"Alright, the decorations here might need a little adjustment."
Dumbledore took out his wand and gave it a light tap.
The green and silver inside the Great Hall instantly transformed into blue and bronze, the colors symbolizing wisdom.
The coiling Slytherin serpent vanished as well, replaced by a Ravenclaw eagle that seemed to emerge from thin air.
The giant eagle spread its wings and soared. Despite being an illusion, its feathers were clearly defined, making it look astonishingly lifelike.
After flying over everyone's heads, the eagle swept upward toward the starry ceiling and gradually disappeared into the vast sea of stars.
Having finished his magic, Dumbledore winked at Lucien, then returned to the central seat at the head table.
Only then did Ravenclaw erupt into cheers.
However, the commotion was indeed much quieter than Gryffindor's earlier celebration.
Ravenclaw had fewer students to begin with, and most of them were girls, so it was only natural that they couldn't shout quite so earth-shakingly.
Still, the necessary excitement and praise were not lacking.
Although they did not deliberately chase after the House Cup, who would ever refuse an honor that came to them?
"Oh my goodness, we actually won the House Cup this year!"
"This is all Lucien's credit. Not to mention these one hundred points, even the usual bonus points he earns are incredible!"
"Oh, Lucien usually works very hard and is extremely diligent. He must be exhausted from studying all year. Come on, let your senior give you a hug."
"Hey, you in front, what do you think you're doing?"
"You, all of you, let go of my roommate!"
...
After politely chatting with his classmates for a while, Lucien deftly slipped out of the encirclement.
"Congratulations, superstar."
Cho, who had been standing to the side and hadn't tried to squeeze in, raised her goblet with a smile and teased him.
Lucien picked up the goblet on the table, lightly clinked it with Cho's, and briefly talked about his plans for the summer.
At the same time, curious gazes came from the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables.
Hermione and Daphne pretended to eat while stealing glances toward Ravenclaw.
The two of them shared the same unspoken thought.
Lucien's situation seemed rather "dangerous" in Ravenclaw.
Aside from Ravenclaw, the other three houses also cheered and offered their congratulations and praise.
Hufflepuff, of course, had little to do with the House Cup this year and instead cared far more about what delicacies were being served at tonight's feast.
The Great Hall had recently introduced many new dishes, which were not only tasty and flavorful but also varied, and were said to be Muggle Michelin star cuisine.
The Hufflepuffs, who were especially enthusiastic about this, soon learned after some inquiries that Lucien had taught these dishes to the house-elves.
In other words, Lucien had essentially secured benefits for the Little Badgers.
When classes were shared with Ravenclaw, many students had also received help from Lucien, which naturally increased their goodwill toward this outstanding student who also understood good food.
Some of the Little Badgers even joked that it would have been even better if Lucien had been sorted into Hufflepuff. Perhaps their menu could have improved even further.
As for Slytherin, they were surprisingly relieved that Ravenclaw had won in the end.
If the difference had only been a few or even ten points, Slytherin might have complained and felt dissatisfied, but how could they argue against a gap of one hundred points?
As long as Gryffindor didn't win, that was acceptable.
Gryffindor, who would normally be the most likely to hold a grudge, remained exceptionally cheerful. Although they hadn't won the House Cup, they had still beaten Slytherin this year.
Many Little Lions raised their goblets and toasted toward the Slytherin table.
"Truly respectable opponents, but unfortunately, we're still a bit stronger."
The Little Snakes who heard this felt as though they had swallowed slugs. They either snorted coldly or remained silent, choosing not to bother with those Lions.
Gryffindor was already used to such reactions from their rivals, knowing this was how they behaved after a defeat, and immediately ate and drank with even greater enthusiasm.
On the last day, the young wizards had already packed their belongings. Their wardrobes seemed to empty all at once, everything stuffed into their trunks.
At the same time, the scores for all subjects were announced.
Lucien, unsurprisingly, sat firmly in first place for his year.
Second place went to Miss Know-It-All herself, the ever-diligent Hermione. She stared at the rankings with a wistful expression, muttering to herself,
"Just a little more, just a little more…"
"If I hadn't added that extra gram of Bursting Mushroom powder during the Potions exam…"
Ignoring Hermione's muttering, Ron excitedly grabbed Harry's shoulders and shook him.
"Look, look, I'm in the top ten!"
"Now Mum won't scold me. Whew, that's great. Before, whenever I saw Fred and the others getting lectured by Mum over their grades, I always dreaded this day…"
Harry, made dizzy by the shaking, reluctantly pried Ron's hands away.
"I see, I see. Aren't we all here? And…"
He gestured toward the Slytherin group.
"Malfoy and Greengrass are ahead too."
Before Ron could comment, two voices rang out in perfect unison behind him,
"Ronnie-kinns, we heard what you just said."
And with that, Ron was dragged away by the Weasley twins, one on each arm.
Lucien looked over the results and felt very satisfied.
Not bad, not bad. Everyone had worked hard, and the results clearly showed it.
It felt wonderful to let more people experience the joy of learning and enjoy the process of gaining knowledge.
Hmm, Harry has already asked for preview assignments for the summer. I wonder what the others would think. Should I give them the same treatment…
Once again, he boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Last time, he had been a first-year, filled with anticipation and curiosity about magic.
Time really flew. A whole year had passed just like that.
"Sigh, we can't use magic during the holidays. I was hoping to keep practicing."
Hermione looked at the rapidly receding green countryside outside the window and sighed helplessly.
Before leaving school, the young wizards had received a notice warning them strictly not to use magic during the holidays. It stated that a Trace had been placed on their wands, an invisible charm cast by the Ministry of Magic that could monitor magical activity in the surrounding area.
Ron waved his hand while swallowing an Every Flavour Bean.
"Percy told me this is actually really easy to get around. As long as there's an adult wizard nearby, even if the Ministry of Magic comes knocking, it can be explained as magic used by the adults."
Lucien once again felt the inconvenience faced by Muggle-born wizards. Pure-bloods and half-bloods, protected by their parents, could practice and use magic freely during the holidays, while young wizards from Muggle families could only endure the restriction.
Although they could go to places where wizards gathered, such as Diagon Alley, to avoid the Ministry of Magic's monitoring, very few young wizards could stay there for long.
Setting aside the cost, Muggle parents would not feel at ease either.
With this, once the holidays ended, wouldn't the gap only grow wider?
"You can all come to my house to hang out, then. You can use magic however you want!"
Ron offered enthusiastically.
The group then exchanged contact information and home addresses, making it convenient to send letters by owl or meet up in person.
The train gradually slowed, finally coming to a stop at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Lucien stepped off the Hogwarts Express, suitcase in hand.
The long-awaited summer holiday had begun.
________
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