Chapter 19

The next day was memorable for Harry and Ron being in the hospital wing. Nobody knows what happened, but I have a guess. They either failed on the test strip, or they did manage. Few options, right? The fact that they went in search of adventure, as soon as everyone went to bed, I knew - we live in the same room, whatever one may say. Well, to hell with them, at the festive feast in honor of the end of the school year, we will find out everything.

Those couple of days before the feast, Hermione and I did a lot of magic to nausea. Muggle-borns are not allowed to do magic on vacation, and as I have learned, there are several reasons. The likelihood of a violation of the Statute of Secrecy and the absence of an adult wizard to prevent mistakes or the sad consequences of improper magic. That is, in fact, you can use magic, but only where there are adult wizards and not in the Muggle world. Therefore, we conjured until we lost our pulse.

On the day of the feast, when Harry and Ron were discharged from the hospital wing, the entire House learned of their adventures. They passed the streak, although the Devil's Snare caused them problems, as well as the puzzle with poison, wine, and potion. In secret to the whole world, Ron told that the Philosopher's Stone was hidden in the Forbidden Corridor, and now it is destroyed.

We came to the feast in a somewhat depressed state. Firstly, we were simply tired, and secondly, the House's general mood was conveyed to us - a loss on points. Total loss. Last place.

Before the feast began, Dumbledore announced the results, confirming our last place. But he wouldn't have been Dumbledore if he hadn't done a feint with his ears.

"However, we did not take into account the recent events," he continued weightily, standing in front of the silent hall. "To Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best chess game in Hogwarts history, I award eighty points to the Gryffindor House."

Percy was happy, the House was happy, the others were perplexed. Hermione sat there, like me, but she didn't say anything.

"To Mr. Harry Potter," Dumbledore continued, and the hall was completely silent. I seemed to hear Snape's brow twitch. "I award ninety points to the Gryffindor House for unprecedented courage and iron restraint."

A few seconds of deathly silence and the hall literally exploded with the joy of the Gryffindors, the Slytherins' anger, and a mixture of these emotions from the rest of the houses.

"So..." the director spoke again, but no one really listened to him. "First place is taken by Gryffindor!"

Dumbledore clapped his hands, and the numerous banners throughout the room changed color from green to scarlet. The Slytherin crest changed to that of Gryffindor.

With an expressionless face, Hermione was trying to get up and leave because it was all entirely against the rules. I'm sure she perfectly understood that now our House in general and Potter, in particular, would be disliked, and that's putting it mildly. Still, I held her back by the hand, pulling her back into place.

"This is how hatred, anger, and envy are born," I said quietly to her while students were going crazy around.

"This is disgusting," she grimaced.

"What? Don't you like that we have won?" said Ron, who suddenly drew attention to us, and with him Harry and many nearby. Instead of Hermione, who seemed to have decided that there was no point in explaining anything, I spoke up.

"You received points for leaving the living room after lights out, walking along the corridors of the castle, sneaking into the Forbidden Corridor, burning a valuable magical plant, breaking two school brooms, smashing a valuable artifact of the last few hundred years, and dooming Flamel to death. How lovely. Death and destruction is a Gryffindor's worthy deed."

"You know nothing!" Ron flushed, indignant, and many others were outraged.

"I'm not saying you did the wrong thing," I shrugged. "But really, none of this happened, and you did not break a bunch of rules? I don't care, to be honest. You survived, and thank Merlin."

"That's it!" Ron lifted his nose proudly, and Hermione looked at me reproachfully. The students continued their congratulations. Food and drinks appeared on the tables.

"This is all terribly unfair, and I have conflicting feelings," Hermione told me quietly. "We seem to have won, but such disgusting sediment on my soul."

"I understand."

"Why did you support them?"

"Did I? I said what I thought but did not develop the conflict. Anyway, no one will understand anything. Let's eat - the road is long."

"You're right."

After the feast, everyone went to collect their things. We were given warnings about the prohibition to conjure during the holidays, the results of exams in which Hermione and I shared the place of the best student for two.

We got to the train again by boats, accompanied by the same Hagrid. Hermione and I quickly occupied an empty compartment and locked the door with Colloportus. I decided to sleep, and Hermione pulled out some massive book and sat down to read.

I did not notice how I fell asleep but woke up already literally in London.

"Get up."

"I opened my eyes and saw Hermione shaking my shoulder."

"What?" the brain did not work immediately, but almost instantly. "Have we already arrived?"

"Yes."

There was no need to change, so we quickly got to the platform, found the luggage carts, and drove off to the Muggle side of the station. In the parking lot, John was already waiting for me in his BMW five. Hermione seemed to have noticed her parents and pulled me to meet them.

"Mom, dad!" the girl immediately threw herself into their arms, and the joyful parents could not help but reciprocate. John seemed to have noticed a bustle nearby. He got out of the car and walked towards us, welcoming me with his hand.

When we all gathered in one company, Hermione hurried to introduce us.

"Mom, dad, get acquainted. This is Maximilian Knight, my classmate and friend. Max, this is my mom and dad - Jean and Paul Granger."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mister. This is my father, John Knight," I introduced the approaching father. It's good that we are not in a secular society. Otherwise, we can go on like this all day long.

Her parents started the same small talk.

"Be sure to write to me," Hermione said in a rather important tone, as, in fact, always. "And don't forget about the schedule of the day."

"Of course, fluffy," I hugged the girl and patted her randomly curly hair.

"Hey! What?! You have not paid attention all year, but now I am a fluffy?!" she was genuinely indignant.

"It's a knight's move, Hermione. Knight's move - with a smirk, I went after my father, who had time to say goodbye to the Granger couple. The adults smiled mysteriously. I am plagued with vague doubts that they have already imagined something weird.