This should have been cause for celebration. Unfortunately, the only person still standing there unharmed was Tver himself.
After being hit a second time, Harry lay sprawled on the ground, too weak even to lift his head. All he could do was gasp for breath.
Hermione had only forced herself to stand through sheer willpower. Otherwise, she would not have been bound by Tver before she could even finish the Disarming Charm. After that final struggle, she fainted before she even heard that they had won.
Draco was in the worst shape. Since he had been in the best condition just now, Tver had given him a tiny bit of extra attention.
Now he was buried under dust from head to toe. A few blades of grass clung to his pale face, and he did not even have the strength to blow them away. The way he struggled for breath made him look as though he might expire at any moment.
Of course, Tver could not possibly have hit him that hard. After all, it was only a slightly strengthened Impediment Jinx. It could not actually kill someone... right?
He glanced at the Elder Wand in his hand, then, still uneasy, stepped forward to check Draco's condition.
After examining him for a moment, he confirmed that Draco was merely short of breath from the force of the impact. It was a little like having a blocked nose, making his breathing slightly uneven.
Combined with his exhausted body, it had forced him to lie on the ground with his eyes closed, recovering his strength.
In a way, he was actually in better shape than Harry, who had taken a blow both physically and mentally.
So after Tver tidied their clothes one by one, including Neville and the others who were still sleeping soundly after being hit by the Stunning Spell, he moved them all onto temporary hospital beds he had transfigured.
Draco became the first one to force himself back up.
"Victory!"
He thrust his fist into the air. Not only had he come out of his resting state with his eyes closed, his face was also filled with the joy and excitement of winning the match.
Still panting, he looked at the professor in disbelief. This time, Tver did not tease him. He simply smiled and pointed toward the platform.
The trophy had been there all along, waiting for its final owner.
Draco's smile finally spread across every inch of his face, joy bubbling out of him from every pore.
He had finally won the final championship!
Although he had to share it with Potter and the others, before he had blacked out, if that counted as blacking out, he clearly remembered that it was his spell that made the professor acknowledge their victory.
Draco's cheer also woke the others. Through his and Neville's explanations, they gradually learned what had happened just now.
But compared with Draco's excitement, Harry's mood was still low.
"You did very well just now." Tver stuffed a piece of chocolate into his hand and sat down beside him on the temporary hospital bed.
"But I..." Harry turned the chocolate over and over in his hand. "I really don't think I can beat Voldemort."
"Ha." Tver laughed.
"So that's what you're worrying about. I thought so. You shouldn't be so afraid of Voldemort that you tremble and can't fight back."
Harry pressed his lips together, a little annoyed by the professor's laughter.
"I am afraid of Voldemort, but when I think of my parents, and all the people in the Order of the Phoenix, even Peter Pettigrew, who were killed because of Voldemort, how could I lose the courage to fight him?"
"It's just..." His mood sank again. "I'm just worried... worried that I won't be able to defeat Voldemort, that I won't be able to avenge everyone."
"Let me tell you a secret..." Tver lowered his voice mysteriously, leaving Harry confused but also looking at him with anticipation.
"As long as you have that courage, that coward Voldemort will never be able to defeat you."
"?"
Harry's eyes widened in confusion.
What kind of secret was that? No, could courage alone defeat Voldemort?
Tver did not explain. He only raised his eyebrows meaningfully.
"And if your parents knew what you were thinking, they would be more comforted by that than by any improvement in your strength."
With that, he left Harry to think it over by himself and went to hand out chocolate to the others.
What he had not expected was that, because Tver had only focused on Harry for a while, the moment the others recovered, the earlier harmony vanished at once.
And the center of the argument was, naturally, the trophy.
"The professor only declared three people the winners, Weasley. You don't get a say in this!"
Draco lifted his chin proudly and waved the trophy in front of Ron's eyes in an extremely punchable way.
"Out of those three, Hermione and Harry make up two. We should be the ones who get the trophy!"
Ron tried to snatch it, but Draco nimbly shrank back and dodged his hand.
"Hmph. If it weren't for my final spell, how could the professor have acknowledged our success?"
"That was only because Harry and Hermione created the chance for you! Do you really think that weak little spell of yours would have earned the professor's approval by itself?" Ron immediately shouted back. Draco had let that detail slip while bragging.
Draco's momentum stalled, and he instantly regretted not learning from the Weasleys' ability to boast and claim all the credit for himself.
Tver was helpless as he watched from the side.
These people were all sixth-year students. Even if they were not quite adults yet, they were close enough. How were they still this childish?
"Why don't I just make two more trophies? It's not as if..."
"No!" they shouted at the same time.
On the surface, it was only a trophy, but to Draco, it was proof that he had surpassed Harry in a competition for the first time.
Ron was not exactly wrong either. The chance Harry and Hermione had created was the key to their success. In terms of overall contribution, it was more convincing for the trio to take the trophy.
But when the two of them realized the one speaking was the professor, they both became awkward.
"Er..."
"It's only a trophy. What you gain from a match is more important than victory itself, wouldn't you say?" Tver looked at Draco with deep meaning.
Draco opened his mouth, but memories of all the open and hidden rivalry between him and Harry over the years suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He looked down at the exquisite trophy in his hand, then looked up at Harry, who was still dazed in the distance, and Hermione, who was still lying on the hospital bed.
He had thought he would be very happy. At first, he had been. But now, strangely, it all felt a little dull.
What exactly had he been fighting for all these years? And now, had he actually obtained it?
Once this victory truly arrived, he found that compared with this unforgettable experience, victory and the trophy had become insignificant.
After hesitating for a while, Draco carried the trophy and strode over to Harry, who was still lost in thought. Under Harry's bewildered stare, he shoved it into his arms.
"Consider this repayment for saving me in the Black Lake!"
After saying it quickly, as if afraid he would regret it, Draco hurried after the professor even faster.
"Professor, wasn't I really cool just now? Wasn't I much stronger than Potter?" he shouted loudly, fishing for praise, as if afraid Harry and the others would not hear him.
"Heh heh heh heh heh..."
"You're not allowed to laugh like that!"
"Ugh..."
Harry ran his fingers over the trophy's delicate patterns and watched the figures gradually recede into the distance. He could not help laughing softly.
He felt as though he was beginning to understand what the professor had meant.