Walking down the stairs of Hogwarts, Lin Yue quickly arrived at the corridor leading to the entrance of the castle.

Looking up with a neutral expression at the castle doors in front of her, Lin Yue quietly waited for them to open.

At twelve noon, the castle doors opened on time, and Lin Yue took two steps forward.

In front of her appeared Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who had come to Hogwarts accompanied by Professor Dumbledore.

The couple seemed relatively stable in their emotions, but the anxiety in their eyes and the worry reflected in their subtle expressions did not escape Lin Yue's notice.

Aunt and Uncle were worried, worried about Hermione, who had been petrified.

Lin Yue reached this conclusion without even thinking. It was her own lack of skill that led to the failure to completely eliminate the basilisk, which resulted in Hermione being petrified by it. Although Professor McGonagall and others had previously advised Lin Yue, telling her it wasn't her fault, how could Lin Yue, who had been taught since childhood to immediately reflect on her own reasons when problems arose and to take responsibility for her mistakes, be so easily swayed? Her mind was still telling her, "This is your fault, this is your fault. You cannot escape; you cannot escape your mistakes."

The doors of Hogwarts Castle slowly opened, and the expressions of the Granger couple did not appear any more relaxed; instead, their subtle expressions were magnified into clear emotions. Worry was written all over their faces. As Lin Yue observed their suddenly changed expressions, her mind raced, and in the next moment, she reached a conclusion. To ensure safety, Hogwarts Castle appeared completely different in the eyes of Muggles. To them, Hogwarts Castle was a dangerous ruin marked with "Danger, Do Not Enter."

So, the sudden magnification of Aunt and Uncle's subtle expressions must have been due to seeing Hogwarts as a ruin and worrying about Hermione. However, in the next moment, her thoughts were instantly shattered; the Granger couple was not just worried about Hermione.

"Oh my God," Mr. Granger snapped back to reality and rushed towards Lin Yue, "Lin Yue, don't stand there, it's dangerous."

Mrs. Granger also raised her hand to cover her mouth, turning her head to look at Professor Dumbledore with a terrified expression.

"Professor Dumbledore, aren't we supposed to be going to Hogwarts? Why is this place a ruin, and why is Lin Yue still in the ruins?"

Upon hearing this, Professor Dumbledore was momentarily taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger, I overlooked that."

Forgive him, an old man over a hundred years old; since Hogwarts was established, this was the first time a Muggle student's parents had come to Hogwarts.

So, he hadn't thought ahead that, in the eyes of Muggles, Hogwarts would appear as a ruin.

After all, not everyone is like Lin Yue, who can remember every detail of every book and automatically recall it when needed.

Principal Dumbledore waved his hand, and the Hogwarts in front of the Granger couple instantly transformed.

From a dilapidated and dangerous building, it turned into a magnificent castle.

“Oh…”

Mr. Granger stopped in his tracks, awkwardly looking at Lin Yue, who was walking out of the castle towards them.

“I forgot, this is a magical academy,” Mr. Granger said, running his hand through his hair and then smiling at Lin Yue, “But I’m glad you’re okay.”

Lin Yue blinked, feeling a strange warmth in her chest. After Principal Dumbledore and Mrs. Granger also approached, she politely nodded to the three adults.

“Principal Dumbledore, Auntie, Uncle, good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon,” the three adults responded with smiles.

Principal Dumbledore turned to the Granger couple and said, "Please forgive me; my memory is indeed getting worse as I grow older. Hogwarts presents itself as a ruin in front of Muggles to protect its existence here. I should have remembered to inform you in advance, and I apologize for that."

The Granger couple quickly waved their hands, smiling to indicate that it was no problem.

Lin Yue waited until the conversation between Principal Dumbledore and the Granger couple ended before deeply bowing to them. "I'm sorry, Auntie, Uncle. It was my failure to completely eliminate the threat of the Basilisk that led to Hermione being petrified. This is all my fault."

The Granger couple stared at Lin Yue, who suddenly apologized, in shock for two seconds. Then Mrs. Granger quickly reacted and stepped forward to help her up. "Silly child, what are you saying? You don't need to apologize."

"That's right, we should be thanking you," Mr. Granger also stepped forward, squatting down to meet Lin Yue's gaze. "Just like we told Professor McGonagall before, if you hadn't pointed out that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a Basilisk, Hermione would never have gone to use the mirror to look around the corner."

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"She might not have even had the chance to be petrified at all."

"But based on the situation that day, if it weren't for worrying about me, Hermione wouldn't have left the Gryffindor common room."

Lin Yue's tone was flat, and as soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Granger gently hugged her, stroking her back.

"You're such a good child; it's definitely not your fault. Isn't it normal to worry about your friends? Hermione should be the one coming out to look for you."

"As long as you have the right sense of right and wrong, you won't feel like this is your fault."

Mrs. Granger released Lin Yue, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and following her husband as they walked into Hogwarts with Professor Dumbledore.

"And we also heard that you went to face the Basilisk alone after Hermione was petrified, a giant snake that could kill with just a glance. How could you dare to do that, my child..."

Mrs. Granger's voice trembled as she spoke; what a wonderful child she was.

She couldn't even imagine what it would have been like if something had gone wrong for Lin Yue when facing the Basilisk.

"Hermione was petrified... by the Basilisk..."

Lin Yue looked straight ahead and spoke in a flat, mechanical tone. Mrs. Granger's eyes flashed sharply, and the hand she had around Lin Yue's shoulder tightened. "Meeting you is truly Hermione's greatest luck."

Lin Yue's brain was quickly processing, but she couldn't figure out why meeting her would be considered Hermione's luck. After all, just like this time, if it weren't for her, Hermione wouldn't have been petrified since she wouldn't have left the Gryffindor common room. However, since Mrs. Granger said so, she could only respond politely. "Thank you, Auntie."

Following Professor Dumbledore to the hospital wing, Mrs. Granger looked down at Lin Yue and reached out to pinch her cheek. "We've prepared two Christmas gifts for you, one from us and the other on behalf of Hermione. You'll be able to receive them tomorrow."

"Thank you, Auntie, Uncle."

Lin Yue allowed Mrs. Granger to pinch her face, responding with a calm tone despite the situation.

When they reached Hermione's hospital bed, the Granger couple gathered around.

Seeing their daughter petrified before their eyes, Mrs. Granger could no longer hold back her tears.

"Oh my God..."

Mrs. Granger reached out to touch Hermione's hand that was holding the mirror, but instead of the warmth she was used to, she felt the coldness of stone.

"Hermione..." Mrs. Granger lowered her head, gently resting her forehead on her daughter's icy hand, tears slowly dripping down and "shattering" on Hermione's petrified abdomen.

Mr. Granger's eyes also turned red; he tried to grasp a strand of Hermione's hair.

"My dear... when have you ever been as gloomy as you are now? You've always been so cheerful."

Lin Yue lowered her gaze, realizing that, out of politeness, she should leave now.

So, she quietly left the infirmary with Professor Dumbledore.

As they stepped out and gently closed the door, Professor Dumbledore stroked his beard and looked at Lin Yue.

"Perhaps you can accept now that this is not your fault, Miss Lin Yue?"

Lin Yue stiffly raised her head to look at Professor Dumbledore, her eyes, as still as the depths of a pond, gazing at him without any reaction.

"Well..." Professor Dumbledore smiled helplessly, "It seems we'll have to wait for Miss Granger to wake up and speak to you herself."

"You'll be waiting here for them too, right?"

Professor Dumbledore tilted his head to look at Lin Yue, who expressionlessly nodded.

"Yes."

"Then why don't we sit for a while? I think the Grangers will have quite a bit to say to their daughter."

Professor Dumbledore pulled out his wand and waved it, and two chairs that looked very comfortable appeared out of thin air in front of them.

As he sat down, Professor Dumbledore noticed that Lin Yue had not taken a seat. The light on his glasses flickered as he was about to ask her why she wasn't sitting down.

Suddenly, he saw Lin Yue's body transform right before his eyes, turning into a dinosaur that looked strong and sleek.

Lin Yue slightly tilted her head and picked through the feathers in her right front paw. She selected the most beautiful one, which was also the perfect size for making a quill pen. Lin Yue bit down on it and pulled it out with force.

Principal Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at this scene and only spoke when Lin Yue transformed back into her human form, standing still with the feather in her hand.

"Miss Lin Yue, what are you doing?"

Lin Yue turned around and tucked the feather away. "I'm making a Christmas gift for Hermione, a quill pen."

As soon as she heard the Granger couple mention that they had prepared two Christmas gifts for her, she instinctively began to think about what kind of Christmas gift to prepare for Hermione.

For everyone else, including the professors and the Granger couple, she had already ordered their Christmas gifts through the owl post. After all, thanks to the world's consciousness, she wasn't short on money, and under such circumstances, preparing gifts for everyone was quite easy.

The Honey Duke's Christmas gift package was very suitable, enough candy to last half a year, which would definitely show her thoughtfulness.

However, when it came to Hermione's gift, Lin Yue instinctively saved it for last. She had a vague feeling that Hermione's gift should be different from the others, just like last year; she couldn't give her the same thing as everyone else.

From that moment on, her mind had automatically set aside part of her thoughts to consider what gift to give Hermione. It wasn't until just now that she concluded to give Hermione a quill pen made from her own Animagus feather.

She just wondered if Hermione would be satisfied with this gift.

After listening to Lin Yue's explanation, Professor Dumbledore nodded to himself, even though he had not regained his emotions. Lin Yue's seriousness and dedication towards Hermione were instinctive and impeccable.

Once he regains his emotions... Professor Dumbledore shook his head with a smile, thinking that it would probably be the kind of sweet and passionate love typical of young people.

When the Granger couple walked out of the hospital wing, it was already half past twelve. They had spent thirty minutes with their daughter.

Seeing them come out, Lin Yue quickly stood up, and Professor Dumbledore waved his wand to make two chairs disappear.

"We can go to the Great Hall now; lunch at Hogwarts is not over yet."

"Okay, thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Mrs. Granger said with red-rimmed eyes and a smile, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Parents watching their child, no matter how long, is never considered waiting too long."

Professor Dumbledore shook his head while looking seriously at the Granger couple.

"And if we are talking about apologies, I should be the one to apologize here."

"As the headmaster of Hogwarts, I failed to ensure the safety of the students, and that is my mistake."

"I owe you and Miss Granger an apology, and of course," Professor Dumbledore turned to look at Lin Yue, "I also need to apologize to Miss Lin Yue."

Lin Yue shook her head and said earnestly, "No one can ensure that everything is under control and that nothing will go wrong. It's not your fault, Professor Dumbledore."

"That's true, Professor Dumbledore, you don't need to apologize," the Granger couple also waved their hands, acknowledging that accidents could happen at any time.

Although they were heartbroken for their daughter, they were not unreasonable parents. Anyone would feel pain when an accident happens to their child, but Hogwarts, as a school, had done what it was supposed to do.

Immediately after Hermione was petrified, Professor McGonagall arrived at their home with a thick letter detailing the incident. She explained the situation to them in detail and apologized, without a hint of concealment. She assured them that Hogwarts would definitely treat Hermione and that she would return home healthy and lively during the summer vacation.

Furthermore, she and Professor Dumbledore fought for their right to visit Hermione at Hogwarts with the Ministry of Magic and the Wizengamot. This allowed them to learn the truth of the situation and even have the opportunity to visit their daughter at Hogwarts, rather than staying at home completely in the dark.

Given that Hogwarts and Professor Dumbledore had gone to such lengths, how could they feel comfortable accepting another apology? Ultimately, this incident was not the school's fault; all the blame lay with the dark wizard who deceived an eleven-year-old girl and continued to commit evil acts, as well as the basilisk that truly harmed Hermione.

"Thank you for your understanding, but the fact is that I, this old bone, should still be more vigilant," Dumbledore said.

Principal Dumbledore smiled slightly, his eyes glinting, "Alright, let's hurry to the Great Hall. The food at Hogwarts is quite abundant and should satisfy you."

The four of them walked through the corridors into the Great Hall, where the floating candles and the ceiling that resembled the outside sky made Mr. and Mrs. Granger unable to help but marvel.

At the same time, many young wizards in the hall also turned their attention to these two adults who were clearly not wearing wizard robes.