HP: The Dropout Who Saved the World

Although Ron, who was delighted to receive double detention, lamented his bad luck, there was another person even more furious than him.

—That was his brother, Perceval Weasley.

Having replaced Mr. Crouch to attend the Christmas Ball, he had been so proud earlier, but now he felt so ashamed.

Rushing over and learning from the professor about his siblings' behavior, he covered his face with his dress robe and lowered his head, wishing he could bash his head in front of Jane Yu.

"Ridiculous!" he reprimanded loudly, "Not long ago, Mum was worried about you fighting, and now you—now you—"

Perhaps because lice don't itch when there are too many, debts don't worry when there are too many—

Fred and George didn't even think a year's detention from Filch was a big deal. The two detention specialists mockingly said:

"How wonderful, future Minister, it's an honor to receive your esteemed concern for us—"

"You're busy with official duties, we surely can't continue to disturb you from drafting your cauldron report—"

Percy's face turned pink, and his lowered head finally broke when he received a glance from Jane Yu:

"I... I apologize for their behavior, for failing to discipline them—"

After receiving Jane Yu's forgiveness, he sighed heavily, and the two began to chat.

"Speaking of which, I haven't congratulated you on successfully passing the first task yet. I heard the Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau is thrilled, and they want to extend an invitation to you as soon as you graduate."

This topic hit Jane Yu's sore spot.

Why is it so difficult to withdraw from the competition?

"It's nothing worth mentioning," she closed her eyes painfully, forcibly changing the subject, "Did you come to the ball alone? Why didn't Mr. Crouch attend?"

This topic indeed made Percy become talkative again, and the shameful look on his face slowly faded away:

"I've been promoted, thanks to your help. Suddenly, I've become busy with lots of documents and things to handle—"

"Like attending this ball, unfortunately, Mr. Crouch is unwell. You know, work is exhausting, so he entrusted me to attend on his behalf."

Jane Yu nodded understandingly and offered sincere congratulations:

"Congratulations on your promotion; you must have worked very hard for it."

Percy's face was once again praised into a pink hue, and he awkwardly fiddled with his robe's hem, looking rather embarrassed, saying:

"Oh, it's nothing, thanks to your guidance on my report last time. The proposal for product standardization is very popular in the department."

"The matter of establishing a market supervision office is still under discussion in the division. This might add a few positions, but the department might feel our division is too large to be balanced—the relationships within the department are quite complex—"

Ron, who was watching the two exchange compliments with wide eyes, muttered softly:

"Very popular, but Crouch still calls him Weatherby."

The Weasleys giggled, starting to call each other "Fred Weatherby," "George Weatherby," "Ginny Weatherby," "Ron Weatherby"...

Percy trembled as he extended his finger to point at his siblings, shouting loudly:

"You—you—it's just a title! Why aren't you going back to the tower to sleep?"

Feeling he had lost face in front of Jane Yu, he quickly drove his siblings away.

Without the Weatherbys to undermine him, he sighed heavily and turned to her:

"The guidance document for product standardization has been submitted to Minister Fudge, and he will organize a meeting to discuss whether to approve it."

He quickly revealed the worries in his heart, originally happy about his promotion, but now frowning:

"It's just that Mr. Crouch happened to fall ill at this critical juncture. Without him, there's no one to push this matter forward—"

"And then there's the Christmas holiday, all the way until January, and I don't know if he'll come to work. With the department's low efficiency—sigh—"

Jane Yu listened to his worries for a while, then asked:

"What illness did Mr. Crouch have? Does he plan to work from home?"

"I don't know," Percy shook his head, continuing to sigh, "He sends instructions via letters, and I follow them, that's all."

"It's just that such a major matter as product standardization, after all, I can't influence the department's decisions—sigh—"

Jane Yu secretly sighed at Percy's emotional intelligence.

Human relationships are universal; how can he not even know his superior's physical condition?

Show more concern for him; maybe Mr. Crouch has other thoughts on these plans?

"You might want to show more concern for Mr. Crouch," she suggested, "You know that elf named Winky was freed, and besides, he doesn't have much family, the only interactions are with colleagues at work, in such circumstances, he must feel quite bad—"

Percy nodded, seeming to have an epiphany, his face showing a slight embarrassment:

"That makes sense... ahem... to be honest, I really don't want him to keep calling me Weatherby."

"Building a good relationship with the boss... indeed... these are all connections within the department..."

Jane Yu controlled herself not to laugh out loud:

"Since you have such aspirations, you should have common ground with Mr. Crouch. Why not visit him?"

Percy's eyes lit up, and he quickly flipped through his schedule:

"Brilliant suggestion! Let me check my calendar—"

Determined, he quickly became anxious again, asking softly:

"But if I go visit him alone, would it seem too ingratiating?"

"After all, there are so many people in the department, if someone finds out, what would they say?"

Jane Yu pondered for a moment, thinking he had a point:

"Maybe you could organize people from the division to go together, after all, everyone respects him—"

"Mr. Crouch has dedicated his life to the Ministry of Magic, now that he's sick at home, shouldn't the department send someone to show concern?"

Percy's eyes nearly sparkled like stars, he almost wanted to applaud her!

"Yes! Yes!" he exclaimed, "If I were Mr. Crouch, having dedicated so much to the Ministry of Magic and no one cared, I'd feel heartbroken!"

"I can organize people from our International Magical Cooperation Division to visit him! Surely others from other divisions would be willing to join!"

Percy left with profuse thanks, seemingly full of aspirations, planning to make a mark with Mr. Crouch.

But neither Jane Yu nor he anticipated that Percy's plan would directly uncover a shocking secret.

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