HP: The Dropout Who Saved the World

"Draco? Your hand—"

The couple immediately rose from the sofa. Narcissa rushed to her son, bent down, and cast a spell to remove the leeches.

"What are you doing here?"

But Draco ignored his mother's question. Instead, he wore a stubborn expression and said in a trembling voice:

"I can't go back to the Dark Lord—he will be defeated—I already know—"

Lucius pressed his hand downward in the air, as if tapping an invisible cane, and frowned.

"Draco, this is not a topic you should involve yourself in."

Severus Snape, who had been silently observing the family of three, suddenly spoke, adding fuel to the fire:

"I suggest you listen more to young Mr. Malfoy's thoughts. After all, his performance this term has been anything but ordinary—"

This interruption brought the couple back to their senses. Narcissa placed both hands on Draco's shoulders and pressed him onto the sofa, anxiously asking:

"I haven't asked yet—Draco's performance? Why is he here in detention? What happened?"

They received a sarcastic smile from Snape, along with an unexpected answer:

"Of course, it's because of his astonishing performance—I dare say none of you could have pulled off such a feat that shocked three schools during your time at Hogwarts."

Draco, who had been caught in detention and now faced his parents as an accused party, wanted to die of embarrassment. He lowered his head heavily.

Snape glanced at him, a mocking curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Young Mr. Malfoy, before the ball, got into a massive brawl with students from three houses over your excellent partner—Jane Yu."

Draco let out a helpless gasp, but Snape continued his report:

"He even kidnapped and knocked out his housemate Zabini, using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate him—I had no choice but to assign him detention for an entire school year."

The couple let out a huge sigh of relief. They didn't think it was a big deal at all; in fact, they felt a faint sense of pride in their son.

"Oh, is that true, Draco?" Narcissa said with feigned reproach. "You should have some gentlemanly manners; how could you get into a fight?"

Lucius also gave a fake smile and apologized to Snape:

"Oh—sorry to trouble you, Severus—boys at this age are just impulsive and mischievous—"

Snape barely restrained the urge to roll his eyes at the couple, who were on good terms with him, and to kick them out.

Relieved to be let off lightly, Draco, noticing that his parents showed no signs of blame, proudly puffed out his chest:

"After all, it was Jane—Dad, Mom, you must understand—I was defending Slytherin's honor—"

The office fell silent for a moment, leaving only Draco's chatter as he recounted everything from being turned into a white ferret by Moody to Jane Yu standing up for him, to how she struck back heavily during class. He emphasized her ease in taming dragons and mermaids and winning the Triwizard Tournament:

"She defended all of Slytherin—upheld Hogwarts' honor in front of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang—"

"Her magical abilities are extraordinary. They say she can memorize the entire library and cast the Imperius Curse with ease—"

"There's a rumor that she has the power of prophecy—of course, she's done divinations for Blaise and many others in the house, and they've all been spot on—"

"And she can make animals submit to her. Dragons, mermaids, they all obey her commands—"

The three adults in the room looked at Draco, who had transformed into Jane Yu's biggest fan, with peculiar expressions.

For some reason, Narcissa, seeing her son like this, suddenly felt a sense of familial strength.

She thought of the crazed members of the Black family—Bellatrix, who followed Voldemort fanatically; Andromeda, who married a Muggle-born despite being disowned; Sirius, who betrayed the family and went his own way...

She shook her head to dispel the inexplicable thoughts but keenly caught a single word—

Prophecy.

This made her eyes widen in surprise, and she let out a questioning sound.

"Mom, although it's just a rumor, we all know it's true!" Draco said urgently. "She knows everything that's going to happen. She always resolves dangers in advance, so the Dark Lord—you've played that game, haven't you—he won't succeed—"

"That's enough, Draco." Lucius stood up, his forehead glistening with sweat from anxiety. "It seems your safety is assured, so we can rest easy. Severus, today's meeting has been very enlightening. I look forward to our next discussion—"

He gave Narcissa a look, and the couple quickly bid Snape farewell and left.

They had to confirm the hints she had given them!

"Draco, that child, why did he only tell us something so important now?"

Watching her husband hurriedly pull out a gaming console, Narcissa's tone carried a hint of reproach:

"It's that game, Saving the Magical World. Since the game centers around her, there must be profound meaning in it!"

The couple looked at the console as if it were a prophecy ball filled with rich content.

They threw themselves into it with all the dedication of a lifetime, carefully analyzing every detail.

"A powerful dark wizard has descended upon the magical world, intending to turn all those who defy him into Muggles—"

"You play as a little black-haired witch named Jane, collecting various magical artifacts to save the magical world—"

Lucius drew in a sharp breath, clutching his wife's arm tightly as he whispered:

"I understand now. This is her prophecy—the Dark Lord will be defeated by her. His true intention is to turn everyone into Squibs!"

"Turn everyone into Squibs? How is that possible?" Narcissa anxiously grasped his hand in return. "What should we do?"

Lucius's mind raced as he spoke softly:

"The Dark Lord's claim to purge Muggle-born wizards might just be the first step. The second step could be us pure-bloods—"

"He took my wand, perhaps not just to test my loyalty—but to render me incapable of casting spells—"

He quickly voiced his speculations, explaining the movements of the Death Eaters one by one:

"Crouch—a pure-blood family. After young Barty's mission failed, he ended up in St. Mungo's, mad and incoherent, unable to cast spells anymore."

"And old Goyle and old Crabbe, their deaths couldn't just be due to Apparition accidents; it must have been the Dark Lord—punishing them, using their blood and flesh for some sort of curse. If they had any disloyalty, he stripped them of their magic—"

"In those years, how many pure-blood families lost their last heirs... He didn't spare them just because they were pure-bloods..."

Narcissa sat dazed on the sofa, carefully placing the gaming console on the small table as if it were fragile glass:

"What do we do... Perhaps we were wrong from the start... But if we disobey, we either die or become Muggles..."

Lucius fell silent as well. He knew he could no longer turn back. Even knowing the ultimate outcome of failure, there was no way back.

And Dumbledore—he had already offended him too deeply, their views were too divergent, and there was no room for communication.

"Maybe her prophecy is wrong?" he tried to comfort his wife. "The Dark Lord... A child of her age... How could she defeat him?"

But Narcissa was not comforted. She looked at her husband with tear-filled eyes:

"Harry Potter defeated him once as a baby... And Jane can tame dragons. She has Dumbledore behind her..."

Feeling a bleak future ahead, Lucius sighed. He had never been so thankful for his previous investment in Jane Yu.

"It's not the worst yet. We still have Draco." His hand slid onto his wife's, gripping it tightly. "He's with Jane Yu. She's Dumbledore's protégé. At Hogwarts, they'll be safe."

"Will they?" Narcissa asked blankly. "If the Dark Lord punishes us... Can Draco really escape...?"

Lucius remained silent, but Narcissa suddenly slapped his hand, stood up, and her eyes seemed to ignite with something:

"No, I must go to Hogwarts again. I have to find her!"

"If she can foresee what's going to happen, and Dumbledore trusts her, and we're partners... She must have a way!"

"We have to be careful." Lucius pulled his wife back as she stepped into the fireplace. "Repeated trips to Hogwarts might draw attention... It's better to have Draco send a message."

...

Faced with the Malfoys' invitation, Jane Yu felt it was like a heavy, burning hot potato.

Although she had established a good business relationship with the Malfoy couple in the past, and the collaboration had been pleasant—

She felt this did not mean they would willingly abandon their sunk costs in matters involving allegiance.

After all, once a servant of Voldemort, always a servant. The Malfoy family would never gamble their lives and fortune.

But Jane Yu was no different. Confronted with such an invitation, which could either be a blessing or a curse—

She dared not bet her life on it.

What if she stepped into the manor's gate only to be ambushed by Voldemort?

However, when she opened the invitation, she found it contained something unexpected.

In addition to informing her about the distribution status of the gaming consoles and various data sheets, it included a small crimson card. It bore no words but exuded the scent of invisible ink.

Curious, she cast a revealing spell and found the sentences that appeared were upside-down, reversed, and written in different languages.

Thus, she had no choice but to meet the spirit of Bridget Wenlock, the famous Arithmancer who had died in 1286, once again.

"This is terrible. We've met again so soon," Wenlock said gloomily, her face sullen. "What do you want this time? I really don't want to help you with homework anymore. Why must I suffer this torment even after death?"

Jane Yu placed the card before her and asked for her help in interpreting it.

With just a glance, Wenlock read the text on the card:

"We sincerely invite you and your guardian to visit us."

This was undoubtedly a signal of goodwill toward Dumbledore, which surprised Jane Yu.

"Thank you for your help," she said, expressing her gratitude to Wenlock. "Looking forward to the next time—"

"No, no, I just hope I can die again, completely and utterly." Wenlock interrupted quickly. "Never see me again."

It seemed she couldn't rely on just one source for help.

Jane Yu sighed.

The letter soon appeared before Dumbledore.

And her guardian clearly hadn't anticipated this development.

"A very interesting invitation," he said, intertwining his fingers in thought. "The Malfoys... They've spent years trying every means to remove me from the position of headmaster."

He held the invitation, pondering for a moment, before smiling slightly.

"Perhaps this isn't a trap. We could arrange a meeting tomorrow in Hogsmeade Village—"

"But as for your reward, the Gringotts key, I've already prepared it. Perhaps we can schedule the meeting after you deposit your money?"

Jane Yu smiled in satisfaction as she received the key.

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