All the young wizards' eyes were fixed on Dumbledore's face.
They awaited his next words.
"Mr. Ron Weasley is willing to put the greater good before his own safety, even if it means putting himself in danger."
"Fifty points awarded!"
Snap, snap, snap...
Sparse applause rang out from the crowd.
Because of his repeated attacks on Argus, Ron's name had become infamous at Hogwarts.
If it weren't for his older brothers, probably no one would even acknowledge him.
"Well done."
Percy, quite unusually, praised Ron.
Ron, who had brought Gryffindor extra points, was practically strutting proudly, completely oblivious to who had caused Gryffindor to be penalized like this.
"The second item is awarded to Mr. Harry Potter."
"He showed us extraordinary courage and boldness, forging ahead despite facing an insurmountable and powerful enemy."
"Sixty points awarded!"
This time, Gryffindor was truly in an uproar!
A group of people clapped excitedly.
What was originally the worst result had now become second to last.
Although they still couldn't win the House Cup, it was still better than being last place.
Dumbledore's actions were out of necessity.
If Gryffindor were only a few dozen points behind Slytherin, he could try to find a few excuses to add to their score.
But the reality was, they were only half as good!
More than two hundred points!
If he added them directly, how would that be any different from pre-selection?
Where would fairness be in the future House Cup competitions?
If word got out, would he still have any face left?
Fortunately, the third-to-last one this time was the most peaceful Hufflepuff; if it had been Ravenclaw, they might have started a fight!
He turned his gaze to Argus, who was sitting at the very front of Slytherin, and continued speaking.
"Finally, it's Mr. Argus Grindelwald."
"He protected the safety of Hogwarts all by himself."
"One hundred points awarded!"
As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the room!
The Slytherin members, in particular, were so excited they practically clapped their hands until they were swollen.
Draco and the others puffed out their chests, as if afraid others wouldn't know about their relationship with Argus.
"Argus, our total score is 617 points, the highest score in Hogwarts history!"
We have made history!
Daphne shook Argus's arm frantically, watching as many girls gritted their teeth in disapproval.
They'd won the House Cup before, but this was the first time they'd seen such a huge, precipitous gap in the score.
Moreover, they had broken the House Cup record.
"Calm down, calm down."
"The other houses are watching!"
Argus, on the other hand, remained quite calm.
It was something he had expected, so there was no need to be surprised or taken aback by it.
On the professors' platform, Dumbledore finally managed to tear his eyes away from Argus.
The winner of this year's House Cup had been announced!
"If my calculations are correct, Slytherin has won this year's House Cup!"
"Yeah!!"
The Slytherin table instantly transformed into a sea of joy.
A system notification popped up in Argus's mind.
[Congratulations, host, for winning the First Year House Cup! Achievement: House Cup (First Year)]
[Achievement Points Reward: 100]
"Is this achievement like the Slytherin Prefect achievement, where the reward points increase progressively?"
"If that's the case, we might have to put more effort into the House Cup in the next few years."
Argus wanted to think carefully about his holiday plans, but the excited Slytherin students were unwilling to let go of him, the biggest contributor of the school year.
They all pulled him aside to eat and chat.
Students from other houses also came to congratulate them.
The Weasley twins each had one arm around Argus's neck.
"That explains why our big spender suddenly wants to take all our inventory."
"So they went to do something big!"
"Tell us quickly, how are the results?"
The Weasley twins had been giving a lot of publicity these past few days about Argus using their products against Quirrell.
Their prank products were already extremely popular, and they'd been making a fortune these past few days.
The Parvati and Padma sisters also gathered around Argus, bidding him a reluctant farewell.
They were from India, and after this holiday, they would only be able to see Argus again when school started.
...
The banquet continued until curfew was approaching, when Professor McGonagall finally stopped it.
Argus originally wanted to go back and rest early, and also to participate in the lottery draw.
Unexpectedly, back in the Slytherin common room, the restless little snakes started a second celebration.
Many older students brought out their treasures from Hogsmeade Village, and the commotion lasted until late at night before finally coming to an end.
Argus sat in the chair, rubbing his temples wearily.
"System, check achievement points."
[Current remaining achievement points: 700]
"Seven hundred, that's quite a lot. We should go for a lucky draw to celebrate."
"System, begin the lottery."
The card holder with strange patterns floated in mid-air and began to rotate around Argus.
He randomly selected the seven closest ones to him.
The familiar blue sky and white clouds drifted by, until the very last one!
Suddenly bursting forth with dazzling golden light!
"Shipped! Finally, another shipment!"
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Zombie Drift (Level 2), Sizzling Hot (Level 3), Guide Me (Level 1), Illusion Spell (Level 3), Double Copy (Level 2), Misty Clouds (Level 2)]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Apparition (Level 8)]
[Current remaining achievement points: 0]
"Level 8 Apparition... hiss..."
Argus frowned slightly.
Apparition was indeed an effective spell, with a huge difference between high and low levels.
For example, when Dumbledore and Grindelwald fought, they basically dodged around randomly.
Even for an ordinary wizard, long-distance travel might be problematic.
Not to mention using it in battle!
Level 8 Apparition was enough to boost his combat power to another level.
"Unfortunately, Hogwarts does not allow Apparition."
Argus sighed softly.
He was quite satisfied with this lottery draw, as he had not only won a valuable item but also the commonly used Illusion Spell.
Although the level wasn't high, it was enough.
[Host has been detected to have mastered some spells. Do you wish to fuse them?]
"Fuse!"
In the next instant, a flood of knowledge rushed into his brain.
Apparition was like an instinct to him.
[Host possesses exceptional talent, having attained super-magical comprehension]
[Zombie Drifting (Level 3), Guide Me (Level 2), Copy in Pairs (Level 3), Misty Clouds (Level 3)]
"I wonder if Felix Felicis works in lotteries..."
Argus pulled out a large pile of unicorn tail hairs stuffed into his robes and an empty bottle of Felix Felicis.
Back when he was fighting Voldemort, if it weren't for these things to cushion his fall, he probably wouldn't have made it.
How could he possibly wait for Harry to arrive!
After packing all his luggage, Argus was finally able to lie down and rest.
He fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up until the next morning, when he arrived at the platform on the Hogwarts Express.
Follow Vinda back to the manor.
...
Follow on [email protected]/Ren_Saga for more FREE advance chapters