Number 12, Grimmauld Place, headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
Jane Yu glanced curiously at Dumbledore, who was reading the newspaper with great interest—
She wasn't sure whether she ought to point out that he was holding the paper upside down.
But he appeared utterly engrossed, as if he could glean some hidden wisdom from those inverted English letters.
Perhaps this was what true mastery looked like—reading the newspaper right-side-up was simply too easy for him; he needed to add a bit of challenge.
So Jane told herself.
Yet, ten minutes passed, and Dumbledore hadn't turned a single page.
She could just make out him muttering words like "teaching quality," "a new one every year," and "Defence Against the Dark Arts."
At last, she understood—his eyes might still be on the paper, but his mind had wandered far away.
She was just about to call him back to reality when she noticed his hand tremble, and an envelope slipped from between the pages.
This seemed to jolt Dumbledore back to life. He straightened up from the sofa and adopted an air of intense focus.
"Don't worry, just a letter from an old friend."
He smiled, waving the envelope at her, gesturing for her to look at the sender's name:
"Griselda Marchbanks of the Wizarding Examinations Authority. I believe you met her during your O.W.L. exams—we go back a long way."
A strange sense of foreboding swept over Jane.
"Wizarding Examinations," "Marchbanks," "O.W.L."—these words strung together set off alarm bells in her mind!
But compared to her, Dumbledore now looked more like a student awaiting his O.W.L. results.
He placed the letter carefully on the table, took a sip of cold tea, popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth, and drew a deep breath.
"Just a little old friendship at work," he said with a nervous smile. "Griselda was kind enough to satisfy my curiosity a bit early."
Jane's face went blank. Now she knew what that foreboding was—
The letter contained her O.W.L. results, sent by Marchbanks!
Dumbledore smoothed the letter flat on the table. Instead of tearing it open by hand, he conjured a tiny letter opener from the teapot and ceremoniously slit the seal, careful not to damage the parchment inside.
He eased his thumb and forefinger into the envelope, pinched the thin, ink-covered parchment, and drew it halfway out, squinting through his spectacles—
Jane watched, astonished, as every wrinkle on his face seemed to smooth out, the lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth lifting upwards!
It was a mysterious, proud smile. With that expression, he pushed the letter towards her, stood tall, and strode off towards the stairs!
Jane stared, dumbfounded, as he disappeared at the landing.
She picked up the envelope he'd left in front of her and peered inside:
Twelve O's.
Many outstanding graduates—Percy, Bill, even Crouch—had achieved this score. It was hardly unprecedented.
But from the uproar downstairs, it was clear that Dumbledore's excitement went far beyond her expectations.
First came a tremendous crash of pots, pans, and crockery shattering on the floor, followed by Mrs Weasley's panicked shouts:
"Albus, no, don't go near our kitchen! What did you say? Cook a celebratory dinner? Sorry, but I really don't think you should—"
Her protests were cut off by Dumbledore's gentle, but unmistakably boastful, reply:
"Molly, my apologies, but I think it's only right to reward a child who studies diligently and loves learning… and, of course, her hardworking headmaster… with a special meal."
Before Mrs Weasley—still trying to clear up the mess and looking utterly baffled—could ask any questions, he blurted out:
"Yes, you know what I mean—Yu got twelve O's. Of course, you and Arthur have Percy and Bill, both of whom also got twelve O's, so you're probably used to it. But as headmaster, I feel obliged to praise any student who raises the standard of Hogwarts' education."
Mrs Weasley stood gaping, speechless, as Dumbledore swept out of the kitchen in triumph.
Question Diggory, understand Diggory, become Diggory.
Jane Yu wasn't sure if this normally calm and gentle great wizard… hadn't been possessed by the spirit of a show-off parent.
"Albus Diggory?" she muttered. "No, perhaps Albus Crouch? Twelve O's… that sounds awfully familiar…"
There came another flurry of footsteps as Dumbledore, displaying remarkable fitness, dashed from the kitchen to the entrance hall.
A loud swish of curtains being drawn rang out, and the whole house was suddenly filled with piercing shrieks—Mrs Black's portrait, protesting with all her might against Dumbledore and the Order's presence.
"Long time no see, Walburga. You're looking well—even coming out to greet me," Dumbledore called cheerfully, casting a Sonorus Charm on himself. "How did you know my excellent student Jane Yu scored twelve O's in her O.W.L.s?"
Without waiting for Mrs Black to reply, he yanked the curtains shut, cutting her off mid-scream.
He glanced around the house, only to realise—regretfully—that most of the Order's members were out: Sirius was busy protecting Harry; Lupin, Bill, Fleur, and the rest were probably at work; Tonks and Moody had likely returned to the Ministry on assignment.
Unable to find anyone else to brag to, he let out a disappointed sigh, looking rather like a knight who has drawn his sword only to find himself alone.
But soon, he found a new target: the scattered, shadowy figure of Inferius Regulus, crawling gloomily downstairs.
"Ah—Regulus," Dumbledore sighed, dodging the creature's grasping limbs and casting a few Cleaning Charms on him. "If your spirit could see how Hogwarts is thriving these days, I'm sure you'd be pleased. And if you knew that a Slytherin junior is working hard to oppose the Dark Lord, fulfilling your last wishes—and has even achieved a full twelve O's—wouldn't you feel gratified?"
The Inferius let out a series of garbled noises.
"I think you are gratified," Dumbledore said with a smile, guiding him back to his room. "Of course, I'm gratified too—my teaching must be doing something right, at least raising the overall standard of Hogwarts."
These freshly minted twelve O's were like a timely rain, washing away the gloom that had settled over the headmaster after all those complaints about declining teaching quality.
But Jane Yu could only let out a mortified groan. She felt more like an Inferius herself—
Perhaps her body was still alive, but her soul had died of embarrassment.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨patreon.com/DarkGolds]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━