It was very different from what she had imagined... Lin Yue's mind quickly analyzed that perhaps even if she took the initiative to admit her mistakes, the professor would not lessen her punishment.

Reaching a conclusion, Lin Yue nodded calmly, "Okay, thank you for the reminder, senior."

Cho Chang sighed and reached out to rub Lin Yue's head, "Go to sleep."

Lin Yue turned around, mechanically walked to the bedside, took off her shoes and socks, and lay down fully clothed on the bed. Sleeping in her clothes saved time and wouldn't waste more of her study time; she had gotten used to sleeping this way.

As Lin Yue lay on the bed, Cho Chang and Marietta also walked to their respective beds, tidied up a bit, and went to sleep. She wakes up every hour, Lin Yue woke up and opened her eyes at seven o'clock. She had gone to bed at one in the morning, so it was exactly six hours of sleep.

Sitting up in bed, Lin Yue grabbed her change of clothes and toiletries and walked into the bathroom. She finished her shower as quickly as possible, casually dried her hair a bit, and then walked out of the bathroom. After packing her bag, she hurriedly left the Ravenclaw common room.

While walking, she held a book in her hand, reading as she went. Her still damp hair fell behind her, wetting her wizard robe, and even the shirt underneath was soaked, clinging tightly to her back.

However, Lin Yue seemed oblivious to it, continuing to walk briskly with her eyes glued to the book. Whether her hair was dry or not was of no concern; she just couldn't let these trivial matters affect her study time. As for the headache that might arise from not drying her hair, Lin Yue had long since become accustomed to the pain, so it wouldn't affect her studying, and that was enough for her.

Entering the Great Hall, Lin Yue closed her book and sat at the Ravenclaw table, reaching for a knife and fork to serve herself breakfast, and began to eat ravenously. However, while Lin Yue could ignore her dripping wet hair, others could not. As soon as Hermione walked into the Great Hall, she saw this scene: Lin Yue was eating with her hair still wet and dripping. Frowning, Hermione quickly walked over, grabbed a clean napkin from the Ravenclaw table, and carefully approached Lin Yue from behind to help dry her hair.

Lin Yue, who was eating quickly, felt the movement behind her and instinctively turned to look back.

Hermione softly said, "Don't move, just eat your food. I'll dry your hair for you."

Lin Yue nodded expressionlessly, politely said thank you, and continued to eat quickly. In three and a half minutes, she finished her breakfast, but Hermione still hadn't completely dried Lin Yue's hair. To avoid wasting study time, Lin Yue reached out and reopened the book she had placed beside her.

Hermione couldn't help but sigh at the scene before her, but she didn't disturb Lin Yue's studying. It was obvious... this girl was letting her hair air dry to avoid taking time away from her studies. Hermione wondered how many times Lin Yue had experienced headaches from having wet hair in the wind.

Recalling her own childhood experience of not drying her hair and then catching a chill, Hermione hastened her movements as she dried Lin Yue's hair. That had really hurt, and the pain lasted a whole day, only getting better after a good night's sleep.

After nearly ten minutes, Hermione finally dried Lin Yue's hair completely. Seeing that she was still immersed in her studies, Hermione pressed her lips together and quietly stood behind her until Lin Yue finished the page she was reading.

"Lin Yue, I've finished drying your hair."

Lin Yue was pulled out of her studying state when she heard her full name. She closed the book in her hands, stood up, and adjusted her backpack.

With a blank expression, she looked at Hermione and thanked her again, "Thank you, sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble," Hermione shook her head. "But you should try to dry your hair after showering in the future; otherwise, you might get a headache."

Lin Yue replied in a flat tone, "It will take up study time. It's fine, I'm not afraid of pain."

Hermione closed her eyes, ultimately deciding not to say anything more, allowing Lin Yue to walk past her while reading.

Lin Yue... how did you live before? Besides studying, what else was there in your life?

The more Hermione learned about Lin Yue, the more heartbroken she felt. Understanding her daily habits and how she punished herself for studying made Hermione realize that Lin Yue's previous life was likely in a state that she could not fully comprehend or even imagine.

As Lin Yue quickly walked out of the great hall, a fleeting shadow caught her attention and abruptly pulled her out of her studying state. Closing her book, Lin Yue stepped forward to Professor McGonagall and politely nodded, "Good morning, Professor McGonagall."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Professor McGonagall, who was about to enter the great hall for breakfast, paused for a moment. "Good morning, Miss Lin Yue. Is there something you need?"

Lin Yue expressionlessly nodded, then without hesitation bent down towards Professor McGonagall, "I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, I broke school rules and went out last night. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to admit my mistake. I will humbly accept your criticism and punishment."

Seeing Lin Yue bow deeply in front of her and listening to her emotionless yet practiced words, Professor McGonagall felt a lump in her chest that she couldn't quite place.

She had seen many lively Gryffindor bouncing around causing trouble, focused Ravenclaw who were eager to learn, gentle and soft Hufflepuff who loved food and gossip, and sharp Slytherin who were good at finding loopholes, but she had never seen anyone like this.

Someone who would bow and admit their mistakes without hesitation in front of a professor, even someone whom the professor wouldn't want to punish. Reaching out, Professor McGonagall helped Lin Yue up, and Lin Yue straightened her body, looking calmly at Professor McGonagall. Noticing her tightly pressed and slightly trembling lips, Lin Yue's emotionless brain instinctively interpreted the other person's current state as intense anger.

So how would she be punished? Would she have to kneel in the corridor or stand barefoot in the snow? Lin Yue quickly thought of the various punishments she had received from teachers in the past. The latter usually lasted only about ten minutes, which, although uncomfortable, would take up less study time. She hoped for the latter.

In the past, her teachers, under her parents' instructions, had never been lenient with her punishments. This was why neither teachers nor students ever reacted when they saw the scars left on her from punishing herself. Because it was normal, and moreover, she was not the only one; many other students were suffering the same.

Punishment would lead to improvement, and studying would progress. Lin Yue's mind was firmly convinced of this, without considering whether the punishment was reasonable or truly necessary.

Professor McGonagall made an effort to calm her emotions and slowly reached out to touch Lin Yue's cheek.

Feeling Professor McGonagall's hand approaching her face, Lin Yue's mind instantly understood what punishment she was about to receive.

Then another thought suddenly popped up: if she got hit on the face, Senior Penelope would probably see it... But this was a punishment from the professor, so it should be fine.

However, the anticipated impact did not come. Instead, Lin Yue felt a gentle reassurance from Professor McGonagall on her face.

"I am not angry, Miss Lin Yue," Professor McGonagall said with a gentle smile at Lin Yue.

"And at Hogwarts, you don't need to be so reserved with us professors. We are your teachers, and we are also your elders. It is one of the responsibilities of elders to be tolerant of children's mischief, isn't it?"

"To be honest," Professor McGonagall leaned down to meet Lin Yue's gaze on equal terms, "I actually look forward to seeing you be a bit livelier, a bit more mischievous, and to open yourself up more. Don't think too much; this is Hogwarts, after all."

Professor McGonagall straightened up after speaking and helped Lin Yue tie her hair, which was scattered behind her, into a simple braid.

"I have no punishment for you, nor will I deduct any points, but I do want to give you a suggestion."

"Next time you go out at night, you could visit the eighth floor, where there is a tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy. That would be quite interesting."

With a mischievous wink at Lin Yue, she stepped into the great hall, leaving Lin Yue staring blankly, expressionless, at her retreating figure.

Not being punished and receiving a suggestion left Lin Yue's mind completely boggled; she couldn't comprehend everything Professor McGonagall had just done.

This was in stark contrast to her previous experiences and understanding.

Retracting her gaze, Lin Yue felt nothing inside; her vision had already blurred. She lowered her head to read again, but the letters on the page were no longer clear. In a haze, Lin Yue walked towards the Charms classroom with her head down.

Upon entering the Charms classroom, Lin Yue sat down and focused intently on her book. As two drops of water fell onto the page, her vision became clear again.

After a while, Professor Flitwick entered the classroom with a book in his arms.

Just a moment ago, while having breakfast at the teacher's table in the auditorium, he had heard Professor McGonagall mention Lin Yue's night outing the previous day. She pretended not to see it, and then this morning, Lin Yue had taken the initiative to come to him to admit her mistake.

After so many years of interaction, it was the first time Professor Flitwick saw such a complex expression on his colleague's face—confusion, misunderstanding, shock, and heartache intertwined.

But he felt the same way; he was both pleased that this child could finally loosen up a bit and go out at night, even if it was with other students, and heartbroken that she held herself in such low regard.

She was just too honest. Professor Flitwick placed the book on the podium, walked over to Lin Yue, and spoke kindly.

"Good morning, Miss Lin Yue."

"Good morning, Professor Flitwick," Lin Yue quickly stood up and politely nodded to greet him.

Professor Flitwick waved his hand with a smile, "No need to be so formal. You've already grasped most of the first-year material. If you feel tired or sleepy during class today, you can take a break as long as you don't disturb others."

Lin Yue nodded lightly and replied mechanically, "Okay, thank you, Professor."

After finishing his conversation with Lin Yue, Professor Flitwick returned to the podium. As students gradually entered the classroom, it was soon time for class to begin.

Subconsciously glancing at Lin Yue, Professor Flitwick couldn't help but sigh when he saw her still focused on her book.

This child... why doesn't she know to take a break sometimes? Although they are professors, they certainly do not wish for their students to have nothing in their lives but studying, with nothing else to show for it.

When class officially started, even though Professor Flitwick had hinted to Lin Yue beforehand, she still did not take a break or even sleep.

As before, she stared at Professor Flitwick without blinking, her hand quickly taking notes, like a high-speed machine that never tires or overheats.

Watching Lin Yue's serious and focused demeanor, Professor Flitwick felt a sense of comfort in his heart, but more so, a dull pain.

During lunch after the Charms class, most of the Gryffindor students had already heard about how Harry lost fifty points for his nighttime escapade the previous night.

However, since the points deducted weren't too many, and it was almost clear that the House Cup would go to Ravenclaw this year, everyone didn't pay much attention to it.

Or rather, after hearing Harry's edited version of the incident, they learned that Malfoy had reported him for his nighttime adventure, which resulted in both losing points, and they couldn't help but mock Malfoy's actions.

They were also happy to see Slytherin lose points along with them; after all, it was certain that the House Cup wouldn't be won by Slytherin, which was enough for the Gryffindor lions.

As for the fifty points Harry lost, it was just a deduction; it wouldn't change the fact that they would still come in first place or not.

So, when Lin Yue quickly finished her lunch and looked up, she saw Harry chatting and laughing with other classmates, showing no signs of anything being wrong.

Her gaze scanned him from head to toe; there were no abnormalities on his face, no signs of injury on his hands, and his knees didn't seem to be in pain. She couldn't see anything wrong with his feet either... Just as she was thinking this, Harry stood up and went to get himself a plate of sausages from a distance.

It was clear that his feet were not injured, and Harry had not faced any punishment other than the point deduction.

Lin Yue's brain summarized the information, opened the book, stood up, and left the great hall. As she walked, she read the content of the book, but her mind was unusually not trying to bury the information deep into her memory.

At that moment, scenes from the Christmas dinner and her conversation with Professor McGonagall that morning were surfacing in her mind. These two scenes collided violently with her memories of herself standing in the snow and kneeling in the corridor, causing waves of pain in her head.

It's different, completely different... Two thoughts popped into Lin Yue's mind: Hogwarts and the school she had attended before. The gap between the two was too vast. After reaching this conclusion, her brain stopped, unable to analyze any further.

The lack of emotional connection made it difficult for her to understand the completely different reasons behind the two. In that case, Lin Yue subconsciously returned to the commonalities between them. They were both schools, and she was a student in both, so... all she needed to do was study. With this thought, her train of thought was abruptly halted, and Lin Yue's mind returned to the book, with words and sentences flooding into her consciousness.