By the time I arrived in the Great Hall, the tables were already packed with people.
To celebrate Slytherin's seventh consecutive House Cup victory, the hall was decorated in Slytherin green and silver, and enormous banners bearing the serpent emblem covered the walls behind the tables.
"Another year has passed!"
Headmaster Dumbledore rose to his feet and cheerfully declared the end of the term.
"Before you all tuck into the feast, we will present the House Cup. The final scores are as follows: Fourth place, Gryffindor with 312 points; third place, Hufflepuff with 352 points; second place, Ravenclaw with 426 points; and first place, Slytherin with 472 points."
In the next instant, a storm of cheers and stomping feet erupted from the Slytherin table. Draco banged his goblet against the tabletop, and the upper-year students shouted their congratulations all at once.
"Yes!""Slytherin forever!""Get ready for a victory lift!"
Why does someone always have to shout something just unsettling enough to make me nervous?
"Well done, Slytherin. Very well done. However, we must also take certain recent events into account."
The moment Dumbledore said this, the entire hall fell silent. A bad feeling crept over the Slytherins, and their laughter gradually faded away.
Harry and the others' great adventure was supposed to be a secret. And as the headmaster himself would say, a secret at Hogwarts usually means that everyone knows about it.
"Ahem."
Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke again.
"Now then, I believe it is time to award a few last-minute points. First, Mr. Ronald Weasley."
Ron's face turned as red as an overcooked radish.
"For displaying the finest game of chess seen at Hogwarts in many years, I award fifty points to Gryffindor."
The roar from the Gryffindor table was so loud it might have blown the enchanted ceiling clean off. Perhaps the stars overhead even shook a little.
"Next, Miss Hermione Granger. For using calm logic while surrounded by fire, I award fifty points to Gryffindor."
Hermione buried her face in her arms. Knowing her, she was surely crying tears of joy. The Gryffindors went wild at the sudden addition of a hundred points, cheering themselves hoarse all along the table.
"Third, Mr. Harry Potter. For his outstanding strength of mind and remarkable courage, I award sixty points to Gryffindor."
The noise was absolutely deafening.
If anyone had been able to add while shouting themselves hoarse, they would have realized that Gryffindor now stood at 472 points, exactly tied with Slytherin.
At the Slytherin table, students could be seen clutching their heads and screaming in despair. The House Cup was now a dead tie.
When Dumbledore raised his hand again, the hall gradually quieted.
"There are many kinds of courage," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"It takes great courage to stand up to one's enemies. But it is also important not to charge in blindly. One must think carefully, show presence of mind when needed, and temper a passionate heart with a calm intellect."
The hall fell into a silence so complete it felt as though water had been poured over it.
"Therefore, I wish to award fifty points to Miss Elaina Celestia."
If anyone had been standing outside the Great Hall, they might have thought an explosion had occurred. That was how thunderous the cheer from the Slytherin table was. Draco struck a triumphant pose, Crabbe and Goyle roared, and Pansy, Daphne, and Millicent leapt up from their chairs.
"Elaina, you're amazing!""Marry me!""This is enough to make anyone fall for you!"
"Hmph."
Smug.
"You know, you can praise me even more if you want."
After hugging Daphne and bouncing on our chairs together, I was promptly crushed by Millicent, who tackled me in a flood of happy tears.
"That's our Elaina!""Incredible!"
Zabini, please do not try to sneak in a hug. Nott, watch your wording.
"Ahem, ahem."
Once again, the dreaded headmaster's cough.
With so many sudden reversals, no one knew how this would end. The Slytherins trembled in fear, while the other houses watched with expectant eyes.
"It takes just as much courage to stand up to one's friends as it does to face one's enemies, and to trust those friends to the very end. Therefore, I would like to award thirty points to Mr. Neville Longbottom of Gryffindor."
There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, after a brief pause, an explosive cheer rose once more from Slytherin. From the Gryffindor table came frustrated cries and groans of disappointment, but they did not last long.
"So close! No miracle comeback this time!""Still, Longbottom did great.""Second place isn't bad.""Next year, we'll win for sure!"
Though they had fallen short of victory, they had risen from last place to second. Considering that they had closed the gap with Slytherin to within twenty points, it was a more than respectable showing. Applause gradually spread in praise of Neville and the others, until Neville disappeared beneath a pile of congratulatory hugs.
Some frustrated voices could be heard from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw as well, but little by little, applause honoring Gryffindor and Slytherin alike grew louder.
Naturally, our Slytherin, which had safely held on to claim its seventh straight victory, was in a state of absolute euphoria.
"We won, we won!""Charging straight down the road to victory!""We're just too strong!"
At the staff table, Professor Snape was shaking hands with Professor McGonagall, wearing a beaming smile I had never seen before, while she looked slightly sulky.
Looking over at the Gryffindor table, Harry and the others, who had become the most disliked students in the school, had reclaimed their popularity. In that sense, Headmaster Dumbledore had restored their honor while still ensuring the overall outcome landed where it should. I cannot help but think his sense of balance was not so bad after all.
Of course, perhaps I can afford to think that way only because we ended up winning in the end.
"Just you wait, Gryffindor will win next year!""Keep dreaming. Next year will be Slytherin's eighth straight victory!"
At the tables, a clash had already begun between Gryffindor's Oliver Wood and Slytherin's Marcus Flint. This time, the teachers did not try to stop them, and the surrounding students joined in, hurling jeers and boos back and forth.
And yet, is it just my imagination, or do the faces of students from both houses look strangely refreshed?
(This isn't so bad…)
Clung to by Pansy, kissed on the cheek by Daphne, nearly strangled by Millicent, and then hoisted into the air by the Slytherin boys led by Malfoy, I looked around at everyone and thought to myself.
A miraculous turnaround is precious precisely because it does not happen so conveniently. We struggle, make sacrifices, and still the world refuses to move as we wish. And yet, those efforts are never wasted. Even if we have not yet reached our ideals, the accumulation of those struggles will surely help us grow.
This time, Slytherin barely managed to hold on. The margin was only twenty points. With even the slightest lapse, it would not be surprising to be overtaken at any moment. After all, if not for the incident that cost Harry and the others 150 points, Slytherin would originally have finished as runner-up.
(We must not grow complacent. We need to work even harder.)
＊＊
After some time, the exam results were finally returned.
There is something that must be emphasized first. The difference in scores between first and second place was not very large. However, there was an insurmountable gap between second and third.
"So in the end, you did not reach the top spot…""It was only a seven-point difference. Still, I have no intention of handing first place over to you, Elaina.""You are getting quite confident, Hermione."
The two of us exchanged fearless smiles and laughed together.
"Next year, I will win.""I will not lose next year either."
We praised each other's efforts and bumped fists.
Yes, regrettably, first place did not go to me. As expected, it was Hermione Granger. I missed the top position by a mere seven points.
The decisive difference came from the practical Transfiguration exam, in which we had to transform a rat into a snuffbox. The more beautiful the result, the higher the score. On the other hand, growing whiskers or leaving a tail behind resulted in deductions.
In my case, there were no notable mistakes, but I chose to play it safe and transform the rat into a simple snuffbox to secure points. As a result, I fell behind Hermione, who boldly transformed hers into a gorgeous, ornate snuffbox.
A Gryffindor's boldness in taking risks at the critical moment versus a Slytherin's cunning tendency to hedge and favor safe options. At times like this, the difference in temperament between the two houses becomes apparent. This time, it worked in favor of the former.
Among the other Slytherins, Nott ranked within the top ten of the year, and Daphne achieved a strong result just barely within the teens.
Surprisingly, Pansy, who usually hovered in the lower-middle range, managed to break into the upper-middle ranks thanks to Daphne's tutoring and her last-minute cramming in History of Magic and Astronomy.
Millicent's Transfiguration score was more disastrous than expected, but her gamble paid off in Defense Against the Dark Arts, allowing her to narrowly avoid failing.
As for the boys, Zabini earned average scores across the board, and Malfoy placed in the upper-middle as usual. Thanks to his efforts in teaching them, Crabbe and Goyle managed to pass their exams, defying everyone's expectations.
＊＊
As summer vacation approached, wardrobes were emptied in the blink of an eye and travel trunks were filled to the brim. It was time to say goodbye to Hogwarts for a while.
Hagrid loaded the students onto the boats crossing the lake, and together we all boarded the Hogwarts Express.
As we chatted and laughed, the green countryside outside the windows deepened in color, gradually giving way to neat townscapes. By the time we finished our Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, the Hogwarts Express had passed through the Muggle metropolis and arrived at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross Station.
"By the way, Elaina, I am planning to have a party at my place during the summer holidays. Would you like to come?"
When Malfoy said this, Pansy puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"Isn't it unfair that only Elaina gets invited? Draco, invite me too.""Of course.""I am coming to mooch too.""Do not say 'mooch.'"
As Daphne was followed by Millicent, Zabini and Nott appeared from somewhere as well.
"Hey, Draco, what are you doing trying to build a harem all by yourself? Let me in too.""I want to eat meat on your family's money.""Both of you, go home."
After seeing Draco get dragged away by Zabini and Nott, with Crabbe and Goyle hurriedly chasing after them, I parted ways with Pansy and the others as well. Pushed along by the crowd, I headed toward the gate and back into the Muggle world.
Along the way, I spotted the three of them, Harry and his friends.
"See you, Elaina!""I will write you a letter!""Goodbye!"
They called out to me one after another, and I replied in turn.
"Yes, see you next term! Take care until then, everyone!"
＊＊＊
Inside King's Cross Station, there was a witch walking together with her parents.
That witch looked excited and full of anticipation. What kind of reunion would the next meeting with her friends be like? What unknown experiences would await her in the coming school year? Her heart swelled with expectation as she pondered these thoughts.
And who was that witch?
Yes. It was me.
(End of chapter)
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