HP: The Dropout Who Saved the World

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Jane Yu was completely unaware of the boys' emotional turmoil.

She had arrived at Diagon Alley, where Dumbledore had arranged for her to stay at the Leaky Cauldron under old Tom's care.

He reminded her again:

"You must be at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on September 1st. Don't miss the train."

Jane agreed repeatedly, but Dumbledore still seemed concerned:

"Let's get your school supplies first... I trust you won't wander off, will you?"

She truly had no intention of wandering off - more precisely, she would behave until she could stop taking the Soul Stabilizing Potion.

Rewarding her good behavior, Dumbledore treated them both to strawberry-peanut butter ice cream.

Traveling with the Headmaster meant being constantly stopped by people greeting them.

It took two full hours before she was finally freed from the endless pleasantries. Dumbledore, equally relieved, straightened his disheveled robes and hair, sighing deeply:

"The enthusiasm of students and parents is always overwhelming."

They finally reached Flourish and Blotts, but it was even more chaotic and crowded there.

A large banner stretched across the bookshop window:

[GILDEROY LOCKHART BOOK SIGNING TODAY, 12:30-4:30 PM]

To avoid another endless round of conversations, Dumbledore had to leave early, reminding her for the second time to stay put at the Leaky Cauldron until school started.

Jane wondered just how low her credit score must be in the Headmaster's eyes.

According to the list, the second-year Defense Against the Dark Arts books consisted of seven works by Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Break with a Banshee," "Gadding with Ghouls," "Holidays with Hags"...

These seemed more like novels than textbooks to her.

Taking advantage of her small size, she squeezed through the crowd to find Lockhart himself sitting behind a table. He was surrounded by large photographs of his face, flashing his standard 15-degree smile at autograph seekers, his teeth gleaming white, his wavy blonde hair perfectly complementing his blue eyes.

Observing the crowd, she noticed most were witches in their thirties and forties, faces flushed with excitement, breathing heavily, waving books and newspapers bearing Lockhart's photos.

When Lockhart winked at them, the crowd erupted in waves of screams and praises to Merlin. Jane noticed several witches nearly fainting from happiness.

She immediately understood why, having seen similar scenes in her previous life.

— This was the wizarding world's version of a celebrity meet-and-greet!

And such occasions were perfect opportunities for scalping and profiteering!

With this realization, Jane's gaze at Lockhart transformed instantly, as if she were looking at walking Galleons.

"Excuse me — I'll take ten sets of books!" she called to the shop assistant.

Perking up at such a large order, the previously exhausted wizard eagerly packed her books, cast a Shrinking Charm, and handed them over with a smile.

Clutching the stack of elegantly bound works, she used her small size to her advantage and slipped up to Lockhart.

"Mr. Lockhart! I'm your devoted fan!"

Lockhart's eyes blinked twice at her, somewhat sleazily — but for the sake of Galleons, Jane could tolerate it.

"It seems my fame has reached as far as the Orient!"

Jane tried her best to maintain starry-eyed admiration, speaking with enthusiasm:

"Could you make it a personal dedication? Something like 'To my little darling' or 'To my precious' would be wonderful."

Lockhart looked even more pleased. He seemed never to have encountered such a young witch so infatuated with him, and with a flourish, he agreed and began signing her books.

After signing one set, he expected Jane to leave with profuse thanks, but was surprised when she produced a second set.

"I know this might seem selfish, but my grandmother's dying wish was to have your autograph!"

Lockhart let out a small huff through his nose but opened the second set and began signing.

But he hadn't expected there would be a third set.

"And my bedridden mother - your books have brought light to her life!"

Then came the fourth and fifth sets.

"My brother, who lost his hearing - only your books show him the wonders of the world!"

The witches who had been growing impatient with Jane's lingering began to sigh sympathetically at these stories.

An older witch, wiping her eyes, firmly blocked those trying to push forward:

"The poor child!"

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone interrupt your precious moment with Mr. Lockhart."

Jane curtsied with a smile, thanking her, then hurried away with her five personally dedicated sets.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, she changed into one of the robes Perenelle had given her, then began disguising herself, donning a large wizard's hat and covering her face with black veiling.

Once her appearance was completely altered, she hurried out with the books.

"Mr. Lockhart, our family of three is captivated by your gallant presence!"

Lockhart, flashing his brilliant smile, looked at her somewhat puzzled, not recognizing this witch.

How strange, her voice seemed familiar.

He hesitantly signed three more sets.

Jane returned to the Leaky Cauldron, changing into another set of clothes, hat, and shoes.

"Mr. Lockhart, my boyfriend's father said he met you and the Yeti in Tibet!"

Lockhart's quill suddenly slipped, falling onto the table.

Why was he so nervous?

Jane looked at him curiously.

Lockhart, sweating, realized his reaction was too extreme and quickly forced a laugh:

"Ah yes, quite the encounter, ha ha!"

He proceeded to sign two more sets.

Jane soon forgot about this peculiarity.

At 4:30 PM, the signing ended, and Lockhart had left.

But outside Flourish and Blotts, crowds of heartbroken witches who hadn't obtained signatures still lingered.

"Oh — my Lockhart — curse that Knight Bus — why did it have to be late—"

Jane squeezed among them, lightly tapping her wand in the air to create floating words:

[LOCKHART LIMITED EDITION SIGNED SETS FOR SALE, LIMITED QUANTITY, FIRST COME FIRST SERVED!]

"Ah — Lockhart—"

The witches let out excited screams.

The crowd surged forward, nearly crushing Jane.

She had to transfigure a stone into a podium to stand on, cast Sonorus on her throat, conjure a small gavel, and begin the auction.

"Five sets with personal dedications, five with regular signatures, highest bidder wins!"

"First lot, one set with personal dedication, starting bid 9 Galleons!"

She held up the first set of Lockhart books with dedication, showing the signed pages to the surrounding crowd.

"Merlin's beard — it says 'To my little darling'!"

"It's Mr. Lockhart's own handwriting—"

The witches looked ready to faint, many with desperate determination in their reddened eyes.

"10 Galleons!" bid an elegant witch wearing a French wizard's hat adorned with a feather.

"15 Galleons!" another voice immediately countered - a witch wearing flowers in her hair.

"20 Galleons!" the elegant witch refused to back down.

"23 Galleons!" the flower-wearing witch quickly responded.

The two women glared at each other with hostile eyes; if looks could kill, they would have died hundreds of times over.

Jane pointed her five fingers at the flower-wearing witch:

"23 Galleons from this lady, any higher bids?"

The elegant witch's face lengthened with anger, but she gritted her teeth and committed: "30 Galleons!"

"30 Galleons from this lady, any more bids?"

The flower-wearing witch shot the elegant one a fierce glare, thinking that 30 Galleons was already a month's salary, and reluctantly stopped bidding.

"30 Galleons once, 30 Galleons twice, 30 Galleons third and final time—"

"Sold!" Jane brought down the small hammer with a crisp "dong."

"Congratulations to this lady, winning the first lot for 30 Galleons — Mr. Lockhart's love!"

The witches burst into applause, with whistles and cheers filling the air.

The elegant witch paid and received her books, face flushed with excitement, waving them in the air and shouting to the crowd:

"I won! I have Mr. Lockhart's love! I'm his only little darling!"

The flower-wearing witch immediately regretted her decision.

Though it would cost a month's salary, she could have had Mr. Lockhart's love!

So when the second lot — the "To my precious" dedicated set — came up for auction, she immediately bid 30 Galleons and won.

Basking in the crowd's congratulations and applause, she felt herself floating on love.

The auction continued for a full hour, with all ten sets selling at high prices.

Jane was thoroughly satisfied with her 200 Galleons.

Thank you, Lockhart, you're a real money tree!

In her previous life, she would have kowtowed to him in gratitude!

But what she didn't know was that she would soon be seeing this money tree again at school.