"Did you hear? Harry and them went into that corridor on the right side of the fourth floor last night, the one Dumbledore said you'd be seriously injured or die tragically if you entered!"
"Huh? Then didn't they..."
"Well, no. They're still alive and well. But it's said that the room at the very end of that corridor hides a great treasure! Harry and them went in to stop the dark wizard from stealing it!"
"Then did they succeed?"
"Of course! He's the Savior! I heard that youngest son of the Weasley family say they turned that dark wizard into a pile of flying ash!"
Hearing the discussions of the students around him, Link had a very strange expression on his face. He never would've thought that Dumbledore was so persistent about his plan.
Even though the main plot's big villain Quirrell had already died, he still forcibly arranged another "dark wizard" just to let Harry and them smoothly carry out this "Boys and Girls Charge Forward" program.
Shaking his head speechlessly, Link followed the large group and entered the Great Hall together.
At this moment, the Great Hall had already transformed from its usual simplicity into a magnificent and splendid appearance.
Countless candles floated in midair, reflecting off the transparent magical ceiling above the hall, gorgeous and dazzling.
But most eye-catching of all were the sea of blue Ravenclaw banners in the hall. All together, they almost turned the entire hall into a blue ocean.
This was the reward for the final winner of the House Cup.
Ravenclaw House, relying on its solid strength, made a comeback at the end of the term and took first place in house points, while Gryffindor and Slytherin were mutually attacking each other and ended up both suffering.
Hufflepuff came in second, thanks to the hard work of Cedric and the others. Winning the Quidditch Cup gave Hufflepuff quite a few points.
Then came Slytherin and Gryffindor, ranked third and fourth respectively.
Because of this, Hufflepuffs were overjoyed. Although they didn't win the House Cup, at least they weren't in last place anymore.
That alone was enough to satisfy all the Hufflepuffs.
To be honest, Slytherin House, though their six-year House Cup streak was broken, was still doing alright. After all, below them was Gryffindor, taking the bottom rank.
The truly miserable one was Gryffindor.
These proud lions had not only lost to the snakes and eagles, they even lost to the little badgers. That was something they absolutely couldn't accept.
As for Ravenclaw? No need to mention them.
At this moment, they were practically excited enough to jump on the tables and dance.
But looking at their excited faces, Link only sighed. Because he knew very well. Dumbledore would not just sit by and watch Gryffindor stay in last place.
Since the old man had already forcefully pushed the plot forward by having Harry and the others go on that adventure, then following that logic, awarding points to Gryffindor at the last moment would also be natural and expected.
Shaking his head, Link sat down with Cedric and the others.
Just then, the previously lively Great Hall suddenly fell into silence.
Link instinctively looked back, only to see Harry, Hermione, and Ron slowly walking in from the entrance. They looked a bit disheveled. Hermione even looked so ashamed she could almost bury herself underground. After they sat down, the Great Hall returned to normal.
Soon after, Dumbledore arrived as well. He walked straight from the back door of the Great Hall to the podium, and stared down at the students below for a long time. Only when everyone quieted down did he speak, "Another year has passed. Before we enjoy the feast to our hearts' content, I must trouble you all to listen to an old man's cliché speech..."
On the podium, Dumbledore spoke at length without pause.
The Hufflepuffs around Link were all discussing quietly. Because this was not like Dumbledore's usual style, he never used to do this.
Other houses had similar scenes, except for Ravenclaw, who were listening with great interest. That was normal, they were waiting for Dumbledore to announce that they had won the House Cup.
Dumbledore didn't make them wait long. After a few minutes, he turned his gaze toward the Ravenclaw banners in the hall, then smiled and said, "Regarding the House Cup, Ravenclaw is currently ranked first with a high score of 493 points. But before officially announcing the champion, we still have a few things to account for."
As soon as these words came out, Ravenclaw's previously excited expressions instantly froze.
Then Dumbledore smiled at Harry and the others and said, "You all know, right? Last night, Harry and his classmates protected the Philosopher's Stone, which my dear friend entrusted me to keep safe. So, to reward them, I now decide, Ron Weasley, 50 points. Hermione Granger, 50 points. Harry Potter, 70 points. And finally, Neville Longbottom, your courage earns you 10 points!"
Inside the hall, there was suddenly an eerie silence. Everyone sat frozen in their seats as if they'd been hit with a Petrification Curse.
But soon enough, deafening cheers erupted from Gryffindor's table.
Every single Gryffindor was cheering with all their might. In the end, they even began chanting Harry Potter's name in unison.
Because after Dumbledore gave them so many points, Gryffindor had instantly jumped from last place to first.
"Then, I think the decorations here should be changed."
Dumbledore smiled and waved his finger. Immediately, all the banners in the Great Hall changed color. The massive eagle emblem was directly replaced by a lion.
Under the candlelight and the new banners, the entire Great Hall became a sea of gold and red.
"This isn't fair!" At Ravenclaw's table, quite a few people were loudly protesting.
The same was happening at the Slytherin table, for once, the snakes and eagles stood together in rare unity against Gryffindor.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore seemed to have no intention of paying attention to them and directly announced the start of the banquet.
A sea of food instantly appeared on the long tables before everyone.
The Hufflepuffs beside Link immediately grinned and happily started digging in.
To the badgers, they never had much hope for the House Cup to begin with, and they had no interest in the arguments going on now in the hall. Rather than getting involved in all this mess, they'd rather just eat happily.
Link didn't join his classmates in the feast. He was staring at Dumbledore, who had slowly returned to the staff table, and felt quite emotional in his heart.
He knew very well that the reason Dumbledore did this was to build up Harry's confidence and his love for Hogwarts.
But this kind of action also stirred up conflicts between the houses.
Slytherin, that went without saying. They had always been mortal enemies with Gryffindor.
But Ravenclaw was different. They were originally neutral, like Hufflepuff. And in terms of true strength, they were in no way inferior to Slytherin.
'Doing this, is it really okay?'
Link let out a heavy sigh. And just then, Dumbledore at the staff table seemed to sense Link's gaze, he turned his head and gave Link a meaningful smile.
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