Hogwarts Card System Chapter 190

Chapter 190: A “Ji” Moment and Treasure

The little friends sat together, eating pre-dinner desserts and fruits, watching the house-elves practice their eighteen martial arts, and chatting about lighthearted and pleasant topics, feeling utterly content.

Somehow, someone brought up Penelope, the Ravenclaw prefect who had been petrified.

They wondered why she was petrified in the basement before the Quidditch match.

Penelope just smiled without a word.

But Paige, on the other hand, spoke frankly: “Penelope was waiting for me; we had agreed to meet there.”

For a moment, sharp-witted kids like Harry, Hermione, and Ted noticed the subtle implications.

They couldn’t help but secretly exchange glances: What were they meeting for in the basement?

Then they saw Penelope, her face slightly flushed, link arms with Paige.

Huh?

Hermione’s big eyes widened, blinking rapidly, afraid she had seen wrong.

It wasn’t just her; the nearby young wizards and witches were all stunned.

Silence fell for several seconds. Then Ron, holding a chicken leg, looked up curiously: What happened?

He had been exchanging glances with Lavender at the next table and hadn’t noticed what was going on here.

Jerry quietly explained: “Your sister is in love… with Penelope!”

Ron’s chicken leg was stuck in his mouth; he couldn’t swallow it: Penelope, I considered you a friend, and you want to steal my sister?!

Well, although this news was a bit explosive, considering this was Great Britain, it didn’t seem entirely unacceptable.

Ted, being a man of principle, couldn’t let his young friends be influenced by such things at such a young age.

Ted took over the conversation, whispering to his friends about Tom, explaining how he found the Chamber of Secrets entrance in the girls’ bathroom.

He didn’t directly mention Voldemort, so the other young wizards didn’t know who he was talking about.

Finally, they concluded that Senior Tom was a pervert who liked to sneak into girls’ restrooms.

Neville and Harry both covered their mouths, laughing heartily. These two had a blood feud with Voldemort, after all.

Ted was inadvertently reducing his friends’ fear of Voldemort. However, after two incidents, last year and this year, Voldemort really had no standing with them anymore.

Last year, when the friends knew they had to face Voldemort, they trembled with nervousness. Now, they were already making fun of his nose.

Speaking of which, Tom’s first death was in 1981.

And in 1977, America’s Voyager 2 was launched.

This meant that if Tom had found a way to send any Horcrux onto Voyager 2 back then, that Horcrux would now be outside the solar system…

Voldemort ultimately suffered from a lack of culture!

Otherwise, we might have seen HP Part Eight—Harry Potter and Star Trek.

Of course, one would also have to consider the Horcrux being out of service range.

But if the soul were in a quantum entangled state, then there would be no delay or range issues!

At that time, Harry Potter would unleash his protagonist’s aura, a “Voyager, Accio!” What a scene!

Of course, it could also be Tom Riddle and the Sith Lord, the dark side of magic vs. the dark side of the Force~

Or perhaps Voldemort and the Trisolarans, Trisolarans: What is this thing? Get it away, get it away~

…

As stars appeared on the ceiling, and the house-elves prepared various delicacies, the banquet was about to officially begin.

Dumbledore tapped his goblet and stood up to speak.

“This has been a difficult year, but our Hogwarts students, undeterred by hardships, have, under the leadership of the school administration, defeated the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. It proves that some dark creatures are just paper tigers~”

Cough, all that was nonsense.

Dumbledore was probably old and had said too many words in his life, so he didn’t like to speak too much.

He directly addressed the Chamber of Secrets: “The monster in the Chamber of Secrets captured Draco Malfoy, and it was Neville Longbottom, Ted Epiphany, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Jerry, along with our unfortunately injured and still hospitalized Professor Lockhart, who rescued him!”

In fact, Lockhart’s evidence of stealing stories had already been collected by his dear, brilliant student, Ted, and sent to the newspaper.

But Dumbledore didn’t mention it; after all, he was the one who hired the professor, so he couldn’t just slap himself in the face, could he?

“Now, the monster in the Chamber of Secrets has been vanquished. The unsettling chaos that plagued us has passed.”

“To commend the contributions of the six students mentioned above, the school has decided to award them a Special Contribution Award!”

Clap, clap, clap, clap~ The applause was like thunder!

This year, the young wizards and witches had been tormented enough by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. Now, they couldn’t be happier.

Paige looked excited: “Oh my goodness! Ron, you’ve received the greatest honor in our family: the Special Contribution Award!” She ruffled his hair~

Ron touched his backside: I deserve this; I traded my butt for it!

“Furthermore, each of them will earn one hundred points for their respective houses!” Dumbledore added.

Well, I knew you old man would definitely favor Gryffindor this year.

Neville and the other four, that’s 400 points in one go. Even if Ravenclaw had an advantage before, it’s useless now!

Never mind, there are no tasks this year anyway.

Thirty years to the east, thirty years to the west; the House Cup rotates, next year it’s our turn. Let’s just sit in rows and eat fruits.

Gryffindor had directly secured the House Cup. The little lions excitedly thumped their chests and cheered like gorillas until Professor McGonagall, unable to bear it, glared at the leading Weasley twins, finally quieting them down.

But Dumbledore’s next words instantly ignited the young wizards’ passion.

“Given the many events this year, the school has decided to cancel the end-of-year exams!”

“Wow~~~~~” The Great Hall ceiling nearly lifted off; no one could suppress the young wizards’ cheers now.

All the students were as excited as if it were Christmas, only Hermione was very disappointed.

Hermione: “Why? Why cancel the exams? I prepared for three months!” °(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°

Ron and Jerry looked at her and became even happier! Let you try to outdo everyone! Now you can’t, aren’t you annoyed?

Tonight’s banquet was to last until the early hours of the morning, a night of complete revelry.

As it approached 11 o’clock, the thick oak doors of the Great Hall were pushed open, and a tall, burly figure walked in.

It was Hagrid! He had been released from Azkaban.

Damn it, it had been several days already. Fudge must have been afraid of affecting his reputation, so he dragged his feet and handled it quietly.

“Hagrid!” Neville and the others cried out, standing up and running towards him.

Hagrid hugged the children who barely reached his waist, saying in a low (like muffled thunder) voice: “Thank you, Ted, if it weren’t for your bracelet, I would have suffered greatly! If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how I would have endured that dreadful place!”

He was referring to the bracelet Ted had given him, which had a password that opened a small space inside. Ted had filled it with kitchen-made, cheerfulness-inducing chocolate-filled beans!

The most terrifying aspect of Azkaban was the Dementors—having one’s happiness sucked away would make one lose the will to live, similar to severe depression.

But eating something sweet could bring joy, significantly alleviating the symptoms. Not to mention the Cheering Charm, a specific potion for the purpose.

The banquet continued until the early hours, and the young wizards, unable to stay awake, began to leave. The banquet was also coming to an end.

The friends left together, but Neville suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, right, yesterday when I returned the Sword of Gryffindor to the Headmaster’s office, the Sorting Hat quietly told me that I had earned the right to try and find the treasure left by Gryffindor.”

At the mention of treasure, Ron’s eyes lit up, and Jerry’s ears perked up.

Neville said somewhat strangely: “But the Sorting Hat said the clue was just one sentence: ‘Gryffindor’s secret lies behind Slytherin.’”

“What does that mean?” Harry asked.

Neville shook his head, about to say something, but Dumbledore, who was not far away, suddenly walked over.

“Ted, could you spare a moment to talk with this old man?”

“Of course,” Ted said with a smile, nodding.

“Come to my office.”

Ted bid farewell to his friends and followed Dumbledore to his office on the eighth floor.

(End of this chapter)