Chapter 106: Parent-Child Bonding Time

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Attending classes is not the ultimate goal; fulfilling the annual plan is the real truth.

It's not that Hogwarts is unbearable, but that the Hog's Head Inn offers better cost-effectiveness.

The diligent worker Jane Yu shuttled tirelessly between the Room of Requirement and the secret passage leading to the Hog's Head Inn.

She was striving to meet her annual KPIs.

For instance, she had successfully executed the second item on her plan: forging alliances with external resources like Aberforth Dumbledore. Upon hearing about her little business venture, Aberforth, as the first-in-line guardian, had specially set up a workshop for her, dedicated to modifying gaming consoles.

It's said that Aberforth had even trained Dobby into an outstanding first-class employee.

And this Saturday marked the day when the first batch of gaming consoles would be released.

"Finally, they're here!" Aberforth extended a hand to help her climb out of Ariana's portrait and handed her a cloth bag. "These things are not easy to modify; the magical circuits involve some alchemy."

Jane opened the bag to find fifteen or sixteen gaming consoles, just enough to fulfill the pre-orders she had received, with one or two extras.

"But the design blueprints you gave me were very detailed. I suppose the Lemays put a lot of effort into drawing them." Aberforth waved his hands proudly, his beard slightly curling upwards. "I succeeded after just three or four tries."

He led Jane up the stairs, and only then did she realize that the Hog's Head Inn had undergone an expansion, with an additional floor added.

Before she could take in the full view, a voice echoed in the air:

"Dobby is here to serve you, Miss Jane!"

The house-elf, with eyes as large as tennis balls, Apparated in front of her, tears of joy brimming in its eyes:

"Oh—great Miss Jane! You've given Dobby such a wonderful place, such a wonderful job—"

Jane handed it ten pairs of socks as an employee benefit.

Dobby looked as if it might faint from happiness. Hugging the socks, it sobbed uncontrollably:

"Gifts! Socks! No one has ever thought of giving Dobby gifts before!"

It began putting the socks on, four on each foot, and looked like it wanted to wrap its ears and arms in socks as well.

"I quite like this little elf," Aberforth praised the excellent employee. "He's very good at dismantling and assembling parts. We work well together... And my Hog's Head Inn is now spotless."

Dobby started banging its head against the wall, shouting non-stop:

"Oh—Master Aberforth praised Dobby! Dobby has been praised by such a respected wizard!"

One had to admit, it had a natural talent for the art of flattery.

Hearing words like "guardian" and "respected wizard," Aberforth smiled with satisfaction, his wrinkles smoothing out.

He explained in detail to Jane the principles behind the magical circuits in the gaming consoles and the magical tools and spells used to modify the game content.

The scene was harmonious, filled with a warm and cheerful atmosphere.

But just as they were halfway through their conversation, Fawkes suddenly burst in through the window, diving straight into Jane's arms.

Aberforth's face darkened.

"It must be Albus realizing you're not at school!" he grumbled, his tone growing irritable again. "How long has it been, and he's already come looking for you? Why doesn't he just put a chain on you?"

"You'd better head back!" He hurriedly pushed Jane towards the painting on the second floor. "If he catches you this time, it'll be harder to use this passage again in the future!"

While some were enjoying a warm and cheerful moment, others were frazzled and anxious.

Far away at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was looking forward to a great parent-child time this weekend.

During the summer, first Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban, then Cornelius Fudge had stationed Dementors on campus. On top of that, he had been preoccupied with tracking Voldemort's Horcruxes, leaving him utterly swamped.

He hadn't even had time to spend with his child.

Although he had entrusted trusted new professors like Lupin to pay extra attention to Jane's mental and physical well-being—and had just received a positive report yesterday that "Miss Jane is helpful, intelligent, and kind"—he still felt a vague unease.

After all, she hadn't caused any trouble in the Headmaster's office for a whole week!

His uneasy premonition came true on Saturday!

When he sent Fawkes, who was disgruntled from not seeing Jane for too long, to summon her, his phoenix didn't return!

Sensing something amiss, Dumbledore immediately went to the entrance of the Slytherin common room. Amidst the curious gazes of the young snakes, he learned that Jane wasn't in her dormitory.

At this point, he hadn't realized the child was missing, thinking she was probably playing in some corner with ghostly friends or Hagrid's magical creatures.

But Fawkes still hadn't returned!

Could it have gone face-to-face with the Dementors stationed outside the school?

Dumbledore was so anxious he practically smoked. He personally went to all the school's entrances, casting Patronuses at the Dementors—

To no avail.

The child must not be in the school!

Concern clouded his judgment. Only then did he remember his Headmaster's privileges and confirmed that Jane had indeed left the campus!

Fortunately, he hadn't forgotten about the secret passage connecting the Room of Requirement to the Hog's Head Inn. Thinking it over, he felt reassured.

After all, with Aberforth at the Hog's Head Inn, it was as safe as Hogwarts in a way.

But then a surge of anger rose within him.

Taking Jane out of school after term had started—

Aberforth, truly a good brother!

After pacing and pondering for half an hour, he returned to the Headmaster's office and found Jane holding Fawkes.

She was sitting comfortably in a chair, clearly well-versed in entering the room by saying the password. She had made herself at home, pouring tea and eating snacks as if it were her own house.

Yet Dumbledore didn't think anything was amiss.

"Eat more, Jane!" he said kindly, taking out piles of candies he had bought from Honeydukes during the holidays. "I'm sorry I had to leave you at The Leaky Cauldron... So much happened during the holidays. Look at you, you've lost weight."

Jane glanced down at her arms and legs, noticing they had actually grown rounder.

What followed was a long session of concern and care, from the Dementors encountered on the train to certain professors' furry little secrets...

"You've noticed, haven't you?" Dumbledore smiled, seemingly proud of her curiosity. "With your sharpness, it's no surprise. Severus said you've already grasped the basics of brewing Wolfsbane Potion."

"All the professors are aware of this... But I hope you'll keep it a secret among the students."

"As long as he takes Wolfsbane Potion every month, nothing will happen... His level of Defense Against the Dark Arts is exceptional."

Jane agreed, and Dumbledore seemed even happier. He took out a package from his drawer:

"The Lemays like you very much. They've sent another package and some gifts."

"By the way, Nicolas suggested I enroll you in Ancient Runes as an elective to lay the foundation for learning alchemy in the future."

Watching helplessly as her electives increased from two to four, Jane was on the verge of tears.

Why were the external resources she had united turning against her?

Directly adding pressure by giving her a second foreign language?

Although alchemy would indeed help with her gaming console modifications...

But with four electives, would she even have time to sleep?

"No, I don't think I need that many electives—"

She strongly objected, claiming to have checked the schedule and found that taking four electives would cause time conflicts.

But Dumbledore shook his head and smiled:

"Don't worry, I don't intend to make you take too many courses; that would be too stressful."

"You only need to come to the Headmaster's office every Saturday afternoon, and I'll personally tutor you in this subject—there won't be any homework either."

He was even tempted to add Arithmancy to her schedule!

As long as the child was busy, she wouldn't wander off!

Besides, weekend parent-child time was now secured! She wouldn't sneak off to the Hog's Head Inn anymore!

Mission accomplished!

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