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Resets Weekly! [Monday]
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Jane Yu was indeed troubled by matters of the heart.
—Though not her own feelings, but those of others.
During these days while waiting for her expulsion notice, she lay in bed with the curtains drawn, happily reading novels she had bought from Flourish and Blotts over the summer. She shed tears over the beautiful love story between the protagonist and a ghost, the tragic romance between a werewolf and centaur that transcended species, and the passionate tale of a domineering Veela pursuing a delicate elf.
Ah, romance! (wiping tears) It's so much more interesting watching others fall in love! (wiping more tears)
After spending several leisurely days in the dormitory, she finally realized something was amiss.
Why hadn't Dumbledore summoned her to process her expulsion yet?
Something was definitely wrong.
Before she could verify her suspicions, Daphne returned, giving her a complex look.
Jane noticed her roommate had been acting strangely these past few days, always seeming on the verge of saying something.
"Yu... are you..." Daphne bit her lip, appearing to be in the midst of an intense internal struggle, "are you alright?"
Jane felt utterly bewildered.
"I think I'm fine—why do you ask?"
Is she really? Daphne wondered.
She had initially been relieved that Jane returned unharmed from the Chamber.
Even though she wasn't the Heir of Slytherin—
Defeating the Heir only proved she was even more powerful, didn't it?
She hadn't misjudged her after all!
But she soon noticed something was off about Jane's behavior, and her relief quickly turned to concern.
Her roommate, who rarely appeared in the dormitory and usually studied advanced spells and potions somewhere unknown, was now spending day and night in bed, even skipping classes!
The once strong and aloof Jane who seemed above it all was now hiding behind drawn curtains, secretly crying!
She had never seen Jane so dejected!
Daphne's thoughts drifted to her conversation with Dumbledore earlier that day...
"Miss Greengrass, I'd like to ask about your roommate—Jane Yu's condition."
The white-haired headmaster had inquired kindly.
But with her skill at reading between the lines, she immediately detected the underlying concern.
If even the headmaster was this worried, something terrible must have happened to Jane in the Chamber!
Thinking of Jane's crying, she grew more anxious and immediately reported everything, hoping the headmaster might offer some advice.
But Dumbledore had only sighed deeply, telling her that Jane had discovered the Chamber, defeated the Heir, and killed the terrible basilisk that had petrified the students. He simply asked her to look after her roommate before dismissing her...
Coming back to the present, Daphne continued trying to persuade Jane:
"Whatever happened... you need to take care of yourself. If you're willing, would you like to talk about it?"
Jane's face formed a question mark.
She was fine, just waiting for Dumbledore's letter to send her away!
Nothing could be better than that!
"I'm really fine, nothing's wrong," she replied in confusion. "Don't worry about me, just let me be alone."
But Daphne's expression grew even stranger, similar to how the professors often looked at her.
—Full of benevolence? Sympathy?
She didn't realize Daphne had concluded she was suffering from severe psychological trauma.
To Daphne, when a friend in pain says "let me be alone," "I'm fine," and "nothing's wrong," it roughly translates to "don't leave me alone," "I'm not fine at all," and "something terrible happened"!
But facing this situation, she felt helpless.
She could only forcefully press her chocolate stash into Jane's hands.
Back on her bed, Daphne suddenly had a brilliant idea.
If they could make Jane feel more loved, surely she would emerge from this darkness!
She leaped off her bed and sprinted out of the dormitory towards the common room.
...
The next day.
Jane was awakened by something heavy and furry pressing down on her.
Half-asleep, she felt two feet heavily trampling her body, soft fur repeatedly brushing across her face, and occasionally a hard beak pecking at her.
—She felt like all her internal organs were about to be squeezed out.
Eyes still closed, she tried pushing away the object, only to get a handful of feathers and a sharp peck in return!
That instantly cleared away any remaining drowsiness.
She sat up startled, grabbing the unknown creature, only to discover it was an enormous owl!
It had piercing yellow eyes, one half-closed, looking down at her with supreme authority. Its black, hook-shaped beak curved downward, its face was light brownish-yellow, with "horns" atop its head; its body displayed a wavelike pattern of black, brown, and gray.
It was an Eagle Owl!
It started flapping its wings, sending feathers flying everywhere. Jane was delighted to see its wingspan was almost as wide as the bed, its body well over half a meter long—surely the most magnificent owl she'd ever seen.
—What a handsome bird!
—If only it would stop eyeing her pet garter snake with such a hungry expression!
She picked up the letter that had fallen on the bed and discovered the owl was delivering a belated Christmas gift from Draco.
Like a peace offering.
When she got out of bed, she was horrified to find her bedside piled high with various packages.
It felt just like Christmas all over again!
She rifled through the packages and found gifts from Theodore, Gemma, Flint... practically every Slytherin she'd ever interacted with had sent something.
This left her completely baffled.
Surely everyone knew by now she wasn't the Heir?
Why were they still trying to curry favor with her?
Little did she know that her good roommate had already spread the news far and wide about her defeating the Heir and the Chamber's basilisk.
She neatly stacked the gifts, planning to return them when she had the chance.
After all, as someone about to be expelled, she neither deserved nor could repay such gifts.
Though it was a shame about the Eagle Owl... she wondered if keeping it would be legal in the Muggle world?
Pondering this question, Jane left the dormitory.
She intended to visit the headmaster's office to investigate and actively inquire about her final judgment.
Behind her, Daphne bit her handkerchief, her eyes sparkling with emotion.
She knew it—the crowd's love would work!
If everyone showed a little love, Jane would surely recover!
Look at her, finally leaving the dormitory!
Her powerful, invincible friend would soon return to her throne!
And she, Daphne Greengrass, would be remembered as the one who prevented catastrophe and helped restore her friend to power!