Chapter 108 - Year End
We are back at home now.
The school year has ended, and a few days have already passed since we returned from Hogwarts. After everything that happened with Quirrell, Voldemort, the Philosopher's Stone, and that strange burst of magical energy, it feels almost strange to be sitting at home again.
Everything is peaceful.
The results have also arrived. And, as usual, I have topped my year.
There is one small difference this time, though. I have tied with Percy Weasley.
Percy is normally my senior by a year but because of my special examination arrangement, things have become rather unusual. I had been allowed to take examinations at six-month intervals. If I continued getting Outstanding results in all my subjects, I would be promoted to the next year's course.
So, during the June examinations, I sat with Percy's year and took the O.W.L.s.
And I got twelve Outstanding grades.
So did Percy.
Percy was extremely pleased with his results, naturally. I was happy too, though I was more interested in what would happen next than in the marks themselves. After all, I already knew I could do well in the examinations.
The more interesting results were those of the kids.
Hermione was, as expected, among the very best students in the year. That girl practically treats studying like a competitive sport.
Harry did much better than he would have in the original story. He was not the best student in the year but he finished among the top ten. That was a big improvement compared to his results in the original story.
I think the reason is simple. Harry now has a proper home. He has people who care about him. And there is also me, his elder brother, who has instilled in him that studying is a necessary and bad results are not acceptable.
Because of that, he is more willing to study and prepare instead of simply goofing around.
Dudley's result was also in the middle. It was not great but I was satisfied that he was at least studying and not just having fun here.
Ron also did much better. Harry's habit of studying had rubbed off on him.
Ron is not an idiot or a fool. I sometimes call him a dumbhead but that is mostly because he does some unbelievably foolish things.
He is actually quite clever.
The problem is that his mind wanders everywhere. He can sit down to study and five minutes later, he would be thinking and talking about something completely different and unrelated.
But put a Quidditch match or a chessboard in front of him and suddenly his brain works perfectly.
Speaking of chess, that reminds me of the night in the dungeon.
After we destroyed the Philosopher's Stone, we all felt and received the strange power that had been released from it.
What surprised me was that Dumbledore did not say much about it that night even after he felt it.
The night ended there, quietly.
The following morning, after breakfast, Dumbledore called the children to his office and I went with them too.
He listened to each of us separately and compared our accounts.
I understood what he was doing. He was comparing and checking whether our stories matched. If there were contradictions, he would find them.
Fortunately for us, there was nothing to hide. We had done everything openly and aboveboard.
Well, except for the fact that I had known much more than I had told anyone. But that was my little secret.
When Dumbledore asked me about the beginning of everything, I explained how the children had started their little investigation.
I told him about their observations, their suspicions and how they had connected different events together.
At some points, I even used the phrases like 'behaviour anomaly', 'pattern recognition', etc.
Dumbledore gave me a very strange look when he heard those terms.
I almost laughed at his reaction. I knew he understood what I meant but the expression on his face was priceless. I enjoyed every second of it.
Being serious all the time is boring. Sometimes it is fun to shake Dumbledore a little by having fun.
After hearing our accounts, Dumbledore reported everything to the school administration and the other professors, especially the Heads of House.
Soon, the entire school was informed that Professor Quirrell had suffered an accident and had unfortunately died.
The truth about Voldemort was kept secret.
I was not surprised by it.
According to my deductions, the school's administration and the Board of Governors probably did not want the matter discussed publicly.
And I doubt Dumbledore even told them everything, specifically about Voldemort.
Imagine the questions that would have followed.
How did Voldemort return?
How did he possess a professor for an entire year?
How did Dumbledore fail to notice?
And how had Voldemort, supposedly defeated more than ten years ago, managed to enter Hogwarts itself?
Those questions would have caused trouble, especially for Dumbledore himself.
So, officially, Professor Quirrell just had a nasty accident. And that was the end of the matter.
Honestly, I was happy with that. There were no unnecessary complications. There was neither panic among the students nor any parents demanding answers from the school.
Just an unfortunate dead professor and a school year ending normally.
There was also the matter of the House Cup. I had not talked much about it before but this year it was worth mentioning.
In the original story, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville received a huge number of last-minute points from Dumbledore. Those points pushed Gryffindor ahead of Slytherin and won them the House Cup.
That did not happen this time as the children were not the primary person acting on that day. Dumbledore still gave the three children some points for their actions. He even gave me some.
But he did not give us enough to change the result, as it would have instead benefitted me and Hufflepuff house more.
And un-surprisingly, Gryffindor did not win but Hufflepuff won.
Courtesy of yours truly.
My accelerated examinations and excellent results had earned me a huge number of points throughout the year. Add to it that the badgers are not as mischievous as Slytherins and Gryffindors, which resulted in less points being deducted throughout the year. So when the final scores were counted, Hufflepuff came out on top.
I could not help smiling when I saw the look on some of the other students' faces.
The year is over now. The exams are finished. The House Cup has already been awarded. Quirrell is dead while Voldemort escaped but he is once again without a body. And the Philosopher's Stone is gone for good.
I am thinking about the next year and its challenges. Because if my memory of the original story is correct, one of the important characters connected to next year's events, and even the whole story should be visiting our house soon.
And I am eagerly waiting for him.
There are also a few things I want to do during the summer. One of them involves another trip to Diagon Alley.
I have several plans in my head already for the next year. Some of them are personal while some involve my magical education. And some may change the future.
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End of Chapter 108 - Year End