The remaining days of the holiday flew by in a blur.
Jane Yu's gaming console turned out to be a massive hit with Harry. Upon learning that she planned to sell the consoles, the potential customer immediately pulled out a pouch brimming with Galleons, pouring them onto her desk with a dramatic clatter.
"Please, save one for me!"
Though Harry was typically cautious with his spending and constantly reminded himself not to blow all his money at once, the gaming console was an irresistible temptation. It posed the ultimate test to his willpower—and he failed spectacularly, his rationality utterly defeated.
Equally tempting was Jane's Firebolt. Its sleek, aerodynamic design, premium ash wood handle, and the meticulously arranged birch twigs at its tail left Harry completely smitten.
It was as though a wild Harry had taken up residence in Jane's room. He practically lived there, spending every day curled up in her chair as the two of them played games. As a token of gratitude for her generosity in sharing the console, he would polish her Firebolt with his Broomstick Servicing Kit after every gaming session.
Fortunately, the gaming console kept the Savior of the Wizarding World sufficiently entertained to prevent him from emptying the Potter family vault and making a mad dash to Quality Quidditch Supplies.
Neither of them gave a single thought to the pile of unfinished homework.
Thus, in the final three days of the holiday, Jane found herself burning the midnight oil to finish her assignments and avoid a lecture from her guardian. Harry, too, upon reuniting with Ron and Hermione, wasted no time in pleading with his best friends for help.
"Bloody hell! What possessed you to skip even Snape's essay?" Ron exclaimed in horror. To him, the idea of leaving even a single word off an assignment from Snape was tantamount to signing his own death warrant—complete with a dose of poison and a one-way trip to the Black Lake.
"Uh... I think Jane hasn't done hers either?" Harry ventured hesitantly, his mind inexplicably drifting back to the levels he had yet to beat on the console. "But I have to say, her gaming console is absolutely mesmerizing... I still have so many levels left to clear..."
Ron looked even more horrified. Grabbing Harry by the shoulders, he shook him as though trying to jolt him back to reality.
"How dare you compare yourself to Jane in the professors' eyes? Her not doing her homework and you not doing yours are two completely different things!"
"I bet if she handed in a blank piece of parchment, Snape would still give her five points—for her honesty!"
When Hermione heard that both Jane and Harry had left most of their homework undone, she was utterly incredulous. Her instincts told her that Harry must have been the one to lead Jane astray.
"I can't believe this!" she fumed, slamming a book down in front of Harry. "How could you let her neglect her homework? There's no way I'm letting you copy mine... What would you even learn from that? At most, I'll help you check your work!"
Harry, feeling wronged, tried to defend himself.
So he brought the two of them next door.
Jane, ever the helpful one, generously lent them a gaming console to cultivate potential customers.
"I'm too busy to entertain you," she said, her quill scratching away as she referred to the notes Theodore had sent her for assistance. "Feel free to play and kill some time. I still have an essay on medieval witch burnings to write... and some worksheets."
The two of them got completely hooked.
Ron became utterly engrossed in "Wizard Duel," reveling in the joy of knocking down multiple enemies with a single Stunning Spell. "If only this spell worked on Malfoy and his gang in real life!" he exclaimed.
Hermione, meanwhile, played a game about caring for magical creatures and declared it could serve as preparation for Care of Magical Creatures class.
"I've seen gaming consoles in the Muggle world, but I've never played one. I never expected Jane to have such an improved version—this could totally be used for learning!"
They played through day and night, the room echoing only with the sounds of the gaming console.
"There you are! We found them!" Mrs. Weasley's voice rang out from the doorway, followed by the entire Weasley family crowding into Jane's room.
Ron and Hermione snapped out of their gaming trance, realizing they had long missed the agreed-upon meeting time.
"Why didn't you say anything when you came to see Jane?" Mrs. Weasley scolded Ron, her tone sharp enough to make him shrink under her gaze. "We even went to Knockturn Alley looking for you, but not a trace! If it weren't for Tom being so kind, your father might have had to report you as a missing person to the Ministry of Magic—"
What followed was a flurry of panicked apologies from Ron.
Thanks to Jane's good standing with Mrs. Weasley, the latter's attitude towards her was entirely different. She was warm and kind, asking Jane how she was doing, whether she was eating well, and if she was sleeping soundly. She even invited Jane to spend the next summer at the Burrow.
Thanks to Jane, Ron narrowly avoided being buried on the spot.
His face scrunched up as he shot Jane a grateful look.
The Weasley family bustled downstairs to book rooms for the night.
But Fred and George stayed behind, intrigued by Jane's gaming console.
Their sister Ginny also insisted on staying, claiming she wanted to supervise her brothers' gaming.
When the Weasley twins started playing "Save the Wizarding World," controlling a pixelated Jane to jump, collect Galleons, and dodge Devil's Snare, they instantly understood Ron's feelings.
"I dare say this is the greatest magical invention in the world!" they marveled. "Absolutely brilliant, beyond words."
"This is true happiness!" they declared in unison, competing to see who could clear levels faster and die fewer times... even ignoring Mrs. Weasley's call for dinner.
Ginny's eyes lit up when she saw Jane's name appear on the screen. She began vying with her brothers for the console, particularly fascinated by the pixelated character modeled after Jane.
"I'll probably start selling them in about a month," Jane said, her quill still moving at full speed. "Would you be willing to help me with some promotion? There'll be commissions and bonuses—after all, I can't just stand at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room all day."
Fred nearly whistled with delight, his red hair seeming to glow with excitement. "Wow, what a pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed.
George chimed in, "Of course! Who could say no to Galleons and fun? Especially when it's a gaming console—the source of happiness!"
To show their sincerity, they started helping Jane with her homework, pulling out their Auto-Answer Quills and pairing them with her Auto-Correction Ink. The results were remarkably effective—no wonder such items were banned during exams at Hogwarts.
Thanks to the Weasley twins' generous assistance, Jane managed to finish all her summer assignments by the night before the new term started.
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