Chapter 111: Dumbledore's Crooked Nose
Chapter 111: Dumbledore's Crooked Nose
The news of Oren's incident quickly spread throughout the wizarding world.
The Prophet portrayed him as an extremely evil and insane dark wizard, dedicating an entire page to his wanted poster.
The remaining pages praised the Ministry of Magic's brave efforts in successfully rescuing two students during the operation.
However, hardly anyone paid attention to these articles.
Numerous parents wrote letters to the school, requesting an early end to the term.
They were concerned about Oren still lurking in the Forbidden Forest and did not want their children to remain at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore agreed, and the students were allowed to leave on the Hogwarts Express that very day. Their end-of-year grades would be sent by owl within the next few days.
In just one day, Hogwarts lost a third of its population, leaving the castle feeling empty.
However, Kyle, along with Cedric and a few others, chose to stay.
Chris returned, rushing to Hogwarts and thoroughly inspecting Kyle from head to toe several times before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
He then took Kyle to an empty classroom and sternly said, "Didn't I tell you not to get involved in this matter?"
"It was an accident," Kyle replied honestly. "I'll be more careful next time."
Chris was clearly unsatisfied with Kyle's response and lectured him at length.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Kyle did not try to defend himself, simply nodding and admitting his fault.
As the two left the classroom, they happened to cross paths with Newt, who was just exiting Dumbledore's office. Chris asked if Kyle wanted to return home together, but Kyle declined, explaining that he wanted to take the train back with his friends. Chris hesitated but eventually let the matter drop.
However, something unexpected happened the next day. Diana showed up, but unlike Chris, she first went into the Forbidden Forest before making her way directly to Dumbledore's office on the eighth floor.
What transpired during her visit remained a mystery, but many students noticed that the portraits in the castle corridors now featured unfamiliar faces, who introduced themselves as former headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts.
In addition, the gargoyle that usually guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office had disappeared.
...
Kyle didn't know when Diana had left.
That evening, he and Cedric attended the annual banquet in the Great Hall, which was divided into two sections. The left side was adorned in green and silver, representing Slytherin, while the right side showcased the yellow and black colors of Hufflepuff.
Interestingly, the points Oren had earned in the Forbidden Forest were still valid.
Combined with the Quidditch Cup... Hufflepuff's House points were now tied with Slytherin's, placing them in a joint first position.
The two sat down at the Hufflepuff table, and Kyle noticed that Connor was still absent.
After a while, Dumbledore arrived, and Kyle couldn't shake the feeling that his nose seemed even more crooked than before.
The hall gradually quieted down.
"Another year has passed!" Dumbledore exclaimed cheerfully. "Before you indulge in these delicious treats, I must ask you to endure an old man's ramblings.
Despite the little hiccup at the end, it has undoubtedly been an exciting year, and your young minds have undoubtedly grown richer... You have the entire summer to digest these experiences and clear your minds before the start of the new term..."
"Now, let us proceed with the House Cup ceremony. The final scores are as follows:
In fourth place, Gryffindor, with 101 points; in third place, Ravenclaw, with 332 points; in joint first place, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, with 497 points each.
"Indeed, both houses have performed exceptionally well this year." Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "However, we must also take into account a recent event involving Mr. Kyle Fort...”
All eyes turned to Kyle.
"Not only did he rescue a first-year student in the Forbidden Forest, but he also uncovered and confronted the dark wizard hiding within our school walls. He displayed exceptional bravery and courage.
For this reason, I have decided to present him with a special contribution award for the school, and award two hundred points to Hufflepuff!"
Despite the reduced number of attendees at the banquet, the cheer that erupted was deafening. Had someone been standing outside the Great Hall, they might have thought an explosion had occurred within.
There was no need to calculate any further; Hufflepuff had successfully prevented Slytherin's six-year winning streak and claimed the House Cup!
And of course, there was the all-important special contribution award.
Fred and George stood excitedly on their chairs and shouted to Kyle, "Don't worry, Kyle! When it's your turn to be locked in the dungeon, we'll make sure to polish your trophy extra nicely!"
"And it'll be cleaner than anyone else's..."
Professor McGonagall shot them a cold glance, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion.
"This means..." Dumbledore shouted over the noise, "we need to make a small change to our decorations here."
He clapped his hands, and the green hanging ribbons turned yellow, while the silver ones transformed into black. A huge banner with a badger, the Hufflepuff emblem, now adorned the wall behind the head table.
Severus Snape was in the midst of shaking Sprout's hand, his expression calm as he naturally flashed his trademark smile, seemingly unbothered by the turn of events.
Before the end of the term, the exam results were announced.
Kyle topped the year with an impressively high score.
Cedric looked at Kyle's transcript in amazement. "Merlin's beard, your score is way higher than mine was last year! And you only missed a perfect score by one point! What a shame..."
Kyle also felt a bit disappointed.
He had been writing smoothly during the exam and hadn't noticed that he'd listed thirteen uses for dragon blood instead of twelve, resulting in a one-point deduction.
Apparently, the professors didn't consider dragon blood as a viable ingredient for culinary purposes.
Aside from this minor flaw, he had achieved full marks in all other subjects, including Potions.
Even Snape had given him a perfect score for his Boils and Blisters Potion, a rare honor for anyone outside of Slytherin.
The second-highest score in the year went to Connor, and with Cedric at the top of the second years, Hufflepuff had truly made its mark this year.
Professor Sprout couldn't be bothered to visit her greenhouses anymore and instead took to wandering around and flaunting her success in front of the other professors.
...
(End of Chapter)
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