At 7:30 the next morning, Amanda opened her eyes on time, sat up with stiff movements, and after a two-second pause, she got out of bed to wash up.
By the time she finished, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Marietta Eckmore had also woken up one after another, sitting by their beds blinking drowzily.
"Good morning, Amanda."
Hermione turned to see Amanda and greeted her, while Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore also nodded and bid her good morning.
After responding to the three, Amanda reached out to support Hermione as she walked over.
Hermione yawned sleepily and waved her hand, "I'm fine, I can stand steadily on my own."
Having said that, she shook her head vigorously to wake herself up completely.
"I originally wanted to wait for you to come back last night," Hermione said, looking back at Amanda with a slightly embarrassed smile, "but I accidentally fell asleep."
Amanda shook her head expressionlessly, "Hermione shouldn't have waited for me. I came back too late last night."
"Sleeping at that time is not good for Hermione's health."
Hermione sighed and murmured softly, "So you do know that lack of sleep is bad for your health..."
"What did Hermione say?"
Amanda tilted her head; she hadn't heard clearly what Hermione had muttered.
"Nothing," Hermione gave a gentle smile and reached out to ruffle Amanda's hair, "Go pack your things. I'll go to the Great Hall for breakfast with you after I finish washing up."
"Okay."
Amanda agreed in a flat tone and then turned to walk toward her desk.
Hermione took a deep breath as she watched Amanda's back. Indeed... this girl's knowledge was incredibly broad; how could she not know that sleep deprivation was bad for the body?
Before, she had simply been taught by her parents to think she didn't need sleep.
Pursing her lips, Hermione entered the washroom after Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore.
Cho Chang and Marietta Eckmore finished washing up and returned to their beds to change. When they pulled back their bed curtains again, they saw Amanda, who had already finished packing, standing straight by the Dormitory door with her schoolbag on, reading a book while waiting for them.
Exchanging a glance, the two seniors didn't hesitate to speed up their packing.
Hermione, just out of the washroom, also quickened her pace. She gave her bushy hair a few quick brushes, put on her schoolbag, and was ready to go.
Amanda closed her book. Seeing Hermione and the other two walk to the door, she slowly reached out and gently smoothed the hair by Hermione's ear.
"It's messy here."
During the process of smoothing the hair, Amanda's fingertips inadvertently touched Hermione's earlobe.
Hermione's breath hitched, a faint blush spread across her face, and her earlobe gradually turned red.
Cho Chang clicked her tongue, secretly marveling at her junior, who still seemed devoid of emotion but was actually incredibly warm.
At the same time, she turned her head and gave Marietta Eckmore a coquettish glare. Unlike some people, this one was completely oblivious.
Had she really written a letter every day for the entire summer break for nothing?
Marietta Eckmore, suddenly glared at by Cho Chang, scratched her cheek in confusion.
Had she offended Cho again?
She didn't think so... Thinking this, her gaze moved to Amanda, who was helping Hermione tidy her hair.
Could it be that Cho was jealous of Hermione having Amanda to tidy her hair?
Marietta Eckmore felt she had guessed correctly and reached out to symbolically help Cho Chang tidy her hair.
It wasn't that she didn't want to tidy Cho Chang's hair seriously, but Cho Chang's hair was different from Hermione's.
Her hair was perfectly smooth and didn't need tidying at all.
As Marietta Eckmore tidied her hair, Cho Chang's heart suddenly began to pound wildly. Could it be... she had misjudged this person just now?
Had this person finally "caught on" after her "bombardment" of one letter a day?!
Under Cho Chang's expectant gaze, Marietta Eckmore blurted out a sentence.
"Cho, you don't have to be envious. You have someone to tidy your hair too."
"Mm-hmm!"
Cho Chang nodded vigorously, her cheeks flushed with a youthful pink.
"And then? And then?"
She spoke almost impatiently, forgetting her usual gentle and subtle manner.
It hadn't been easy; she was finally about to "succeed." Who cared about being gentle and subtle at a time like this?
"And... and then?"
Marietta Eckmore froze for a moment, swallowed, and looked at Amanda, who was still tidying Hermione's hair.
Amanda wasn't doing anything else for Hermione. What was Cho expecting?
Unable to think of anything, Marietta Eckmore could only bite the bullet and continue, "And then, I'll help you tidy your hair from now on."
Seeing Cho Chang's expression become even more excited, she thought she was on the right track and blurted out the next sentence without thinking.
"Don't be too excited. This is what I, as your best friend, should do!"
"This is what I, as your best friend, should do!"
"What I, as your best friend, should do!"
Best friend... best friend, best friend!!! Cho Chang took a deep breath, struggling to control herself so that her roar didn't actually come out.
She patted her chest, telling herself: don't be angry, don't be angry. Marietta Eckmore just hasn't caught on yet. Just wait until she does, wait until she does.
Gradually calming down, Cho Chang gave Marietta Eckmore a "kind" smile.
"Alright then, I'll leave my hair to you from now on, Marietta Eckmore~"
"O-okay..."
Marietta Eckmore, vaguely sensing the change in Cho Chang's mood, answered stiffly, a drop of cold sweat slowly rolling down her back.
Strange... why did she feel like she had just survived a disaster?
After tidying Hermione's hair, Amanda led the way, followed by a blushing Hermione, a secretly seething Cho Chang, and a bewildered Marietta Eckmore, to the Hogwarts Great Hall.
Upon entering the Hogwarts Great Hall, most of the Young Wizards were already seated and eating breakfast. Amanda and the other three also sat at the Ravenclaw Table to begin their meal.
Before they had been eating for long, a Hufflepuff girl ran over with a letter in her hand. She glanced at Hermione nearby and nervously patted Amanda's shoulder.
Then she quickly withdrew her hand. Seeing this out of the corner of her eye, Hermione was momentarily between laughter and tears; she wasn't that petty or possessive, was she?
To care about a normal greeting? Besides, Amanda wasn't her partner yet.
Hermione blushed slightly at the thought and turned to hear what this Hufflepuff Little Badger wanted to say to Amanda.
Amanda turned around and looked at the Hufflepuff girl with a calm gaze. "Good morning, Miss Morwenna."
"Good morning, Senior Lin Yue. You know me?" Morwenna pointed to herself in surprise, not expecting Amanda to remember her name.
"Of course," Amanda said emotionlessly, nodding. "You attended the Study Group before."
"As your temporary teacher, remembering all of your names is a basic courtesy I should uphold."
Morwenna felt a warmth in her heart. "Senior Lin Yue! You're really suited to be a Professor!"
"Thank you, but my knowledge reserve is still lacking. May I ask why you are looking for me?"
"Yes," Morwenna said, pursing her lips as she handed the letter to Amanda. "My mom and dad are both workers responsible for producing Magic Radios. They both received letters from you yesterday, Senior Lin Yue."
"They've heard me mention you before, so they wanted me to help ask—is the salary and benefits you mentioned real?"
"Can you really provide such a salary and employee benefits?"
Morwenna looked at Amanda anxiously. If Senior Lin Yue was serious, then with the salary and benefits she mentioned, her family's life could at least improve significantly.
Her mom and dad could also change into brand-new wizard robes. Merlin knew how much her heart ached seeing her parents' wizard robes with several patches.
She had been saving her pocket money for a long time to buy new wizard robes for her parents.
Then this morning, she received a letter from them. When she saw the salary and benefits Senior Lin Yue could offer them, she was truly excited for quite a while.
"Of course it's real," Amanda nodded without any change in expression. "Lying is incorrect. Unless absolutely necessary, I would not do such a thing."
"Wow! This is really... thank you so much, Senior Lin Yue!"
Morwenna shouted excitedly and nodded earnestly to Amanda in thanks.
After two seconds, she spoke again with a worried look, "But Senior Lin Yue, if you do this... won't you lose money?"
She wanted her parents to get better pay, but at the same time, she didn't want her kind and gentle senior to lose money.
"No," Amanda shook her head mechanically. "According to calculations, excluding the cost of raw materials, venue costs, and labor costs—which is the salary I pay to workers like your parents—I can still make a net profit of one Sickle for every Magic Radio."
"Compared to the Pure-blood families who make a net profit of one Galleon, perhaps I am indeed losing out. But for a more balanced future overall, I believe earning one Sickle is the best choice."
"This is the most scientific and sustainable option among all alternatives. Please help me tell your parents that the salary and benefits I offered are all real, and I sincerely hope they can come to work for me."
"Okay, Senior Lin Yue! I'll go write a letter to my mom and dad right now!"
Clutching the letter, Morwenna turned and ran out of the Great Hall without even stopping for breakfast.
Seeing this, Amanda paused slightly, pulled out her wand expressionlessly, and gave it a wave toward the Hufflepuff Table.
A dinner knife transformed into a lunch box, and several meat pies and vegetable rolls jumped in automatically under Amanda's direction.
Making the lunch box fly into the arms of a nearby boy, Amanda looked at him with a dull gaze. "Please bring this to Miss Morwenna, Mr. Callis."
"Okay, Senior Lin Yue, I'll definitely deliver it."
Callis gave Amanda a sincere smile and nodded vigorously.
Turning back, Amanda had just picked up her knife and fork when Cho Chang and Hermione each pinched one of her cheeks.
"Staying unmoved in the face of such huge profits—as expected of you."
Hermione said with a smile, while proudly raising her eyebrows.
Amanda allowed the two to pinch her cheeks and nodded, her voice flat. "Yes, as expected of me."
Then she quickly added, "However, this is indeed the optimal choice. It can effectively avoid an excessive wealth gap and limit everyone's greed, including mine."
"To prevent repeating the mistakes of my original world."
"Do you really have greed?"
Marietta Eckmore also leaned over and poked Amanda's nose twice. "It feels like you have none at all."
Amanda blinked stiffly. "Indeed, not yet. I do not have desires for things other than learning... perhaps."
"Oh, 'perhaps'?" Cho Chang looked at her craftily. "That means you think you might develop a desire for something."
"Or maybe for someone," Marietta Eckmore chimed in knowingly, glancing at Hermione as she spoke. "Right?"
The expression on Amanda's face remained unmoved as she lowered her head to focus on eating.
Hermione, on the other hand, who had been glanced at, turned to look at Amanda and pursed her lips, suppressing her pounding heart as she took a large gulp of pumpkin juice.
As it turned out, the benefits Amanda offered were indeed excellent. Almost all the Wizarding World workers who received her letters accepted her job invitation.
Facing the pile of positive replies he had received, the owner of the Owl Post Office marveled inwardly before handing all the replies to the woman who came to collect the mail.
The woman smiled, tucked away the mountain of letters, and walked out of the Owl Post Office.
The warm summer breeze blew against her cheeks. Senior Platt, who had just graduated last year, chuckled.
Now, almost all the Wizards in the manufacturing link had been won over by them.
The physical manufacturing industry of the Wizarding World—from design and R&D to production and manufacturing, and then to downstream sales—was now in their hands.
One could say the entire chain was under control. Working for Junior Lin Yue was truly a pleasure.
She could hardly wait to see what Junior Lin Yue would turn the British Wizarding World—no, the whole world—into.
But perhaps they would need to wait a few more years. Platt took out her Wizard hat and put it on. At the very least, they had to wait until Miss Granger entered the Ministry of Magic so they could coordinate properly and take things further.
That would be when everything truly began.
Back at Hogwarts, Amanda sat in the History of Magic classroom taking notes seriously, point after point of knowledge being swiftly written into her notebook.
The Ravenclaw Little Eagles sitting around her were mostly asleep. Anyway, they had Amanda's notes, so they could afford to sleep a little.
While reviewing the knowledge points of History of Magic in her mind, Amanda recorded them in her notebook. She recalled each point according to the timeline, and every time she thought of one, the next point Professor Binns lectured on was inevitably that one.
Without a single error, the entire History of Magic textbook for this school year was in her head.
In a place where she couldn't see, outside the History of Magic classroom, a thin, large black dog ran past quickly.
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