Among the three companions who took part in the gauntlet challenge, Harry was still lying in the hospital wing, and Hermione had already visited him. Out of a sense of responsibility, Lewis went to check on Ron afterward. Hermione led him through the castle courtyard until they found Ron, who was flushed red—at least redder than his hair—surrounded by a group of young wizards, wildly gesturing as he bragged.
"We found out that someone had malicious intentions toward the Philosopher's Stone hidden in the castle, and the Headmaster just happened to be away. In such an emergency, of course we couldn't just stand by…"
"To be honest, we struggled for a long time before making our decision. Thinking back now, the dangers we faced were terrifying!"
Lewis was speechless. When you came to ask me, you were enthusiastic as hell.
"The first trial we faced was an extremely dangerous Greek three-headed dog! You know, in Muggle mythology, it guards the gates of the underworld!"
Isn't that something I told you just last night?
"To get past it, we went through a fierce battle and finally discovered its weakness. Only then were we able to defeat it! Even now, I can still smell that stench…"
Lewis shook his head. Impressive how you turned my use of Phantom Sound into such an epic story.
"The second trial was Professor Sprout's endless Devil's Snare. Each vine was thicker than my waist, wrapping around you like countless giant pythons! My neck was almost crushed!"
Lewis stared at him in disbelief. Are you sure you don't mean your ankle?
"The third trial was Professor Flitwick's flying keys. We had to find the correct one among thousands attacking us, or we couldn't open the door. We charged through them, risking being pierced full of holes, suffering countless injuries before finally finding the right key!"
Lewis: I remember there weren't even a thousand keys. You just multiplied that by a hundred with one sentence.
Now he understood why everyone had been staring at him that morning.
So you're the one spreading all this nonsense.
Ron continued hyping up their "heroic" deeds, making it sound like the four of them were unmatched under heaven, capable of beating Dumbledore with their fists and kicking Grindelwald aside, while even Voldemort would call them "sir." Naturally, he didn't forget to glorify himself along the way.
Lewis couldn't take it anymore after a short while and wanted to drag him out of the crowd immediately, but he couldn't. As one of the people Ron was bragging about, showing up would only make things worse.
Just then, someone saved him.
"And then! Our genius little brother from the Weasley family cleared Professor McGonagall's giant chessboard!"
The Weasley twins pushed through the crowd, each grabbing one of Ron's arms.
"Ron, you've been talking all morning. That's enough, yeah? Do you know where Harry is?"
Ron instinctively turned his head, only to realize that the person sitting next to him wasn't Harry, but Lavender Brown, who was completely absorbed in his storytelling. Only then did he notice something was off and immediately became anxious.
"I know you're worried,"
"But don't panic,"
"First, tell us who Harry was with last night."
The twins spoke in perfect sync.
"Th-that—last night, Harry was with Lewis! Yes, yes! Go to the West Tower and invite Buddha Lewis!"
Ron blurted out.
Only then did he notice Lewis and Hermione waving at him from the courtyard entrance.
They quickly pushed through the crowd.
"Hey, Lewis, good morning! Do you know where Harry is? What happened in that room at the end?"
Ron's loud voice immediately drew attention again, and many students who hadn't heard enough earlier gathered around.
Faced with so many eager, gossip-hungry eyes, Lewis could only briefly summarize what happened afterward. As soon as Ron heard that Harry was in the hospital wing, he lost all patience and bolted off at full speed. Hermione tugged at Lewis's sleeve, and he immediately understood, wrapping things up quickly before following her toward the hospital wing.
Seeing Harry lying pale and lifeless on the bed, Ron grew extremely worried, repeatedly asking Madam Pomfrey, "Is Harry okay? When will he wake up?"
"That's enough! This is the thirtieth time you've asked me the same question!"
Naturally, they were all kicked out of the hospital wing, Lewis and Hermione included. Still, seeing with their own eyes that Harry was fine allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief.
In the following days, the final Quidditch match took place: Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor. With Lewis and Cirilla on the team, Ravenclaw was already overwhelmingly strong. With Harry stuck in the hospital wing, Gryffindor was crippled even further and was completely crushed.
Ravenclaw continued their streak of overwhelming victories.
On the last night of the term, when Lewis entered the Great Hall, he was pleased to see it decorated in Ravenclaw's blue and bronze, celebrating their victory in breaking Slytherin's monopoly and winning the House Cup. A massive banner bearing the Ravenclaw eagle hung behind the High Table.
As he passed the Slytherin table, he noticed the students glaring at him. That was only natural. Ravenclaw's victory had shattered Slytherin's dream of seven consecutive House Cup wins, and he was the main culprit. Whether in class or on the Quidditch field, Lewis had earned massive points for Ravenclaw, and it was clear they would have to endure this every term going forward.
Lewis soon took his usual seat at the long table. No one ever occupied it anymore. Even when he wasn't there, the Ravenclaws would leave it empty. That was their way of showing respect.
The feast began shortly after, and Harry, having recovered, also arrived in the Great Hall. When Professor Dumbledore announced the house points, Ravenclaw erupted into thunderous cheers, students banging on the tables in excitement. Ravenclaw had already been leading, and with the Quidditch Cup bonus, they were nearly four hundred points ahead of second place.
"Yes, yes, well done," Dumbledore said. "However, recent events must also be taken into account."
The hall fell silent. Even Ravenclaw's excitement dimmed slightly.
Lewis, however, wore a playful smile. He wanted to see just how shameless Dumbledore would be—would he really give each member of the gauntlet team over two hundred points?
If he did, that would confirm blatant favoritism toward Gryffindor, and the students would tear him apart with their outrage.
In Lewis's opinion, such point distribution would be extremely unfair. On one hand, Dumbledore had explicitly forbidden access to the fourth-floor corridor. On the other, he had secretly encouraged Harry to break that rule as part of a test. That alone was questionable, but to then reward that behavior with points? It would make all the rule-abiding students look like fools.
If it were Lewis, he would never do that, especially when house points were directly tied to discipline. There were plenty of ways to reward a student—why insist on using points?
"Er—yes," Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I have a few final points to distribute… let me see… ah, yes…"
He awarded fifty points to Hermione and Ron, sixty points to Harry, and ten points to Neville—for trying to stop them from breaking the rules. Finally, he also gave Lewis sixty points.
Looking at the smile Dumbledore gave him, Lewis seemed to understand something.
The old man was holding back because of him.
Dumbledore likely feared that showing too much favoritism might negatively influence such an outstanding student, possibly pushing him down a darker path.
In any case, it was time to celebrate. Ravenclaw had a complete victory, while Gryffindor also gained a smaller win, rising from last place to second and surpassing their longtime rival, Slytherin.
The joyous ceremony almost made the students forget that final exam results hadn't been released yet. Whether excited or anxious, they would soon find out.
Lewis ranked first in the year with Outstanding grades in every subject. Hermione, who came second, privately approached him to remind him of their agreement. She planned to use the holiday to improve her weakest subject—flying—so she could close the gap between them.
Of course, she knew the difference. She achieved near-perfect results through hard work, while Lewis achieved perfect results because that was the highest possible score.
Lewis's friends also did well. Under his influence, his two roommates both managed at least Exceeds Expectations.
As for the Boy Who Lived, Harry's performance surprised everyone. Neither he nor Ron scored below Acceptable.
After the end-of-year feast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione became heroes once again thanks to the points they earned, their situation returning almost to how it had been at the start of the year.
Then came the bittersweet moment of departure.
Before leaving, Lewis received a notice forbidding the use of magic outside school. He could tell it was a magical contract. When he signed his name, an invisible agreement took effect, and a strange magical fluctuation appeared on his wand.
This must be the Trace.
However, it didn't affect Lewis much. Even without magic, he still had druidic abilities as an alternative.
Speaking of which, before leaving, he returned to the Forbidden Forest once more, helping Daisy unlock Level 2 and Level 3 druid abilities and spells. He also spent an entire night playing with Lari and her siblings.
After that, he left Hogwarts with his friends and boarded the train.
Outside the window, the countryside grew greener and neater as the train passed through Muggle towns. Muggle-born wizards changed out of their robes and into ordinary clothes.
Finally, as evening fell, the train arrived at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross Station. Watching the bustling crowd before him, Lewis knew that this term had truly come to an end.
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