Senior Cho Chang took a deep breath, calming her surprised heart. She stood up, walked over to sit on the edge of Amanda's bed, and reached out to gently rub Amanda's head.
"Don't always talk about studying," Senior Cho Chang's tone was incredibly gentle. "Don't you want to go out and have fun with your family during the summer break? It's good to go out and relax."
Amanda turned her head, her eyes like deep pools, dark and bottomless, unchanging for ten thousand years. "My parents are not in this world."
She spoke the absolute truth without any inflection in her voice, yet both Senior Cho Chang and Marietta were stunned for a second.
"Sorry, I didn't know... I didn't mean to make you sad," Senior Cho Chang said, a bit flustered.
Amanda shook her head expressionlessly. "It's alright. I am not sad. I cannot feel such things."
Senior Cho Chang pursed her lips, looking at Amanda with concern. "Then for the holidays... are you going to your relatives' house?"
After thinking quickly for a moment, Amanda shook her head. "No, I stay in a hotel."
"Staying in a hotel?! At the Leaky Cauldron?" Marietta also walked over, sitting on Amanda's other side and looking at her with concern.
"The Leaky Cauldron, where is that?" Amanda asked Marietta without any emotion.
"Didn't you notice it when you went to Diagon Alley before?" Marietta was stunned for a moment, but then quickly convinced herself.
"Then again, you don't care much about anything other than studying. The Leaky Cauldron is the name of the pub at the entrance to Diagon Alley. It's considered the most famous pub in the British Wizarding World, and they offer rental rooms on the second floor."
Amanda nodded. Just as she was about to ask where Diagon Alley was, it became twelve o'clock. Realizing it was time to sleep, Amanda closed her mouth and silently curled up on the bed.
Senior Cho Chang and Marietta looked at each other with relief. Regardless, at least Amanda could go to sleep early now—that was progress.
The two of them leaned down together, gave Amanda a polite kiss on the forehead, said goodnight, and returned to their respective beds to rest.
Lying in bed, Amanda fell into a deep sleep the moment she closed her eyes, even though she had ensured six hours of sleep every day recently.
However, her body, or rather her subconscious, still believed it was severely sleep-deprived. Thus, the moment she closed her eyes, she would enter deep sleep until she woke up again an hour later.
Repeating this cycle, she passed the night.
The next day, all the Young Wizards at Hogwarts had completely packed their luggage, waiting to line up for the hogwarts express to go home after breakfast.
Having not returned home for a semester since Christmas, almost all the Young Wizards felt happy and welcomed the arrival of the summer break.
However, there were a few scattered Young Wizards who felt indifferent, or simply didn't welcome the arrival of summer at all.
Amanda was the one who was completely indifferent. She looked at the cheerful atmosphere in the Great Hall with calm eyes, her heart without a single ripple.
Summer break was just changing locations to study; her brain had a clear understanding of this.
As for the one who didn't welcome the arrival of summer at all, that was naturally Harry. He couldn't help but want to scowl at the thought of returning to the Dursley family.
But seeing the smiles of his two best friends, Hermione and Ron, and the cheerful atmosphere of the students around him, he was truly unwilling to break the mood. So, he could only force a smile and joke with his classmates, treating it as... enjoying his final moments at Hogwarts for this school year.
Only Amanda, scanning the Great Hall after quickly finishing breakfast, noticed Harry's strange expression. Harry's expression was odd; she reached this conclusion almost instantly.
Harry's smile was clearly different from everyone else's; the muscles used and the extent of their movement differed greatly.
So, Harry didn't want to smile, yet he was smiling. As this result automatically popped out of her brain, Amanda withdrew her gaze. She had no curiosity as to why Harry was forcing himself to smile, but simply began to mentally recite the Transfiguration textbook.
After breakfast, the Young Wizards were supposed to board the hogwarts express, but before that, the Deans distributed their report cards.
The Young Wizards looked at their report cards with either joy or worry, but it was only for a moment; the next instant, they threw these grades to the back of their minds.
Grades, as long as they were decent enough! As long as they were within their own expected range, the Young Wizards easily accepted their results, even if they were slightly worse.
At most, they'd be told by their parents to work harder next time after getting home. The Professors at Hogwarts didn't say much to the Young Wizards whose grades weren't very good either.
Everyone has their own strengths, and a single report card doesn't define whether a Young Wizard is excellent or not. As long as they could figure out what they wanted to do in the future, worked towards it, and didn't go astray, that was enough.
At the Ravenclaw Table, the Little Eagles were more curious about Amanda's grades than their own final results.
Amanda was so hardworking and capable... her grades should be amazing.
With this thought, many Little Eagles couldn't wait to scramble for a spot behind Amanda after reading their own report cards.
Immediately upon seeing Amanda's report card, they couldn't help but click their tongues. As expected... Outstanding in every subject, without a single mistake in any class.
After seeing Amanda's report card, the Little Eagles didn't loudly celebrate for her, but silently walked back to their seats and sat down.
According to their understanding of Amanda, she would likely remain as calm as ever regarding these results. Since she herself was like this, they shouldn't disturb her.
Putting away her report card, Amanda indeed felt no ripples in her heart. Full marks in all subjects—she had met the standard for passing.
'I have passed my end-of-year exams for this academic year,' Amanda summarized in her mind, while mechanically turning her head toward the main entrance of the Great Hall.
The grades had been distributed. Next, fully armed people should enter to take away the bottom third of the students for disposal.
Thinking of this, Amanda suddenly felt her heart tighten, thumping wildly, and her brain became a chaotic mess.
This was the worry Senior Marietta had told her about... Worry. But what was she worried about?
Amanda turned her head blankly, and then she saw her classmates laughing and talking at the Ravenclaw Table, she saw the trio of Hermione and the others chatting at the Gryffindor Table, and she saw Hannah, who had been her Potion Class partner for the entire school year, at the Hufflepuff Table.
Like a revolving lantern, scenes flashed rapidly through Amanda's mind: the celebration party the Ravenclaws held for her, the adventures she experienced with Hermione and the others, and the Potions she made one after another with Hannah.
'What am I worried about...' Amanda's brain forcibly squeezed out a thought amidst the chaos.
She was worried about her classmates... An agonizing, tearing pain erupted in her skull. Amanda's expression didn't change, but several drops of cold sweat had already slid down her forehead.
She was worried about her classmates being disposed of; she was worried about her classmates becoming that final third.
Previously, she could think about this problem with complete detachment, but when the moment actually arrived, she could no longer remain rational.
'I don't want to...' Amanda gritted her teeth, her right hand stiffly and with difficulty reaching into her robe pocket, where her wand was kept.
'I don't want my classmates to be disposed of...' This thought jumped vividly into Amanda's brain.
But immediately after, another equally clear thought jumped out: 'These are the rules. Rules should be followed. I must follow the rules; I cannot violate the rules.'
The right hand reaching into the robe pocket froze in mid-air, unable to move another inch.
Amanda watched helplessly as the Great Hall's doors were slowly opened a crack.
Fully armed Enforcement Agents, the wails of other students, the sensation of chemicals being pushed into the body—everything jumped out from her memories.
No! I won't! Amanda forced her jaws open and bit down hard on her tongue.
A heavy metallic taste of blood instantly filled her mouth. The intense pain forcibly spurred Amanda into motion again. Her right hand reached into her robe pocket, and her wand was suddenly pulled out.
The next moment, the Great Hall doors were fully opened. However, the one who walked in was not a fully armed Enforcement Agent, but just the Hogwarts Castle Caretaker, Mr. Filch. He had come to notify all the Young Wizards that it was time to board the train.
With her mouth full of blood, Amanda's drawn wand hung at her side. All her actions stopped.
There were no Enforcement Agents, no submachine guns ready to fire. Amanda's chaotic brain returned to a state of calm, and her heartbeat gradually slowed down.
Lowering her head to slide her wand back into her robe pocket, Amanda kept swallowing the blood flowing from her tongue.
'The Enforcement Agents chose to go to the students' homes to seize people...' Amanda easily reached this conclusion.
Looking up at the Young Wizards in the Great Hall, for some reason, Amanda's vision seemed to turn black and white, and her whole body felt a sense of falling downward.
Under the Professors' calls, the Young Wizards filed out carrying their luggage. Amanda stood up, mechanically following behind the student in front of her.
Her vision was exceptionally blurry, seemingly filled with static patterns, like a glitching old black-and-white television.
Now, she no longer possessed any of her usual thinking capacity. She could only stiffly follow the student in front out of the Great Hall, out of Hogwarts, and onto the hogwarts express, eventually stopping inside a compartment and staring blankly at the seat opposite her.
'When we return from summer break... a third of the students will have vanished.' Amanda's vision darkened in waves; her brain seemed to be protesting, and her tongue was both painful and numb.
Leaning back against the headrest, Amanda closed her eyes during study time for the first time.
In the darkness, she saw a little girl. That little girl studied every day, studied every day.
Even so, her scores could only earn her a middle-tier ranking in the end-of-year exam results.
She couldn't move her parents into the villa they yearned for, nor could she bring her parents into the elite class they aspired to.
She knew it was her fault, that she wasn't smart enough... she was a stupid child, not the genius her parents wanted.
So, she would squeeze out some of her already limited sleep time to look at recipes and learn knitting.
She could hold a book in one hand and a spatula in the other. She could send her parents a new pair of gloves before every winter arrived.
She yearned to prove that even without a villa, a family could live happily together... But what happened after that? What happened... A piercing sound echoed crazily in her mind, and a bone-chilling cold was right beside her. Amanda trembled, curling herself into a ball.
She had no strength... She was so tired... When had she felt like this before... "Are you cold?"
A pair of arms with the warmth of the midday sun wrapped around Amanda. The piercing sound stopped abruptly, and a warm whisper sounded in her ear.
Her trembling body slowly relaxed and stretched out, and the darkness in her brain was melted away bit by bit.
A tiny voice, a tiny figure, reached out both hands toward the illusory heights. Save me, please save me!
Opening her eyes again, Amanda's eyes were still as stagnant as dead water, without any ripples.
Turning her head slightly, the one embracing her from behind was Hermione. Harry and Ron were helping her move her luggage onto the rack, while Senior Cho Chang and Marietta sat in the opposite seats, looking at her with worried faces.
"Senior Cho Chang and Senior Marietta just found me and said you weren't in a good state, so I rushed over. What's wrong?" Hermione lowered her head and lightly rubbed her cheek against Amanda's.
Amanda trembled as she opened her mouth. The voice she produced now was as hoarse and unpleasant as a broken bellows.
"For summer break... I don't want to stay in a hotel. Can I... go stay at your houses?"
Amanda spoke the thoughts in her brain truthfully; her thinking capacity had returned.
Hogwarts had not announced the grade rankings for the entire school, so she couldn't be sure if the trio of Hermione and the others, or Senior Cho Chang and Marietta, were in that bottom third.
Even if Hermione, Senior Cho Chang, and Marietta had excellent grades, there was still the possibility they had made mistakes, or that other students at Hogwarts had overperformed and surpassed them.
Under the current circumstances, she couldn't save everyone at Hogwarts, so she could only do her best to save Hermione and the others.
And thinking that if the Enforcement Agents went to their homes to seize them for disposal, the only solution she could think of was to go home with them. Only then could she stop the Enforcement Agents.
Even if this would violate the rules, she would accept the punishment after everyone successfully escaped. The Enforcement Agents could dispose of her; she had no objection to such a consequence.
Amanda's restored brain rapidly refreshed its thoughts, determining such a plan without any hesitation.
Even if the final result of this plan involved her own disposal, she had no emotional fluctuations. The success of the plan was her only objective.
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