Year-End Feast

As soon as Aaron entered the public lounge, Crabbe and Goyle walked over from the middle of the hall and blocked his way with their heavy bodies.

"If you don't want to, don't block the way."

"You two are both tall and strong; your sudden appearance in front of me could easily cause misunderstandings." Aaron said speechlessly, "I might just knock you both flying if I'm in a bad mood."

The two immediately made way for Aaron and politely invited him to sit on a sofa, while also handing Abei a plate of fruit.

Abei's eyes lit up, and he stuffed the rest into its pocket, except for leaving one apple.

"Speak plainly. I don't think you two came to see me for no reason!"

"The exam results are out, and I don't know why Dumbledore early," Crabbe said. "You got full marks, full marks in every subject."

The eldest son's grades are also very good, but..."

"He just lost, right?" Aaron said somewhat casually.

The result was as he had expected; at least he hadn't given away any favors to his family.

"Yes!" Crabbe nodded. "He's twelve points behind Granger in total score, and his ranking is just below hers."

Not only her, but Weasley and Potter also had very high grades, which made us look bad.

Draco couldn't accept this outcome, locked himself in his room, and wouldn't let us in.

"That's normal!"

But don't worry, he'll be out of there soon.

"We should believe him," Goyle said somewhat embarrassedly, "But it's been more than ten hours and he still hasn't come out, and he hasn't even had lunch."

We didn't know how to comfort him, but thankfully you're back.

"So, you want me to try and persuade him?"

"That's right, you're closest to him, only you can persuade him," Crabbe said. "At least get him to open the door, we don't want to sleep on the sofa in the lounge tonight."

Aaron's lips twitched. He wondered if it was a blessing or a curse for Malfoy to have such followers.

For these two, sleep quality seems to be more important.

"Alright, give it to me!"

Aaron picked up Abei and headed towards Draco's dormitory, gently knocking on the door a few times.

"I already told you, don't bother me."

Draco's voice came from inside the door, sounding particularly resentful.

"It's me."

A few seconds later, the door opened.

When Draco saw Aaron, the gloom on his face dissipated considerably and was quickly replaced by joy.

"I heard that someone was brooding alone because of poor grades, so I came to check on them."

Who said that?

Is it Crabbe or Goyle? Or are they together?

"Of course they're together." Aaron said speechlessly. "They came looking for me as soon as I got back, wanting me to comfort you."

"Comfort?" Draco stood up, somewhat annoyed. "They think I'm far too fragile!"

I don't need comforting words. She's just a kid, it's not like she can't handle losing. At worst, I'll be more polite to her in the future.

"Then why do you lock yourself in your room?"

Draco's expression changed, and he stammered, "I just... I just need to think about how to talk to my dad."

"What's wrong with saying this?"

Your grades are quite good; he should be proud of you.

"That's true, but I did lose to Granger, to a Warlock from a Muggle Family."

He always expressed his appreciation for me in his letters; if he knew this, he might be disappointed.

"You locked yourself in your room just because of this?" Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly. "How bored are you!"

That's completely unfounded worry!

Lucius Malfoy wouldn't easily lose his temper with his precious son over a single exam result.

"But... she's only one rank higher than me, what if my father asks..."

"No buts." Aaron interrupted him. "Look at it from another angle, you at least beat Harry Potter and your family's archenemy, the Weasley."

Based on these two points alone, he couldn't find any fault with it.

Furthermore, as far as I know, your father never achieved such a score in school.

He can't even pass the exam himself, so what right does he have to educate you?

"This..." Draco hesitated for a moment, "Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely certain, a professor told me this," Aaron said confidently, completely unaware of Lucius's academic performance.

But he was certain that Lucius Malfoy would never surpass his son, who had been studying diligently throughout the school year.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. He cared a lot about his father's opinion, and now it seemed that he had surpassed his father.

"Aaron, did you really go to the underground classroom with Harry Potter and the others the night before last, and even defeat Professor Quirrell and thwart his plot?"

Is this true?

"It's true, otherwise the two professors and I wouldn't have spent a whole day in the Hospital Wing."

"Could you elaborate?" Draco rubbed his hands together excitedly, clearly interested in the matter.

"Um... how should I put it?"

"We split up and happened to run into each other at the Trapdoor." Aaron gave Draco a brief description of what happened, though there were certainly some omissions in it.

The story cleverly removes Voldemort's existence; the Dark Lord is still alive and waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback—something Draco shouldn't know.

"This was so exciting, but also so dangerous." Draco slapped the sheets indignantly. "It's all Harry's fault. Your plan would have been much safer, but they dragged you into it and even hurt you."

"It's all in the past, at least the result is still good."

"You're being too magnanimous," Draco said, annoyed. "If they hadn't insisted on doing things their own way, you wouldn't have been unconscious for so long."

And then there's Hagrid, that Half-Giant. He's a complete idiot. It's one thing for the secret to be leaked, but it's another that he didn't even realize how much it was. That's a bit much.

Aaron:...

A true friend!

The following night, all the teachers and students gathered in the Great Hall to attend the End-of-Year Feast.

Several rows of green flags representing Slytherin House hung from the ceiling to celebrate their seventh consecutive House Cup victory.

The Great Hall was extremely noisy, and the tables were laden with exquisite food, but they could only look and not eat until the principal announced the start of the banquet.

Aaron held Abei, who was drooling, down tightly, afraid that he would pounce on the table and devour the food.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

A crisp knocking sound rang out, and the noisy noise quickly subsided.

Professor McGonagall put down the golden spoon in her hand, Dumbledore, who was sitting next to her, stood up and faced all the students.

"Another year has passed, and the whole Summer Holiday is waiting for you. I'm sure you can't wait!"

Before we indulge in these delicious dishes, we must first award the House Cup. "The scores are tallied, and the specific scores for each house are as follows:" Dumbledore said excitedly.

Fourth place: Gryffindor, 323 points; Third place: Hufflepuff, 352 points; Second place: Ravenclaw, 437 points; and Slytherin House is in first place with 493 points.

As soon as he finished speaking, a deafening cheer erupted from the Slytherin table, but the students from the other three houses didn't look too pleased and only clapped symbolically.

The applause was like a stone sinking into the sea, failing to make a ripple amidst the cheers.

Slytherin is indeed excellent, but he's not exactly popular, which is probably partly due to his numerous consecutive championship wins.

Anyone who has been suppressed for six years, no, seven years, would probably feel very unhappy.

In the High Table, Snape clapped quickly. Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick didn't have such a strong competitive spirit. Although they were disappointed, they accepted the loss and didn't care.

Professor McGonagall, however, was utterly devastated, not even bothering to pretend; her sadness and disappointment were practically written all over her face.

"Slytherin, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must also be taken into account. Slytherin"

I still have some final points to award.

The room fell silent instantly. The smiles of the Slytherin, who had already won the championship, gradually faded, while the other students looked on with anticipation.

At this point, an unexpected event occurred, which means that the House Cup may be subject to change.

Because the points awarded by Headmaster Dumbledore personally are definitely not a small amount. If enough points are added to a house, such as Ravenclaw which is ranked second, it might even surpass Slytherin.

But Professor McGonagall, who knew the truth, didn't seem to have any expectations. This only made Gryffindor's loss less humiliating, but it still couldn't challenge Slytherin's championship.

"Miss Granger Hermione Granger," Dumbledore smile, looking at the young Warlock at the Gryffindor Long Table, "She calmly and cleverly uses her intelligence when others are in danger. 50 points."

Hermione pursed her lips, but couldn't help but smile, and the Gryffindor at the table erupted in cheers.

Fifty points! With these fifty points, they'll be in third place, escaping last place.

"The second award goes to Mr. Ron Weasley, who has displayed the most outstanding chess skills in Hogwarts' history, and is awarded fifty points."

Cheers erupted again. Ron was still dazed by the sudden reward, while his older brothers proudly boasted to the others that Ron was their youngest brother.

"The third award is given to Harry Potter for his courage and extraordinary bravery. For this, I award Gryffindor House sixty points."

As soon as the words were spoken, the entire Great Hall erupted in cheers. Except for Slytherin, the other three houses began to shout for Gryffindor. They were now only ten points away from dethroning Slytherin as champions, and almost everyone looked expectantly at their headmaster, hoping to give Gryffindor some more points.