"I bet even the Slytherin pendant has been taken away! How laughable that a notorious madman managed to obtain the three treasures of Hogwarts!" Professor Snape sneered and said.
"Indeed, it is quite ridiculous! But no one wants such a thing to happen, Severus!" Headmaster Dumbledore said casually, yet with a hint of warning in his voice.
"So what do you want me to do?" Professor Snape remained expressionless and spoke in a flat tone, as if he hadn't just been warned.
Hearing this, Headmaster Dumbledore lowered his head and pondered for a moment.
After a short while, he took out a square wooden box from the drawer of his desk and placed it on the table.
"You don't have to do anything else. Just help me tie the tracking strings I got from the Ministry of Magic to all the freshmen's wands!"
Professor Snape didn't say a word, his deep eyes fixed on Headmaster Dumbledore, who also had a profound look in his eyes.
After a moment of silence, Professor Snape stepped forward, picked up the box, and turned around to leave the office without hesitation.
As he watched Professor Snape leave the office, Headmaster Dumbledore murmured:
"Severus, it's not the time yet! It's not the time to need you!"
In the empty and dim office, the old man sat in front of the desk and let out a helpless sigh.
In the castle at night, Light walked on the path illuminated by the lights, starting to recall how much information he had leaked.
"About three times! Each time it happened when I was shocked! The triggered memories were about the specially forged Horcruxes, probably the diadem, the goblet, and the ring!"
"I hope Old Dumbledore will take my advice and be more careful when searching for the Horcruxes. After all, the whole wizarding world is relying on him now."
Light walked slowly, his mind full of thoughts.
Light whispered the password in front of the portrait and then walked into the Gryffindor common room. There, he saw Harry Potter being tossed high into the air by a group of young wizards, then caught, and tossed again!
They were also shouting things like "the hero of Gryffindor" and "the savior"!
"It seems that Old Dumbledore is starting to build up Harry Potter's reputation!" Light thought to himself, but soon put aside these random thoughts.
He ran over and joined in, tossing Harry Potter up and then catching him. A group of young wizards had a happy night laughing and playing.
During the few days waiting for the exam results, Light hardly ever went to the Room of Requirement. Instead, he spent his time in The Library reading books and managed to unlock Skills: Alchemy: 0.
As for Harry Potter and Ron, they were constantly chased by the energetic young wizards, who asked them for photos and autographs!
Light felt relieved, glad that it had nothing to do with him.
After the young wizards' enthusiasm subsided, the exam results were finally announced.
Except for getting an E (Exceeds Expectations) in Astronomy and History of Magic, Light got full marks in all the other subjects!
Harry Potter and Ron's results weren't as bad as expected. Relatively speaking, they were quite good!
And Hermione, without a doubt, was the top student in the grade, getting full marks in all subjects! For this, she held her head high like a peacock and subtly mocked Harry Potter, Ron, and Light all together.
That night, all the first - year young wizards had to tie the tracking strings to their wands under Professor Snape's pressure before they were allowed to enter the auditorium for the dinner!
Whether it was intentional or accidental!
Harry Potter was the last one to tie the tracking strings and was directly insulted by Professor Snape.
When Light and his three companions entered the auditorium, it was already filled with people.
The auditorium was gorgeously decorated with the green and silver colors representing Slytherin!
This was to praise them for winning the House Cup for seven consecutive years.
On the wall behind the main guests, there hung a green and silver flag depicting the symbol of Slytherin!
Amid the noise in the auditorium, Light and the others took their seats at the Gryffindor long table.
Not long after, when Headmaster Dumbledore and the professors arrived, the noise in the auditorium disappeared.
At this moment, Light watched with great interest as Headmaster Dumbledore gave a speech on stage! He waited with a smile on his face for the biggest scandal in the history of Hogwarts to appear.
From this year on, future year - end dinners will be decorated with the red and gold colors representing Gryffindor throughout the auditorium.
I wonder if Headmaster Dumbledore, who paid more attention to Harry Potter, noticed Light's strange look! His speaking voice even softened a bit.
"Another year has gone by! Before you dig into the delicious food, listen to an old man's ramblings first."
"This has been a very wonderful year. I'm sure there's much more in your little heads than last year!"
"During the upcoming holidays, you'll have enough time to digest this year's experiences and get ready for next year's studies."
"Now, as far as I know, we're going to hold the House Cup awarding ceremony first."
"The scores of each house are as follows:"
Gryffindor: 330
Hufflepuff: 410
Ravenclaw: 450
Slytherin: 490
Judging from the scores, there's no doubt that Gryffindor came in last. Although thanks to Light, Harry Potter and his two friends weren't caught for wandering at night in the Forbidden Forest with the dragon, which would have led to a large deduction of points.
However, there was Professor Snape, the head of Slytherin house, who kept deducting points wildly. In the end, Gryffindor still came in last, 160 points behind the first - placed house.
As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, Light heard a thunderous cheer and applause erupt from the Slytherin table!
"That's right! Slytherin did a great job!"
Dumbledore smiled and clapped for Slytherin too, giving them some final face.
"However, several recent events must also be taken into account."
At this moment, the Slytherin long table fell silent. They also knew the rumors that had been going around these days, and all of them had a bad feeling.
"Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!" Headmaster Dumbledore pretended to clear his throat.
"First of all: Mr. Ron Weasley won the most exciting game of wizard chess in Hogwarts' history so far. So, I'm going to award 50 points to Gryffindor!"
Ron Weasley, who was being praised, blushed instantly. He was so excited that he couldn't say a word and kept pounding the table with his hands.
At this time, the wizards of Gryffindor also began to cheer. Among them, Percy could be heard cheering wildly for Ron Weasley: Everyone knows my younger brother passed Professor McGonagall's giant wizard chess challenge.
Then, Headmaster Dumbledore's resounding voice rang out again.
"Secondly, Miss Granger! Facing the raging fire, she calmly analyzed the situation and cracked the puzzle! I'd like to award 50 points to Gryffindor!"
In the face of the praise, Hermione didn't get as excited as Ron, but her cheeks still flushed red.
The Gryffindor wizards cheered even louder. Some even stood up and clapped their hands.
"Finally, Harry Potter! He showed extraordinary courage and unwavering will. Therefore, I'm going to award another 60 points to Gryffindor!"
Like Ron, Harry blushed and was speechless. However, he was a bit more reserved and didn't bang on the table.
The noise around began to die down. It wasn't that they were no longer excited, but because their throats were hoarse from shouting!
After the noise died down, Headmaster Dumbledore continued smiling.
"Moreover, there are many kinds of courage. We need exceptional courage to face our enemies, and those who can set out on unknown adventures with their friends also need great courage."
"Therefore, I'm going to award 10 points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."