To Unlock Bonus Chapters:
Reach 50/100/200/400 Power Stones! 3 Extra Chapters!
Reach 800 Power Stones to activate NP!
Resets Weekly! [Monday]
—————————————————————————————————————————
The preparations were simple.
First, she needed to randomly select an unfortunate victim to knock unconscious in the corridor.
Second, she needed some red paint to add a line after Riddle's original message written through Ginny:
[His/Her bones will lie in the Chamber forever]
Then draw some big arrows to guide the gathering professors and students to the bathroom.
At that point, they could catch Jane in the Chamber, and she would confess everything:
"I opened the Chamber, released the Basilisk, wanting it to petrify students."
As for the unconscious victim, she could explain with a clear conscience:
"I knocked them out and brought them to the Chamber, planning to kill them with the snake's fang."
"I didn't expect professors to arrive so quickly, before I could act."
Once the dust settled, as a minor whose actions hadn't resulted in any deaths, she would surely be expelled like Rubeus "Former Scapegoat" Hagrid, allowing her to flee to London, change her identity, and start anew.
The plan was absolutely perfect.
Just thinking about it made her excited.
Considering all her months of painstaking effort, careful planning, extensive investigation, anti-fraud measures, and Basilisk slaying...
She couldn't help but shed tears like wide noodles.
Surely no one in all of Hogwarts had worked harder than her!
And effort would finally be rewarded—victory was in sight!
She'd also learned a lesson: small-scale, low-quality expulsion attempts like in first year wouldn't succeed; achieving great things required systematic planning, extended campaigns, and quality execution!
Look at her carefully planned systematic approach—now one foot was already across the expulsion threshold!
...
Left hand carrying a bucket of red paint, right hand holding the vanguard garden snake, she walked alone in the corridor.
Only when implementing the plan did she notice the flaw.
She'd left during mealtime, leaving the corridors empty—no lone victims to be found.
Without a key witness, this created a major obstacle.
She stood awkwardly before the wall, staring at the two red lines of text.
They seemed to mock her foolishness.
"My dear child, what brings you here?"
A savior appeared!
Jane turned toward the voice, but instead of a student, it was a professor!
—Gilderoy Lockhart!
How many years would attacking a professor add to her sentence?
No, wait—could she even successfully stun an adult wizard?
The flame of hope in her heart flickered out again.
Yet Lockhart stood there, flashing his brilliant white teeth, his golden hair gleaming in the dim corridor, showing none of the anxiety he'd displayed during Jane's last visit to his office:
"All alone here, Miss Yu? Why aren't you at the feast in the Great Hall?"
Had he lost his memory? Why was this fraud so happy to see her?
Had he forgotten how she and Harry nearly blew up his office last time?
Jane's vigilance instantly heightened.
She felt her anti-fraud awareness had been thoroughly trained this school year.
Setting down the paint bucket with her left hand, she gripped her wand inside her robe and replied politely:
"Yes, Filch wanted these lines removed, so I'm helping deliver the paint."
Hearing her confirmation, Lockhart's smile widened until his eyes narrowed to slits, revealing a cunning expression:
"No, no, child, I understand, no need to hide it from me."
"Bringing paint here—you want to write something on the wall, become the center of attention among your classmates, right?"
He raised an eyebrow at Jane, moving closer to her paint bucket, twisting his neck:
"We're the same kind of people. You saw it last time—in that book."
"Ah—you know, if people didn't think I did all those things, the books wouldn't sell. Readers wouldn't want to read about some old witch banishing the Bandon Banshee or an old American wizard wandering with werewolves!"
"What I mean is, try to understand... it's so everyone can read better stories, and I can gain fame—a win-win!"
He shook his head, meeting Jane's disapproving gaze, and continued:
"Look, to become famous, you have to spread these false stories... and it's not easy for me either, having to maintain good relationships with those wizards, learn how they did those things, then give them a Memory Charm. You understand, fame requires long-term hard work."
Seeing Jane's furrowed brow and look of disgust, Lockhart clicked his tongue, one hand in his pocket, the other pressing his forehead in frustration, trying to maintain his "perfect" image:
"My sincere apologies, Miss Yu, but I'm afraid I must take some insurance."
"Since you can't understand me... if you spread my secret around, my books won't sell anymore."
He suddenly drew his wand, pointing it at Jane:
"Obliviate!"
Jane quickly dodged left, barely avoiding the white light, but the spell hit her right hand—specifically, the garden snake.
The small snake twitched twice, then went limp like a rubber hose in her palm.
Meanwhile, her left hand swiftly drew her wand to counterattack:
"Stupefy!"
The Stunning Spell hit Lockhart square in the forehead. His body stiffened momentarily before falling backward heavily onto the paint bucket. His wand slipped from his lifeless hand and clattered to the floor.
The current scene could best be described as a "murder scene," with red everywhere—Lockhart had fallen backwards into the paint bucket, red paint flowing all over his body, his robes completely soaked, paint splatters everywhere, covering the surrounding walls, floor, railings, and lamps with red spots, emanating an unpleasant smell.
She cautiously collected Lockhart's wand and, after confirming he was truly unconscious, immediately dipped a large brush in paint and wrote on the wall:
[Scam techniques evolve daily, we must all stay vigilant]
She drew an arrow pointing down at Lockhart.
Only after completing all this did she notice the garden snake in her right hand, its bean-sized eyes gleaming with confusion.
After being hit by the spell, it seemed to have gone stupid, twisting its body and flicking its tongue, docilely coiled up.
The usually hissing small snake was now completely quiet, seemingly having forgotten how to speak.
This was bad—the advance team had lost its combat effectiveness, and Jane couldn't even open the Chamber's door!
Should she let the diary recover its power and use Parseltongue to open the Chamber entrance?
But letting Tom Riddle recover would be like handing a knife to a murderer.
She was at a loss.
Fortunately, Harry's voice came from the other end of the corridor:
"Yu? What are you doing here—"
She realized she now had a solution.