Jane Yu considered herself a woman of her word.

Since she had promised Senior Gemma, she would definitely keep that promise.

So early the next morning, she appeared in the Great Hall right on time for breakfast.

The first-year students stared at her as if they'd seen a ghost.

Blaise nudged Draco in the ribs and, having caught his attention, nodded towards Jane.

"Have you written to your father about her? What's her deal?"

Draco, struggling with his knife and fork against a stubborn pie on his plate, replied impatiently, "I wrote on the first day, but Father hasn't replied yet."

"Fine then." Blaise sat back, disappointed. "Seeing how the prefects protect her, I thought she might be from some important family."

Pansy nearby let out a derisive snort, leisurely sipping her pumpkin juice. "What's this? Got a thing for exotic girls? Look at her second-hand robes and used textbooks! If you ask me, all this mysterious background stuff is just in your heads."

If it weren't for Prefect Farley's attitude, these little snakes would have torn Jane apart long ago!

Unconsciously, this mysterious new student had attracted the attention of the entire first year.

......

The breakfast was truly awful.

Jane quickly swallowed her last bite of pumpkin pie and dabbed her mouth with a napkin - a gesture that made all the first-year Slytherins frown in unison.

Completely oblivious to others' stares, she grabbed her copy of "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1", swept past the table of students, her black and green uniform swishing behind her as she walked out of the Great Hall alone.

Pansy froze with her pumpkin juice halfway to her mouth, staring after Jane in disbelief. "How dare she go to class alone? Does she even know the way?"

Indeed, Jane didn't know the way to the Charms classroom. She didn't even know which floor it was on.

But she had a mouth.

Though she was socially anxious, that only applied to living people... and portraits definitely didn't count as living.

She stood before the staircases. These stairs varied in width and would change direction, leading to different places. Some doors were actually just decorative walls. Everything seemed to be in constant motion.

"Excuse me... could you tell me the way to the Charms classroom?" She randomly knocked on the frame of a portrait.

The painted figure seemed surprised by her query but pointed her in the right direction nonetheless.

So she continued her journey, stopping to knock on a portrait at each new staircase.

A few minutes later, she passed through the fourth-floor Charms corridor.

Noticing a tapestry in the corridor, she curiously lifted it to peek behind.

It led to another corridor, seemingly filled with suits of armor.

She made a mental note of this.

Walking further along the corridor, she finally found the Charms classroom.

When the first-year Slytherins stumbled into the classroom in a disheveled group, they found Jane already seated in the front row, head resting on her desk with her eyes closed.

The little snakes looked at her in disbelief.

"Merlin's beard! How did she find her way here?" Blaise exclaimed admiringly.

A seed of curiosity took root in his mind.

"If she knew the way, why didn't she show us?" Pansy complained bitterly.

She had caught her ankle in a vanishing step while climbing the stairs, scraping it painfully.

Blaise merely shrugged.

At that moment, Draco walked up beside him, slamming his "Standard Book of Spells" onto the desk. He was sweating profusely from the journey, his usually sleek gelled hair having lost its shine.

"Those idiots Crabbe and Goyle went the wrong way, and that blasted staircase suddenly changed direction - I nearly missed class!" he ranted.

Blaise gave him a wry smile. "Why don't you ask Miss Yu how to get to class? She was the first one here."

This attempt at deflecting blame proved highly effective, immediately igniting Draco's fury.

"What? You expect me to ask directions from a stinking Mudblood?"

He glared at the back of Jane's head. "Just wait and see, in a couple of days, I'll have my father get her thrown out of Slytherin!"

Jane was currently unaware of having provoked Draco Malfoy's wrath.

She was watching Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher.

According to Professor Flitwick himself, he had goblin ancestry, which explained his diminutive stature - he needed to stand on a pile of books just to be visible to his students. Looking at his small frame, it was hard to imagine he had been a dueling champion in his youth.

"Charms is a practical subject. I will teach you proper spell pronunciation and wand movements," he explained.

"Today we'll learn the Wand-Lighting Charm, one of the most commonly used spells by wizards."

"The incantation is 'Lumos', like this..."

He began to demonstrate. The Wand-Lighting Charm apparently required no special movement, just a slight shake of the wand to produce light at its tip.

Jane couldn't understand most of what the professor was saying.

So during Professor Flitwick's lengthy welcome speech, she had lowered her head and was idly flipping through her textbook, studying the spell diagrams.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Lacarnum... inflamari makes something catch fire?

Wingardium... leviosa makes something fly?

These illustrations looked interesting - she was starting to fall in love with magic.

Then she heard Professor Flitwick's clear pronunciation of "Lumos" and saw the light emanating from his wand tip.

"Now, you may all begin practicing," Professor Flitwick announced.

The classroom immediately filled with various pronunciations of "Lumos."

However, among the uniform lighting charms, one voice stood out distinctly.

Jane had been muttering "Lacarnum" (fire-making spell) and "Wingardium" (levitation charm), which led to a verbal slip.

"Lacar...wingar...lumos!"

A ball of fire burst from her wand tip, blazing with blinding light, shooting up like a firework toward the ceiling. Without sustained magical power, the flames exploded at the classroom ceiling, showering sparks down onto the stack of books Professor Flitwick was standing on.

The books caught fire immediately, the flammable materials instantly creating a sea of flames around the podium.

Jane couldn't even see the diminutive Professor Flitwick through the flames!

Oh no!

Sure, she wanted to drop out!

But she hadn't planned on burning a professor to death!

"Ahhh—"

"Fire! Help!"

"Murder! She's killed Professor Flitwick!"

The first-year Slytherins cried out in panic. Watching the spreading flames, they jumped from their seats, attempting to flee the scene of disaster.

Some students had already made it to the door, staring at Jane in horror from the doorway.

Her expression was terrifying! Black hair shadowing her pale face in the fierce flames, dark eyes hidden beneath thick bangs, one hand tightly gripping that oddly-shaped wand - she looked like the Grim Reaper!

She even had the composure to casually flip through her textbook amidst the inferno!

Draco's face had turned pale, one hand clutching his follower's robes. Being seated so close to the front, his blonde hair had been singed by the sparks, giving off a burnt smell.

"My hair!" he shrieked.

"Expel her, I'll definitely have my father expel her!"

However, Jane in the midst of the inferno had no time to pay attention to her classmates. She was rapidly flipping through her textbook, trying to find some spell to extinguish the massive fire.

"Aguamenti... extinguishing..."

Just then, she heard Professor Flitwick's voice from within the blazing podium. He didn't sound panicked at all - rather, there was a hint of excitement and enthusiasm in his voice.

The flames were extinguished, leaving water flowing across the classroom floor.

The books at the podium had been completely burned, Professor Flitwick's already thinning hair was now completely gone, his facial hair had been burned away, his robes were in tatters, and one of his spectacle lenses had fallen out.

Thank goodness the professor was alright! Jane thought.

I certainly don't want to be sent to wizard prison!

But then another joy welled up in her heart.

Burning the classroom, nearly burning the professor... surely they'll have to expel me now!

Yet Professor Flitwick stormed up to her, or rather... bounced up excitedly?

"Brilliant spellwork!"

"A perfect combination of the Fire-Making Spell, Levitation Charm, and Wand-Lighting Charm!"

"Twenty points to Slytherin! For Miss Yu's remarkable ingenuity!"

Jane nearly dropped her jaw in disbelief. She hesitantly reminded the over-excited professor:

"But... I accidentally set the classroom on fire and almost hurt you."

Please don't be stingy with punishment, just take me to the headmaster's office and expel me! she prayed internally.

"Indeed," Professor Flitwick waved his arms, talking to himself, "I must go tell Dumbledore that I've discovered a Charms prodigy!"

Indeed... Dumbledore?

Jane understood! The professor acknowledged that she had burned the classroom and was finally willing to take her to Dumbledore to process her expulsion!

She broke into a broad smile, following Professor Flitwick toward the headmaster's office.

As they passed the group of first-year Slytherins who had fled into the corridor, Professor Flitwick addressed them:

"Continue practicing after class, and if you have any questions, ask Miss Yu!"

The little snakes were stunned into silence.

They had witnessed this grand classroom-burning performance and the creation of a new spell, and heard about the twenty house points awarded.

Many were still too shocked to react.

"Draco, are you still going to write to your father about getting her expelled?" Blaise nudged his friend.

Draco's face reddened as he clutched his hair. "Who said anything about expelling her? But she needs to take responsibility for my hair!"

For Slytherin students, respect for power was ingrained in their nature.

When they discovered a powerful individual among their classmates, their attention would naturally follow.

However, there were always a few dim-witted ones who didn't get the message.

Millicent Bulstrode was one of them.

"Impossible! She must have stolen that spell from somewhere!"

"It was just an explosion caused by her poor magical control!"

She gritted her teeth, shooting hateful glares in the direction Jane had disappeared.

"If I don't get her thrown out of Slytherin, I'm not worthy of the name Bulstrode!"

......

Meanwhile, Jane and Professor Flitwick had arrived at the headmaster's office.

"A genius! Albus!"

"I've discovered a genius!"

As soon as they entered, Professor Flitwick excitedly grabbed Dumbledore's hands.

Dumbledore was clearly shocked by the professor's bald head and tattered robes. He rubbed his eyes in confusion, making sure he wasn't seeing things, wondering what could have reduced the renowned dueling champion to such a state.

He helplessly pulled out two chairs. "Filius, please calm down. And Miss Yu, let's sit down and discuss what happened?"

Professor Flitwick was far from calm, still immersed in overwhelming joy!

A rare talent had been discovered by him, the talent scout!

"Can you believe it, Albus? An eleven-year-old first-year, already creating new spells!" he sprayed spittle as he spoke. "A perfect fusion of the Fire-Making Spell, Levitation Charm, and Wand-Lighting Charm, demonstrating such mastery - ordinary standard spells wielded with such extraordinary power!"

He jumped onto his chair, standing to display his tattered robes, bald head, and burned-off beard.

"Look, these are the marks left by powerful flames. Regular Aguamenti had no effect; I had to use the Extinguishing Spell to put it out!"

Dumbledore's expression immediately grew serious. He carefully examined the fire-damaged areas, checking the magical traces, confirming it was indeed a powerful flame.

Professor Flitwick continued gesturing enthusiastically: "I'd say this deserves an Order of Merlin..."

Dumbledore interrupted him with a smile, turning to question Jane:

"Miss Yu, could you demonstrate this spell for us?"

Professor Flitwick's face drained of color, a "No-" caught in his throat.

Then a clear "Lacar...wingar...lumos" rang out in the small headmaster's office. Bright, eye-searing flames rose up and fell onto the desk, instantly igniting the entire piece of furniture.

Perfect, the headmaster's office is on fire too - they'll have to expel me now!

Jane smiled as she watched the burning desk.

"Finite Incantatem! Extinguishing..."

Dumbledore instantly cast three or four spells - he hadn't expected the fireball to be so large!

But it was too late. The documents on his desk had all turned to ash, and his freshly bought sweets from Honeydukes had melted and stuck to the desk.

The sight pained him so much that he pulled out several strands of his beard.

The piercing light and great fire had awakened all the portraits on the walls. Those former headmasters, both men and women, began whispering among themselves.

Phineas Nigellus Black's voice boomed out angrily:

"A student burning the headmaster's office? Outrageous, presumptuous! Must be expelled!"

However, upon noticing Jane's black and green robes, he awkwardly choked on his words:

"Er... not bad fire-making, very precise magical control..."

Dumbledore smiled wryly and spoke: "No, this is not a simple Fire-Making Charm."

Professor Flitwick complained from the side: "Albus, I warned you, this is a powerful flame - it shouldn't have been used so casually in here..."

Dumbledore rubbed his temples, sitting down in his fire-damaged, wobbling chair. "Miss Yu, you possess remarkable creativity and talent. I will submit an application to the Ministry of Magic for your spell creation, and I hope one day to see your spells appear in textbooks."

He seemed to have recovered from the grief of losing his candies, his bright blue eyes twinkling at Jane.

"I should award you fifty points, but since Filius has already given you points, I can only add thirty more."

"However, I hear your spell caused some small problems in the Charms classroom... you're a responsible young lady, aren't you?"

And so the task of cleaning up the Charms classroom fell to Jane.

Another expulsion plan... failed!

Facing another setback, the little figure in Jane's heart shed tears like wide noodles.

......

After sending Professor Flitwick and Jane away, Dumbledore fell into deep thought again.

Slytherin... attempted theft of the Philosopher's Stone... orphanage background... extraordinary learning ability... teacher's favorite...

The debuffs seemed to be accumulating.

But she was still just a first-year, showing Gryffindor-like courage and willingness to take responsibility for her mistakes...

I need to guide her properly.

Dumbledore thought to himself.

Hogwarts cannot produce another Dark Lord.

Must influence her with love...

"Then let's award thirty points to Slytherin as encouragement!"