An Award Ceremony Full of Twists and Turns

Of course, Diana did not come in the end, because for various reasons, she rarely appeared in crowded places like schools.

Nevertheless, she still sent Dumbledore a Howler.

No one knows the contents of the Howler, but on that day, someone saw a phoenix at the Quidditch Pitch, and a group of boastful old men and women appeared in the castle's portraits.

"That little girl is terrifying..."

Someone passing by in the corridor overheard a big-nosed wizard complaining to a witch beside him:

"She even insulted us... Merlin's socks! What does Dumbledore hiring Death Eaters as professors have to do with us? I've been dead for over three hundred years..."

Dumbledore? Death Eaters?

The student felt he had discovered something and quickly stopped, wanting to hear clearly.

But when he turned to look at the portrait, he found that the person in it was chasing a pony and wasn't saying a word.

Then look to the side... two witches are having afternoon tea.

"Did I hear that right?" He scratched his head and left, puzzled.

In the afternoon... Chris finally arrived.

But Kyle felt that he was more like someone visiting relatives and friends at the school, and he didn't say much to Kyle, but he had a very congenial conversation with Professor Flitwick next to him.

Later, Professor McGonagall arrived, and the three of them chatted more and more happily, eventually even running off to drink with Three Broomsticks.

Kyle stared in disbelief as they left the castle, silently giving them a thumbs-up in his mind.

As for Harry, he was still in the Hospital Wing, lying sadly in his hospital bed.

He wasn't surprised at all that the Dursley family didn't come.

The sadness stemmed from the fact that he ultimately couldn't participate in the final Quidditch Match, Madam Pomfrey refused to allow him to leave the hospital.

In order to get rid of the persistent Oliver Wood, she even Filch to stand guard at the door.

Without him as the Seeker, Gryffindor's morale plummeted, and they were utterly defeated by Ravenclaw.

Qiu caught the Golden Snitch in the seventh minute of the game, and they had no time to score.

After the match, they were tied for first place with Slytherin, who had lost three consecutive matches... and were at the bottom.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall's face looked frighteningly pale.

Some young wizards also said they saw Professor McGonagall take Oliver Wood to the Astronomy Tower... seemingly intending to hang him at the highest point of the castle so he could reflect on his actions.

However, it was later confirmed that this was a rumor... In fact, Professor McGonagall returned to her office after the competition and has not come out since.

And just like that, time flew by and it was the last day before the holiday.

That evening, everyone went to the End-of-Year Feast.

When Kyle and the others arrived at the Great Hall, it was already packed. The Great Hall was newly decorated in yellow and black, the colors representing Hufflepuff, to celebrate their second consecutive House Cup victory. On the wall behind the High Table hung a huge banner depicting Hufflepuff badger.

The Quidditch champions gained a significant advantage, allowing them to overtake Slytherin at the last minute and take first place.

The Great Hall was bustling with excitement, everyone looking forward to the upcoming holiday. The noise only gradually subsided after Dumbledore arrived.

Ah, another year has passed...

At the dinner table, Kyle wasn't paying attention to what Dumbledore was saying.

He wondered with some curiosity whether Hufflepuff would be able to win the final House Cup this year.

Dumbledore didn't keep him waiting long...

"Now, we will begin with the House Cup awards ceremony. The specific scores for each college are as follows:"

Fourth place, Gryffindor, 410 points.

Third place, Ravenclaw, 436 points.

Second place, Slytherin, 495 points.

First place, Hufflepuff, 500 points!

A thunderous cheer and stomping erupted from the Hufflepuff table, but Kyle didn't celebrate; he knew very well... this was definitely not the final result.

"Yes, yes, well done, Hufflepuff," said Dumbledore. "However, a few recent events must also be taken into account."

The Great Hall became very quiet, and Cedric and the others' smiles faded somewhat.

Dumbledore cleared his throat:

"I still have some points to allocate, let me see..."

"First, Mr. Kyle Chopper..."

Kyle was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected to be the first one chosen.

"... With his outstanding herbalism skills, he helped the academy solve the problem of insufficient Potions ingredients and also helped find lost precious items. For this, I award Hufflepuff House fifty points!"

The Hufflepuff students were overjoyed, and several of those who knew Kyle, such as Cedric and Mikel, were especially excited, dancing with joy.

But Kyle couldn't laugh at all.

Potions ingredients?

No wonder he didn't see even a scrap of the Biting Cabbage when he went to the restricted area again...

"Secondly, Mr. Ron Weasley... he won the most brilliant game of chess at Hogwarts in many years, for which I award Gryffindor House fifty points!"

The cheers reached Gryffindor, and Ron's face turned bright red, like a sun-dried carrot.

Percy announced loudly to the other Prefect, "It's my brother, you know! My youngest brother, who successfully navigated Professor McGonagall's giant chessboard!"

It took everyone a while to calm down.

"Third..."

Immediately afterwards, Dumbledore added fifty points to both Hermione and Harry's scores.

Gryffindor has risen a full 150 points; they now have 560 points, just overtaking Hufflepuff.

They actually went from last place to winning the House Cup?!

After a brief silence, cheers erupted from the Gryffindor dining table, nearly lifting the enchanted ceiling.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up and cheered loudly, while the Weasley brothers stood on stools, waving their hats and laughing triumphantly at Kyle.

"That means!" Dumbledore had to roar to drown out the thunderous cheers. "We need to make some minor changes to the decor here."

He clapped his hands, and instantly, the yellow hanging ribbons turned bright red, the black ones turned gold, and the huge Hufflepuff Badger disappeared, replaced by a majestic Gryffindor Lion.

After many days, Professor McGonagall finally showed a long-lost smile.

But just as she was about to shake hands with Professor Sprout...

"Bang bang bang!"

Suddenly someone knocked on the Great Hall door, and then seven elderly wizards with gray hair pushed open the door and walked in, looking travel-worn.

The person walking at the very front was carrying an exquisite box.

Looking at the bustling Great Hall, he chuckled and said, "Thank you, Merlin. Hogwarts hasn't started its holiday yet; it seems we arrived just in time."