Chapter 346: Special Services Award (Edited)

"Then I'll have to talk to this guy first." After Tom's proposal was rejected, he was left with only one option: to win the trial.

If he won the trial, naturally, he wouldn't have to worry about what would come next.

Tom looked at Buckbeak, who had just swallowed the rabbit's head. He took out a crystal ball and planned to have a conversation with Buckbeak.

"Is it good?"

Tom's voice startled Buckbeak, who looked at him in confusion, not understanding how this bipedal being could suddenly speak his language.

"I prefer ferrets." But it was good to be able to express himself, and Buckbeak clicked his beak and told Tom that he preferred ferrets.

"No problem," Tom said as he stood up and untied all the ferrets hanging from the fence.

Watching Buckbeak happily devouring the ferrets, Tom asked him, "Do you know you've gotten into trouble?"

Buckbeak stopped eating and looked up. "Did I eat too much? I think I'm fine. Hagrid usually feeds me more."

"No, do you remember the blond boy you scratched?"

Buckbeak thoughtfully recalled the events of that day.

"Of course! After that day, Hagrid brought me here, and I got a lot more food." From Buckbeak's perspective, after teaching that rude kid a lesson, his quality of life improved significantly: he no longer had to fight with others of his kind for food, and he had enough food every day. Although he was a bit restricted, locked up all day in the pumpkin patch.

"Exactly, your actions have caused big problems for you and for Hagrid." Tom informed Buckbeak of the consequences of injuring Malfoy.

Buckbeak let out a discontented sigh.

"I could help your situation if you cooperated with me a bit." Tom told Buckbeak.

Buckbeak fell silent and then shook his head, returning to eating the ferrets. From his point of view, what Tom was offering didn't seem like a big deal.

Not as important as the ferrets, anyway.

After placing all the ferrets in front of Buckbeak, Tom got up and headed toward the castle.

"Tom?" Hermione, who had heard it all, hurried to follow him. "And what are you going to do?"

"What else can we do?" Tom shrugged. "We have two options. The first is to directly defeat Lucius in court and prove that Buckbeak is not such a great threat as to deserve death. The second is to escape with him after being 'verified' by the Ministry of Magic; after our conversation, that shouldn't be too hard to resolve either. We could even loosen the chains in advance."

Hermione sighed in relief. Now she felt that Buckbeak was much safer.

Tom quickened his pace. Suddenly, he no longer wanted to be a "spinning top" and wanted to do something for himself.

However, after Mr. "Spinning Top" returned to the Great Hall, he was surrounded by a group of young wizards before he had a chance to "spin."

"Tom, your Patronus-"

"Yesterday's game-"

"It was amazing!"

Tom knew that what he and Hermione had done at the Quidditch match was a bit over the top, but he didn't expect the young wizards to be so enthusiastic and surround him.

"Listen, everyone," Tom shouted several times to calm down the enthusiastic young wizards. "Yes, Hermione and I successfully conjured our Patronuses on the field yesterday."

The young onlookers began to murmur excitedly. Some older students proudly explained to the younger ones who didn't know what a Patronus was and how difficult it was to produce one.

"In fact, I'm not quite sure why that happened... I just conjured my Patronus. Maybe my Patronus is special. I will seek verification from the school's teachers."

"That's a three-headed dog Patronus!" Someone nearby exclaimed. It was a seventh-year Ravenclaw student who knew the Patronus Charm but could only conjure a vague mist and hadn't even had the sense to cast it during yesterday's commotion.

"It's just a three-headed dog," Tom didn't try to conceal its meaning, nor could he. Casually, he attempted to be modest, "In nature, there are also creatures like two-headed snakes..."

"But at least it's a real entity!"

Tom smiled as he stood by. He watched as the young wizards heatedly discussed him and Hermione and their respective Patronuses.

More and more people approached, but in the end, they were dispersed by Professor McGonagall from her position at the staff table.

She stepped down from the table and made her way to the platform where Dumbledore used to speak, clearing her throat and capturing the attention of the students.

"I believe you have all heard about what happened on the Quidditch field yesterday, or rather, the vast majority of you witnessed yesterday's events." With McGonagall's words, the Great Hall gradually quieted down.

"The intrusion of Dementors at Hogwarts is unforgivable; Director Dumbledore has gone to speak with the Ministry of Magic, and I am here today, not to join you in denouncing the insolence of the Dementors, but to honor two individuals."

She looked at Tom and Hermione among the crowd.

"Mr. Tom Yodel and Miss Hermione Granger, thanks to your timely intervention, we prevented the chaos from spreading even further. Therefore, I will award each of you fifty points!"

Fifty points for each, a total of one hundred points. In the hourglass symbolizing Ravenclaw outside the Great Hall, one hundred blue gemstones fell. Ravenclaw and the other Houses watched as their scores instantly expanded.

The Great Hall erupted into thunderous applause when the last gem fell. Young wizards from the four houses clapped for Tom and Hermione. They remembered vividly the despair the Dementors had brought and the warm embrace of their Patronuses when they merged. That warmth was enough to transcend house barriers and make students from different houses applaud them.

Even the usually serious and reserved Ravenclaw wizards dropped all inhibitions and applauded enthusiastically. Many people's hands turned red; after all, these were members of their own house! Furthermore, with yesterday's Quidditch match victory, it was a double celebration.

In the hearts of every Ravenclaw student, happiness reigned.

"In my capacity as Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, I will be recommending both of you for the Special Services Award." Only when the extra points had not yet finished, McGonagall dropped another shocking piece of news: she was recommending Tom and Hermione for the Special Services Award!

When the young wizards heard this, they all took a surprised breath. The temperature in the Great Hall seemed to have risen a bit.