Although she was confused, Mrs. Granger didn't ask any more questions. It was clear that Amanda's parents were not good to her, so Mrs. Granger didn't want to bring them up further and upset her.
After finishing the sandwich in her hand, Mrs. Granger walked into the kitchen, took out a plastic bag, and looked at Amanda apologetically.
"I'm sorry, we thought you and Hermione were resting last night, so her father and I didn't go upstairs to find you. We plan to take you two for a Physical Examination at the hospital today, so you can't eat breakfast this morning."
As she spoke, she put the breakfast Amanda had prepared into the bag. "I'll pack these for you. You can eat them after your Physical Examination."
Amanda nodded expressionlessly, reaching out to help Mrs. Granger pack the breakfast. "It's fine, Auntie, you don't need to apologize. You and Uncle did nothing wrong."
Mrs. Granger reached out and rubbed Amanda's head. This child—the more she listened to her speak, the more heartache she felt... By the time Mr. Granger arrived at the dining table, only his portion of breakfast remained. The rest had been packed up by Mrs. Granger and Amanda, to be given to the two girls after their Physical Examinations.
"Good morning, Uncle." Amanda greeted Mr. Granger calmly.
"Good morning," Mr. Granger nodded with a smile. "We'll take you and Hermione for a Physical Examination later."
Amanda's face was unchanged, her eyes lifeless. "I know. Auntie just told me. Thank you for your trouble."
"It's no trouble at all," Mrs. Granger gently embraced Amanda. "You don't need to be so polite with us."
After all, judging by little Hermione's demeanor, they would likely be family soon.
Amanda nodded mechanically, feeling a slight warmth in her heart.
"Hmm? This sandwich tastes great. Did you try a new recipe?" Mr. Granger took a bite of the sandwich and looked at his wife in surprise. This sandwich was completely different from the ones she usually made.
Mrs. Granger looked down at Amanda and praised her with a smile. "Amanda made this. Her cooking skills are excellent, aren't they?"
"Very excellent." Mr. Granger nodded affirmingly.
Mrs. Granger looked at him with a beaming smile, then suddenly changed the subject. "But judging by what you said, does that mean you think the sandwiches I made before weren't good?"
Mr. Granger's chewing visibly paused. The rational part of his brain screamed danger.
Thinking up an excuse at the fastest speed of his life, Mr. Granger waved his hand placatingly.
"How could that be? It's just that the flavor produced by the two of you is different."
Mrs. Granger paused slightly, then accepted the explanation.
Mr. Granger heaved a sigh of relief and lowered his head to continue eating breakfast.
Amanda's eyes, like stagnant water, shifted between Mr. and Mrs. Granger twice. She vaguely felt full, even though she hadn't eaten anything.
Without any doubt or deep thought as to why, Amanda's attention was drawn by the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs.
Turning her head, she saw Hermione coming down the stairs, wearing pajamas and slippers, rubbing her eyes.
"Hermione, good morning." Amanda's calm voice rang out.
Hermione yawned, nodded, and walked up to Amanda. "Why didn't you sleep longer? You're up so early."
"To make breakfast." Amanda stated matter-of-factly.
"Made breakfast?" Hermione paused, subconsciously looking at the dining table, but only saw the single portion of breakfast in front of her father.
"It's gone?" A strong wave of regret washed over Hermione. If she had known sleeping in would mean missing Amanda's homemade breakfast, she wouldn't have slept late. She definitely needed to set an alarm and wake up early.
"There's still some, but we both need to have a Physical Examination, so we can't eat now."
Amanda shook her head expressionlessly, giving Hermione a very concise explanation.
"Physical Examination?" Hermione looked up at Mrs. Granger confusedly. Why the sudden check-up?
Mrs. Granger lovingly stroked Hermione's head. "It's nothing, just checking if you and Amanda have any health issues. You're children, after all; it never hurts to be extra careful."
Thinking of the incident where Amanda was detained by Madam Pomfrey in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, Hermione nodded in agreement. Indeed, Amanda needed a detailed examination.
Compared to the magic they had just been exposed to for a year, having a thorough check-up for Amanda at a hospital made her feel more reassured.
Once Mr. Granger finished breakfast, he took Amanda, Hermione, and Mrs. Granger and got into the car.
Mr. Granger drove steadily. Amanda sat in the car, quietly reciting the Potion Class textbook.
Hermione, sitting next to her, shook her head upon hearing this. She reached out and pulled Amanda into her embrace, forcing her head to rest against her chest.
"You got up so early this morning, and the trip will take a while. Why don't you sleep for a bit?"
Amanda's recitation was interrupted. She blinked mechanically, feeling Hermione's hand gently patting her back.
She slowly closed her eyes. Since it wasn't her scheduled sleeping time, Amanda couldn't fall asleep no matter what. With her eyes closed, she began simulating Potion-making scenarios in her mind amidst the darkness.
Hermione looked down at Amanda in her arms. Her mouth wasn't moving, and her eyes weren't twitching often, so Hermione assumed Amanda was asleep. Feeling relieved, she hugged Amanda and turned to look out the car window.
The buildings outside the window quickly sped by. The group of four was lucky not to encounter any traffic jams.
After nearly an hour's drive, they finally arrived at the most reputable Private Hospital in London.
As for why they chose a Private Hospital, first, the facilities were indeed superior to a large portion of Public Hospitals, and second, it was due to Mr. and Mrs. Granger's speculation about Amanda's unusual circumstances.
If she truly had these problems because of that kind of surgery, it would be better if the matter didn't spread too widely.
Her parents were already deceased, so seeking accountability would be impossible.
Letting it out would only cause this already unfortunate child to be discussed more by others, so they chose a Private Hospital, which offered better privacy.
The car slowly pulled into a parking space. Hermione gently shook Amanda in her arms.
"Amanda, Amanda, we're here. Wake up."
Amanda, who hadn't been asleep, immediately snapped out of her mental Potion-making simulation upon hearing her full name and abruptly opened her eyes.
She was immediately dazzled by the sudden bright light, making it hard to keep her eyes open. Of course, Hermione interpreted this as her being groggy from just waking up.
Hermione covered her mouth and chuckled, looking at the "dazed" Amanda. Although Amanda's face was still expressionless, it gave off a strange sense of cuteness that Amanda didn't possess in her normal state.
Reaching out and holding Amanda's hand, Hermione opened the car door on her side. "Let's go."
"Mhm." Amanda, whose eyes had adjusted to the light, nodded blankly, followed Hermione out of the car, and trailed after her into the hospital.
Entering the hospital, Mr. and Mrs. Granger went to handle the procedures for the girls' Physical Examinations, while Hermione led Amanda to stand in a corner of the hospital lobby.
There were quite a few people in the hospital lobby. Most were hurrying from one department to another, undergoing continuous check-ups.
Amanda's eyes quickly scanned the entire hospital lobby, and also the parts of the upper floors she could see.
She hadn't been to a hospital in a long time; she hadn't visited any hospital since that operation, Amanda thought without any emotional disturbance.
Even when the school required students to undergo Physical Examinations, her father and mother would give the teacher some money beforehand, asking the teacher to let her focus on studying, as they would arrange the examination themselves.
Then they would turn around and hand the money to the hospital responsible for the examination. In these regards, her parents were quite willing to spend money.
About ten minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Granger returned, each holding a stack of papers containing various Physical Examination forms. Compared to Hermione's list, Amanda's included an extra brain examination.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger led Amanda and Hermione, starting their rush between various departments. After completing all the other examination items, they finally brought Amanda to the location for the brain examination.
Hermione looked at the consultation room for brain checks and CT scans, and asked Mrs. Granger confusedly, "Mom, is this part of a Physical Examination?"
Mrs. Granger slightly shook her head, signaling Hermione not to talk too much. She then had Mr. Granger take Amanda inside for a brain CT scan and a detailed EEG examination.
She pulled Hermione to sit by the door to wait. Despite Hermione's curious and confused gaze, Mrs. Granger still did not explain their suspicions regarding Amanda's current condition.
Because that surgery was too cruel and evil, Mrs. Granger did not want her daughter to know about it yet, out of a desire to protect her.
Of course, if Amanda's situation turned out to be true, she would tell Hermione the truth, both for the sake of future treatment and for daily life.
Because she was the person closest to Amanda and spent the most time with her, it would be easiest for her to care for and help Amanda.
If Amanda was not in that situation and their speculation was wrong, then Hermione certainly wouldn't need to know any of this.
Seeing that her mother had no intention of explaining, Hermione slowly averted her gaze.
Never mind. If Mom had wanted to say something, she would have said it already. Staring at her wouldn't help if she didn't want to talk.
Hermione sighed, looking worriedly at the door across from her. Amanda, Amanda... please don't let anything serious be wrong.
After a long while, the room door finally opened. Amanda walked out, still expressionless. Mr. Granger, who followed behind her, looked utterly bewildered, as if he had just witnessed something incredible.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Granger's heart sank when she saw her husband's expression. Could their hypothesis actually be true?
Hermione also looked at Mr. Granger anxiously, waiting for him to speak.
Mr. Granger glanced at Amanda uneasily, then looked at Hermione. "Hermione, why don't you take Amanda to the lobby and wait there for a moment?"
Hermione frowned, reluctant to leave. Her heart screamed that she needed to stay, as this concerned Amanda's condition.
Amanda's brain automatically performed an analysis. She understood that Hermione didn't want to leave and wished to stay and listen.
So, facing Mr. and Mrs. Granger, she nodded with a completely blank expression. "I can go to the lobby myself. You two talk."
Having said that, she turned and quickly walked toward the lobby, quietly resuming the recitation of her Potion Class textbook.
As soon as Amanda left, Mrs. Granger and Hermione anxiously spoke at the same time, "What's wrong with Amanda?"
Mrs. Granger pursed her lips, looking nervously at her husband. "It's not really the same as our hypothesis, is it?"
"Not exactly." Mr. Granger frowned and shook his head.
"The child's Emotional Center in the brain is normal."
Hearing this conclusion, Mrs. Granger visibly relaxed. Hermione, standing nearby, also somewhat understood: her parents wanted Amanda to have a brain scan because they previously thought Amanda's Emotional Center was problematic.
"But it's not entirely normal either," Mr. Granger completed his sentence.
"What?" Mrs. Granger's breath, which she had just let out, was immediately caught again. She glared fiercely at her husband. Couldn't he just finish his sentence all at once?
"Dad, just explain it clearly all at once. What exactly is wrong with Amanda?" Hermione also looked at him speechlessly.
Mr. Granger looked troubled and tried to organize his thoughts. "Amanda's Emotional Center in her brain is not damaged, but its activity is very low. The Brain Waves transmitted within it are even weaker than those in an infant's Emotional Center."
"In other words, it's like... her Emotional Center just developed, and she hasn't learned what emotions are yet. So she can't even react emotionally while perceiving the outside world."
"Just developed?" Mrs. Granger frowned deeply. This situation was truly strange. Logically, the Emotional Center should be well-developed at birth, and then continuously perceive emotions as the infant grows.
Why did it seem like it had just developed in Amanda, and she hadn't learned what emotions were?
Mrs. Granger felt a wave of confusion, but Mr. Granger wasn't done speaking.
"Furthermore, the doctor noticed during the examination that Amanda's own Brain Waves seem to be deliberately suppressing the Emotional Center."
"Deliberately suppressing the Emotional Center? Does that mean Amanda is suppressing herself, preventing herself from having emotions?" Hermione quickly interjected, her expression grim.
"Yes," Mr. Granger nodded. "Also... her Sleep Center is abnormally active, which means she likely suffers from frequent poor sleep."
"Similarly, her own Brain Waves are constantly stimulating her Sleep Center, keeping it in a state of hyper-excitement."
"This can't possibly be congenital!" Hermione said, gritting her teeth and articulating every word. With so many interconnected "coincidences," if you claimed it was congenital, it would be too convenient—only a fool would believe it!
"We can't be sure..." Mr. Granger's face was equally grim, mixed with distress and anger. "With this situation, we can't even begin to imagine what her parents did to her before."
"Those two beasts! Worthless scumbags who shouldn't have children! They should go to hell and be thrown into a wok of oil by Satan for eternity!"
Hermione was so angry she swore right there. She had thought Amanda's parents were disgusting enough for making her develop so many bad habits and turning her into a learning machine.
But she never expected them to be even more repulsive—actually tampering with Amanda's body, specifically the most complex and dangerous organ, the brain! How dare they!
The Granger family usually maintained excellent discipline, but this time, facing Hermione's outburst, Mr. and Mrs. Granger showed no intention of stopping her.
Mrs. Granger even let out a frosty snort. "In The East, they should go to Diyu and suffer the torments of the Eighteen Layers of Hell!"
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