Chapter 44

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It was the last day of the year, and everyone had already packed their baggage. Still, there remained one last feast and one last thing left for the students. The House Cup.

As the children entered the Great Hall, they were met with green and silver banners all over the room to congratulate Slytherin for their seventh win in a row. It was a matter of great pride for the Seventh Year Slytherins, especially the prefects Erwin Selwyn and Gemma Farley, who also happened to be Headboy and Headgirl.

The mood was so celebratory for Slytherin and down below for the rest of the houses that most were too preoccupied to stare at Ethan. He did receive his fair share, but it was tame compared to earlier in the morning, or when he walked down the corridors of the castle.

Moments later, Dumbledore moved up to the front of the High Table, and everyone turned silent as the Headmaster said in a sombre voice, "I am sure you all cannot wait to dig your teeth into this delicious feast, but I fear some things must still be said."

Saying this, his half-moon glasses pointed at the empty seat at the High Table, and his sorrow clear in his voice, he continued, "Rubeus Hagrid has loyally and respectably held the position of Keeper of Keys for 47 years and Keeper of Grounds for 24. Through these years, he has helped many students and been in the hearts of even more. Even in his last moments, he did not hesitate one second to stand between endangered students and the monster that took my dear friend's life. To Rubeus Hagrid!"

Cups had appeared in front of every student, and raising them as one, they echoed loudly, "To Rubeus Hagrid!"

Ethan noted that even Malfoy and his band paid their respects.

Lowering his cup with a silent sigh, Dumbledore continued, "This is your last day of the year, and for some of you, the last day you will spend at Hogwarts, and I would hate it for your last memory to be one of sadness, so let us speak of merrier subjects. The House Cup!

"In fourth place comes Gryffindor, with three hundred and ninety-two points; in third place is Ravenclaw, with four hundred and three points; in second place is Hufflepuff, with four hundred and fifteen points; and finally, Slytherin, with a whopping five hundred and twenty-seven points."

The Slytherin table burst into cheers, while all three other houses looked down as if they had lost their appetite. Ethan was the only one not celebrating, however, as he eyed Dumbledore, and sure enough, the old man added, "However, I believe that recent events must be taken into account."

The smiles of the Slytherins quickly started fading away.

"To Mister Ronald Weasley, I award fifty points for providing us with the best game of wizard chess Hogwarts has seen in many years!"

"To Miss Hermione Granger, I award fifty points for showing such brave courage in the face of fire."

"To Mister Harry Potter, I award fifty points for pure nerve and astounding courage!"

"To Misses Cassia Potter and Sophia Highburn, I award twenty points each for coming in timely aid to their friends in their hour of greatest need."

The whole room was silent, taking in his words and counting the points, and quickly enough, many came to one realisation: Gryffindor was in the first place.

However, as the three houses started getting excited, Harry Potter, out of all people, suddenly got up from his seat, drawing everyone's attention to himself.

The sudden attention seemed to make him hesitate a little, but seeing Dumbledore's smile, he said loudly, "Professor Dumbledore, I would like to give my points to Ethan Grindelwald!"

There was a moment of shocked silence before everyone broke into whispers. The Slytherins looked at the Boy Who Lived in absolute shock, and the Gryffindors stared daggers at him.

A chuckle from Dumbledore shut everyone up as he said, "That would not be necessary as I was not finished, although I am impressed by your righteousness, Mr. Potter."

Harry blushed in embarrassment and quickly sat back, and as the entire Great Hall hung to his words, Dumbledore added, "Indeed, there remains one to be awarded. A wrong to be corrected. A schoolmate who, despite receiving nothing but doubt and suspicion, ignored his well-being and fortune to save the lives of his fellow students."

Dumbledore paused for dramatic effect and finally proclaimed, "Ethan Grindelwald, for embodying Hogwarts' values in the darkest of times, I award you... one hundred points!"

This time, there was no pause, no silence, as the response from the Slytherin House was instantaneous. They burst into cheers, the large banners fluttering despite there being no wind, as Ethan looked at the Headmaster in shock.

Ethan felt like the old man winked in his direction, but it was hard to properly see as Tracey shook him in excitement like there was no tomorrow.

The somewhat fearful glances Ethan had been receiving had now magically disappeared, most of them turning into either gratefulness or pity.

Ethan couldn't help but feel shocked at how easily the entire student body had been swayed, going from looking at him like he was the second coming of Herpo the Foul to just another student who had helped them win the house cup.

Even the students of the other houses mostly looked sympathetic or guilty, probably realising with Dumbledore's words that they had been the ones acting badly.

Ethan would have liked to say it didn't change anything for him, but he couldn't help but feel his heart warm. Sometimes he wished he was just a cold, calculating machine who only responded to logic. This was not one of those times.

After that, Ethan and his friends got on the Hogwarts Express, taking a single compartment as they were a group of four.

Ethan thought the ride back would have been mostly silent since they had already pretty much told each other everything there was to be said during the feast, but Tracey had a talent for always keeping a conversation going, and that went to King's Cross.

As they approached the train station, Ethan passed a hand through his hair, rearranging it, prompting Theodore to snicker, "Making yourself pretty?"

Ethan smiled in good nature. "You do realise there will most certainly be people taking pictures of me, right?"

Theodore's smirk was wiped off as he grumbled, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm waiting for you to get off."

Tracey punched him in the shoulder. "Are you kidding me? We got to appear in those photos! That may be our only shot at getting on the front page of the Daily Prophet!"

Theodore held his shoulder and hissed, "You do whatever you want, but did you really have to hit me?"

But that only prompted Daphne to kick him in the shin.

"What the hell?"

Daphne smirked at him exactly like he had smirked at Ethan as she said, "Don't be a coward; no one is ever going to risk annoying your ghoul of a father to find trouble with you."

Ethan smiled mischievously and added, "Besides, how are you going to help me conquer the world if you are too afraid to appear in a picture with me?"

The expected laughs did not appear, however, as the three looked at him weirdly instead. Daphne said with a shudder, "Never do that again; that sounded too real."

Tracey nodded. "Yeah, only we can do that joke. Because it doesn't sound like a joke when you say it."

Theodore spoke carefully: "You're not actually planning to do it, right? Right?!"

Author's Note: Hey, so I usually don't write these, but I felt like it for this chapter. This first year has been quite dark, especially compared to the light-heartedness of the first book, so I thought this kind of happy ending with everyone cheering would be in spirit. I feel like I respected the characters too. Dumbledore doesn't have to be as biassed towards Harry since he has a family. Harry, who grew up as the Boy Who Lived, probably would feel the need to help his saviour too. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter, and feel free to tell me what you think!