End of the School Year (Could Everyone Please Leave a Rating? Thank You All)

Three days had passed since that battle.

Harry had been too badly shaken that day. After Belial, the Lord of Sloth, exploded, he had fainted on the spot. Even as he was carried back to the hospital wing, he kept talking in his sleep, calling "the stone" one moment and "Quirrell" the next. Madam Pomfrey had to force several doses of calming potion down him before he finally quieted down.

When Harry finally woke up in the hospital wing, he blinked and saw Dumbledore sitting beside his bed, holding a Lemon Sherbet. He suddenly remembered everything and bolted upright. "Headmaster! That stone! It was Quirrell! He stole that stone! Headmaster, hurry—"

"Don't worry, my dear. You've missed the rest of the story," Dumbledore said, placing the Lemon Sherbet in Harry's hand. "Quirrell did not get the stone."

"Then who got it? Headmaster—I—"

"Harry, relax, or Madam Pomfrey will throw me out!"

Harry swallowed his words and looked around. He realized he was in a hospital room. He lay in a bed covered with white sheets, and beside him was a table piled with enough sweets to open a candy shop. Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Pumpkin Pasties, Fizzing Whizzbees—everything was there, stacked into a little mountain.

"Your friends and admirers sent them," Dumbledore said kindly. "Although what exactly happened between you and Professor Quirrell in the inner world that day remains a secret, the entire school knows about it. I believe your friends Fred and George originally sent you a self-washing wheelchair because they thought you would be interested. However, Madam Pomfrey considered it unhygienic and confiscated it."

At that point, Dumbledore paused, a subtle expression appearing on his face.

"In the end, Su Yu got it from Madam Pomfrey and modified it. Now, whenever he has nothing to do, Su Yu likes having Daphne push him around in it. What a troublesome child. Just because he finds it convenient, he can lie down and sleep wherever he goes."

What Dumbledore did not say was that after the fight that day, Su Yu had led every Slytherin student to blockade his office. No one could talk them down. Su Yu had sat on Dumbledore's desk, with Nine-Tailed Fox crouching beside him, her tails swishing back and forth. Behind him stood nearly a hundred Slytherins in black trench coats.

In the end, Su Yu only let Dumbledore go after taking the Philosopher's Stone.

That was because Sister Fa had told Su Yu that Philosopher's Stone was the name Dumbledore and Harry used. What Voldemort had screamed at the time was Judgment Stone. Judgment was God's authority, after all, and it was said in the wizarding world that God's three authorities were Creation, Judgment, and Revelation. Su Yu felt there was something seriously wrong with that, which was why he had staged that little coup.

But after studying it for two days without figuring anything out, he had tossed it to Nine-Tailed Fox to play with. Nine-Tailed Fox liked the stone—it could turn metal into gold.

The bowl she ate from was gold. The basin she washed her face in was gold. A gold necklace hung around her neck, jingling as she walked, and her tails were raised three inches higher than usual.

The Slytherin students liked Nine-Tailed Fox too. One day, they saw Daphne give Nine-Tailed Fox a biscuit, and Nine-Tailed Fox gave her a solid gold cup in return. Solid gold!

So now, whenever the little Slytherins ran into Nine-Tailed Fox, they gave her all kinds of food—biscuits, cakes, little sausages, everything. Nine-Tailed Fox did not stand on ceremony and accepted anything offered to her. After eating, she would give them gold in return. Sometimes it was a gold coin, sometimes a gold platter. It all depended on her mood.

Until this morning, when Nine-Tailed Fox got a spanking from Su Yu.

When Su Yu woke up with Sister Ka in his arms that morning, he discovered that every piece of metal in the dormitory had turned to gold. The bedposts were gold, the doorknob was gold, even the wand rack on his desk had become gold. Everything glittered brightly—but the steel frame around the window overlooking the Black Lake had also turned to gold. Once the steel had become gold, it was no longer flexible enough. The entire window creaked, cracks spreading from the edges of the frame. The pressure of the Black Lake could have shattered the glass at any moment. Su Yu had nearly died there.

So Nine-Tailed Fox got punished. Su Yu pressed her over his lap and gave her a thorough spanking. Nine-Tailed Fox cursed while covering her backside, but she did not dare turn things into gold so casually anymore.

The next day, Su Yu woke up in Daphne's arms. Reluctant to leave, he burrowed deeper into her embrace. Daphne's arms were soft and warm. Daphne did not push him away, simply letting him nuzzle against her. One hand rested on the back of his head, her fingers gently stroking his hair. Only after he had made enough of a fuss did Daphne accompany him to wash up.

After washing up, Su Yu sat in his personal wheelchair and let Daphne push him outside.

The moment they left the dormitory, they saw Malfoy standing in the corridor. Malfoy had been in a good mood these past few days, and even the corners of his mouth were raised whenever he spoke to someone. Seeing Su Yu emerge, he gave a slight bow.

Malfoy was absolutely thrilled. Not only had he shone brilliantly during the battle and killed more than a dozen minotaurs—after returning, he had told everyone about it over and over. Every time, he gestured wildly, describing how the minotaur had charged, how he had dodged, and how he had counterattacked. Pansy had listened so much that her ears had practically grown calluses.

And during the Quidditch match these past few days, Slytherin had finally defeated Gryffindor. Harry had been absent from the match, but a win was a win. Malfoy and the others celebrated all night and even overturned the sofas in the common room.

Today was the end-of-year feast. All the scores would be announced today, and the Slytherins had gone to the Great Hall early in the morning to celebrate winning the annual House Cup. They had decorated the entire hall in their team's green and silver, with banners bearing a great serpent planted around the seating area. Green ribbons hung from the ceiling, silver stars adorned the walls, and the entire hall looked like one enormous Slytherin common room.

Harry was the last to arrive. The moment he walked in, the Great Hall boiled like a pot of water, and everyone began talking loudly. He quietly slipped over to the Gryffindor table and sat between Ron and Hermione, trying his best not to notice the faces of those who had stood up to stare at him. Some pointed at him, others whispered among themselves, and several younger Gryffindors looked at him with worshipful eyes, making him uncomfortable all over.

Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived after a while. The noise immediately vanished.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said energetically. "But before you fill your stomachs with these wonderful foods, I must first trouble you with an old man's ramblings. What a delightful year it has been! I hope you have found that your minds are a little richer than before... You have a whole summer ahead of you to make them beautiful and empty again!"

He cleared his throat and unrolled a long parchment.

"Now, as I understand it, this year's final scores are as follows: Gryffindor, 312 points, fourth place; Hufflepuff, 352 points, third place; Ravenclaw, 426 points, second place; and Slytherin, 472 points, first place."

Cheers and jumping erupted from the Slytherin table. Malfoy banged his goblet until it rang, Pansy screamed and clapped beside him, and Crabbe and Goyle finally caught on and began applauding too, though half a beat late. Harry saw Malfoy pounding on his goblet at once. It was truly a heartbreaking sight.

"Very good, very good. You have done well, Slytherin," Dumbledore said.

"But recent events must also be taken into account."

The Great Hall fell silent. The smiles on the little Slytherins' faces were no longer quite so radiant.

"Ah," Dumbledore continued, "I now have an updated scoreboard to announce. Let me see. Right... first, to... to Mr. Ron Weasley!"

Ron's face instantly turned purple. He looked exactly like a sunburnt red carrot.

"...for being the finest chess player Hogwarts has seen in many years! I award Gryffindor's Ron fifty points!"

Gryffindor's cheers nearly blew the roof off, and even the stars overhead seemed to come alive.

"Second, Miss Hermione Jane Granger... She showed remarkable cool logic in the face of fire. I award Gryffindor another fifty points!"

Hermione covered her face with both hands, making Harry wonder whether she was crying again. The Gryffindors around them leapt up and down on their chairs—of course they did, because they had gained another hundred points!

"Third—is Mr. Harry Potter..." Dumbledore said.

The Great Hall became utterly silent.

"...for his tremendous nerve and fearless courage, I award Gryffindor another sixty points."

The Great Hall erupted again. Anyone who could do arithmetic already knew that Gryffindor now had 472 points—the same as Slytherin. If Headmaster Dumbledore gave Harry even one more point, Gryffindor would take the House Cup!

Su Yu rose from his wheelchair.

He felt that if he listened to Dumbledore continue rigging things, he was going to snap. They were the ones who had said the Chamber of Secrets was off-limits. Others had followed the rules, yet those who broke them got bonus points. Dumbledore might as well have held a dungeon-crawling competition!

The little Slytherins caught on as well and drew their wands along with Su Yu. Nearly a hundred wands rose in unison, silver-green robes stirring beneath the candlelight. They looked ready to unleash Avada Kedavra at Dumbledore if a single word went wrong.

Snape broke out in a cold sweat. He could no longer keep this group of Slytherins under control.

Dumbledore coughed twice, his voice much louder than usual. "That is to say! This year's House Cup! Slytherin and Gryffindor will share first place!"

Although Slytherin was still deeply unwilling, there was nothing they could do. He was the headmaster, after all. Besides, after the battle that day, they had immediately staged a coup and taken the Philosopher's Stone.

Why not let Chief Su Yu be headmaster instead? The Slytherins all began making little calculations of their own.

That evening, after returning to the common room, Su Yu kept all the Slytherin students behind.

The fireplace blazed brightly. Nearly a hundred people crowded into the common room; some sat on sofas, some leaned against the walls, and some squatted on the stairs. Nine-Tailed Fox crouched at Su Yu's feet, her tails curling and uncurling as she chewed on something.

Su Yu stood before the fireplace, the firelight illuminating his face.

"I'm going to establish an organization," he said. "For students who graduate after their seventh year."

The common room fell quiet.

"It will be called the Shadow Compass Society. Even after graduating, members will still be able to use special Shadow Compass Society badges to gain power from Nine-Tailed Fox and me."

The eyes of several seventh-year students lit up. They had thought they would no longer be able to use Su Yu's power after graduation. Cedric stood at the back of the crowd, his lips moving as though he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"Our headquarters will be at Fuli Family Manor," Su Yu continued. "Usually, you can all go about your own lives. But we have only one goal—we will become an existence stronger than the Ministry of Magic! We will smash those old relics! We will be free to be ourselves!"

The common room was silent for one second. Then, no one knew who started it. One, two, three—every Slytherin raised a fist and began shouting.

"Long live Chief Su Yu!"

"Long live the Shadow Compass Society!"

"Long live Slytherin!"

The voices were so loud that even the waters of the Black Lake outside the window trembled. Several fish swam close to the glass, so frightened that their tails stood straight up.

As for Slytherin's scores this year, Dumbledore compensated them by giving every one of them Outstanding marks in every subject. When Malfoy received his report card, he froze for a moment, then checked it three times back and forth to make sure he had not read it wrong. After that, the corners of his mouth rose higher than anyone else's. Crabbe and Goyle also received Outstandings. Holding their report cards, they looked as though they had understood something for the first time in their lives.

The next day, they began packing their things. The holidays were almost here.

The school issued another notice forbidding students from using magic during the holidays.

Hagrid had already prepared to escort them onto the train. He stood at the castle entrance wearing a freshly washed moleskin coat, with a peacock feather caught in his beard, probably a gift from some student. He vigorously patted every student who passed him on the shoulder, making several younger students stagger.

They took the Hogwarts Express back to London. Fields and villages sped past outside the windows, while sunlight spilled through the clouds and cast patches of golden light across the grass.

At 9:45, the train pulled into King's Cross Station. It took quite a while for everyone to disembark as well. The carriage doors were crowded with people, trunks, owl cages, toad boxes, and all sorts of things. A very old wizard stood at the ticket barrier, letting them through two or three at a time, so they would not pour out like a flood and frighten the Muggles.

Four girls stood beside Su Yu. Hermione hugged Su Yu and cried, saying that she would definitely visit him during the summer. As always, Su Yu placed a hand on the back of Hermione's head, his fingers slipping into her fluffy curls as he gently stroked them.

"I'll wait for you, my Miss Granger." Su Yu lowered his head and kissed Hermione's forehead.

Hermione's face instantly turned red, and she even forgot to cry. She released Su Yu and stepped back, her eyes red, the tip of her nose red as well. Her lips moved as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she merely nodded and walked through the exit.

Su Yu turned to look at the remaining three girls.

"What about you? What are you planning to do over the summer?"

Sister Fa remained as carefree as ever. With both hands in her pockets, she shrugged. "I'll stay home for two days, then move straight into your house."

Sister Ka stood beside him with a small suitcase in hand. "I need to visit some people with my parents. It may take half a month." She paused. "But it will be over quickly. I hope Butler Carson will welcome me when the time comes."

Su Yu touched her face. Sister Ka did not avoid him, her green eyes looking into his.

"Butler Carson is a very nice person," Su Yu said. "He just does not like talking much. He'll definitely like you very much."

Daphne had it the hardest. She stood in front of Su Yu with her head lowered, twisting the hem of her robe between her fingers. She was certain that she would not be able to leave home for these two months. Her mother had long since arranged all kinds of classes and social events, packing every day full without a single free moment. She looked up at Su Yu, her eyes slightly red.

Su Yu hugged her.

"It's okay," Su Yu said. "Even if you can't come to me, I can go find you. Don't worry, I'll come."

Daphne nodded in his arms without looking up.

Only then did the three girls reluctantly walk through the exit and return to the Muggle world. Daphne walked last, turning back every few steps. Only after Su Yu waved at her again did she turn around and hurry after Sister Fa and Sister Ka.

As usual, Su Yu lazily pushed his trolley through the exit. Nine-Tailed Fox lay atop the luggage, her tails hanging over the edge and swaying back and forth.

"Hey! Butler Carson, I definitely ate properly this time."

"Welcome home, young master."