Years of absolute rationality clashed with Lynn's suddenly rising impulsive emotions.
On one hand, Lynn wanted to reach for the wand in her side robe pocket; on the other, her reason told her she shouldn't.
Doing so would violate Ministry of Magic regulations and could bring trouble to herself, or even to Hermione.
Reason and impulse were at odds, neither giving ground, and a thin layer of sweat broke out on Lynn's forehead.
Fortunately, Hermione quickly noticed something was wrong. Thinking Lynn was uncomfortable from staying in Gringotts too long, she took Lynn's hand and led her out.
"Feeling better?" Stepping out of Gringotts and breathing the fresh air, Hermione took a handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wiped the sweat from Lynn's forehead.
With her attention diverted, the conflict between reason and impulse in Lynn's mind gradually subsided, and the struggle ceased.
The sweat stopped flowing, and Lynn nodded with a faint expression. "Much better."
"That's good," Hermione smiled with relief. "Staying in Gringotts is indeed uncomfortable. Those Goblins..."
Hermione shook her head as she spoke. Those Goblins looked down on Wizards, or rather, on humans, from the bottom of their hearts.
Only those Pure-blood families who could bring them wealth were treated with any regard.
However, this regard was only superficial. As the books said, the Goblin race was incredibly greedy.
Having read that book, both Lynn and Hermione knew this well, though Lynn, lacking emotions, didn't think as much as Hermione.
She only knew that those Goblins had just shown contempt toward Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
This point was deeply etched into the memories of her mind.
Lynn and Hermione stood together at the entrance of Gringotts waiting for the others. Before long, Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came out with a group of children.
The four adults checked the time and suggested everyone go off on their own for a while, then meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour and a half to buy books. This way, they could go to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink and a chat.
The children naturally agreed, and Lynn nodded expressionlessly in cooperation.
After announcing the arrangements, Mrs. Weasley narrowed her eyes and gave a warning look to her twins.
"Fred, George, no going to Knockturn Alley."
"Oh, Mum..." Fred wailed with a bitter face.
"When will you ever forget to say that?" George also raised a hand to cover his face in a pained expression.
"When you two learn to behave." Mrs. Weasley's nostrils flared slightly. After a few more instructions, she and Mr. Weasley left with Mr. and Mrs. Granger, with their youngest child, Ginny, following them.
Before leaving, Ginny specifically stole a few more glances at Lynn, seemingly curious about this expressionless and quiet older girl.
Once the parents left, the children split up. Percy went to browse Diagon Alley on his own, and Fred and George left together, leaving only the seven of them, including Lynn.
The seven first went to the Ice cream parlor and each ordered an ice cream, using the money Mrs. Granger had given them for a treat.
Licking their ice creams, the seven children wandered through Diagon Alley.
To the others, this feeling of wandering through the streets wasn't particularly strange or unfamiliar.
For the four girls—Hermione, Maranhao, Marietta, and Penelope—it went without saying. Whether living in the Wizarding World or the Muggle World, most girls have a penchant for shopping.
So they spent quite a bit of their free time wandering the streets.
Especially for the three Young Wizards raised in the magical world, their shopping destination was Diagon Alley.
As for Ron, because he had two "unsettled" twin brothers, he was often dragged out by them, and most of the time...
...it was to Diagon Alley to buy prank products, so he was more than familiar with wandering around here.
Even Harry, who lived a rather miserable life, often went out to "pave the streets" because he and the Dursley family couldn't stand the sight of each other.
So he also frequently went out to wander around everywhere.
Only Lynn felt unfamiliar with the situation. Or rather, her first thought was that walking around aimlessly like this would waste a lot of study time.
Then she suddenly realized they hadn't bought the books yet. She had promised Hermione she wouldn't think about studying until the books were bought.
Her train of thought shifted, and Lynn subconsciously began to review her memories for the last time she had "wandered around" so aimlessly.
It seemed to be that one time in her childhood memories. Back then, because she was the only child in the family, nothing could be allowed to happen to her.
Her mother had taken her to the mall because she was too young to be left home alone.
And then there was the incident where she was caught secretly watching cartoons.
She remembered her mother taking her around for nearly a whole day. She had been so tired she wanted her mother to carry her, but her mother hadn't.
By the time they finally got home, her young feet were swollen from walking.
I was so fragile back then, Lynn thought without any emotional ripple, criticizing her past self for causing trouble for her mother.
At the same time, she was certain that walking for an hour and a half with Hermione and the others would be no problem at all.
Walking aimlessly through Diagon Alley, all sorts of strange and wonderful goods caught the eye.
Lynn's gaze constantly drifted over various products. Almost every time she saw one, detailed information about it would automatically pop up in her brain.
What it was, where it came from, how to obtain it, and its estimated price.
After walking for an hour and a half, Lynn had "analyzed" almost every product in Diagon Alley.
Even while not in a study state, she had reviewed a portion of the books she had read.
After all, associating things with those products easily involved knowledge from books during the process.
So until they reached Flourish and Blotts, Lynn's brain had been working without a single moment's rest.
Arriving at the entrance of Flourish and Blotts and seeing the long queue outside, everyone was a bit surprised and confused.
"We're here quite early. In previous years, Flourish and Blotts could never be this crowded at this time. What's going on this year?" Marietta looked at the long queue outside the bookstore in confusion.
It wasn't even the peak season for buying books before school starts, so why were there so many people?
Penelope, who was taller and also wondered why there were so many people, stood on her tiptoes to peek into Flourish and Blotts, and her face immediately fell.
She stood firmly on the ground again, her mouth turned down in a clearly unhappy expression.
"Merlin's beard, that Lockhart is having a Book signing."
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