What surprised Tver, however, was that after listening to the first story about the Philosopher's Stone, Joanne still seemed completely uninterested.
By the end, when she heard that Harry had faced Quirrell alone, the tipsy Joanne slapped the table in extreme dissatisfaction.
"Didn't you say they were only first-years? Even though I've never attended Hogwarts, I know that for first-years, even three of them facing a professor together would be walking straight to their deaths!"
Her voice was completely unrestrained, and the loud outburst quickly drew other people's attention.
"So what exactly did Harry Potter rely on to dare go after a professor by himself, and the Dark Lord living like a parasite on that professor?!"
"Harry Potter? What happened to Harry?" Madam Rosmerta finally appeared, walking over curiously.
After Harry had endured a full year of Fudge smearing him, Barty had not intended to rely on Harry to establish his own image of standing against Voldemort the way Scrimgeour had in the original storyline. But he had certainly taken steps to defend Harry and turn public opinion in the wizarding world around.
So however much misunderstanding Harry had suffered back then, that was how much admiration he now received, born from guilt and apology.
If Joanne kept slandering Harry, even with Tver here, it would probably be hard for her to stay in the pub.
"My friend is drunk. Could I trouble you to bring her a hangover drink?" Tver explained helplessly.
He had not expected that someone could get drunk on Butterbeer.
Madam Rosmerta also glanced suspiciously at the table. Butterbeer's alcohol content was so low it could barely be called alcohol, and even Hogwarts students were allowed to buy it.
But drunk customers were far too common in pubs, so after that brief doubtful look, she left.
"I'm not drunk!"
Joanne said the most common line of every drunk, though judging by her expression, she did still seem rather energetic.
Well, it would be more accurate to say she had reached the drunken-rampage stage.
"You're an adult, so you instinctively think in terms of pros and cons, danger and safety," Tver had no choice but to say softly, trying to calm her.
"But Harry and the others are only eleven. At a critical moment when the Dark Lord, someone capable of destroying countless lives, is about to return, the fact that they didn't panic already makes them more mature than most children their age."
"Besides, they succeeded, didn't they?"
From an omniscient point of view, some of the trio's actions were certainly immature. But expecting three eleven- or twelve-year-olds to behave like adults was even more immature.
So even a tipsy Joanne had nothing to say in response and could only take small sips of the hangover drink that had just been brought over.
"Hey, this tastes good too!" she said in surprise, lifting the cup in her hand. The pale blue drink inside shimmered crystal-clear in the sunlight.
She even thought a potion-mixed drink tasted good.
Tver suddenly was not sure whether bringing Joanne here to experience magical life had been right or wrong. If he ended up raising a plump Rowling, that would truly be his sin.
Seeing that Joanne had sobered up quite a bit, Tver seized the chance to state his requirements. Otherwise, he was worried she might get drunk again just from drinking the hangover cure.
"In short, you can't judge Harry and the others' actions through an adult's mindset. You need that kind of youthful spirit, similar to Young Kid."
"Of course, they each have their own issues to different degrees, such as Harry's recklessness, Ron's insecurity, and Hermione's coldness."
"You can describe them freely, but flaws can sometimes be strengths too…"
"I know. Recklessness in the right situation becomes courage, insecurity can be written as caution, and coldness can also be calm rationality."
Once she was being serious, Joanne naturally understood character writing better than Tver did, so as she spoke about this, her confidence immediately became impossible to hide.
"No one wants to read about characters who are nothing but flawless virtue. People like that aren't realistic. Only when conflicts keep arising between characters, and within the characters themselves, will readers be drawn in!"
The more Joanne spoke, the more excited she became. As if persuading herself, she instead found the appeal of the Harry Potter story.
"There can also be fitting character reversals. Take that Professor Snape, for example. With a tongue that sharp, he'll definitely turn out to be a good person later!"
"And with all the magical…" Joanne stared fixedly at the drink on the table, then paused. "Phenomena of the wizarding world."
"As long as the later plot doesn't fall apart, it will definitely be more popular than the Young Kid series!"
In her writing, Young Kid had a perfect protagonist suited for a children's book. Although the magic had drawn plenty of attention, its influence and discussion still needed time to build.
Of course, that rewritten Lockhart work was exactly that kind of style.
But the story of Harry Potter was different. It had the same wondrous magic, but the conflicts and growth of the characters were especially clear, which would absolutely make teenage readers feel far more immersed.
"But…" After Joanne recovered from her excitement, she looked curiously at Tver, who seemed very satisfied.
"I heard you're a professor at Hogwarts. Why weren't you in that story just now?"
"Ahem." Tver was startled by this sudden turn, and by her sharpness.
"In any case, I will absolutely never allow my image to appear in this book!"
"Huh?" Joanne's tone clearly sank with disappointment. "But I suppose that makes sense. If you were at Hogwarts, Voldemort would probably have been completely trapped by your schemes, wouldn't he?"
Emmm…
Tver thought about Voldemort's miserable experience that year and had to admire Joanne. As an author, her powers of observation really were sharp.
"In any case, your next goal is to write the story of Harry Potter. I'll provide the outline, and the specific details will be up to you to fill in!"
As long as she did not stray from the outline, a few mistakes in the details would not matter. Besides, judging from Joanne's clear and logical analysis just now, she had practically grasped the characters' patterns of behavior already.
All he could say was that she really did live up to the name Rowling.
Once Joanne understood, she naturally would not refuse. Or rather, now that the serious business was finished, she waved at the server even more boldly.
"Bring me one of every drink in your pub. Also, if you have any good food, bring that too!"
And so, when Catherine came back tired from shopping, and when Barty and Bulstrode's arms could no longer hold any more shopping bags, she found her mother dead drunk and furiously cursing her ex-husband…