, healthy and happy, learning while growing up well. With a helpless sigh, Madam Pince shakes her head and withdraws her gaze, thinking that Lin Yue is just too hard on herself.

Lin Yue quickly walked into the great hall. As soon as she sat down at the round table in the centre, breakfast was promptly delivered by the house-elves.

In just three and a half minutes, she finished her breakfast and hurried back to her dormitory, where she opened a book and began to read seriously.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Harry, who had just walked out of his common room, was excitedly discussing the mirror he had seen the night before with Ron.

"I saw my parents!" Harry shared his joy with Ron, who was beside him.

"This..." Ron glanced at Harry awkwardly but decided to congratulate him first. "I'm happy for you, mate, but you know they... are gone."

"I know! They are dead..." Harry lowered his head in silence for a moment, then lifted it again, his eyes shining with renewed light.

"But I really saw them in the mirror yesterday! Maybe, maybe it's a mirror that lets you see the dead!"

"Well, maybe it is," Ron nodded.

"Do you want to come with me?" Harry looked at Ron excitedly. "I mean, you could meet my parents."

"Of course, mate," Ron patted Harry on the shoulder. "I'd love to!"

Harry nodded happily. Seeing Harry's unusually excited state, Ron felt a sudden inspiration.

"I think we can invite Lin Yue to join us. I mean, she knows so much; maybe she can help us understand what that mirror is all about. Plus, we can help her relax in the process."

"Good idea, Ron," Harry agreed with a nod. "Let's invite her tonight."

Ron looked puzzled and helplessly at Harry, "Why... do we have to go after curfew at night? You know, Lin Yue probably wouldn't like breaking curfew."

Harry raised his hand and slapped his forehead, "Oh right... I completely forgot, we could go during the day. I got too excited."

Ron let out a long sigh and patted Harry on the shoulder, "It's okay, let's go."

Arriving in front of the Ravenclaw common room door, there was no doubt that the two of them were once again asked a question by the bronze knocker. The two boys exchanged glances and, not wanting to think too hard, just started to blurt out random answers. In the end, Harry got lucky and guessed a reasonable answer, causing the bronze knocker to slowly open the door for them to enter. As they walked into the Ravenclaw common room, the first thing that caught their eye was the small library belonging to Ravenclaw House.

"Truly fitting for the studious Ravenclaw," Ron remarked.

Harry nodded in agreement, then looked around. Not seeing Lin Yue's figure, he guessed she was probably in the dormitory reading. Thinking that besides her, no one else from Ravenclaw was staying at school for Christmas, he decided to call out loudly.

"Lin Yue, Lin Yue, are you there?"

Harry's shout was significantly weakened as it passed through the door of the girls' dormitory, but it ultimately reached Lin Yue's ears.

Although the voice was faint, it was enough for Lin Yue to recognize that someone was calling her full name.

Breaking away from her study, Lin Yue expressionlessly put down the book she was reading and walked to the door to open it.

Descending the stairs and arriving in the common lounge, Lin Yue looked at Harry and Ron with a blank expression and spoke emotionlessly, "What's up?"

"Uh... last night when I was out for a midnight stroll, I found a really interesting mirror. I thought I'd take you to see it. You know, to help you relax a bit."

Harry hesitated as he spoke, deliberately emphasizing "relax" to show that he was following Hermione's instructions, unsure if Lin Yue would agree.

The thought of going to relax flashed quickly through Lin Yue's mind.

Relaxing would take up study time; it shouldn't take up study time.

But Hermione wanted them to take her to relax... The two thoughts in Lin Yue's mind clashed again.

In the end, the result was the same as last time; Lin Yue nodded indifferently, agreeing to let Harry take her to relax.

As long as she made up for the time spent relaxing with the three hours of knitting gloves for Hermione and the four hours of playing in the snow, it would be fine.

As for the punishment for taking up study time, she would deal with it when she got back.

With Lin Yue in tow, Harry led her and Ron to the abandoned classroom where they had seen the mirror the night before.

Upon entering the classroom, Lin Yue immediately spotted the enormous mirror in the center.

As soon as Harry saw the mirror, he forgot about his surroundings and quickly walked up to it, gazing longingly at the image of his parents appearing within.

After a few glances, Harry finally reacted and turned back to wave at Ron and Lin Yue, "Ron, Lin Yue, come here, look at my parents."

"Okay." Ron nodded and hurried over.

Lin Yue, on the other hand, walked up calmly, her gaze steady as she examined the mirror, and soon recognized the inscription of magical runes on it.

The Mirror of Erised; the introduction she had read in a book instantly popped into her mind.

"How about you? Did you see my parents?" Harry was still excitedly asking Ron from the other side.

"No..." Ron replied, his tone equally excited but with a hint of confusion, "I saw... myself becoming the student council president, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and receiving a special contribution award from Hogwarts!"

"Does this mirror show our future?!" he exclaimed, looking at Harry with excitement.

Harry paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile, "No way, Ron, my parents are already dead."

Ron suddenly realized and quickly spoke up, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay." Harry waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind.

After confirming that this was the Mirror of Erised, Lin Yue stepped forward slowly, her expression unchanged.

Ron turned to her curiously, "Lin Yue, do you know what this mirror really is? Why do I see different things from what Harry sees?"