"Yes. Second—Miss Hermione Granger. She solved a crucial puzzle, and for that I award her fifty points!"
Dumbledore went on.
The Great Hall's roar was nearly deafening. The Gryffindors' enthusiasm practically threatened to lift the ceiling, and the stars above them seemed to tremble.
Amid it all, Justin could be heard exclaiming, "Brilliant, Hermione. We all know it was you who found the basilisk legend—and you who got Professor Binns to tell the story of the Chamber."
Hermione's face was bright red. Compared to her quiet sniffles last time, this time she simply nodded and accepted the honor.
Dumbledore raised a hand. The Hall gradually fell quiet again.
"When old people underestimate the young, it is foolishness—and forgetfulness.
I understand that among us, there has appeared an outstanding wizard.
Yes—someone asked me how he compares to me when I was young. I think… he is even more remarkable.
I must award Ravenclaw three hundred points. One hundred of those are for Mr. Sean Green, who, before anyone else, solved the Chamber's mystery alone and found the monster within…"
Dumbledore hadn't even finished before the sound of people sucking in their breath rippled through the room.
Sean, for no reason at all, thought of that joke about "sucking in a breath causing global warming."
Then applause began—first sparse, then spreading. At the Gryffindor table, the Weasley twins howled, "Great Green—!"; at the Ravenclaw table, the little eagles' thoughts spun wildly as they imagined Ravenclaw winning a seventh consecutive House Cup with dear Mr. Green; even Slytherin clapped, restrained but real, with some looking almost feverish—especially one platinum-haired Malfoy; and the Hufflepuffs looked faintly crushed—rumor had it, by some back-channel gossip, that dear Mr. Green had originally wanted to be sorted into Hufflepuff…
Up at the staff table, Professor Flitwick's grin wouldn't come down. He was muttering happily under his breath until he noticed his two colleagues' faces were not exactly pleased, and he finally quieted.
"You should have given him detention," Minerva McGonagall said.
Severus Snape didn't answer. He just nodded grimly—and a few seconds later, when no one was watching, he allowed the barest hint of a finally, someone noticed what I was doing expression to pass over his face.
The Hall was too loud—cheers surged in waves, and some students even stood to shout.
"And the remaining two hundred—" Dumbledore had to use a Sonorus Charm to cut through the din, "—are to reward Mr. Sean Green. Before tragedy struck, he bravely defeated the basilisk—yes, an astonishing thing—"
The noise died so abruptly it was like someone had slammed a door.
Students stared at one another, rubbed their ears, and looked around as if they hadn't quite processed what they'd heard.
"What do you mean, 'bravely defeated the basilisk'…?" Ernie from Hufflepuff said blankly, hoping one of his friends could explain.
Unfortunately, his friends looked no less stunned. In the end, Ernie could only trade wide-eyed looks with Hannah, Susan, and the others.
The same thing was happening in every corner of the Great Hall. In the blink of an eye, the place went from uproar to total silence.
At the staff table, Dumbledore wore a delighted smile.
He clapped his hands, and Ravenclaw's hourglass surged—an alarming flood of points in a matter of seconds.
It climbed past Gryffindor, which had only just edged ahead, and then left every other hourglass far behind.
That was that: even if Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup later, they couldn't catch Ravenclaw now.
Three hundred points was an unbridgeable gulf.
"Merlin's beard—!"
Roger was the first to cheer. Merlin be praised! Even if their recruiting plan failed, Ravenclaw wouldn't lose the House Cup—so Roger howled in sheer relief.
The Quidditch team around him erupted too, and Ravenclaw as a whole exploded into roaring celebration.
But it wasn't just Ravenclaw. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff ignited as well.
Nobody cared about the House Cup anymore—what was the point of fighting for something you couldn't possibly win?
What mattered was this: how had the basilisk been defeated?
That was one of the most terrifying monsters said to roam Scottish lands.
Sean was used to being looked at, but having everyone turn and stare straight at him still made him uncomfortable.
He heard someone shouting, "Great Green—!" and the sound made him flinch on instinct.
He looked up at the staff table. Dumbledore raised his goblet and winked at him.
…
The fevered discussions carried on until night fell.
The corridors were full of students' loud, excited voices.
The Castle Kneazle Club took exactly one second to pin the whole thing on the lucky black cat.
After all—Hogwarts hid countless dangers, yet none of them ever truly came to pass.
If that wasn't the black cat's blessing, what was?
With that thought, they forgot entirely that they'd spent the whole Christmas with nothing to show for it.
"I can't believe Headmaster Dumbledore would say something like that…" Hermione murmured by a suit of armor in the corridor, still in a daze.
Everyone in the Hope House understood it without saying: Sean could very well surpass Dumbledore one day.
But that had only ever been the judgment of a few students—measuring themselves against a legendary wizard's wisdom, they still felt lacking.
Now, hearing the legend himself all but confirm it steadied a belief they hadn't fully dared to cement.
"Say it again, Sean," Ron demanded excitedly. He could already picture himself broadcasting Sean's "heroic achievements" to everyone.
"Yeah," Harry chimed in despite himself.
"I used some Transfiguration, a few hindrance spells to restrict its movement, and…" Sean began.
"Merlin…" Ron groaned, like he wanted to headbutt the castle stones outside.
Sean tilted his head slightly toward Ron.
"He means: keep going, Sean," Harry cut in quickly.
He genuinely wanted to learn this.
"And Gryffindor's sword," Sean added after a moment. "The basilisk's scales resist most magic, so I used Transfiguration to make the ground sink and pin it—"
"Transfiguration… to make the ground sink?"
Ron's eyes went huge. He'd worked so hard at Transfiguration for so long—so why did he suddenly feel like he didn't understand what he was hearing anymore?
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!