When Alexandra walked in there was a sudden hush and a lot of whispers began with half of the school looking at her or pointing fingers in her general direction. To her relief, it didn't last, as Neville Longbottom entered the Great Hall just after her and was greeted by the general applaud of the Lions, the noise produced drowning all the conversations going on. Taking her place between two third-years girls, she saw Nigel and Hermione being uncomfortably pushed away from the places at the centre of the Gryffindor table, Longbottom and the rest of the Golden Trio monopolising all the attention. Alexandra felt disgusted once again by this self-interested attitude and the hurricane of shouts mounting from the Gryffindors. Seriously, what sort of manners did they have in their common room? Perhaps Hermione had had the good attitude to thrash their dorms.
Thankfully, Headmaster Dumbledore arrived moments later, the Head Table was filled of all the surviving Professors, and silence gradually fell in the massive Hall.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were … you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts …"
"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with one hundred and five points; in third, Slytherin, with two hundred and twenty-six; Hufflepuff has four hundred and eighty-nine; and Ravenclaw, six hundred and three."
A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Ravenclaw table. With their victory in the Quidditch Cup this year, the victory of the House Cup gave the Ravens the two trophies in competition every year, which was quite an achievement. Alexandra heard herself cheering and applauding with the other.
"Yes, yes, well done, Ravenclaw," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."
The room went very still. Alexandra frowned. Surely he wasn't planning to?
"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes …"
"First-to Mr Seamus Finnigan..."
The specialist of the explosions looked awfully uncomfortable in his chair.
"...for the most destructive explosion ever witnessed at Hogwarts, which burnt entirely a Devil's Snare, I award Gryffindor House one hundred points."
"Secondly-to Miss Lavender Brown..." the gossip queen of Hogwarts was suddenly trying to be silent for the first time in an entire year."For her great determination and skill in Flying, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."
Lavender burst into a happy conversation with the girls near to her. Alexandra saw several member of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team look white of rage. Understandable since most of the rumours insisted the Brown girl had just crashed in a wall with her broom at high speed.
"Third – to Mr Ronald Weasley …"
The red-haired boy went purple in the face; he looked like a big and very red tomato.
"… for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House one hundred points."
Ron's head fell abruptly towards his plate, his face redder than ever.
Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. The older Weasley present, a Prefect named Percy, could be heard telling the other Prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"
The Potter Heiress wasn't that convinced. As the only person to have played the chess game besides Ronald Weasley, she had been able to win. And she had been a novice at chess. Of course, the Gryffindor wizard had had the handicap of protecting several persons. But this wasn't that impressive...
At last there was silence again.
"Fourth-to Mr Leo Black... for his sheer performance against a full grown mountain troll, I award Gryffindor House one hundred points."
The cheers mounted even higher from the Gryffindor table.
"Fifth– to Miss Hermione Granger … for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."
Hermione buried her face in her arms; Alexandra strongly suspected she had burst into tears, and that these weren't of joy considering the behaviour of her housemates towards her from September to the end of May. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves and for good reason – they were now four hundred points up where they should have been.
"And sixth – to Mr Neville Longbottom …" Said Dumbledore. The room went quiet in a silence of death which augured nothing good. "… for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house one hundred points."
Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Save Hermione and Nigel, every Gryffindor stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, who disappeared under a pile of people hugging him raising his arms in victory in a supremely arrogant manner.
"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause coming from the Gryffindor table, "we need a little change of decoration."
He clapped his hands. In an instant, the blue hangings became scarlet and the bronze became gold; the huge Ravenclaw eagle vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place.
Flitwick was looking at Dumbledore with a look of horrified betrayal. Snape was livid and the rest of the teacher staff save Hagrid and McGonagall looked uncertain and disturbed by what had just happened. Then the realisation came in the student's body. Dumbledore had just awarded five hundred points to Gryffindor. It was against all rules, against every convention and the sense of fair-play. Accusations and shouts were mounting from the tables of Ravenclaw and Slytherin, with Hufflepuff being divided between shouting and applauding. This was exactly the opposite of friendship and unity. Anger and contestations could be heard from the Ravens and the Snakes, with the teaching staff silent to their appeals.
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