"First, Mr. Ron Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has ever seen, I award Gryffindor fifty points."
Thunderous applause rang out in the Great Hall. Except for Slytherin House, the other three houses were all clapping, undoubtedly acknowledging that recognizing the excellence of others is also a virtue.
Ron's face had turned nearly as red as his hair; he shyly lowered his head and crossed his arms to hide his face.
His brother Percy, however, was proudly telling others about his little brother's deeds, while Harry and Hermione both looked at him with joyful smiles.
Headmaster Dumbledore held up his hands for silence, and the Great Hall quieted down once more.
"Second, Miss Hermione Granger, for facing fire with absolute calm and a clear head, I award Gryffindor fifty points."
Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. She gave a shy smile, and her gaze instinctively drifted toward Ravenclaw, immediately spotting Amanda.
Amanda was clapping like everyone else, her face devoid of any expression. Much of the joy in Hermione's heart instantly vanished; she couldn't help but wish she could share this happiness with Amanda.
"Third, Mr. Harry Potter," Headmaster Dumbledore paused for a moment, "for showing undaunted courage and never choosing to yield when facing the enemy, I award him sixty points."
Seeing that the Great Hall had erupted into another round of endless applause, Headmaster Dumbledore had to signal for everyone to stop again.
"There are many kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends and hold onto our principles. Therefore, I award Mr. Neville Longbottom ten points."
Neville, at the Gryffindor Table, looked astonished. It was well known that he had never earned even a single point for Gryffindor before; his classmates around him cheerfully slapped him on the shoulder.
Even though these additional points were nowhere near enough to overtake Ravenclaw, they were enough to leave the Gryffindors very satisfied.
They had all seen The Ravenclaws' hard work with their own eyes. Asking themselves honestly, they knew they couldn't catch up, especially with a powerhouse like Amanda in Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw winning the House Cup was truly well-deserved.
Moreover, for the Gryffindors... as long as it wasn't Slytherin winning the House Cup, it didn't really matter which house got it.
Headmaster Dumbledore raised his hands again to quiet the Great Hall, his gaze turning toward Amanda at the Ravenclaw Table.
The little Witch's face still bore no expression, and her eyes held no spark. No one could read even a tiny bit of information from her face, nor could they know what she was thinking.
In fact, what Amanda was thinking was quite simple. She was just instinctively analyzing the reasons for Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Neville's points based on Headmaster Dumbledore's words.
Ron was for leading Harry and the others through the chessboard; Hermione was for the fire, meaning she led Harry through the Potions trial; and Harry was for having the courage to face Professor Quirrell and Voldemort without yielding.
But what about Neville? Headmaster Dumbledore's words about holding onto principles before friends flashed through Amanda's mind. 'Friends' for Neville likely meant Hermione and the others, and 'holding onto principles' likely meant following school rules.
By deduction, she analyzed that Neville must have tried to stop Harry and the others from breaking curfew at night. But given that Harry and the others still made it to the forbidden area on the fourth floor, he must have failed.
Thus, Amanda turned her head mechanically, her gaze landing on Hermione among the trio. It was Hermione, wasn't it? After all, her Charms were the best of the three.
Hermione felt the gaze on her and turned to meet Amanda's eyes, giving her a bright smile. Amanda nodded back without a ripple of emotion in her heart.
Headmaster Dumbledore watched the interaction between Amanda and Hermione and gave a subtle smile—it was good to be young... He turned his gaze back to all the students in the Great Hall. "Finally, Miss Amanda. Alone, she passed through all the trials left by the Professors, successfully confronted a Dark Wizard, protected the Philosopher's Stone, and protected her own friends. Therefore, I award Miss Amanda one hundred and seventy points."
"Which means..." Headmaster Dumbledore had to raise his voice, as students from three whole houses had already stood up, clapping enthusiastically for The Ravenclaws. Hermione and the other two looked at Amanda with extreme joy. With Ravenclaw winning the House Cup by such a large margin, she truly was the greatest contributor.
"Ravenclaw House has won this year's House Cup!"
At the Ravenclaw Table, the Little Eagles erupted into cheers. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff also clapped with delight.
Although the Slytherins did not stand to clap, there was no ill will in their eyes as they looked at Ravenclaw. While they were disappointed that their house's potential seven-year winning streak had been broken, they were genuinely impressed by Ravenclaw's victory this time.
Amidst the cheering, Cho Chang, Marietta, and several other Little Eagles all hugged Amanda together, surrounding her and shouting happily.
Amanda, however, remained calm, two contradictory thoughts repeating in her mind.
She had made exactly eight mistakes along the way, and therefore, she had punished herself eight times.
But Headmaster Dumbledore had given her points and rewarded her. Why reward her? She had clearly done things wrong.
Without any actual emotion of confusion, Amanda's mind rapidly conducted a possible analysis.
He must be using the reward as a form of irony to make her remember this mistake.
Amanda finally reached a conclusion; her father had once punished her this way.
Once, when she failed to get full marks in every subject due to an error, even though she was still first in the end-of-year exams, her father had "rewarded" her with the only new piece of clothing she'd had in three years.
On the front of the clothes were three large words: 'First Place'. On the back was the phrase: 'The First Place Who Didn't Get Full Marks'. Below that were three exceptionally eye-catching words: 'Pig Brain'.
Having lost her emotions, she didn't feel sad or embarrassed wearing those clothes out, but she keenly analyzed that it was a punishment for failing to get full marks and failing to be up to standard.
Therefore, facing Headmaster Dumbledore's points now, she analyzed it as a similar situation.
The bruises still on her legs and the points added to the hourglass, the reward in reality and the punishment in her mind—reward and punishment created an absolute, contradictory split at this moment.
The feast proceeded very pleasantly. The Little Eagles sitting next to Amanda were all keen on adding food to her plate and constantly reminded her to eat slowly, saying that the end-of-year feast was no time for studying.
Even if she finished the feast at high speed, they wouldn't let her touch a book. They had been busy for a whole school year; it was time to rest.
Halfway through the feast, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all ran over to the Ravenclaw Table. Facing Amanda, the three of them had serious expressions and gave their thanks solemnly.
It was both for the Philosopher's Stone incident and for all the help Amanda had given them throughout the semester.
"Thank you, Amanda. If it weren't for you, I might have died in the forbidden area on the fourth floor that night," Harry said, looking at Amanda with sincere gratitude. "I actually shouldn't have gotten those points; I only made it because of everyone's help."
"Don't say that, Harry. A large part of Ron's and my courage came from you." Hermione patted Harry on the shoulder to give him some confidence.
"That's right, mate. Because you were there, I could be braver," Ron said, looking at Amanda, completely devoid of his usual flighty manner. "Thank you for saving me that day."
Amanda shook her head expressionlessly and looked at Harry first. "No one can deny your courage in facing Quirrell and Voldemort."
Toward others, she was always gentler and more tolerant than she was toward herself. Strict with oneself, lenient with others—this was a rule carved into her bones.
Turning to Ron, Amanda nodded. "You're welcome."
Hermione smiled and stepped forward to gently hug Amanda. "I have so many things to thank you for. You helped me find the truth at the Quidditch match, you helped me put on the invisibility cloak when sending Norbert away, you saved me and Harry in the Forbidden Forest... You really, really helped me so much. You're truly wonderful."
"Thank you..." Amanda reached out and hugged Hermione back, answering in a mechanical tone.
Hermione sniffed. "Now that the truth is out, I think it's time for me to follow through on my previous idea."
Harry and Ron looked at Hermione with some confusion. Follow through on her previous idea? Was there something Hermione hadn't finished yet?
Amanda was released by Hermione and followed her gaze to Professor Snape at the Staff Table. Her mind immediately connected this to how Hermione had directly set fire to the robes of both Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell during the Quidditch match.
Amanda understood Hermione's thought instantly. Hermione took a deep breath and pulled a tightly wrapped wizard robe from a small bag she was carrying on her back.
Then she walked slowly but firmly toward Professor Snape at the Staff Table. Harry and Ron exchanged a look, swallowed hard, and followed her.
Amanda's eyes were like stagnant water, without a ripple, as she followed behind Hermione.
Walking up to Professor Snape and facing his eyes, which were as dead as Amanda's, Hermione took a deep breath and handed over the tightly wrapped wizard robe with both hands.
"Professor Snape, I'm very sorry for doubting you during the Quidditch match and for burning your robe. This is a replacement robe for you."
Professor Snape's face seemed to twitch twice as he took the robe from Hermione's hands.
Harry and Ron also looked at Professor Snape and said a sincere'sorry'. Regardless of how Professor Snape usually treated them or how biased he was toward Slytherin, they were wrong to have suspected him, and they should admit it.
Amanda also bowed deeply to Professor Snape. "I am sorry, Professor Snape."
She had clearly deduced the truth yet allowed Hermione to act on her own ideas to eliminate perceived threats, so she was also at fault. Amanda's mind was certain of this.
Professor Snape spoke slowly, "Suspecting others at random is indeed foolish, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."
"But I believe..." Professor Snape paused, "that eliminating all possible hidden dangers in a timely manner is wise. And, how foolish it is to come and admit a mistake after the fact when no one has caught you. Do you think you will receive praise? Go back to your seats."
Hearing Professor Snape's familiar mockery, the three Gryffindors broke into a cold sweat but also felt relieved. They immediately pulled Amanda along and vanished.
After they left, Headmaster Dumbledore turned to Professor Snape with a cheerful smile.
"Severus, there's no need to be so serious when teaching children; they really might misunderstand."
This Severus... clearly his intention was to tell Harry and the others that in uncertain circumstances, it is absolutely right to eliminate all possible danger factors.
And that one shouldn't proactively admit mistakes that haven't been caught—don't be so stubborn. Yet he insisted on saying it that way, truly never missing a moment to draw animosity to himself.
Professor Snape gave a cold snort and put away the new robe. "I have no interest in educating them."
Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. Forget it, Severus would never admit it; that was just his personality.
The end-of-year feast concluded. Amanda said goodbye to Hermione and the others and returned to her Dormitory amidst the happy chatter of the Little Eagles.
Sitting on her bed in the Dormitory, Amanda, who had already packed her things and confirmed nothing was missing, sat and watched Cho Chang and Marietta pack.
She had originally wanted to take a few books from the Ravenclaw mini-Library to study, but Penelope had discovered her and directly 'escorted' her to the Dormitory, so she hadn't successfully gotten any books.
So now, while watching Cho Chang and Marietta pack, she could only silently recite all the Hogwarts first-year textbooks in her head. Constant review was also very necessary.
After confirming everything was packed, Cho Chang and Marietta finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat on their respective beds.
After discussing where they would go and what they wanted to do during the holidays, Cho Chang and Marietta both turned their gaze toward Amanda.
"Amanda, do you have any plans for the holidays?" Cho Chang asked curiously.
Amanda looked at Cho Chang and answered in a mechanical tone, her face expressionless, "Finish all homework, review first-year courses, completely master second-year courses, and then engage in self-study."
Cho Chang felt choked up. Amanda was being too intense—she wouldn't even let herself off during the long summer break?
"It's the holidays... you don't have to push yourself that hard, right?" Marietta managed to say. To be honest, at Hogwarts, a student who could seriously complete their homework during the holidays was already considered very good. Someone planning their holiday like Amanda... could be called one of a kind. She wasn't leaving any time for rest at all.
Amanda nodded as if it were only natural, repeating words she had once heard her mother say in a toneless voice, "One should also study during the holidays. The holidays are for you to study in a different environment, not for you to completely slack off. Not studying will only let others overtake you."
Upon hearing this, Cho Chang and Marietta screamed in their hearts: 'No, they won't! Not at all! No student at Hogwarts is that intense, not even in Ravenclaw!'
Amanda's face remained calm. The reason she didn't mention going to cram school was naturally because she had never been; sending her to cram school would be an extra "waste" of money, so her parents always had her study at home by herself.
In any case, as long as she pushed herself hard enough, she could outperform those in cram schools. Or so her parents told her.
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