The day after the entire Ravenclaw house agreed to form a self-study group, the Ravenclaws began spreading the news to the other three houses during breakfast.
In Gryffindor, Hermione's eyes lit up without a doubt, and she immediately joined without any hesitation. Since it was clear that she wouldn't learn much from Lockhart, she had originally planned to ask Lin Yue to teach her Defense Against the Dark Arts. Now that there was this ready-made opportunity, she certainly wanted to seize it and agree.
Harry, Ron, and the Weasley twins also agreed without hesitation. After seeing Hermione and the others agree, several more Gryffindors joined in as well.
It is worth mentioning that Percy frowned when Penelope brought up this matter to him. He expressed that she shouldn't place too much trust in the abilities of a second-year wizard, even if she could perform those spells herself. He argued that it didn't mean she could teach others to use them, and he suggested that she should trust the professors' abilities, stating that Professor Lockhart might just be giving everyone a chance to show off in the first class.
Penelope listened to his words, her lips twitching slightly. After waving her hand, she left. Since he didn't believe in Lin Yue's abilities and didn't think that Lockhart was truly incompetent, there was nothing more to discuss. This made Percy, who had originally wanted to engage in a "high-minded discussion," suddenly shut his mouth and turn back to continue eating, feeling somewhat at a loss.
On the Hufflepuff side, the second-year students didn't hesitate at all and all joined in. Having taken classes with Lin Yue for an entire year last year, they were aware of her abilities. To receive her guidance was something they could only wish for. The usually united Hufflepuffs, seeing that the second years had all joined in, also expressed their desire to participate.
The older students joined with the intention of looking after the younger ones, and although they had some understanding of Lin Yue's abilities, to be honest, she was just a second-year witch. It was hard for them to believe that she had reached a level where she could teach them.
As for Slytherin House, the Ravenclaw side was represented by three seventh-year seniors. After all, their plan against Malfoy also started at breakfast today, and if it was discovered that it was the work of Ravenclaw, these three upperclassmen would be able to "retreat unscathed."
"What do you want?" The Slytherins, except for Gryffindor, were still somewhat polite to the Slytherins from other houses. At this moment, two seventh-year Slytherins stood up and looked at the three Ravenclaws inquiringly.
"We've formed a self-study group, mainly focusing on Defense Against the Dark Arts. You can choose whether or not to participate."
One of the Ravenclaw girls among the three Ravenclaws smiled slightly, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"A self-study group?" The seventh-grade Slytherin who had just asked frowned and glanced over at the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables.
"Do those brutes from Gryffindor and those slackers from Hufflepuff have to join too?"
Before he could finish speaking, another Slytherin with a more arrogant demeanor chimed in.
The Ravenclaw girl frowned, feeling a strong discomfort at what he had just said.
"That's right, as long as you want to, everyone from the four houses at Hogwarts can participate."
Although she felt uncomfortable and dissatisfied, she patiently explained it again.
"No thanks, what can we learn by studying with brutes and slackers alongside bookworms?"
Marcus Flint, sitting at the Slytherin long table, interjected, and a burst of laughter erupted from the Slytherin table.
The three Ravenclaws' expressions instantly turned serious as they nodded, "Alright, we know you don't need it, let's go."
After saying that, the three Ravenclaws walked straight back to the Ravenclaw long table.
"What did they say that they shouldn't have?" Penelope asked, looking at the laughing Slytherin table and the two senior boys and one senior girl who returned with cold faces, almost certain of her question.
"What else could it be? Gryffindor is full of brutes, Hufflepuff is a bunch of gluttons, and we are just bookworms," one of the senior boys lamented, shaking his head.
After hearing the mockery, Penelope chuckled a couple of times and took a bite of her pie, "It's normal; the four houses at Hogwarts have misunderstandings about each other."
"Yeah." The Ravenclaws around her nodded in agreement; this was indeed true.
Lin Yue lowered her head and silently ate her meal, constantly "reviewing" the knowledge of Potions from this academic year in her mind.
No one knew that the knives and forks on the Slytherin table, even those in their hands, had just slowly moved a millimeter until the three Ravenclaws returned to the Ravenclaw table, at which point they returned to normal.
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Just as breakfast was coming to an end and most of the little wizards, including Lin Yue, had already stood up and were walking towards the exit of the Great Hall, an unexpected event occurred at the Slytherin table.
Draco Malfoy, who was originally eating, suddenly had his hair grow long, dragging on the ground and creating quite a mess without stopping.
With a dark expression, Draco threw down his knife and fork and directed an angry glare at the Gryffindor table.
Meanwhile, Lin Yue, who was halfway through her walk, quickly locked her gaze onto a senior from Ravenclaw.
Her brain was working at high speed, and the knowledge she had stored told her that Draco Malfoy's hair at this moment resembled the effects of a hair growth potion.
However, a typical hair growth potion would automatically stop hair growth after reaching a certain length.
As for Malfoy, it was obvious that he couldn't stop at all. His hair was growing uncontrollably, and it was almost burying him. So, it was a modified hair growth potion, Lin Yue confirmed in her mind. When that senior passed by her just now, there was clearly a scent like hair growth potion on her, even though it had been deliberately washed off and might have been cleaned thoroughly. However, someone familiar with potions could still vaguely detect it, as potions always leave some residue.
Her gaze fixed on the dining table in front of Draco, which was already covered by his hair. Lin Yue deduced that the senior must have put the modified hair growth potion in his pumpkin juice or breakfast. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Professor Snape walking towards the Slytherin table with a cold expression, and a probability calculation flashed quickly through Lin Yue's mind.
Professor Snape is a master of potions, and although that senior student had calculated everything well, the potion wouldn't take effect until Draco finished his breakfast and drank his pumpkin juice. However, it was still very likely that Professor Snape would detect the scent of the hair growth potion from the plates or cups. Following that, the probability of him smelling the hair growth potion on the senior student was very low, but not impossible. Moreover, given Professor Snape's usual style of conduct, he would likely deduct points from the senior student and impose detention even without direct evidence.
Based on this, Lin Yue concluded that it was best to destroy all evidence, leaving Professor Snape unable to determine whether the effects were due to the potion or a spell. With a calm demeanor, Lin Yue withdrew her gaze and walked towards the entrance of the Great Hall. However, as soon as she stepped out, the entire Slytherin long table began to explode violently. The table turned into splintered wood, which then became sawdust, and the sawdust turned to ashes. By the time Lin Yue completely exited the Great Hall, the Slytherin long table and everything on it had turned to dust.
There were no warning signs, and the speed was astonishing, leaving the professors at the staff table momentarily stunned. After a full two seconds, Professor Snape finally rushed forward with a cold expression, waving his wand to disperse the surrounding dust. Fortunately, the Slytherin students had been protected in advance by Lin Yue using two large non-verbal, Wandless Shield Charm, so no one was harmed. The only one injured in the explosion was Draco himself, who had lost a significant portion of his long hair and sat there in a daze, staring at the empty space in front of him where the Slytherin long table used to be.
Quickly making her way to the History of Magic classroom, Lin Yue's face remained calm. She did not feel she had done anything wrong; in her view, the only mistake she made was damaging school property. Her mind subtly told her that she wanted to protect the students of Ravenclaw, so she easily chose to shield that senior student. Even though the chance of that senior being discovered was nearly zero, she wanted to make that possibility zero. As for the students of Slytherin she had just protected, she only aimed to destroy the evidence, not to harm her classmates, so of course, it was normal to protect them.
Except for Draco Malfoy, he and his father had threatened Hermione and the others. Therefore, in Lin Yue's view, they were a potential threat, based on the outcome that Hermione's life was more important than her own. If necessary, Lin Yue wouldn't mind sacrificing her own life to eliminate the Malfoys and remove the threat to Hermione. This was worth it, Lin Yue thought firmly as she sat down in the History of Magic classroom. At that moment, there were five bruises on her left thigh, a punishment for damaging school property while trying to prove her abilities to everyone in the Ravenclaw common room yesterday. She had just damaged the Slytherin long table again, and Lin Yue decided that when she returned to her dormitory tonight, she would add another wound to her thigh as a form of self-discipline. In the Great Hall, the Slytherins looked sullen, and Professor Snape cast an angry glance at Principal Dumbledore at the teacher's table, seemingly signaling him to investigate.
Principal Dumbledore stood up and waved his wand gently in the direction of Slytherin, and a faint halo instantly descended there.
While Principal Dumbledore was conducting his investigation, Penelope turned to look at the senior student who was involved in today's "operation," her eyes questioning, "Senior, was it you who did this?"
The senior student looked confused and innocent, shaking her head vigorously.
It wasn't her; she didn't know anything about it. Blowing up a table wasn't a big deal.
But to suddenly blow up a table in front of so many professors, when they were completely unprepared...
She didn't have that kind of ability.
Exchanging glances with her friends Qiu Cho Chang and Marietta, Penelope felt a vague suspicion arisen in her heart.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly; Lin Yue... sure enough, she would still stand by their side.
Unlike Penelope and the others, Hermione immediately thought of Lin Yue when she saw the Slytherin table explode.
No professor would do something like that, so the only one she could think of who had the ability to do such a thing in front of the professors was Lin Yue.
Thus, when she saw Principal Dumbledore personally using magic to investigate, Hermione's heart jumped into her throat.
This is Headmaster Dumbledore! Lin Yue won't be found out, right? Fortunately, even when Headmaster Dumbledore personally conducted the inspection, he couldn't find anything from the pile of dust that had already flown who knows where. As for the magical traces... Lin Yue didn't cast any spells or use a wand, so he could only determine that it was a blasting curse. He couldn't find anything else.
Seeing Headmaster Dumbledore shake his head at him, Professor Snape took a deep breath and said, "Very well, Slytherin, everyone go to class." After saying that, he strode over to Draco, handed him a vial of potion, and then left the Great Hall.
The unwilling Slytherins cast resentful glances at Gryffindor; their long-standing rivalry made them instinctively suspicious of Gryffindor. Only Draco, alone, downed the potion Professor Snape had given him, his gaze darkly shifting between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw houses. He clearly knew he had angered people from both houses, so they were all suspects.
Facing the furious stares of the Slytherins, the Gryffindors, already used to it, laughed and chatted as they walked out of the Great Hall to go to class. They could laugh about that scene for an entire year, no matter whether they were responsible for it or not. Even if they were to take the blame, they would be more than happy to do so.
As for Ravenclaw, the Ravenclaws were even less concerned about Draco's gloomy gaze.
Except for Gilderoy Lockhart, who was an absolute exception, which Ravenclaw student didn't possess spell-casting skills that could lead their year?
Could they really be afraid of Malfoy seeking revenge? And let's not even mention the Malfoy family.
Ravenclaw has continuously produced academic talents for a thousand years; in alchemy, spells, potions—what area haven't they explored?
If they truly faced off against them, the Malfoy family might not come out on top.
It is foolish to make enemies with capable academic elites, and it is even more foolish to make enemies with a group of capable academic elites.
Although young Master Malfoy clearly did not understand this, nor did the pure-blood supporters, including Marcus Flint.
However, their parents always understood, or even if they don't understand now, they will eventually.
For a thousand years, these academic talents have never truly united, but now they clearly have their own center.
Like a storm, once the eye of the storm appears, it begins to spin and intensify.
With no change in expression, Lin Yue quickly flipped through the pages of the history of magic textbook, reciting it from memory.
Before long, the second-year Ravenclaws entered the classroom one after another, and everyone consciously gathered around Lin Yue, even having their own fixed seats for each class.
Surrounding Lin Yue, they formed a protective circle.