Right after Herbology Class, Lynn, who had just earned ten points from Professor Sprout, received another twenty points from Madam Hooch.
The sharp-eyed lady stood before Lynn, doing her best to show the gentlest expression possible.
"I really must thank you, child. You prevented Neville Longbottom from getting hurt. For your kindness and excellent Levitation Charm, I think you deserve twenty points."
Lynn nodded with a placid expression, politely saying, "Thank you, Madam Hooch."
"You deserve it," Madam Hooch said with a smile, ruffling Lynn's hair. "Also, Mr. Longbottom wants to thank you."
"Where is he?" Lynn asked Madam Hooch in a flat, emotionless tone.
"What?" Madam Hooch was taken aback.
Lynn adjusted her backpack on her shoulder. "He wants to thank me. I'll go find him."
Madam Hooch paused, then realized, "Mr. Longbottom was a bit startled and is now in the Hospital Wing."
"Alright, thank you, Madam Hooch." Lynn nodded and quickly walked away from the greenhouse entrance.
The Little Eagles and Little Badgers, who had just finished class and were leaving the greenhouse, watched Lynn's retreating figure with awe.
Another twenty points... It had only been less than a week since school started, and Lynn had already put Ravenclaw far ahead with her point-earning ability. Terrifying, simply terrifying.
Pushing open the Hospital Wing doors, Lynn went straight to Neville's bed with a clear purpose.
"Longbottom," Lynn said mechanically, lowering her head.
"Lynn!" Neville quickly sat up from his bed when he saw Lynn.
Smiling apologetically, Neville raised a hand to scratch his head.
"Thank you for saving me today... I'm so clumsy, I caused you trouble."
"You're welcome," Lynn said in a flat tone.
Neville nervously lowered his head, and Lynn continued in her calm voice.
"You've thanked me. I'm leaving now."
With that, Lynn walked quickly out of the Hospital Wing without looking back, leaving Neville staring blankly at her retreating figure.
Hermione, determined to follow Lynn and see how she studied in her free time, had been eagerly watching the Ravenclaw Table after class when she entered the Great Hall.
However, the person she was looking for never appeared. What was going on?
Hermione couldn't help but frown. Lynn was usually punctual for meals.
Before she could think more, she heard about Harry and Malfoy's midnight duel.
Taking a deep breath, she went forward to try to dissuade Harry from going to the duel, but was, without a doubt, unanimously rebuffed by Harry and Ron.
A huffy Hermione sat back down, angrily stuffing a mouthful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, then saw Lynn finally enter the Great Hall and sit at the Ravenclaw Table.
As soon as Lynn sat down, she began to eat rapidly. Hermione, watching her eat, couldn't help but speed up her own pace.
The result was that she choked.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Hermione picked up the pumpkin juice cup beside her and took a big gulp, finally catching her breath.
Before she could eat a few more bites, Lynn had already finished her dinner and stood up to leave the Great Hall.
Hermione didn't even bother to finish her dinner, quickly grabbing her backpack and chasing after her.
Following Lynn all the way to the Library, she watched Lynn place her backpack on a seat, take out a few books to return to Madam Pince, and then pull out a few more books from the first bookshelf to read at her seat.
Hermione nervously gripped her backpack straps, taking two breaths. "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. Just go say hello to her."
After steeling herself, Hermione walked over to Lynn.
"Lynn?"
Lynn, who was reading, heard someone call her name and broke out of her study state, looking up at Hermione with a placid expression.
"Granger, is something wrong?"
"You remembered my name!" Hermione smiled happily.
"Mm." Lynn nodded calmly.
"Um... you're really good at studying, so I was wondering, can I study with you?"
"And... I'm sorry I followed you here. Please don't be angry."
Lynn stared at Hermione, and just as Hermione's heart gradually grew anxious, thinking she might be angry.
She spoke, "I'm not angry. If you want to study with me, then study together."
After speaking, she lowered her head to read again. Hermione sighed in relief, placed her backpack aside, took out her homework, and sat beside Lynn to write.
Although Lynn's tone and inflection never varied, and her face always wore a calm, expressionless look, making it easy for people to think she was impolite and cold to others.
Hermione, however, believed that she was actually very gentle at heart... Sitting next to her to study, Hermione felt an inexplicable sense of peace.
It was as if at this moment, the whole world was serene, and even the speed at which she did her homework increased a little.
After finishing her homework, Hermione looked at Lynn, who was still engrossed in her book.
She hesitated for a moment but couldn't suppress her desire to speak.
"Lynn... have you finished all your homework?"
Lynn turned her head to look at Hermione. "Finished."
"So fast!" Hermione exclaimed. Although first-year Hogwarts students didn't have many classes.
The amount of homework the Professors assigned was actually quite substantial and rather difficult for first-years.
So even Hermione herself took some time to do it, but Lynn had already finished all of this week's homework?
She's too strong... Hermione swallowed.
Looking at Lynn's calm face, Hermione's thoughts slowly drifted from studying, and she suddenly had an urge to confide in Lynn.
After an internal struggle, Hermione still couldn't overcome herself.
"Harry and Malfoy just agreed to a duel," Hermione said, biting her lower lip. "I told him not to go, but he and Ron told me to mind my own business."
"But this clearly violates school rules! I wasn't wrong to stop them!"
Lynn looked at Hermione, who had suddenly become agitated. Although she didn't understand the reason for her behavior, Lynn still spoke mechanically.
"Violating rules is wrong and requires punishment."
"Exactly!" Hermione nodded vigorously. "If they get caught by a Professor, they'll definitely lose points!"
"No..." Hermione wrung her hands together. "I must stop them tonight!"
"Time? Location?" Lynn asked Hermione in a flat tone.
"Huh?" Hermione looked at Lynn in confusion.
"The time and location of the duel," Lynn repeated her words more explicitly.
"Mid, midnight, the Trophy Room," Hermione said, somewhat bewildered.
Lynn nodded, stood up, put on her backpack, and prepared to leave the Library. "Understood."
"Are you leaving?" Hermione quickly packed her backpack and chased after her.
Lynn turned back to look at Hermione, raising her hand to point at the clock on the Library wall. "It's almost curfew."
Hermione followed her finger. Had it really gotten so close to curfew? Immersed in her homework, Hermione hadn't noticed the passage of time.
Leaving the Library, Lynn and Hermione walked together for a while, neither speaking a word.
It was a dull atmosphere, yet Hermione felt as if she was enjoying the silence.
She cautiously turned her head to look at Lynn, whose face remained as placid as still water, without a ripple of emotion.
From their first meeting, Lynn had been like this: no inflection, no expression, just like... emotionless.
Hermione couldn't help but feel more curious about Lynn.
After walking together for a while, Lynn and Hermione finally parted ways, one heading towards the Ravenclaw Common Room, the other towards the Gryffindor Common Room.
After parting with Hermione, Lynn's mind once again conjured Hermione's face.
Her absolutely meticulous and rational brain couldn't analyze why she had just asked Hermione about the location of Harry and Malfoy's duel.
Nor could she analyze why she had the idea of violating Hogwarts school rules by going to see it at midnight.
Rules first, learning first—these were thoughts deeply ingrained in Lynn's mind.
But now, she was going to break the rules... Lynn walked into the Ravenclaw Common Room, went upstairs without glancing around, opened the door, and entered her Dormitory.
Maranhao and Marietta Edgecombe hadn't returned to the Dormitory yet. She was going to break the rules—this thought replayed repeatedly in Lynn's mind.
Lynn raised her right hand and tightly squeezed her left upper arm, applying continuous pressure.
There was no trace of pain on her face. Fifteen seconds later, Lynn released her hand. If someone were to pull up Lynn's sleeve now, they would find that.
Her left upper arm already bore a very obvious blue-purple, even black, handprint... She had already suffered the punishment for breaking the rules, so she could now go to the Trophy Room at midnight. Lynn completed this logical self-consistency in her mind.
Sitting at her desk, she took out a textbook with her right hand. Just as Lynn was about to raise her left arm to place it on the desk, a piercing pain shot through it.
Still no expression of pain on her face, but her left arm, which had been slightly raised, suddenly dropped.
Lynn turned her head, forcibly straightened her left arm, and rotated it. After a few rotations, although her left arm still hurt, it could finally be lifted normally.
When Maranhao and Marietta Edgecombe returned, they predictably saw Lynn studying. They shrugged at each other, and the two girls successively went to shower, then got into bed to read, planning to sleep soon.
Tomorrow was Saturday, so if they went to bed early tonight, they could sleep in tomorrow morning~
As midnight approached, Lynn closed her book, quietly walked to the Dormitory door, opened it, and stepped out of the Dormitory.
From the Ravenclaw Dormitory to the Trophy Room, Lynn didn't encounter any patrolling Professors or Filch along the way. The stairs also moved autonomously according to her needs as usual.
As soon as she reached the entrance of the Trophy Room, she heard voices inside.
"Sly Slytherin! Malfoy never intended to come!" Ron said indignantly.
"This was a trap he set for you, to get you caught!" Hermione's voice also came out.
Lynn's peripheral vision caught two illuminated shadows at the corner to her left.
An adult's shadow, and a cat's shadow: Filch and Madam Norris.
Lynn stepped into the Trophy Room, and instantly, everyone present's gaze fell upon her.
Ignoring Harry, Ron, and Neville's gazes, Lynn simply stared at Hermione.
"Filch is here."
"Damn Malfoy!" Harry and Ron cursed softly, turning to run in unison.
Harry didn't forget to pull Neville along, and Hermione tightly followed them, incidentally pulling Lynn, who was still frozen in place.
However, the place she grabbed was coincidentally Lynn's left upper arm. With an unchanging expression, Lynn let out a soft grunt and jogged to catch up with Hermione.
After turning a corner, the five finally stopped, panting heavily on the spot.
"We should... have shaken off Filch," Harry whispered, gasping for breath.
"Mm, mm..." Ron nodded vigorously, also exhausted.
Just as the five were about to leave and return to their Dormitories, Neville accidentally knocked over a suit of armor nearby.
"I-I'm sorry..." Neville apologized to the other four, his face pale.
It was too late, however. The sound of the armor falling to the ground was deafening, particularly noticeable in the quiet of Hogwarts at midnight, making it seem as if it could wake up the entire castle.
Guided by that sound, Filch quickly caught up again.
The five had to continue running. While being pulled by Hermione, Lynn looked back at Filch, rapidly calculating speed and distance in her mind.
Filch was, after all, an adult, and faster than them. If they continued like this, they would surely be caught.
Her gaze swept over the fallen armor and the identical suit of armor on the opposite wall. Lynn quickly pulled out her wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
It was still the familiar Levitation Charm. Hermione, hearing the incantation, couldn't help but look back. She then saw the armor, which had fallen to the ground and scattered everywhere, float up, and even reassemble with the help of the Levitation Charm, then raise its two steel arms and charge towards Filch.
She then saw the armor, which had fallen to the ground and scattered everywhere, float up, and even reassemble with the help of the Levitation Charm, then raise its two steel arms and charge towards Filch.
The armor on the other side of the wall also raised its steel arms and charged straight at Filch.
Filch, who was running at full speed, trying to catch the students out after curfew, stared wide-eyed at the two sets of steel armor charging straight at him. He stood frozen in place, not daring to move.
As Lynn quickly ran back, she lightly waved her wand in her right hand to the right, and the two sets of steel armor simultaneously raised their hands and pressed against Filch's chest, pinning him against the right wall.
Filch, trapped by the two suits of steel armor, could only futilely turn his head, suppressing the panic and fear in his heart, and watched with unwilling eyes as the figures rushed around the corner. Just a little more, just a little more and he would have caught those students out after curfew!