Hermione was petrified, and Lin Yue felt a sharp pain in her head.

When she thought of petrification, she easily associated it with the Basilisk. The place where she had previously escaped with Ginny was in the corridor outside Gryffindor Tower.

So, it was very likely that Hermione had encountered the Basilisk that had retreated at that time and was then petrified.

Hermione was attacked by the Basilisk that had previously attacked her, and this was all because of her lack of skill; she hadn't eliminated the danger of the Basilisk while ensuring her own and Ginny's safety.

Moreover, Hermione had clearly already reached the Gryffindor common room, so why did she come out?

Lin Yue instinctively thought in a daze that it was because she... because she hadn't returned to Ravenclaw in time to reassure Hermione, so Hermione was worried about her, went out to look for her, and then encountered the Basilisk.

Lin Yue's face showed no change due to her thoughts, but her mind was in turmoil, like stirred cement. It was all her fault... it was her lack of skill that caused Hermione to be petrified by the basilisk.

She deserved to be punished... because her mistake had harmed Hermione.

But Hermione wouldn't let her punish herself, yet Hermione had been petrified because of her mistake.

The clash of these two opposing ideas made Lin Yue feel as if her brain was about to be torn in half.

"Child, are you okay?"

A gentle voice rang in her ears, and Lin Yue came back to her senses. The surroundings had completely changed.

She was sitting in the hospital wing, and her injuries to her right arm, right shoulder, right leg, and side had all been treated by Madam Pomfrey.

Now she was sitting on the hospital bed in just her inner shirt, surrounded by Cho Chang, Marietta, and Penelope.

Harry, Ron, and Professor Dumbledore were kept outside by the curtain.

"I'm fine, thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Lin Yue said mechanically.

Her eyes were filled with deadness and indifference. Slowly closing her eyes, Lin Yue couldn't help but think of Hermione in her mind.

She should be on a hospital bed nearby, turned into a statue, waiting for the Mandrake to mature to be saved.

Although she could be rescued, how scared would she be when she encountered the Basilisk?

How terrified would she feel as she was being petrified bit by bit?

All of this was because of her... because she didn't do well. If she could defeat the Basilisk while protecting herself and Ginny, if she could return to the Ravenclaw common room on time to reassure Hermione, if only...

"Lin Yue, relax," Cho Chang said, gently placing her hand on Lin Yue's forehead. "Get some good sleep, don't think about anything else, you've done great."

Looking at Lin Yue's deep, vacant eyes, the four little witches present, including Madam Pomfrey, felt a pang of discomfort in their hearts.

Cho Chang and the others, who understood Lin Yue deeply, could guess that this girl, who had etched others and the majority into her bones, was definitely blaming herself in her heart.

Reflecting on herself, but this clearly wasn't her fault.

Reaching out to tuck Lin Yue in, the curtain was opened, and Harry and Ron cautiously approached.

Just now, they were too eager to explain the situation to Professor Dumbledore and didn't notice the injured Lin Yue floating nearby.

Once they realized, their words had already slipped out, and both boys felt a vague sense of unease, wishing they could slap themselves on the mouth.

Now, looking at Lin Yue lying on the hospital bed with no expression, appearing no different from usual, they felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

"Lin Yue, don't think too much," Harry said carefully. "You need to take care of yourself, take good care of your health."

"Yeah," Ron forced a smile beside him, trying to lighten the mood with a joke. "You need to recover quickly; we still want to see you break your points record from last year."

Harry pressed his lips together, reached into his robe pocket, and took out a wand, placing it on the bedside table next to Lin Yue's hospital bed.

"This is the one we found in the corridor; it’s undamaged."

Lin Yue's eyes flickered as she looked at her wand, then nodded at Harry and Ron, "Thank you, you’ve worked hard."

Penelope and Marietta each held one of Lin Yue's hands, gently stroking them with the concern of a senior for a junior.

Ginny carefully wiped the sweat from Lin Yue's forehead, her feelings of guilt not diminishing in the slightest.

"Rest well, Miss Lin Yue. Just take a nap; Miss Granger's petrification can be treated once the mandrakes mature at the end of the school year."

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Principal Dumbledore softened his voice, sounding like a principal, yet also like a kind elder at home.

"Alright everyone, Lin Yue needs to rest now; please leave all of you."

Madam Pomfrey waved at the few people gathered around the bed, signaling them to leave the hospital wing.

It is strictly forbidden for anyone to disturb patients in the hospital wing; this is an ironclad rule that everyone must follow.

"Good night, sleep well."

Cho Chang, Marietta, and Penelope, the three senior sisters, each gave Lin Yue a goodnight kiss on her forehead. Lin Yue nodded at the three seniors and said to everyone, "Goodnight."

One by one, everyone left the vicinity of the hospital bed, and Madam Pomfrey pulled the curtain closed again. Lin Yue closed her eyes, listening to their footsteps. She heard them stop at a bed not far from hers, likely to check on Hermione. After a while, she heard them whispering to each other, followed by the sound of the medical wing door opening and then closing.

Principal Dumbledore and the senior sisters had left. The last footsteps passed by Lin Yue's bed and then disappeared deeper into the medical wing. Madam Pomfrey also returned to her office, and Lin Yue propped herself up to sit. Her mind was still occupied with the thought that it was because of her that Hermione had been petrified.

Curling her legs up, Lin Yue raised her hand to cover her head, closing her eyes as her whole body trembled uncontrollably.

In a distant memory, six-year-old Lin Yue was curled up in the same position, crying on the ground while her parents stood on either side, relentlessly hitting her with wooden sticks. "It's all because of you, because you're not a genius, not a good student, we still have to live in this cramped apartment."

"Living in such a cramped apartment, do you know how much face we lose?"

"Ugh... it hurts so much, Mom and Dad, please stop hitting me, I will study harder... ugh ah ah ah."

Young Lin Yue was overwhelmed with pain, her eyes showing obvious dark circles. She didn't understand, she didn't understand why, despite having learned a thing or two and ranking in the top third of her class, she still couldn't achieve the "good grades" that would satisfy her parents.

She also didn't understand why, even though they lived in a nearly 200-square-meter apartment, her parents still called it cramped. The pain from the past seemed to transcend time and space, coming back to Lin Yue. The accusations that once came from her parents' mouths now echoed in her mind.

It was all because of herself... all because of herself, Lin Yue thought, unable to help but bite down hard on her teeth.

Because she bit down too hard, fresh blood seeped from her gums.

With her right-hand trembling, Lin Yue slowly extended her hand to grasp the wand at the head of the bed, directing the tip of the wand at her own chest.

Curling her body, Lin Yue's voice was calm yet trembling,

" Crucio."

Every inch of her bones was being worn away, every bit of flesh was melting, her heart was being pierced, and her brain was being torn apart.

This time, the sensation of heart-piercing and bone-scraping was stronger than the one Voldemort had inflicted on Lin Yue before.

This curse, fueled by hatred, ultimately unleashed a power within Lin Yue that was stronger than when others used it against her.

" Crucio."

Before the pain could subside, Lin Yue recited the incantation again. Her throat was already hoarse, but her mind was surprisingly clear; the pain did not affect its ability to remain alert.

It was as if it knew its master needed to stay awake right now.

" Crucio."

Hermione wouldn't let herself punish herself anymore; she said that would only make everyone worry about her, and she would worry about herself even more.

" Crucio."

But Hermione was petrified now, still because of her own reasons.

" Crucio."

So, punishing herself... was probably the right thing to do.

After reciting the spell for the fifth time, Lin Yue's wand slipped from her hand and fell onto the hospital bed. Her curled-up body shook violently, even causing the bed to tremble.

Yet she still did not let out a single cry of pain, and her expression showed no change.

It was only when she used her twitching, numb right hand to pick up the wand that she softly said, "It hurts so much..."

Picking up the wand, Lin Yue struggled to move her body, stepping barefoot onto the ground. A sharp pain mixed with a soft, cotton-like sensation came from her feet.

She stumbled a step before stabilizing her body; the punishment she had just endured should have been enough.

But she understood that if she wanted to ensure the success of what was to come, she could only bear so much.

Shivering barefoot, she walked out from behind the curtain, her gaze fixed on another hospital bed concealed by a curtain.

Hermione...

Lin Yue withdrew her gaze, feeling guilty as she lowered her head and slowly made her way towards the entrance of the medical wing, step by step.

The night breeze blew into the medical wing, gently lifting the curtains around Hermione's bed.

Her petrified eyes were directly facing Lin Yue, who was struggling to walk towards the entrance of the medical wing.

Silently opening the door to the medical wing, Lin Yue, dressed in a hospital gown and barefoot, stepped outside.

To conserve her strength, Lin Yue even omitted the motion of waving her wand, using a silent levitation spell instead.

She slowly rose into the air, heading towards the girls' washroom on the second floor of Hogwarts.

Arriving at the entrance of the girls' washroom, the heavy wooden door was "cracked" open by Lin Yue's levitation spell.

Floating into the girls' washroom, the ghost that had been "stationed" there, Moaning Myrtle, emerged from the toilet.

"Hey! Why did you break the door?"

"Wait, are you wearing a hospital gown?"

Hearing Myrtle's words, Lin Yue looked up at her, opening her mouth to answer her question, but no sound came out.

Closing her mouth again, Lin Yue silently apologized to her in her heart, I'm sorry, even though I should politely answer your question, it seems I can't speak right now.

Two streams of bright red blood flowed from Lin Yue's nostrils, the damage from the five consecutive Cruciatus Curses to her body was evident.

Lin Yue's face remained expressionless, ignoring the blood dripping from her nose.

As her eyes blinked slightly, the entire girls' restroom emitted a faint sound of breaking.

Myrtle stared wide-eyed in shock, floating in front of Lin Yue.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to tear this place apart?! Are you crazy?"

Crack, crack... Bang!

Water gushed out from the restroom's pipes, and everything in the restroom was lifted by Lin Yue.

The sink in the center, the wooden partitions, and even the floor and walls were not spared.

Looking at the huge opening revealed after the sink was lifted, Lin Yue released the levitation spell, and the floating objects fell to the ground with a sound of shattering.

"Meilin, you really are crazy, but... you are really amazing."

Myrtle blinked at Lin Yue, unable to help but speak when she saw her controlling herself to float above the huge opening.

"Are you really going to go down there?"

Lin Yue turned her head to look at the myrtle, her eyes staring at it like an inanimate object.

The myrtle floated back a bit, "Alright, I hope you can still make it."

Lin Yue stiffly nodded, then suddenly dove downwards.

Using the levitation spell, Lin Yue easily passed through the long corridor and arrived deep underground at Hogwarts.

Looking at the countless small rodent bones below, Lin Yue quickly concluded that she was in the right place; the basilisk was right here.

A hint of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth, and the tremors in her body intensified.

She closed her eyes and quickened her floating speed, the sound of howling wind constantly ringing in her ears.

Her vacant eyes scanned the situation in the corridor, and when she saw a massive coiled object ahead, Lin Yue did not slow down.

Instead, she charged straight towards it; the object showed no signs of even the slightest breath.

It was a snake shed.

Without needing to think, Lin Yue made a quick judgment and rushed past the snake shed, finally stopping in front of a door intricately carved with several lifelike snakes.

Raising her right arm to hold her wand, it was as if the continuous pain throughout her body had no effect on her.

A purple beam of magical light shot out fiercely, and a powerful barrier spell directly dented the door inward.

The door had protective magic, and Lin Yue's brain quickly reached a conclusion; another purple magical beam shot out.

Boom!

With a loud crash, the door flew back into Slytherin’s chamber and then crashed heavily to the ground.

Lin Yue floated in and quickly scanned the entire secret chamber, conducting a detailed analysis of every corner.

The pools on both sides were too shallow to hide a basilisk, and the other areas were quite empty, with only the columns supporting the chamber.

Therefore, the only place where a basilisk could be concealed was the Slytherin statue at the other end of the chamber.

Building a mental model of the entire statue, Lin Yue finally raised her wand and pointed it at the mouth of the Slytherin statue.

This was the most likely outcome: the basilisk could enter and exit from here.