While Jane Yu was busy packing her belongings, the members of the Gaming Club were fuming with indignation on her behalf.
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Ron Weasley exclaimed, slamming the special edition of The Daily Prophet onto the ground and stomping on it twice. "Pure fabrication! Complete slander!"
It had to be said—Peter Pettigrew was utterly despicable.
Simply because Ron hadn't spoken up for him during the trial, the Weasley family became the target of his revenge, with no regard for the years they had fed and sheltered him.
"Mum always said Rita Skeeter is a troublemaker," Fred and George Weasley chimed in, their usual grins nowhere to be seen. The twins were visibly upset, as Pettigrew had spilled every detail about the Weasley family. "She digs into everyone's business and will do anything to grab attention."
"But Jane's about to be expelled!" Harry Potter blurted out anxiously. "All because of Pettigrew and Skeeter—now the game console is being called a dark magic artifact!"
"Parents are protesting," Susan Bones from Hufflepuff said, her face clouded with worry. "My aunt says even the Ministry of Magic has received numerous complaints, demanding Jane's expulsion, the confiscation of the game consoles, and an investigation into their spread at Hogwarts."
"We have to do something!" Terry Boot from Ravenclaw suddenly stood up. "At the very least, we need to prove Jane's innocence!"
But apart from appealing to Dumbledore, none of them knew how to defend Jane.
None of them had ever faced such a large-scale media attack before. For the first time, these young wizards realized just how devastating public opinion could be.
"Hermione's been researching," Harry added, looking utterly lost. "She says if we give her two days, she'll finish reading all the legal documents of the British wizarding world and find every clause about defamation."
"Uh..." Ron scratched his head, his intuition sometimes being the sharpest among the trio. "But no one can prove Skeeter is lying about Jane!"
At this, Draco Malfoy, who had been hunched over the gaming table scribbling furiously, suddenly let out a derisive snort.
Already brimming with anger, Ron exploded like a firecracker. He jumped up and shouted, "What now, Malfoy? Are you enjoying Jane's misfortune?"
But Draco merely cast a haughty glance at him with his gray eyes, unusually refraining from starting an argument.
Even Harry found this behavior strange—it was as if the sun had risen in the west.
Draco leisurely set down his quill and theatrically blew on the ink on his parchment, an action reminiscent of his father's mannerisms.
"A brainless red-haired mole rat who keeps a criminal as a pet has no right to yell at me."
Perhaps all the detentions with Snape this term had taught him the art of snark.
But before Ron could retort, Draco held up the parchment and waved it in the air.
"Look, I've already written to my father. He'll definitely take action—"
"And you, Weasley, apart from yelling to make yourself look even dumber, haven't done a single thing to help Jane."
Beside him, Blaise Zabini shot Ron a similarly disdainful look, the two of them forming a perfect tag team of arrogance.
Fuming, Ron charged forward, ready to land a punch on their smug faces, but his attention was caught by a line on Draco's parchment:
"Widespread media coverage... parents misled and deceived... Skeeter manipulating public opinion..."
He froze, a spark of inspiration flashing through his mind... He tried to grasp it...
Ron suddenly leapt into the air with excitement!
"I've got it!" He spun around so quickly he nearly knocked over the ink bottle on the table. "Control the narrative! Control the narrative!"
He was so excited he gestured wildly, even forgetting to throw a punch at Malfoy and Zabini.
"We can submit an article to The Daily Prophet! Let everyone know the truth!"
Draco let out another derisive snort.
"And what makes you think Britain's most influential newspaper will publish your article? Is your dad the editor-in-chief or the Minister of Magic?"
Ron was left speechless.
He realized, dejectedly, that he had no influence and couldn't make a difference.
And his father, too, was caught in a media storm after being exposed by Rita Skeeter for illegally modifying Muggle artifacts.
But just then, Ron's dormmate Dean Thomas suddenly had an idea and exclaimed, "Ron, your idea is spot on!"
"I know a Ravenclaw girl—Luna Lovegood. Her father is the editor-in-chief of The Quibbler!"
"She's really interested in the game console. Maybe she'll be willing to help!"
Dean's words reignited hope among the club members.
Though many believed The Quibbler to be full of nonsensical ramblings, its sales were undeniably impressive.
And if it could help Jane...
—Then it was a forward-thinking, groundbreaking publication!
The members began discussing the content of their submission enthusiastically.
"The best approach is to clear the game console's name," Terry Boot said decisively, living up to Ravenclaw's reputation for wisdom. "The root of the attacks on Jane is the belief that the game console is a dark magic artifact corrupting students."
He immediately pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, beginning to write.
In the blink of an eye, a bold headline appeared at the top of the page.
[A Revolutionary Invention: The Multifaceted Benefits of the Game Console]
His quick thinking and intelligence earned him the admiration of everyone present, who praised his Ravenclaw ingenuity.
"First, it trains reflexes... enhances attention, dynamic vision, memory, reasoning, and perception."
"Second, it improves decision-making skills... encouraging players to take responsibility for the consequences of their choices."
"Third, it reduces academic stress and promotes mental well-being..."
"It also provides educational value... teaching about magical creatures... spellwork in Wizarding Duels... potion-making tools... Quidditch..."
"And it fosters social relationships... facilitating inter-house communication..."
The members engaged in a flurry of discussion, coming up with over a hundred benefits of playing games.
They praised the game console to the skies and even extolled its co-creator, Jane Yu, as a visionary.
"A great and far-sighted individual who has brought the brilliance of the game console to all of Hogwarts!"
"Willing to endure misunderstanding, she bears the mission of advancing the wizarding world, moving forward in darkness!"
The article, the result of collective brainstorming, was completed in one go, filling over twenty pages of parchment. It was meticulously reviewed for spelling and grammatical errors at least ten times.
—They had likely never been this inspired while writing essays or this careful during final exams.
"This should do it!" Dean carefully gathered the stack of parchment, the culmination of their collective wisdom. "I'll go talk to Luna!"
The deafening applause that followed nearly shook the Room of Requirement to its foundations.
But what the hardworking club members didn't know was—
They weren't the only ones fighting for Jane and the game console.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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