As Lin Yue put down the album in her hands, Cho Chang and Marietta exchanged a cautious glance and stepped forward carefully.

"Good morning, Lin Yue."

Cho Chang spoke with a hint of anxiety in her heart, filled with anticipation, hoping that when Lin Yue turned around, her tone and expression would be somewhat different from usual.

Unfortunately, reality was destined to disappoint her. When Lin Yue turned around, her face still wore the same indifferent expression as always.

Her greeting was as emotionless as they were familiar with, "Good morning, senior Cho Chang, senior Marietta."

"Good morning."

Marietta reached out and rubbed Lin Yue's little head, letting out a sigh.

"You look so good when you smile. It would be great if you could smile more."

"Yeah," Cho Chang nodded in agreement from the side, unable to suppress a sigh himself.

"Smile? I can't... Did I just smile?"

Lin Yue stared blankly at Cho Chang and Marietta, clearly remembering that she had looked at the photo album for a full two hours.

She had recorded every moment of Hermione's life that had been documented, clearly remembering each one.

But... she had no impression of her own reaction while looking at it.

A smile is the kind of expression Hermione showed in the album, the kind that everyone at Hogwarts often displays.

Would she have that kind of expression? Lin Yue's brain quickly worked to try to move that expression to her own face.

Just as she was halfway through, a sharp pain shot through her mind again, and waves of dizziness and confusion filled her head.

She couldn't imagine, or rather, she couldn't picture what that expression would look like on her face.

If she couldn't even imagine it, how could she possibly show that kind of expression?

Lin Yue shook her head at the two senior sisters, "I'm sorry, Senior Cho Chang, Senior Marietta, I've disappointed you. I can't make that kind of expression."

Taking a deep breath, she pressed her lips together and smiled. Cho Chang and Marietta reached out and hugged her.

"It's okay, one day you'll be able to smile freely."

"That day will come soon."

The two senior sisters held Lin Yue tightly, gently stroking her back.

Lin Yue's mind, which had been racing, gradually began to slow down.

After a while, Cho Chang and Marietta finally released her and stood up.

Cho Chang smiled and linked her arm with Lin Yue's, pulling her up. "Let's go, it's time for breakfast."

"Okay." Lin Yue nodded mechanically, complying with Cho Chang's pull as she got up from the bed.

Marietta immediately stepped forward, linking her other arm with Lin Yue's, and the three of them walked out of the Ravenclaw tower, heading straight for the Great Hall.

Upon entering the Great Hall, Lin Yue immediately spotted the Granger couple sitting at the Gryffindor long table.

She turned to look at the two senior sisters, and Cho Chang and Marietta simultaneously released her and nodded.

"Go ahead, we'll wait for you at the long table."

"Mm." Lin Yue nodded and walked towards the Gryffindor long table.

Marietta watched Lin Yue's back as she walked towards the Gryffindor long table, her eyes darting around before she suddenly hugged Cho Chang's arm.

The sudden warmth of the body pressed against her made Cho Chang stiffen for a moment, forcing herself to suppress the heat that was about to spread to her face.

Cho Chang turned her head to look at Marietta, trying to steady her tone.

"What are you doing?"

Marietta raised an eyebrow, "What am I doing? Is it not okay for me to hug my best friend?"

Cho Chang smiled gently and lightly twisted the right hand that Marietta was not hugging.

"Sure, go ahead and hug."

"Mm-hmm, that's more like it."

Marietta nodded in satisfaction and took Cho Chang's arm as they walked towards the Ravenclaw long table.

Cho Chang smiled warmly, allowing her to hold onto her. Well, she's so determined and happy to hug me like this.

I hope that in the future... you can hold onto me just as firmly.

When they reached Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Lin Yue lowered her head politely and spoke.

"Auntie, Uncle, good morning. Thank you for your gift; I really like it."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The Granger couple turned around, and Mrs. Granger smiled as she took her hand, inviting her to sit beside them.

Lin Yue glanced at the classmates next to her; after all, it was the Gryffindor long table, and if she sat down without permission... wouldn’t that be a bit impolite?

The Gryffindors beside her certainly recognized this "prominent figure" of the school, not to mention that she was clearly someone cherished by the Grangers.

Given these two points, there was no way anyone would stop her from sitting down.

Not only did they not stop her, but a whole bunch of Gryffindors squeezed together, making a large space for Lin Yue.

"Thank you, everyone."

After Lin Yue thanked them earnestly, she sat down next to the Granger couple.

"Good morning, Lin Yue," Mrs. Granger said kindly as she held Lin Yue's hand. "The gift you gave us was also very exquisite, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Lin Yue shook her head calmly. The gift she prepared for the Granger couple was different from others.

She clearly remembered that the Granger couple were both dentists, so it was obviously inappropriate to give them honey duke candies.

Another very important point... they were Hermione's parents, and a voice deep in her mind told her that she should give them something different.

So she gave Mrs. Granger a silk scarf and Mr. Granger a suit.

Neither was particularly expensive, but both were exquisite and practical.

Mr. Granger reached over his wife and handed a small box to Lin Yue.

"The gift we sent over this morning was on behalf of Hermione, and this is our personal gift to you. Open it and take a look."

Lin Yue blinked and took the gift box. "Thank you, Auntie, Uncle."

As she spoke, she opened the gift box, and inside was surprisingly an album.

Taking out the album, Lin Yue flipped it open, and the first page was a photo taken during her first dinner at the Granger's home.

In the picture, she and Hermione were both looking down at their dinner, and Hermione was leaning over from the side, seemingly reminding her to eat slowly.

But... when was this taken? Lin Yue had no memory of this moment.

She was quite focused while eating, so it was normal not to notice these things.

Flipping through the pages one by one, every photo recorded moment of her time at the Granger's with Hermione.

As she browsed through the album, Lin Yue's original expressionless face softened, and she unexpectedly smiled again.

This time, it wasn't just Cho Chang and Marietta who saw it.

The Ravenclaws, who had been watching her since she entered the hall, all noticed.

With a rustle... clatter... the sound of chairs moving echoed, and the students at the Ravenclaw table excitedly stood up, their eyes fixed on Lin Yue, who was smiling at the album in her hands.

Not going home for Christmas, and yet witnessing such a wonderful moment!

The Ravenclaws clenched their fists in excitement, silently cheering in place. For the first time, Lin Yue showed an expression other than her usual blank face in front of them.

And it was a smile! They would soon go back to write letters to others, and they would definitely envy them for being able to see this smile.

The professors at the teachers’ table were also startled by the sight of all the Ravenclaw students standing up.

When they followed their gaze and saw Lin Yue smiling at the album at the Gryffindor table, Professor Flitwick dropped his knife and fork, and Professor McGonagall clutched her collar, unable to contain her excitement.

"Merlin bless, finally... Merlin, this child's smile is truly beautiful."

"Without a doubt, a youthful and vibrant smile, how wonderful."

Principal Dumbledore chuckled as he stroked his beard. Based on his guess, the album should have been taken with Miss Granger.

What a wonderful pair of girls they are; they would make great companions, good enough to face the obstacles and temptations of life together.

Professor Snape snorted coldly but quickly interrupted when Lockhart seemed about to say something.

“Professor Lockhart, you should hurry and have your breakfast. I remember you wanted to use the Christmas holiday to prepare your lesson plans for the next semester.”

Lockhart's expression stiffened for a moment, and he awkwardly nodded, “Yes, yes, I’d better hurry; after all, time waits for no one.”

“The sooner you teach the children more knowledge, the better.” After saying this, he lowered his head to continue eating breakfast, secretly resenting that little wizard who had reported him to Principal Dumbledore for making them perform a "stage play" in class.

If it weren't for that, he wouldn't need to be supervised while preparing lesson plans. No matter what he taught, no one would care, but now he had to make lesson plans.

He didn’t even know those spells; how could he prepare lesson plans... he didn’t know how long he could keep this up.

Damn it, he came to Hogwarts for greater fame, not to expose himself.

Meanwhile, Lin Yue was still immersed in the album, her mind rapidly recalling every detail within it.

At that moment, as she was remembering the album, a thought suddenly popped into her mind that she absolutely could not have come up with on her own.

“I watched your past through the photos, I participated in your present by stepping into the photos, and for your future, I will find more ways to participate.”

Her mind suddenly went blank for a moment, and Lin Yue didn’t understand why she had suddenly thought of such a sentence.

However, she remembered that it was breakfast time, and she couldn’t delay too long, affecting the Granger couple's breakfast.

Closing the album, Lin Yue stood up and nodded at Mr. and Mrs. Granger, “Thank you, Auntie, thank you, Uncle. I really like the gift.”

Seeing Lin Yue return to her expressionless face, Mrs. Granger lovingly patted the back of her hand.

“You're welcome, go have your breakfast.”

“Mm.”

Lin Yue nodded and quickly walked back to the Ravenclaw long table, lowering her head and eating breakfast at a leisurely pace.

The Ravenclaws at the Ravenclaw long table exchanged glances but ultimately decided not to disturb Lin Yue while she was eating. They carefully suppressed their excitement at seeing Lin Yue smile.

After breakfast, Lin Yue parted ways with Cho Chang and Marietta and made her way to the hospital wing alone. The Granger couple was still having breakfast in the Great Hall, so at that moment, the hospital wing was occupied only by her and Hermione.

Even Madam Pomfrey found an excuse to leave after seeing Lin Yue come in. After all, there were no other students in the hospital wing, just a petrified Hermione, so her presence wasn't really needed.

Sitting by Hermione's bedside, Lin Yue took out the Christmas gift she had prepared for Hermione from the inside of her robe and placed it next to Hermione's pillow.

"Christmas gift, for Hermione," Lin Yue said in a mechanical voice, unsure if the petrified Hermione could hear her.

The books she had read did not elaborate on whether those petrified by the basilisk retained any consciousness. But even if Hermione couldn't hear her... there was still a voice deep in her mind urging her to speak.

"It's a quill made from the feathers of my Animagus. I've tried it; it's very useful."

Lin Yue fell silent for a moment, reaching out to tentatively grasp Hermione's somewhat cold hand, which had turned to stone. She didn't know why she was doing this, but she did it anyway, just as she couldn't stop herself from saying the words that followed.

"Aunt and Uncle give me your childhood photo album. It's very beautiful."

"They also sent me a new album from last summer, representing themselves. It's very... you look very good."

Lin Yue started to say something but changed her words halfway, excluding herself from the list of those who looked good.

"I... I looked at the photos and participated in your past. I entered the photos and participated in your present. I... I..."

The words that had formed in her mind could only come out halfway, the last part stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken.

Withdrawing her hand, Lin Yue lowered her head and sat in the chair, her face still expressionless, but her slightly trembling hand revealed her unusual emotional turmoil.

"I... I will wait for you to wake up."

It felt like that sentence was forced out of her. After saying it, Lin Yue suddenly realized that her back was already soaked with sweat.

Standing up, her legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. After glancing at Hermione a couple of times, Lin Yue turned and walked toward the door of the infirmary.

With each step she took, the sweat on her body gradually faded, and her leaden legs slowly felt lighter.

Her mind felt as if a huge stone had been lifted, and as she walked out of the infirmary, Lin Yue quickened her pace toward the outside of Hogwarts Castle.

Today was Christmas, and she had promised senior students Cho Chang and Marietta that she wouldn't read, wouldn't study, and wouldn't even think about it.

So, she decided to step outside the castle and sit for a while.

Waving her wand to clear the snow on the ground, Lin Yue sat down and looked at the frozen Black Lake not far away.

Before long, a figure with long golden hair floated down to sit beside Lin Yue.

Lin Yue turned her head and politely greeted her, "Luna, good morning."

"Good morning, Senior Lin Yue. It's a beautiful piece of black gemstone, isn't it?"

Luna spoke with a voice as ethereal as herself, pointing her right hand towards the direction of the Black Lake.

"Yes, very beautiful." Lin Yue turned back to look at the Black Lake not far away, nodding her head with a calm expression.