The sudden sound caused Lin Yue's mind to pause for a moment as she looked down at the watch on her left wrist. She had just clearly felt that the warm current was emanating from the watch and spreading throughout her body. Similarly, the voice she had just heard in her mind should have been transmitted by the watch.
Previously, she had speculated when she saw the little badger and little eagle on the edge of the watch. The only ones capable of doing this, hiding themselves inside the watch, should be two of the legendary four founders: Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. So, was it Lady Ravenclaw or Lady Hufflepuff who spoke just now?
After thinking for a while and confirming that it should be one of them, she raised her head again. It was just a voice, and she had never heard Lady Hufflepuff or Lady Ravenclaw speak. Therefore, she couldn't distinguish which of the two had spoken just now. But regardless of who it was, were they expressing concern or affection for her?
Lin Yue thought about it without any particular feeling and concluded that it should be so, after which she stopped thinking about the matter. As for Lady Ravenclaw, who had just spoken, she had only instinctively responded upon suddenly sensing Lin Yue's situation while she was in a deep sleep. After giving her response, she fell back into slumber.
At that moment, she was comfortably sleeping with her wings spread out on top of the little badger beneath her, who was also soundly asleep with his eyes closed.
After a unanimous discussion, it was decided that the day to go to Diagon Alley to buy books would be the following Saturday. This way, both the Weasley couple and the Granger couple would have time to go together. On the day they were to go to Diagon Alley, Lin Yue got up early and took out a sufficient amount of Galleons from her bag, which could continuously produce Galleons. After having breakfast made by Harry, the seven children prepared to set off.
Because the villa rented by Lin Yue is a Muggle residence, it is against the rules to connect to the Floo Network. Similarly, they cannot ride broomsticks, partly because they do not have enough broomsticks, and even if they did, flying seven people on broomsticks through a Muggle residential area would pose too great a risk of exposure.
After careful consideration, Penelope, the oldest among the seven children, made a difficult decision. She led everyone to the path by the villa's entrance, took a deep breath, and raised her wand in front of her.
Ron, Cho Chang, and Marietta immediately understood what she intended to do upon seeing her actions, and their faces turned pale.
Knight Bus, the term popped into Lin Yue's mind automatically; she had seen it in a book before. Raising her wand by the roadside was the way to summon the Knight Bus. It was said to be able to take wizards anywhere, as long as it was on the ground.
Bang! With a loud noise, a very peculiar-looking triple-decker bus stopped in front of the seven of them. Lin Yue instinctively sized up the Knight Bus, continuously analyzing various data in her mind.
In the end, it was easy to conclude that this vehicle absolutely did not conform to any common sense in the Muggle world. Similarly, Lin Yue's gaze shifted to the direction from which the Knight Bus had come; the path there was much narrower than the Knight Bus. However, the Knight Bus still arrived smoothly. Indeed, how could a magical vehicle be hindered by the width of the road?
Having studied at Hogwarts for a year, she surprisingly hadn't thought of this. She had naively assumed that by choosing such a location, no large armored vehicles would be able to enter. Yet she forgot about the means of the magical world. Fortunately, Hermione and the others had all scored in the top two-thirds and successfully passed the execution time. If any of them had made a mistake on the exam, they might have had to face large armored vehicles.
Naively, carelessly... Lin Yue followed Hermione onto the bus, blankly handed a gold Galleon to the conductor, and then took the change he offered. She was certain in her mind that she should be punished.
Moreover, the potential negative consequences of this naivety and carelessness could be particularly severe, concerning the safety of Hermione and the others. She not only deserved to be punished, but she also deserved a heavy punishment.
Screech... A harsh grinding sound erupted, and the Knight Bus shot out like an arrow. Lin Yue's self-criticism was interrupted. Hermione quickly reached out her left hand to link arms with her, while her right hand tightly grasped the post of the bed they were sitting on. The beds that everyone was sitting on were being moved around continuously within the bus.
Ron, sitting next to Harry, looked pale and seemed like he was about to throw up. On the other hand, Penelope, who had more experience, managed to stay somewhat calm and composed, trying to speak steadily to the ticket collector about their destination to Diagon Alley. After finishing her conversation with the ticket collector, Penelope turned to Lin Yue and the others, feeling a bit embarrassed as she scratched her cheek.
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"The Knight Bus... it is indeed a bit uncomfortable to ride, but it is fast and convenient, and it's the best option we have," she explained. Cho Chang and Marietta nodded in understanding, each holding onto the bedpost. Ron, however, was too weak to even react; he was dizzy from the Knight Bus ride. Harry was beside him, trying hard to encourage him not to throw up.
Hermione tightened her grip on Lin Yue's arm and eventually pulled her into an embrace. Hermione's face also showed some color loss, but she still managed to smile at Penelope. "It's quite nice, a novel experience," she said. Penelope awkwardly laughed a couple of times; to be honest, if wizards in the wizarding world had any other travel options, they wouldn't choose the Knight Bus.
Lin Yue, nestled in Hermione's arms, felt the strong push from behind and the constant jostling of their position. She also felt a desire in her stomach to heave up the food. Swallowing hard, Lin Yue took a deep breath and managed to suppress that "desire." Having been punished before for "overeating," she was quite skilled at stifling the feeling of nausea.
It must be said that although the Knight Bus was uncomfortable to sit on, it was very fast. Cuddled in Hermione's embrace, Lin Yue kept her eyes fixed on the front windshield of the Knight Bus. No matter how congested the road was, the Knight Bus could squeeze through. Even parked cars, roadside telephone poles, and houses would make way for it. Therefore, the driver drove recklessly, showing no awareness of speed limits. The only time he would slow down was when someone crossed the street or at traffic lights.
Perhaps it was because making people "automatically" yield might get noticed? Lin Yue speculated in her mind. After the two passengers in front reached their destination, the Knight Bus suddenly came to a halt—it was Diagon Alley. The seven children, all looking as pale as paper, helped each other as they got off the bus. As soon as Ron got off, he ran to a nearby tree pit and began to throw up, while Harry patted his back hard, trying to keep as far away as possible.
Penelope, Cho Chang, and Marietta were supporting each other, panting heavily. Lin Yue's face was also somewhat pale, but her expression remained unchanged. There were no signs of heavy breathing or nausea; she could even support Hermione in return. Imitating Cho Chang's gesture of patting Marietta's back, she slowly helped Hermione breathe easier.
"Are you... not feeling unwell?" Hermione asked, pressing her hand against her chest to suppress the nauseous feeling, looking up at Lin Yue, who showed no reaction apart from her pale face. Lin Yue shook her head expressionlessly, her tone indifferent, "This nauseous feeling is too weak; I won't throw up."
Hermione instinctively felt something was off about this statement, but in her discomfort, she couldn't think too deeply. The seven children had barely rested for five minutes when the Weasley family emerged from the Leaky Cauldron, having just spotted Lin Yue and the others outside. At the same time, the Granger couple arrived, having just gotten out of their private car.
"Oh my God," Mrs. Granger exclaimed, seeing Hermione, who was pale and on the verge of vomiting, supported by Lin Yue. She quickly stepped forward to hand Hermione a mint, not forgetting to give one to Lin Yue as well. "What happened?"
Hermione unwrapped the mint and put it in her mouth; the cool flavor instantly rushed into her nasal cavity and reached her brain, significantly alleviating her nausea. "Merlin... finally feeling better," Hermione sighed.
Lin Yue spoke truthfully, "We came here on the Knight Bus; it drove too recklessly." All seven children received mints distributed by Mrs. Granger, while Mrs. Weasley handed each of them a freshly cleaned one.
They were outside the Leaky Cauldron, where there were concealment and Muggle-repelling charms, so there was no need to worry about being seen. Fred and George, standing behind the Weasley couple, approached their younger brother with a mischievous intent.
"Oh! The Knight Bus," Fred began in a sing-song manner. "Remember when little Ron rode it for the first time?" George added, winking at Fred. "He cried!" ×2 "What a pity," Fred shook his head. "This time he didn't cry," George nodded in agreement.
Ron, feeling a bit better, shot them a fierce glare. Once everyone had recovered, they politely greeted the two sets of parents present. Then they all walked into the Leaky Cauldron, entering Diagon Alley.
Even as they walked into Diagon Alley, Mrs. Weasley was still thanking Lin Yue, "Thank you so much for inviting Ron; I hope he didn't cause you any trouble."
Ron was standing next to them, his face nearly as red as his hair.
Lin Yue calmly shook her head, showing no change in her expression, "No, Ron hasn't caused me any trouble."
Mrs. Weasley affectionately patted Lin Yue's head, while Mr. Weasley eagerly asked the Grangers about the Muggle world.
The Grangers were also inquiring about the wizarding world, such as the Knight Bus that had made the seven children so flustered just moments ago.
After hearing Mr. Weasley talk about the Knight Bus, the Grangers exchanged glances, both thinking that perhaps Muggles were better at driving.
Walking ahead of them, Hermione, who was linked with Lin Yue, expressed that she felt the same way.
The first stop in Diagon Alley was, of course, Gringotts, as Harry and the Weasley family needed to withdraw some money.
Hermione also needed to exchange the money her parents had given her for Galleons.
Lin Yue quietly stood beside Hermione, watching her exchange pounds for Galleons with the goblin teller.
Cho Chang, Marietta, and Penelope stood nearby, curiously observing the pounds Hermione took out.
"Is this the currency of the Muggle world?" Marietta tiptoed to get a better look at the banknotes in Hermione's hand.
"Yes," Mrs. Granger replied gently from the side, reaching into her wallet to pull out several different denominations of banknotes to hand to Cho Chang and the others.
The three of them took the banknotes and examined them curiously, with Penelope nodding thoughtfully.
"This is indeed convenient; at least it's lighter than Galleons."
After looking at the banknotes, they handed them back to Mrs. Granger, who waved her hand dismissively.
"Later, the four of us adults will go to that pub outside for a drink, so you can keep this money to explore a bit on your own. Consider it an auntie treating you to ice cream, how about that?"
Madam Granger said so, and Cho Chang and the others couldn't refuse. They could only politely thank her and then take the banknotes to find the goblin teller, experiencing the feeling of exchanging currency.
During Hermione's currency exchange, Lin Yue's gaze was fixed on her. Therefore, she also noticed the goblin serving her. She clearly saw that although the goblin's words and sentences were very polite, its eyes were looking down at Hermione with disdain.
With some understanding of micro-expression analysis, Lin Yue instinctively judged that the goblin's true attitude towards Hermione was one of contempt.
When Hermione returned, Lin Yue looked at her smiling face and, with a sudden pain in her mind, unconsciously spoke up. "That goblin looks down on you."
Hermione's smile faltered slightly, and she nodded helplessly. She reached out to gently embrace Lin Yue, resting her head on her shoulder. "I know. I noticed it the first time I came to Gringotts last year. They look down on Muggles, just like those pure-blood family wizards do."
Lin Yue turned to look at Hermione without any feelings, "Aren't you angry?"
Hermione looked up at this emotionless person asking if she was angry and smiled while shaking her head. "I'm not angry because this is their prejudice; it's their mistake. I shouldn't let others' mistakes make me angry and harm my own health.
"When I become good enough, whether it's the pure-blood family wizards or these goblins, they won't be like this anymore."
Lin Yue nodded indifferently, but her mind suddenly became chaotic, and a feeling of defiance spread in her chest. It was as if something was trying to burst out; she seemed to... urgently want to do something, but what did she want to do? And why did she want to do it?
If someone could understand her feelings, they would tell her that this feeling is called impulse.