HP: The Dropout Who Saved the World

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The Mandrakes quickly reached maturity, and the Basilisk's victims were soon un-petrified, their vitality fully restored.

Word of Jane Yu's heroic deeds had already spread throughout the school, passed along by both professors and the famous trio.

The day after the victims awoke, Hogwarts held a grand celebration feast.

This feast, however, was quite unlike any other.

In the Great Hall.

The decorations surpassed even those of the usual end-of-year feasts in their grandeur. Thousands of candles hung suspended in mid-air, while cascading drapes in the four house colors flowed like waterfalls, casting an ethereal glow in the candlelight. The walls were adorned with various house emblems and "Welcome Home" banners, while the tables groaned beneath mountains of sweets and roasted meats that threatened to overflow their platters.

The staff table had been shifted slightly leftward, making room for a row of tables and chairs to its right. Several nervous-looking ghosts occupied these seats, with plates of food, three cauldrons, and sandalwood branches arranged before them, awaiting Jane's touch to light them.

These were none other than Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick, and the Fat Friar!

When they saw Jane enter the Great Hall, their faces lit up and they immediately floated over to her seat at the Slytherin table—

"Thank heavens you're finally here—" Myrtle's usually gloomy face now bore an unexpected smile. "Professor Dumbledore gave us such prominent seats... Who would have thought, right?"

After Jane lit the branches, she studied Myrtle carefully and noticed that she had removed her thick glasses, tidied her hair, and straightened her robes—looking nothing like the "deranged" ghost the students usually described.

"I never dreamed I'd be invited to sit at the high table!" Nearly Headless Nick exclaimed, waving his arms excitedly, his pearly white form particularly luminescent in his excitement. He wore his usual tight doublet but had added an especially large ruff collar. His hair was styled in waves, and he had even asked Jane to gift him a small flower to wear on his chest.

Noticing Jane's scrutiny, he puffed out his chest even further:

"How do you like my collar? Rather dashing, isn't it? This is how we dressed at court in my day." He nodded enthusiastically, his head wobbling precariously. "And it helps keep my head from wobbling too much on my neck—wouldn't want it to fall off mid-ceremony if I get too excited!"

"Good evening." The Fat Friar nudged Nick aside with his rotund form and addressed Jane in a grateful tone, "Though I wasn't much help, I'm deeply honored by your kindness and consideration, which has added such glory to my ghostly existence—oh my, they're coming, quick, back to our seats!"

As students began pouring into the hall, the three ghosts hastily floated back to their places, sitting ramrod straight, trying to resist drooling at the sight of the food while smiling and nodding at everyone. Their presence drew curious glances and whispers from the arriving students.

"How did they get such special treatment!" The other castle ghosts arrived at the feast, staring at their three privileged companions with disbelief in their voices.

The feast began.

"Congratulations to all!" Dumbledore rose, holding up a golden goblet high above his head. "Yesterday, the Mandrakes reached full maturity, and thanks to them, our petrified students have returned to their ranks!"

The hall erupted in cheers, with particularly enthusiastic celebrations at the Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw tables.

This was followed by a lengthy motivational speech that nearly lulled Jane to sleep.

"Next, I would like to specially commend several individuals who made outstanding contributions during this crisis." Dumbledore announced, casting an expectant and delighted look toward the Slytherin table—

Only to find the child nearly asleep.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, but pressed on:

"Let us thank Jane Yu of Slytherin! She showed both courage and wisdom, facing tremendous pressure to find the Chamber of Secrets, slay the monster within, rescue her fellow students, and thwart a dark wizard's plot!"

"For this, I award Slytherin 200 points!"

"Furthermore, she has once again earned the Award for Special Services to the School, becoming the first student in Hogwarts history to receive this honor two years in succession!"

After a moment of silence, the hall erupted in thunderous applause and cheers. Many students rose from their seats and rushed toward the Slytherin table—a place they normally wouldn't dare or want to approach.

Harry and Ron jumped up excitedly, clapping as if they had won the award themselves, while Ginny blushed so deeply she looked ready to faint face-first onto the table.

"She saved my sister!" Ron exclaimed, spraying saliva as he explained to his fellow lions. "And Harry too!"

"Can you believe it? They say it was a snake over twenty feet long! She not only killed it but defeated the dark wizard too!" He gestured wildly with his hands, looking ready to climb onto the table to better demonstrate.

The surrounding Gryffindors let out gasps of amazement.

The Weasley twins whistled and produced party poppers from somewhere, showering the area with colorful confetti.

"Quiet! Quiet!" Dumbledore attempted to restore order. "We have more awards to present—"

He turned toward the seats beside the staff table, where the three ghosts sat.

Feeling the entire school's attention on them, the ghosts nervously turned silver-white.

"Friendship is precious, and friendship between the living and the dead even more so. In this incident, three ghosts, driven by loyalty to their friends, risked themselves to gather intelligence, making tremendous contributions to the school—"

"For this, I shall have a special trophy crafted in their honor!"

The hall erupted once again in waves of cheers, while the other ghosts who had come to attend the feast floated in the air, watching the three honored spirits with looks of envy and jealousy.

"Such luck, meeting Miss Jane. Even in death, they get awards," they muttered, their bitterness nearly filling the entire hall.

Moaning Myrtle looked ready to hide under her chair from embarrassment, Nearly Headless Nick seemed about to float right up onto the table, and the Fat Friar's smile stretched almost to his ears—this was the first time they had ever received such goodwill and admiration from the students.

"Now, let us eat and drink to our heart's content!" Dumbledore declared.

Almost before his words had finished, Jane's position was swarmed by the crowd. Flint and Gemma had to gather the older Slytherin students to form a protective circle around her, preventing their newly minted two-time Special Award winner from being literally suffocated by her admirers.

But even the intimidating Quidditch captain's glares and pushing couldn't fully hold back the enthusiastic crowd. The circle grew tighter and tighter, with many stretching their hands through any gap they could find, trying to touch Jane.

"Merlin's beard—are you some kind of magical creature? Look at all these people trying to get a glimpse—have they gone mad?" Draco shouted in her ear. Sitting across from Jane, he bore the brunt of the crowd's enthusiasm, getting pushed onto the table, across it, and would have tumbled off if not for her quick Levitation Charm saving his posterior.

Draco wasn't the only one displaced—Daphne and Theodore on either side of Jane were also caught in the increasingly tight circle. Due to their height, they couldn't see beyond the crowd, only the many hands reaching for Jane from all directions. They had to use Shield Charms to avoid injury in the crush.

Fortunately, Professor Snape rushed down from the staff table just in time, using his death glares and threats of point deduction to end the chaos, successfully saving his star pupil from becoming Hogwarts' first student to die by suffocation.

Several of the previously petrified students—Justin, Penelope, and Colin—hurried over from their respective tables.

Hufflepuff's Justin grabbed her hand tightly—though Theodore and Draco quickly swatted him away—and thanked her profusely. Ravenclaw's Penelope, the clever prefect, repeatedly assured her that as long as she remained at school, Jane's essays would never receive less than an Outstanding. Gryffindor's Colin, red-faced and stammering, apologized for his unauthorized photography and any trouble he'd caused her, declaring his intention to write a hundred articles celebrating Jane's heroism, complete with photos, for submission to the Daily Prophet.

Peeves was escorted to her by the Bloody Baron, and the usually mischievous poltergeist hung his head meekly, wringing his hands:

"Miss Jane, in your magnanimity, please forgive this lowly one..."

The Bloody Baron coughed twice and tightened his grip, making Peeves bow even lower:

"I'm sorry, Miss Jane. In the future, if you want to prank anyone, just say the word..."

Beyond Peeves, students who had previously gossiped about Jane came forward to apologize for their suspicions and belief in rumors. Many also apologized to their Slytherin friends for their prejudiced assumptions.

"Well done, Jane!" The Slytherin students gathered around her with congratulations. Over the past few months, Slytherin's reputation had hit rock bottom—they knew how other houses' students had referred to them: supporters of murderous dark wizards!

While Slytherin friendship typically stayed within house boundaries, cross-house friendships with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff weren't uncommon. When the Chamber incident began, many had argued fiercely with friends to defend house honor, some relationships even ending completely.

Jane's actions had effectively slapped those doubters in the face—the rumored "murderer" and "heir" had transformed into a hero worthy of the school's history books. How ironic! They felt vindicated, their posture straightened, and there was a spring in their step as they heard the other houses' students apologizing.

...

The remaining days of the term passed quickly.

To treat everyone, the school cancelled both exams and the remaining Defense Against the Dark Arts classes for the term.

Thanks to Jane's two hundred points, Slytherin secured their eighth consecutive House Cup, causing Prefect Gemma to both laugh and cry as she hugged Jane, sincerely inviting her to visit the Farley home.

But Gemma wasn't the only one extending invitations. In fact, Jane's good friend and roommate Daphne had already sent an invitation from the Greengrass family; Marcus Flint, the Quidditch captain, had delivered an invitation from the Flint family under the pretext of discussing Quidditch; and after Jane's reciprocal gift finally broke the ice between them, the platinum-haired young Malfoy had awkwardly presented an invitation to Malfoy Manor.

Jane understood their motivations—it was like a two-year asset evaluation, and in these families' eyes, she had been labeled as a "quality asset," a potential future ally or partner.

But she had little interest in such social networking, still preoccupied with her own plans.

Dumbledore's forceful guardianship document had caught her off guard, leaving her feeling somewhat resentful.

However, when she politely declined the invitations, saying her summer plans weren't settled, Draco threw a fit:

"Do you know whose invitation you're refusing! You're refusing a Malfoy's invitation!"

"This is Malfoy Manor—I dare say 99% of people have never seen such luxury in their lives!"

"There are fountains in the garden—and white peacocks, and Mother makes the most delicious biscuits—"

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed dangerously as something occurred to him:

"You're not planning to spend the summer with that red-haired mole again, are you?"

Fortunately, after facing Jane's cold shoulder for over a term, Draco seemed to have developed some immunity to the word "Weasley," successfully suppressing his anger and avoiding another year-long cold war between them.

"Fine... but wherever you end up, even if it's locked in an Egyptian pyramid, you'd better write."

"Using that owl—what did you name it?"

"Um..." Jane was at a loss for words.

She realized she hadn't named it—due to the possibility of having to return the gift, she had avoided forming a deep emotional connection with the eagle owl.

After all, in the wizarding world, naming held great significance, and she hadn't wanted to name it before ownership was confirmed.

"All this time—you haven't even given it a name!"

Draco's face was turning almost as red as Ron's hair, and seeing him about to storm off, Jane quickly spoke up:

"It's not that I don't value it, I just wanted to let my family elders name it."

The situation had indeed become awkward.

When someone kindly gives you an expensive eagle owl, and you haven't named it—

Anyone would call that discourteous.

Draco eyed her suspiciously, managing a grudging "hmph" through his nose, considering the matter settled.

Theodore, who had been coldly observing their conversation, sighed and used his book to clip a letter.

He thought of his own home—luxurious but empty and devoid of warmth...

Next time, he thought.