Dumbledore Was Nothing Special Back Then

If one insisted on counting, the other Houses' own stupidity and poor performances could also be considered factors in Ravenclaw's victory.

Take Gryffindor and Slytherin this school year. Their scandals at the beginning of the year had directly ruled both of them out of the running for the House Cup, leaving them unable to muster any enthusiasm when Quidditch began.

It was not that they regretted what they had done. Neither Gryffindor nor Slytherin could possibly regret it; for the former, regret meant cowardice, while for the latter, it meant disloyalty.

It was simply that, once they had confirmed that the House Cup was beyond reach, winning the Quidditch championship still had meaning, but its value was certainly lower than before. That inevitably drained many people's motivation.

Even when they later realized that, precisely because the House Cup was impossible, they should fight even harder for the Quidditch championship, the matches that had already ended could not be changed.

Besides the points earned through Quidditch, Manus had also been one of the main contributors of classroom points. He did not rush to answer the professors' questions, but after everyone else had exhausted what they knew, he could often provide additional extensions and earn more points from the professors.

Such behavior, which earned no resentment while bringing extra points to the House, naturally drew widespread praise.

Finally, there was the runner-up prize Pante had brought back from the Inter-School Wizard's Chess Championship. This honor was not merely personal. He had represented the school and brought glory to it; the honor could be placed in the Trophy Room and also earn points for the House.

Manus had also contributed to this honor. At least according to Pante, if not for Manus's emergency pre-match training, he would have been able to come home