After hearing Lynn's explanation, Harry stood there for a long time without making a sound. Hermione and Lynn remained in their embrace until Harry closed his eyes and spoke again, at which point they finally let go.
"I'm going to the forbidden area on the fourth floor tonight to get the Philosopher's Stone before Professor Quirrell does."
"No! Harry, that's dangerous!" Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at Harry; it was clear she did not approve of his plan.
"We can go tell the Professors, tell Headmaster Dumbledore. They will handle it. We shouldn't be here risking our lives as first-year students."
Harry pondered for a moment and realized Hermione was right, so he immediately nodded.
"Alright, I agree. Let's try telling the Professors first."
The group of four didn't waste any more time and quickly sprinted across the grass, heading straight for Hogwarts Castle.
Lynn was pulled along by Hermione at the back, her brain rapidly sorting and analyzing the known information.
Her meticulous mind quickly connected all the events that had happened this term: the duel challenge from Malfoy, which led them to run blindly into the fourth-floor forbidden area, where they discovered Cerberus and the thing it was guarding.
Harry receiving his father's invisibility cloak from an anonymous sender at Christmas, and then coincidentally finding the mirror of erised shortly after.
Hagrid revealing top-secret information to them, such as Nicolas Flamel and Fluffy the Cerberus.
One incident after another—though there was too little information and evidence for Lynn to deduce the truth, a faint thought lingered in her mind: these events were definitely not accidental; there had to be a hidden hand behind them.
Someone was prompting Harry, or rather prompting them, to do something. A coincidence can happen once or twice, but when it happens every single time, then someone is definitely manufacturing those coincidences on purpose.
Despite these thoughts, since no one asked, Lynn didn't say anything. She expressionlessly allowed Hermione to pull her into Hogwarts Castle, where they happened to run right into Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall saw the Gryffindor trio pulling Lynn into the Castle and gave a relatively gentle smile. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, Miss Lynn. Why aren't you relaxing now that the exams are over? The sunlight today is indeed very pleasant."
"Sorry, Professor McGonagall, we have an emergency. May I ask where Headmaster Dumbledore is?" Harry asked directly with urgency.
Seeing Harry's state, Professor McGonagall was visibly taken aback. "Headmaster Dumbledore has gone to the Ministry of Magic for a meeting."
"At a time like this?!" Harry found it hard to accept. The Philosopher's Stone could be taken by Lord Voldemort at any moment, and yet Headmaster Dumbledore—the only person Lord Voldemort ever feared—had actually gone to the Ministry of Magic for a meeting?
"Headmaster Dumbledore is very busy; he has many matters to attend to," Professor McGonagall frowned. "Mr. Potter, may I ask what exactly is the matter?"
In his haste, Harry blurted out, "It's a secret."
Hermione took a deep breath, and Ron couldn't help but cover his face with his hand. Harry had definitely said the wrong thing!
Only the emotionless Lynn felt that Harry was telling the truth; the matter of the Philosopher's Stone was indeed a secret, a top-secret one at that.
Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared slightly at Harry's words. "Very well, Mr. Potter. Since that's the case, you can wait until Headmaster Dumbledore returns tomorrow and then go to the Headmaster's office to find him."
Harry's heart skipped a beat, and he spoke urgently, "Tomorrow might be too late! Fine, it's about the Philosopher's Stone! Someone is going to steal it!"
Clatter... all the books Professor McGonagall was holding scattered onto the floor.
She reacted quickly, bending down to pick up her books, then looked at the four children with a stern expression.
"I don't know how you learned about the Philosopher's Stone, but it is under strict protection. You have no need to worry."
"That's enough," seeing that Harry wanted to say more, Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Go and have a good rest."
With that, Professor McGonagall walked away with long strides. Before leaving, she nodded at Hermione, seemingly signaling her to take Lynn and rest well.
Seeing Professor McGonagall nod at her, Hermione guiltily looked away. She knew very well that if they couldn't get help from the Professors... they would likely have to go in themselves.
Sure enough, Harry turned to his other three friends and said one sentence.
"You all go rest. I'll go back and prepare. Tonight, I'm going through the trapdoor to get the Philosopher's Stone out."
Immediately, he saw Hermione looking at him as if he were talking nonsense, and Ron looking at him as if he were joking.
Even Lynn stared at him blankly. "Personal analysis: the probability of them agreeing to let you go alone is infinitely close to zero."
Lynn spoke as Harry looked at her, and Hermione and Ron subconsciously nodded in agreement.
Hermione tilted her chin slightly. "Actually, it's normal for the Professor not to believe us. After all, it does sound absurd for students to suddenly claim the Philosopher's Stone is about to be stolen."
"So I've already prepared to go with you tonight to get the stone."
"Exactly," Ron chimed in from the side. "You didn't think we'd let you go on such a dangerous mission alone, did you?"
"Wait, you don't have to..." Harry waved his hands anxiously. Didn't they understand? This time they might be facing Lord Voldemort; they could die!
"It doesn't matter," Ron stepped forward and put an arm around Harry's shoulder. "If Lord Voldemort really is resurrected, no one will be safe anyway."
"My family is pro-Muggle, and Hermione is Muggle-born. Instead of waiting for him to get the stone and come back to life, we might as well take the initiative."
Hermione linked arms with Lynn and followed behind the two boys. "That's right. And with the three of us going together, the odds of success are always higher."
She had already subconsciously excluded Lynn from this plan. It was bad enough she couldn't take Lynn to relax; she definitely didn't want to bring Lynn along for an activity that risked her life.
Clearly, Harry and Ron shared this thought, so they didn't discuss the plan to get the stone early in front of Lynn anymore.
If there was to be a sacrifice, the three of them were enough; there was no need to drag another person down.
Lynn, showing no emotional fluctuation, was led by the arm by Hermione to the entrance of the Ravenclaw Common Room.
Hermione reached out to straighten Lynn's collar, then looked up into her eyes.
"Get some good rest. We're leaving now."
Hermione turned and left after speaking. She had a feeling that she couldn't stay any longer; if she did, she might not want to leave at all.
Watching the three of them leave, Lynn knew clearly that they were going to prepare to enter the fourth-floor forbidden area tonight to get the Philosopher's Stone.
She also understood perfectly well that the reason Hermione and the others had brought her back was because they didn't want her to be involved.
However, lacking emotion, she didn't understand—or rather, she didn't comprehend what 'worry' actually felt like. Therefore, she couldn't figure out why Hermione and the others wouldn't take her along when her presence would clearly increase their safety and survival rate.
Mechanically lowering her head, Lynn turned to answer the bronze knocker's question and entered the Ravenclaw Common Room.
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