Gryffindor's total points had surpassed Slytherin's!
This meant Slytherin's seven-year reign as House Cup champions was broken!
The Slytherin powerhouse had actually been defeated!
The cheers grew louder and louder. Except for the Slytherin students, the other three houses all celebrated wildly.
After being dominated for seven years, they didn't care which house won - they were just happy someone had broken Slytherin's winning streak.
"How is this possible?! I can't accept this!" Draco clutched his face in horror.
After their initial shock, the Slytherin snakes all roared in anger. As loudly as they had cheered for Glen's points earlier, they now shouted their protests just as vehemently.
Damn it, this was rigged! Since when could you add 130 points at the end of term?!
Draco's voice was hoarse from shouting, his eyes red with indignation.
What kind of joke was this? This was the reward for their year of hard work?
Their efforts had been stolen from them?!
The young snakes were devastated, clearly dissatisfied with this result.
Dumbledore raised his hand for silence, shouting several times, but the Slytherin students remained unmoved.
Though Dumbledore had expected a strong reaction from Slytherin, their intensity somewhat exceeded his expectations.
It was your influence, Glen.
The snakes' current discontent stemmed from Glen's motivation - everyone had given their best effort this term, studying hard as they began pursuing true strength.
This result felt like a denial of all their efforts - how could they accept that?
A flash of guilt crossed Dumbledore's eyes before he shot Snape a pleading look.
Snape's mouth twitched. You old schemer, you blatantly cheated to help Gryffindor steal my house's championship, and now you want me to calm them down?!
The nerve of you!
He took a deep breath, suppressing his displeasure, and rapped on the table before him. His gaze swept across each Slytherin student as he coldly commanded: "Silence!"
Their Head of House's authority proved most effective - the Slytherin table instantly fell quiet. Snape's icy presence seemed to fill the entire hall, causing the young witch beside Glen to rub her arms.
"Professor Snape is still so terrifying," Hermione stuck out her tongue and commented.
Seeing his house students quieted, Snape nodded in satisfaction. He stared at them silently for a moment before speaking in an emotionless voice: "This year, we lost the House Cup because your efforts were insufficient." He coldly eyed the seething but silent young snakes below, sneering slightly as he continued: "Next year, prove to me who the true champions are."
All the Slytherin students heard their Head's dissatisfaction - both with Dumbledore's cheating and his encouragement to them.
Their fighting spirit instantly ignited. The past couldn't be changed, but the future was still ahead. Since the Headmaster openly helped Gryffindor cheat, next year they would use their own strength to shatter Gryffindor's false glory!
"Yes sir!" Led by Draco, the snakes all stood instinctively, roaring their response to Snape.
Their momentum was overwhelming, nearly tangible, causing the other three houses to shrink back.
What had happened to this nest of snakes??
The first years who had just arrived at Hogwarts might not understand, but the upper years from the other houses clearly sensed Slytherin's transformation.
If the old Slytherin had been a snake constantly threatening others with bared fangs, the current Slytherin was a venomous serpent concealing its edge, slithering in darkness, continuously accumulating power - less arrogant than before, but emanating an even more dangerous aura.
After responding to Snape, the snakes all quietly returned to their seats. Seeing the situation finally under control, Dumbledore coughed twice and continued his unfinished speech: "Given these results, we need to make some small changes to the decorations."
He clapped his hands, and immediately the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and was replaced by a towering Gryffindor lion.
Snape snorted coldly, turning to shake hands with Professor McGonagall, his expression dark.
McGonagall's face was slightly flushed, but she couldn't help smiling. Though this victory was somewhat strange... Gryffindor had won the House Cup!
The old cat appeared calm on the surface but was blooming with joy inside.
Next came time for everyone to enjoy the feast.
The Gryffindor table was especially lively tonight, everyone's faces beaming with happiness. Prefect Percy was particularly pleased - Gryffindor winning the House Cup could greatly benefit him, perhaps even helping him become Head Boy.
Hermione was also happy - after all, her house had won the Cup. After Glen expressed his indifference to both the Cup's destination and Slytherin's defeat, she relaxed and enjoyed the cheerful atmosphere, seeing it as recognition of her efforts.
She also learned from Glen that he had personally requested Dumbledore minimize his and Hermione's visibility for safety. Otherwise, in her view, Glen should have earned the most points.
The young witch felt proud - besides Glen, what other student could have injured Voldemort?
...Harry didn't count, he probably didn't even know how he did it!
Hmph!
Glen calmly enjoyed dinner surrounded by cheering Gryffindor cubs, in a good mood himself.
Hermione's happiness made him happy.
The feast lasted long into the night, only ending when the last student could stuff in no more dessert.
Hermione was about 80% full - seeing others eating so much made her want to join in, but since Glen had advised against eating too much at night, she obediently held back.
An after-dinner walk was essential. Besides Glen and Hermione, many other students had the same idea, though most were paired up like the two of them.
Hermione gossip-fully pointed to the distance where Gryffindor's male prefect was holding hands with Ravenclaw's female prefect, Penelope Clearwater, as they walked together.
"I knew Percy was acting strange lately - turns out he got a girlfriend!" The young witch had an enlightened look, finally solving the mystery that had puzzled many Gryffindors.
Glen didn't care for such gossip, but Hermione noticed that she and Glen were also holding hands, just like Percy and Penelope.
She blushed but didn't loosen her grip at all.
Will Glen want me to be his girlfriend? The young witch wondered hopefully.
Glen hadn't noticed Hermione's thoughts, fully enjoying their lakeside walk together.
Their minds on different things, they walked hand in hand, leisurely enjoying the evening's peace.
A day or two later, what Hermione had most anticipated finally arrived: their exam results were officially released.
At the dining table, Hermione eagerly tore open the letter dropped by the owl containing her report card.
"Yes! I'm first!" Hermione quickly scanned the parchment in her hands, cheering softly as she thrust it in front of Glen.
She had achieved first in their year with perfect scores across all subjects.
Glen was slightly disappointed - he had lost some points on a subjective humanities question in the History of Magic written exam. He truly couldn't grasp that part of the textbook's content. As a result, he narrowly lost to Hermione by a few points, though still achieving second in their year.
The young witch looked excited, not forgetting her bet with Glen. She needed to think carefully about exactly what to have Glen do for her.
Hermione was already daydreaming.
Later, Neville and Draco also came to report their grades. Neither was surprised to hear Glen and Hermione had taken second and first place.
It would have been strange if they hadn't - those two weren't normal people!
Their own grades were also very good, both in the year's top ten. The remaining top spots were all taken by Ravenclaw eagles.
This already made them very happy, considering how much time they'd spent training. They had forced themselves to keep up with studies, and surprisingly did this well.
Draco was delighted, eager to report this good news to his parents.
On that note, Draco invited Glen, Hermione and Neville to visit his home during summer break, but all declined.
Glen and Hermione were going to the Dragon Country to visit their families this holiday, while Neville said he needed to care for his parents at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
The young dragon was disappointed but understood - everyone had their own matters to attend to.
Since they were discussing going home, Glen took the opportunity to arrange Neville and Draco's holiday training schedule.
The two boys instantly paled, their good mood from high exam scores vanishing.
How could this be!