HP: The Dropout Who Saved the World

"Three additional chapters are now available!"

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However, in the courtyard, she ran into the protagonist trio again.

Harry's face was flushed red as he tried to push away the camera lens of a grey-haired Gryffindor boy. The young boy seemed overly enthusiastic, pushing his lens almost right up to Harry's face, very much like the paparazzi photographers she'd seen in her previous life.

"Hi Harry! I'm Colin Creevey!"

Colin, clearly a fan of the protagonist, eagerly shuffled forward. With each step Harry took backward, Colin advanced, until he had Harry cornered against a stone bench.

"I've heard everything about you. Everyone's told me... I want to take loads of photos—it'd be amazing if I could get just one picture of you, and maybe you could sign it?"

Jane stopped in her tracks, not wanting to draw the protagonist's attention.

She strongly suspected that if she took one more step forward, photos of her and Harry would be spread throughout the school in tomorrow's gossip papers.

She mentally repeated "stay away from the protagonist group" three times to strengthen her resolve.

Theodore also stopped when he saw this scene, leaning close to whisper in a skeptical tone:

"You're not thinking of helping Potter out of this, are you?"

Of course she wouldn't—she was actually planning to turn around and leave.

Unfortunately, before she could answer, Ron and Hermione had already spotted her.

Their eyes lit up as they enthusiastically waved and rushed towards Jane.

Ron shouted excitedly:

"Yu, you used that biscuit, didn't you?"

"Fred and George were over the moon, that Malfoy—"

His words caught oddly in his throat when he noticed Theodore beside her, his wary gaze scanning up and down.

Theodore crossed his arms, looking down at them with cold arrogance from his height advantage.

Then he shot Jane a disapproving look.

She had no doubt about the meaning behind that look:

"Your humble servant must report that Concubine Yu is secretly consorting with Gryffindors, defiling Slytherin—an unforgivable crime!"

Jane quickly grabbed his sleeve, intending to flee the scene:

"What a coincidence—we were just heading back to the common room—"

She dropped these words and turned to run, causing Theodore to stumble as she pulled him along.

...

After they left, Hermione's face twisted into a knot, wrinkling like a Mandrake.

She suddenly pinched Ron hard.

"Ouch!" Ron yelped in pain, glaring at her angrily. "What was that for?"

But Hermione was staring uncertainly in the direction Jane and Theodore had gone.

In Ron's memory, she had never looked so shocked before, so he quickly asked:

"What's with that expression?"

Hermione turned her complex gaze toward him: "Have you... ever seen Yu walking alone with anyone before?"

Ron thought carefully, then shook his head: "She seems to always be alone? What's wrong?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, feeling utterly exasperated, as if she wanted to crack open Ron's skull:

"Is your head stuffed with chicken legs? Look at the time and place!"

"Evening! Courtyard! She's on a date with that Nott!"

Ron's mouth gaped wide enough to fit a goose egg as he drew in a sharp breath:

"Merlin's beard—dating a Slytherin snake? Has she gone mad?"

He seemed to have forgotten that Jane was also one of the "evil Slytherins" he spoke of.

But then Harry's voice came from behind them: "Who's dating a Slytherin?"

They turned around to find Harry had escaped Colin's pestering, his hair disheveled and glasses askew, panting as he looked at them.

"We were talking about Yu and that Nott—what's wrong, Harry?"

Hermione and Ron were horrified to see anger blazing in their friend's emerald green eyes.

"They must be mad, they're only twelve!"

"Er..." Ron responded numbly, "Actually, quite a few wizards start dating at twelve... honestly, we come of age at seventeen, and my parents got married right after graduation—"

He wisely swallowed the rest of his words, as Harry's gaze looked murderous.

To be honest, Harry himself didn't know where this inexplicable anger came from.

Perhaps it was because he saw his friend going astray.

With a Slytherin? A Nott who championed pure-blood supremacy?

She must be starving to settle for that!

...

Jane's streak of bad luck continued.

First, she had the misfortune of encountering the protagonist trio and getting passive-aggressive comments from Theodore, then she discovered several new trunks in her dormitory.

It seemed a new roommate had moved in.

She didn't particularly like having a roommate. Firstly, she was planning to drop out, so she had no need for wizard friends; secondly, she didn't want her personal space invaded.

But she felt she had no valid reason to refuse.

After all, she didn't own the dormitory, and it was this new roommate's right to move into the empty bed.

As long as the new roommate didn't cause trouble, Jane could accept coexisting peacefully for a while.

The door opened.

She looked up.

And found someone she never expected standing in the doorway—Daphne Greengrass.

Jane's face fell.

She knew about this Greengrass—a pure-blood supremacist who supposedly knew Draco since childhood.

What she didn't know was why she'd moved here instead of staying with Pansy and Millicent.

Weren't they fond of gathering to badmouth her behind her back?

She carefully observed Daphne, noting how the blonde, blue-eyed girl stood frozen in place, one hand on the doorknob and the other pressed against the doorframe, as if unsure what to do next.

Jane could even read fear in her eyes.

Their gazes met in mid-air.

The room fell silent for several seconds.

Daphne felt cold sweat running down her back.

Just look at Yu Jane, the most terrifying witch in their year!

Rumor had it she came from some lost Eastern family and knew many secret arts that could make people die without a trace...

At age eleven, she had already fought dark wizards and single-handedly won back the House Cup...

Merlin's underwear! Her gaze was so horrifying, as if she might curse her any second!

Why wasn't she saying anything? Was she considering which curse would cause the most pain?

It must be because she had joined Pansy and Millicent in speaking ill of her behind her back...

Her life was over... she regretted it so much...

Daphne's usually proud "noble etiquette" was completely forgotten in this moment. Out of fear, her golden fringe was plastered to her forehead with sweat as she stammered:

"Um... thank you... for saving me... before..."

Her mind was blank, too nervous to speak properly.

Jane looked at her with surprise.

Who would have thought this stuck-up pure-blood supremacist actually knew how to say thank you!

She nodded, gesturing for Daphne to come in.

Why wasn't this girl closing the door? Wasn't she cold with the wind blowing in?

Daphne acted as if she'd been granted a royal pardon, hunching over to close the door before sprinting to her bed at Nimbus 2001 speed, not even taking time to remove her shoes, as if being chased by a ghost.

Jane scratched her head.

Was she really that scary?

It's not like she was going to eat her!

Confused, puzzled, and completely baffled.