In Hogwarts' Great Hall, the Eagle House bookish little witch was grumbling furiously as she jabbed Harry hard in the side with a finger as pale and slender as a scallion stalk.
"You actually dared to refuse Headmaster Dumbledore's bonus points on your own while I wasn't conscious?!" Hermione complained indignantly. "I'd already worked it all out—we were only one point short! Why couldn't you have had Headmaster Dumbledore give each of us one more point...?"
"Alright, alright. It's already good enough that we made it back alive, so don't worry so much~" Harry pleaded with a smile, trying to soothe her. "Besides, I think they deserved it."
"Hmph~" Hearing Harry's words, Hermione gave a soft snort and rolled her pretty eyes at him.
At the annual end-of-year feast, the entire Great Hall was decorated magnificently. Behind the high table hung an enormous banner bearing the vivid image of a badger.
It was Hufflepuff's emblem, in Hufflepuff's colors.
That was precisely why Hermione was so upset. She had already learned the end-of-year tradition from upperclassmen: whichever House's decorations were used at the feast directly indicated who had won the House Cup.
"Another year has passed! Now, let us briefly review this wonderful year." From the head table, Dumbledore's booming voice instantly spread through the Great Hall, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"Next, I shall announce each House's exact score for this year. First, in fourth place: Gryffindor, 270 points."
Scattered applause rang out through the hall. Though the Gryffindors were dismayed, they could only accept the result.
They already had the Weasley Brothers, a pair notorious for losing points. Their Quidditch performance this year had also been abysmal, and without a point-scoring academic star like the original Hermione, such a disastrous score was perfectly normal.
"Third place goes to Slytherin,