Thank Merlin, Hogwarts remained her guardian's domain.
And the ultimate authority here, Albus Dumbledore, sat in the classroom's back row at this very moment.
"I hardly think that's this lesson's objective, Professor Vogel."
Dumbledore shot from his chair as if his robes had caught fire, eyes locked on his old friend while speaking with measured authority:
"This particular demonstration requires no student participation."
The platform's occupant smiled enigmatically, his tone lifting:
"Indeed? Miss Jane, what's your opinion?"
Jane Yu had no opinion whatsoever.
She'd have preferred Dumbledore hadn't defended her at all!
Though she couldn't fathom the skull's purpose or Grindelwald's intentions...
—she understood relationship dynamics perfectly.
She knew that when couples argued, one partner's defense of an outsider often triggered catastrophic consequences.
The previous well-meaning Scamander had learned this lesson brutally, earning both savage beatings and an immediate death sentence for his noble interference.
"I'd be honored to assist your instruction."
She chose diplomatic phrasing while subtly signaling 'we warmly welcome your presence':
"I'm certain Headmaster Dumbledore would be delighted to witness the teaching improvements you bring to this course."
The moment those words left her lips, she watched Grindelwald's expression transform from stormy to radiant.
Recognizing she'd navigated this crisis successfully, she silently thanked mentor Scamander for his hard-won wisdom.
"No need for anxiety." The new professor's smile turned warm. "While this is indeed a dark artifact, it poses no danger to its handler."
He gestured for Jane Yu to cradle the skull while extending one gnarled hand toward a connected tube.
Jane Yu watched him interweave his fingers and, like someone testing lung capacity, blow air into the apparatus.
White mist erupted from the skull instantly, saturating the entire classroom and creating a 360-degree immersive display.
"You must see what awaits you in the future."
Roaring flames burst forth—golden-red tongues devouring everything in sight!
The fire seemed alive, morphing into a dragon's head before splitting into three, consuming all combustible materials—curtains, desks, books—with apparently inexhaustible hunger.
"Fiendfyre—a powerful cursed fire that grows stronger continuously, nearly impossible to extinguish, capable of destroying even its caster."
Students shrieked in terror, several drawing wands to cast Aguamenti, achieving nothing!
Gradually, they realized the fierce flames weren't actually burning them—merely projecting horrifying illusions.
The fire vanished abruptly, leaving shell-shocked young wizards gasping as if they'd escaped hell itself, too stunned to speak.
Confident his simple demonstration had conquered these students, Grindelwald turned smugly toward Dumbledore, meeting his gaze across the distance...
The shock in those familiar eyes filled him with satisfaction. Success in showing off and reclaiming dignity curved his lips upward with pleasure.
Then he casually glanced toward Jane Yu—
Surely she too had been awed by his display, and would henceforth treat him with proper professorial respect, studying diligently and improving daily!
Naturally, for her guardian's sake, he'd also share some advanced magical techniques with this reasonably talented student...
But when he turned, he nearly collapsed with fury...
Her entire focus remained fixed on that skull, completely ignoring his spectacular performance!
...
Jane Yu hadn't paid the classroom drama much attention—she was fascinated by the skull itself.
The instant this dark artifact began projecting, she'd realized this holographic technology had tremendous potential!
It could create false environments, visually misleading enemies and disrupting their spatial awareness.
It could serve Auror propaganda campaigns, broadcasting messages like "Surrender and live," "Prisoner amnesty programs," and "Resistance brings consequences."
Post-war, it could revolutionize civilian entertainment—she could establish wizarding cinemas!
She was itching to rush it to her laboratory for immediate disassembly and reverse engineering!
Jane Yu cradled the skull with her left hand while probing its empty nasal cavity with her right index finger—
This seemed to be a clarity adjustment mechanism, sharpening the projected images.
She covered one glowing yellow eye socket with her finger, discovering it blocked corresponding image sections.
When she pressed the dental area, gray mist drifted out:
The classroom transformed into wartime ruins—Muggle aircraft roaring overhead, tanks crushing everything beneath, cannon fire and gunshots thundering around them...
World War Two?
Jane Yu looked up in confusion, only to see Dumbledore rising with grave solemnity:
"Professor Vogel, we need to discuss this immediately!"
...
[Discontinuation Notice]
I deeply regret informing readers that I'm ending this story here.
First, heartfelt thanks for your support. This began as a simple repository for my ideas—I never anticipated such devoted readership. Your enthusiasm has been incredibly moving, making this decision all the more difficult.
Writing started as pure inspiration—contributing to the HP community and reshaping beloved characters' destinies in another world. Friends' encouragement sustained my initial months of enthusiastic daily updates.
However, as plot complexity increased alongside my transition from comfortable employment to demanding graduate studies, maintaining daily double chapters became impossible. Even single updates now require late nights and classroom distraction, severely impacting my academic performance and daily life.
Perhaps due to interrupted updates and inconsistent focus, rereading revealed troubling issues: plot progression lacks proper development, writing has deviated from my outline requiring reconstruction, character development has diverged significantly from original vision, and numerous planted plot threads remain unresolved.
This created persistent feelings that "characterization and plot advancement don't align," gradually eroding my initial creative passion and community contribution drive.
For these reasons, I'm stopping before this work deteriorates further.
Finally, I hope this lighthearted story brought joy to readers and provided relaxation during busy lives. Wishing everyone success in reality.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 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]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━