"First, Mr. Ron Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has ever seen, I award Gryffindor fifty points."
Thunderous applause rang out in the Great Hall. Except for Slytherin House, the other three houses were all clapping, undoubtedly acknowledging that recognizing the excellence of others is also a virtue.
Ron's face had turned nearly as red as his hair; he shyly lowered his head and crossed his arms to hide his face.
His brother Percy, however, was proudly telling others about his little brother's deeds, while Harry and Hermione both looked at him with joyful smiles.
Headmaster Dumbledore held up his hands for silence, and the Great Hall quieted down once more.
"Second, Miss Hermione , for facing fire with absolute calm and a clear head, I award Gryffindor fifty points."
Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. She gave a shy smile, and her gaze instinctively drifted toward Ravenclaw, immediately spotting Lynn.
Lynn was clapping like everyone else, her face devoid of any expression. Much of the joy in Hermione's heart instantly vanished; she couldn't help but wish she could share this happiness with Lynn.
"Third, Mr. Harry Potter," Headmaster Dumbledore paused for a moment, "for showing undaunted courage and never choosing to yield when facing the enemy, I award him sixty points."
Seeing that the Great Hall had erupted into another round of endless applause, Headmaster Dumbledore had to signal for everyone to stop again.
"There are many kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends and hold onto our principles. Therefore, I award Mr. Neville Longbottom ten points."
Neville, at the Gryffindor Table, looked astonished. It was well known that he had never earned even a single point for Gryffindor before; his classmates around him cheerfully slapped him on the shoulder.
Even though these additional points were nowhere near enough to overtake Ravenclaw, they were enough to leave the Gryffindors very satisfied.
They had all seen The Ravenclaws' hard work with their own eyes. Asking themselves honestly, they knew they couldn't catch up, especially with a powerhouse like Lynn in Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw winning the House Cup was truly well-deserved.
Moreover, for the Gryffindors... as long as it wasn't Slytherin winning the House Cup, it didn't really matter which house got it.
Headmaster Dumbledore raised his hands again to quiet the Great Hall, his gaze turning toward Lynn at the Ravenclaw Table.
The little Witch's face still bore no expression, and her eyes held no spark. No one could read even a tiny bit of information from her face, nor could they know what she was thinking.
In fact, what Lynn was thinking was quite simple. She was just instinctively analyzing the reasons for Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Neville's points based on Headmaster Dumbledore's words.
Ron was for leading Harry and the others through the chessboard; Hermione was for the fire, meaning she led Harry through the Potions trial; and Harry was for having the courage to face Professor Quirrell and Lord Voldemort without yielding.
But what about Neville? Headmaster Dumbledore's words about holding onto principles before friends flashed through Lynn's mind. 'Friends' for Neville likely meant Hermione and the others, and 'holding onto principles' likely meant following school rules.
By deduction, she analyzed that Neville must have tried to stop Harry and the others from breaking curfew at night. But given that Harry and the others still made it to the forbidden area on the fourth floor, he must have failed.
Thus, Lynn turned her head mechanically, her gaze landing on Hermione among the trio. It was Hermione, wasn't it? After all, her Charms were the best of the three.
Hermione felt the gaze on her and turned to meet Lynn's eyes, giving her a bright smile. Lynn nodded back without a ripple of emotion in her heart.
Headmaster Dumbledore watched the interaction between Lynn and Hermione and gave a subtle smile—it was good to be young... He turned his gaze back to all the students in the Great Hall. "Finally, Miss Lynn. Alone, she passed through all the trials left by the Professors, successfully confronted a Dark Wizard, protected the Philosopher's Stone, and protected her own friends. Therefore, I award Miss Lynn one hundred and seventy points."
"Which means..." Headmaster Dumbledore had to raise his voice, as students from three whole houses had already stood up, clapping enthusiastically for The Ravenclaws. Hermione and the other two looked at Lynn with extreme joy. With Ravenclaw winning the House Cup by such a large margin, she truly was the greatest contributor.
"Ravenclaw House has won this year's House Cup!"
At the Ravenclaw Table, the Little Eagles erupted into cheers. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff also clapped with delight.
Although the Slytherins did not stand to clap, there was no ill will in their eyes as they looked at Ravenclaw. While they were disappointed that their house's potential seven-year winning streak had been broken, they were genuinely impressed by Ravenclaw's victory this time.
Amidst the cheering, Maranhao, Marietta, and several other Little Eagles all hugged Lynn together, surrounding her and shouting happily.
Lynn, however, remained calm, two contradictory thoughts repeating in her mind.
She had made exactly eight mistakes along the way, and therefore, she had punished herself eight times.
But Headmaster Dumbledore had given her points and rewarded her. Why reward her? She had clearly done things wrong.
Without any actual emotion of confusion, Lynn's mind rapidly conducted a possible analysis.
He must be using the reward as a form of irony to make her remember this mistake.
Lynn finally reached a conclusion; her father had once punished her this way.
Once, when she failed to get full marks in every subject due to an error, even though she was still first in the end-of-year exams, her father had "rewarded" her with the only new piece of clothing she'd had in three years.
On the front of the clothes were three large words: 'First Place'. On the back was the phrase: 'The First Place Who Didn't Get Full Marks'. Below that were three exceptionally eye-catching words: 'Pig Brain'.
Having lost her emotions, she didn't feel sad or embarrassed wearing those clothes out, but she keenly analyzed that it was a punishment for failing to get full marks and failing to be up to standard.
Therefore, facing Headmaster Dumbledore's points now, she analyzed it as a similar situation.
The bruises still on her legs and the points added to the hourglass, the reward in reality and the punishment in her mind—reward and punishment created an absolute, contradictory split at this moment.
The feast proceeded very pleasantly. The Little Eagles sitting next to Lynn were all keen on adding food to her plate and constantly reminded her to eat slowly, saying that the end-of-year feast was no time for studying.
Even if she finished the feast at high speed, they wouldn't let her touch a book. They had been busy for a whole school year; it was time to rest.
Halfway through the feast, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all ran over to the Ravenclaw Table. Facing Lynn, the three of them had serious expressions and gave their thanks solemnly.
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