At the Granger Residence, quite a distance from Hogwarts, Hermione was also enjoying Christmas dinner with her parents.
Seeing the massive turkey her mother brought to the table, Hermione's eyes lit up; she truly loved the taste of turkey.
Having secured one of the turkey legs as she did every year, Hermione carefully sliced off a piece with her knife and fork and put it in her mouth, her eyes narrowing with happiness.
It was the same familiar taste; her mother's cooking was wonderful. She wondered if she could learn to cook like this someday... if she did, she could make it for her family and her loved one.
As she thought this, Lynn's figure uncontrollably appeared in Hermione's mind.
Why did she think of Lynn? As soon as the thought arose, Hermione answered it herself.
It was perfectly normal to want to prepare a Christmas dinner and invite a friend to eat.
Taking another bite of turkey with a smile, Hermione continued her train of thought while chewing.
Lynn... she wondered what she was doing right now. She was probably eating Christmas dinner too.
But maybe not... if she still only spent three and a half minutes eating... she would have finished by now.
At this thought, Hermione's smile slowly faded. Christmas dinner—if Lynn still ate like that—Hermione pursed her lips tightly.
She would truly feel distressed for her. Christmas dinner should be a meal to be savored... Seeing his daughter purse her lips as if something was on her mind,
Mr. Granger asked in confusion, "Hermione, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
"Hmm?" Hermione snapped back to reality and shook her head at her father. "I'm fine, just a little worried..."
"Worried?" Mr. Granger looked at Hermione, puzzled.
However, Mrs. Granger, who had just brought the remaining dishes out of the kitchen, saw Hermione's expression and more or less guessed what she was worried about. It was that girl named Lynn, wasn't it?
Though she didn't know exactly what Hermione was worried about concerning her, she said, "Alright, don't ask so much."
Mrs. Granger patted her husband's shoulder, signaling him to eat his own food and stop asking.
She then walked over to Hermione, leaned down to gently hug her shoulders, and whispered in her ear.
"Don't worry, Hermione. Today is Christmas, and Santa Claus ensures that everyone spends this day happily."
"Mom..." Hermione pouted. "You know that since I was eight, I stopped believing in Santa Claus."
"Pfft," Mrs. Granger rubbed her daughter's head with amusement. "Sometimes, believing in fairy tales is a beautiful thing."
Hermione lowered her head, thoughts flowing quietly through her mind. She hadn't believed in Santa Claus since she was eight.
But tonight, she was willing to believe... she was even willing to believe in Santa Claus every Christmas from now on.
She only hoped that Santa Claus could truly let Lynn spend this day happily—and with genuine happiness.
While the Christmas dinner at the Granger Residence had begun, the Christmas dinner at Hogwarts was still underway.
In the Great Hall, Professors and students chatted with one another while enjoying desserts and ice cream.
Lynn sat quietly in her seat, taking small bites of the vanilla ice cream in front of her.
For a rare moment, her mind was completely blank; she wasn't thinking about studying, nor was she recalling the contents of any book.
It wasn't until the feast ended and she returned to her Dormitory that Lynn's mind returned to its usual state.
Subconsciously reviewing her behavior over the past two days, Lynn's thoughts stopped on the fact that she had played in the snow with Harry and Ron for an entire afternoon.
She had wasted study time to play in the snow. Wasted study time needed to be made up, and at the same time, she should accept punishment for the act of wasting study time.
Without hesitation, Lynn raised her right hand to press against her left arm, yet she hesitated to act.
Her brain was constantly replaying the scenes from the Christmas feast and the taste of the Christmas gift Hermione had sent her, which she had experienced this morning.
Although there was still no emotional fluctuation in her heart, Lynn slowly lowered her hand.
She didn't want to punish herself tonight. This sentence appeared clearly in Lynn's mind.
Then she would punish herself tomorrow. Even if the punishment was delayed and the amount had to be doubled, she simply didn't want to punish herself today.
She didn't want the memory of punishing herself to be associated with the gift from Hermione and the Christmas feast, even if she didn't know why.
Lowering her right hand, Lynn stared blankly at her surroundings.
Originally, this was study time, but now that she wasn't studying... she didn't know what to do.
Sitting quietly on her bed, Lynn stared at the floor in a daze until her eyes grew sore. Only then did she look up at the clock in the Dormitory.
One o'clock in the morning. She had been sitting for a full two hours. Perhaps she could sleep.
Lynn told herself this, but... should she sleep?
"You don't need excessive sleep. One hour a day is enough. Sleeping more is a mistake!"
Her mother's voice echoed in Lynn's mind. She slowly lowered her head and, in the end, did not lie down on the bed.
She sat quietly until her designated rest time arrived, then she lay down and closed her eyes.
Without any transition, she fell directly into a deep sleep.
One hour later, Lynn abruptly opened her eyes and sat up in bed.
It was already a new day. Before getting out of bed to put on her shoes, Lynn raised her hand and pressed it against her left arm without further delay.
Playing in the snow for four hours meant four marks. Because she had delayed the punishment last night, the original four had now become eight. After eight strikes delivered with full force, Lynn's left arm was trembling slightly.
Her upper left arm was now covered in dark purple bruises, one handprint overlapping another, looking quite horrifying.
Struggling to raise her left arm to move it in circles, Lynn's expression remained flat, showing no sign of pain.