"This year's House Cup goes to Gryffindor." In the Great Hall on the first floor of Hogwarts, as Dumbledore made the announcement, every Gryffindor student leaped up in excitement. Quite a few even threw their wizard hats into the air. At the same time, bursts of light erupted overhead, like fireworks in the ordinary world. Magic truly was extraordinary in this regard.
It was not just Gryffindor. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students also looked delighted. Only Slytherin was unhappy. This was the first time in more than twenty years that Slytherin had lost the House Cup. Draco, in particular, glared at Harry and his two friends with an unhappy expression. Though Draco had changed somewhat, habits formed over many years were not so easily changed.
The last time Gryffindor had won the House Cup was when James Potter had still been at school. But James Potter had truly won it through his own abilities. As for Harry Potter, Dumbledore was simply playing favorites.
Although Harry had earned Gryffindor plenty of points in Quidditch matches, there had still been quite a gap between Gryffindor and Slytherin's scores. Dumbledore not only erased that gap, but made Gryffindor finish exactly ten points ahead of Slytherin.
However, because Dumbledore's excuse was entirely justified, even though Snape looked deeply displeased, he did not say anything.
Dumbledore's reason for awarding Harry points was that he had foiled the Death Eaters' plot. Voldemort's resurrection could not be made public yet, and Dumbledore did not mention Shen Fei's contribution at all.
Shen Fei did not mind. The credit was useless to him anyway. If Dumbledore wanted to continue his Harry Potter, The Chosen One plan, then so be it.
After dealing with Professor Quirrell, Dumbledore had spoken with Shen Fei. Although Dumbledore had never explained his plan, Shen