"What do you think they mean by this?"
Harry stared straight at Link and Dumbledore beside the staff table, while leaning his head toward Hermione as he spoke.
Hermione was almost in the same posture, staring at the staff table as she said, "Who knows? It's just a seating order, it doesn't prove anything."
"It's very possible this is just a temporary compromise between the two sides. You know, to keep things from becoming too awkward."
Although Hermione said that, the nervous and expectant look on her face still gave her away.
At the same time, as the clock struck the hour, the noisy crowd also quieted down.
Everyone suppressed their excitement and looked toward the staff table.
Especially the Hufflepuffs.
No one was more eager than them for what was about to happen next.
But at this moment, people unexpectedly noticed that Link and Dumbledore were quietly talking about something.
The two of them tilted their heads toward each other and talked for quite a while before Dumbledore finally shook his head with a bitter smile and stood up first.
"Alright then, it seems that our Commissioner Flamel is still not very used to the process of coming up to speak to everyone, so this year I'll do it first."
As soon as he finished speaking, another wave of friendly laughter sounded from the crowd.
Dumbledore's words instantly removed the distance people had felt earlier because of Link's status.
It was as if Link had once again become the classmate they were familiar with and admired.
After all, standing on stage to speak in front of the entire school was something every student here would feel nervous about.
Dumbledore deliberately paused for a moment, and only after the laughter gradually died down did he continue.
"Another year has passed! Tsk! I must admit that many things happened over the past year, many things that were unsettling and frightening. But fortunately, we made it through."
"I'm very glad that after experiencing so many things, you are still so kind and resilient. In fact, you've even become smarter. About that, the series of exams held last week are the best proof."
"Although the results haven't come out yet, according to feedback from officials at the Department of Magical Education, your scores this year will definitely be the best in the past ten years!"
Hearing this, Ron and the others became extremely excited.
Their week of celebration had just ended, and everyone would soon return to their homes.
The biggest danger they were facing now was that the exam results were about to be announced.
For many people, that was terrible news.
And Dumbledore's words clearly gave them a huge boost of confidence.
"…Now, as far as I know, the House Cup will soon be awarded here." Dumbledore looked a little excited as he glanced toward the four house gem hourglasses in the entrance hall.
"The current points are... Gryffindor 252 points, second place. Ravenclaw 241 points, third place. Slytherin 229 points, fourth place. Hufflepuff, 271 points! First place!"
"I think the answer is already clear."
"This year's House Cup belongs to Hufflepuff!"
A burst of cheering and jumping exploded from the Hufflepuff table.
John, who had taken Cedric's place at the very front of the Hufflepuff table, was clearly not as calm as Cedric.
The moment Dumbledore announced the points, he seemed to transform into Tarzan. One foot stepped on a chair, the other stepped on the table, while he beat his chest and shouted wildly.
The other lower-year Hufflepuff boys immediately copied him. For a moment, the Hufflepuff table looked like a scene from Planet of the Apes.
The girls, meanwhile, were crying while holding their heads.
Compared to the last time they won the House Cup because of Link, this year's House Cup truly belonged to them.
It was earned by them desperately using their spare time every day to run errands and do chores for professors and prefects.
This kind of work was humble and even made people laugh at them, but it was still their effort.
And now their efforts had been rewarded.
At the staff table, Professor Sprout's eyes had turned red.
She grabbed Cedric and Link's hands, excitedly saying something nonstop.
Dumbledore also sat back down.
He quietly comforted Professor Sprout for a few moments before smiling at Link and saying, "Link, I'll handle things here. The rest is something you should announce."
Link nodded and stood up, walking to the podium.
As he appeared, the volume in the Great Hall rose several more levels.
But when Link raised his hands and made a downward gesture asking for silence, the whole hall instantly became quiet again.
"This really is remarkable," Dumbledore said with emotion. "When I first became headmaster of Hogwarts, I didn't have this kind of prestige."
Professor Sprout was already too emotional to speak.
She could only keep nodding.
After all, she had served at Hogwarts with Dumbledore for decades and knew very clearly what Dumbledore's situation had been like back then.
To be precise, the situation was far worse than what Dumbledore had just described.
At that time, Dumbledore's teaching methods, which were very different from the previous headmaster's, had been heavily criticized by other professors and students.
That situation only improved after those students graduated and the professors were almost completely replaced.
Compared to that, Link had done far better.
He was practically a natural leader.
After sighing slightly, Link finally smiled and spoke from the podium, "First of all, I must clarify something. I'm not like Professor Dumbledore just said."
"I didn't push him out to give the speech because I was afraid. I simply felt that something like announcing the House Cup winner should be done by Dumbledore for the proper sense of ceremony, right?"
"Especially since this year's House Cup winner is Hufflepuff."
"If I, a Hufflepuff myself, were the one announcing that result, it would be way too awkward, wouldn't it?"
"I think both Hufflepuffs and students from the other houses would find that hard to accept."
As soon as Link said that, a series of laughter and voices of disagreement immediately came from the crowd.
Even so, quite a few people secretly nodded.
Showing a bit of neutrality, even if it was only for appearance's sake, still made things easier for people to accept.
"So next… following Professor Dumbledore's fine tradition, I'll keep it short."
The smile on Link's face gradually disappeared, becoming serious.
"I want to announce something very important. It's about the reform of Hogwarts!"
"Everyone knows that when Professor Dumbledore was falsely accused by Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic and forced to leave, and later when we drove Umbridge away, Hogwarts began operating under the three-party committee system."
"This system has proven its excellent practicality over the past period of time."
"But now that Professor Dumbledore has returned to Hogwarts, this system has become a little awkward."
"Should we restore the single headmaster system and return Professor Dumbledore to the position of headmaster?"
"Or should we continue the three-party committee system?"
"This is probably something many people are confused and worried about."
"After all, if this matter remains unresolved for too long, it could lead to another serious problem!", Harry and Hermione nodded quickly.
They felt relieved, because since Link had openly brought up the matter now, it meant he must already have a solution.
Sure enough, after a brief pause, Link continued, "So, after several days of discussion, we have already reached a consensus with Professor Dumbledore."
Link looked toward Dumbledore, and Dumbledore nodded back.
"Hogwarts will continue maintaining the committee system, but the current three-party committee will expand into four parties."
"That means the school board, the Ministry of Magic, the student self-governance council, and finally the faculty side represented by Professor Dumbledore."
"Fom now on, all major matters at Hogwarts will be decided through voting by these four parties."
"Now then, please enjoy the feast!"
After saying that, Link bowed slightly to everyone and returned to his seat.
In the kitchens below the Great Hall, the house-elves received the signal.
Under their control, dish after dish of food suddenly appeared on the tables in front of everyone.
Thunderous applause filled the entire Great Hall.
Of course, the huge majority of students like Ron were cheering mostly because of the food.
For them, Link's speech just now had sounded confusing and impressive without them really understanding it.
The only people who truly understood the importance of it were a very small number of people like Harry and Hermione.
And those people were now so excited that they were almost clapping their hands raw.
They truly hadn't expected it.
Earlier they had been worrying endlessly about this issue.
But in the blink of an eye, Link and Dumbledore had already reached a reconciliation.
And solved the matter in such an almost perfect way.
At the main seats of the staff table, Link and Dumbledore raised their juice glasses and smiled as they clinked them together.
Seeing this scene, Hermione and Harry also looked at each other.
Both of their eyes were full of excitement.
Although they hadn't managed to bring this year's House Cup back to Gryffindor.
They still couldn't deny that this was absolutely the most perfect end-of-year feast in history.
———
As the final bit of madness before leaving school this term, the end-of-year feast continued late into the night.
Later on, people's source of happiness had even shifted from just food to all kinds of fun activities.
This made the twins George and Fred the absolute stars.
The two of them brought Ron along and once again began telling everyone the detailed story of the battle at the Department of Mysteries.
Even though they had already told the story countless times.
Everyone still listened with great interest every time, and this time was no exception.
The main reason was that the three Weasley brothers told a slightly different version every time.
After being revised so many times by them, the already exciting battle at the Department of Mysteries had now turned into a passionate fantasy story.
Even Gilderoy Lockhart would probably have to admit they were professionals.
Link and Dumbledore, along with the other professors, had already left the Great Hall early.
They all understood that if they stayed, the students would never truly relax.
Forcing themselves to stay would actually be a very cruel thing.
Especially for the seventh-year students who were about to graduate.
This end-of-year feast was already the end of their long student life, and they deserved to leave with some wonderful and crazy memories.
But unlike the other professors, after leaving, Link and Dumbledore did not return directly to their dormitories or offices.
Instead, they walked together into the Room of Requirement.
"Whew! Alright, tell me, Link. Why did you call me here?"
As soon as they entered, Dumbledore said slowly.
He still had a smile on his face while speaking, but deep in his eyes there was a trace of seriousness.
Because earlier, Emily had also wanted to come along.
But that request had been refused by Link.
If even his fiancée was not allowed to know, it was easy to imagine how important this matter was.
However, what surprised Dumbledore was that Link smiled and said, "Professor Dumbledore, how about we have a duel?"
The moment he said that, the smile on Dumbledore's face finally disappeared.
He looked at Link with a strange expression for quite a while before holding himself back from showing too much surprise and simply shaking his head.
"Why would you suddenly have such an idea?"
"Because recently, I've gained something new," Link said while looking at his hand.
"According to my estimation, my actual combat power should already be comparable to that of a legendary wizard. But I don't have enough reference targets."
"So you want to try it on me?", Dumbledore said slowly.
He had no doubt about Link's words.
Because Link had already told him that the King's Blood left behind after the shadow figure took Voldemort away with the blood escape technique had been completely absorbed by him.
As one of the few people in this world who had deeply researched King's Blood, Dumbledore knew very clearly that Link's strength must have experienced explosive growth because of it.
However, using him directly as a test opponent.
'Wasn't that a bit rude?'
Dumbledore could not help thinking that.
But in the end, Dumbledore still smiled and nodded.
"Alright then, I can agree to it." Dumbledore finally reminded him, "But are you really sure you want to do this? A battle at the level of legendary wizards is something even I can't perfectly control."
What Dumbledore meant was that Link should not overestimate himself and end up getting injured.
After all, a sudden explosion in strength was not always a good thing.
Without the matching qualities and experience, it could become like a baby swinging a giant blade... far more likely to hurt himself than others.
But hearing this, the corners of Link's mouth rose slightly as he confidently took out his wand.
During this recent period of time, although he had been busy with the Ministry of Magic reforms, he had not relaxed his training in personal strength.
Up to now, he still had not fully completed things like optimizing his current power system into an entirely new combat style.
But at the very least, he had already completely adapted to the massive magical power boost brought by the title "British Minister of Magic."
And with such a powerful enhancement, the situation Dumbledore was worried about would absolutely not happen.
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