After a long day of classes, Jane Yu made her way to Professor Snape's office right on schedule.
She had anticipated brewing the Draught of Living Death, but to her surprise, it turned out to be another variant of the Wolfsbane Potion.
"Your guardian believes you're ready to start learning how to brew the Wolfsbane Potion," Snape remarked, his expression as sour as it had been on the first evening of term. "I hope your brain has shaken off the stupor of the summer holidays and that you can master this quickly enough to spare him from polluting my dungeon like clockwork every month."
He slid the potion ingredients toward Jane and began instructing her on the brewing process. As she heated the cauldron, he suddenly asked:
"What is the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?"
Caught off guard by the non-potion-related question, Jane hesitated briefly before answering:
"An Animagus transforms into an animal at will, while a werewolf has no choice. They transform involuntarily during a full moon and lose all sense of reason."
Snape's lips twitched slightly, but he offered no comment. Instead, he followed up with another question:
"What are the effects of the Wolfsbane Potion?"
Finally, a question about potions. Jane replied:
"If taken for a week leading up to the full moon, it allows a werewolf to retain their sanity even after transforming."
Again, Snape refrained from commenting, instead issuing a warning:
"Under a full moon, if a werewolf bites you and its saliva mixes with your blood, you will be infected and become a werewolf."
Jane couldn't help but sense a subtle implication in his words.
But Snape abruptly shifted the topic:
"I assume your fondness for furry creatures does not extend to werewolves."
The conversation then returned to potion-brewing techniques.
As in the past two years, Snape was relentless in criticizing Jane's stirring methods, her way of cutting ingredients, and the sequence in which she weighed and added them.
Yet, despite his acerbic remarks, he kept awarding points. By the end of the evening's detention, Slytherin's house points had reached a new high.
Just as Jane was about to leave, Snape spoke again:
"Lockhart is a charlatan. I doubt his curse will have its intended effect..."
He pulled out a small, unlabeled vial from a drawer. Its contents were an ominous shade, likely a potion to resist curses.
"But just in case, drink this."
Jane thanked him politely, took the vial, and tucked it into her robes before leaving the office.
Such a high-quality potion—it was, of course, worth saving for emergencies!
There was no way she was going to let Lockhart's curse be lifted so easily; she still needed it to give herself a strategic advantage!
...
When Jane returned to the Slytherin common room, she was met with the fervent stares of her housemates.
What on earth had happened?
Ignoring the crowd gathering around her, she quickly made her way back to the dormitory.
—After all, she had an important task waiting for her.
That was to draft her annual work plan, set KPIs and objectives, and outline her dropout strategy!
This was undoubtedly the most critical part of the year!
She pulled out a piece of parchment and summarized two guiding principles and the ultimate goal:
First, time was of the essence. With each passing year, crises loomed closer. In the face of an unpredictable and unstable future, she needed to achieve the fundamental goal of leaving Hogwarts and transitioning to home education as quickly as possible, with the stretch goal of leaving Britain altogether.
Second, given the changing environment and circumstances, and with Dumbledore as her guardian, minor disruptions and classroom antics were no longer effective. She needed to abandon illusions and adopt more effective strategies.
It had to be said: following Dumbledore had taught her a lot.
For instance, she had mastered the art of rational planning and goal breakdown.
Based on these two guiding principles, she identified specific objectives and formulated a plan:
First, following Aberforth's advice, she would build good relationships with her Slytherin peers to provoke Dumbledore's disapproval.
Second, she would forge alliances with external forces, maintaining close ties with Mr. Scamander and Aberforth.
When the time came, she could seize the opportunity to request home education or apprenticeship under Newt Scamander.
But these two plans alone might not suffice... After all, her guardian was resolute and unlikely to be easily swayed or agree to her demands.
As she pondered, she walked back into the common room.
There, she saw Draco Malfoy lounging in a chair, surrounded by a group of Slytherins.
The sound of a video game, amplified by a Sonorus Charm, echoed throughout the common room.
Jane was taken aback.
Draco had been playing the game since breakfast and was still at it now.
A true gaming addict, utterly unstoppable.
When the other Slytherins saw Jane approach, they swarmed around her, their eyes brimming with excitement and anticipation, bombarding her with questions about how to purchase the gaming device. Several wealthy students were already clamoring to pay deposits.
"Just looking at it makes me feel like there's a cat scratching at my heart!" an upper-year student exclaimed, tugging at her sleeve in excitement.
"I feel like all the magic in my body has awakened!" another upper-year student on her other side said, pulling at her other sleeve.
"Please, just let me play it for a moment! Just one moment!" They began jostling Draco, trying to grab the gaming device from him.
Draco's hands were suddenly empty as Flint snatched the game console, leaving him furious.
At the peak of his gaming addiction, having his console taken away felt like torture, as if ants were crawling all over him.
"Don't you have your own gaming devices?" he shouted angrily.
"No," an upper-year student replied with a grin. "Draco, have you finished your homework?"
Flint, asserting his authority as Quidditch captain, suppressed Draco's tantrum:
"Exactly. Kids shouldn't just play games. Improving your grades is the real deal."
"Your father would be displeased if he knew you were indulging in games."
"If you have so much free time, why not focus on figuring out how to knock Potter off his broom?"
Despite his talk of "improving grades" and "finishing homework," the Slytherin Quidditch captain was deeply engrossed in the game, lamenting that the Quidditch video game only allowed players to choose the Seeker position. He wished all positions were available.
Watching this scene, Jane suddenly had an epiphany.
She hurried back to her dormitory, spread out the parchment, and wrote down a new line:
"Promote gaming devices within the school to incite parental complaints and achieve the goal."
After all, she had experienced the power of public opinion during the summer holidays.
And with such a controversial item as a gaming device, parental complaints were almost guaranteed.
Faced with public pressure, she doubted even Dumbledore could keep her at the school!
Then, she could either pursue home education with Aberforth or roam the world with the Scamanders!
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