Chapter 99: No Surprise
The Great Hall of Hogwarts was as magnificent as Tamara remembered.
Thousands of candles floated in the air, illuminating the enchanted ceiling until it looked as bright as day. The four long tables were laden with gleaming golden plates and goblets, while the aroma of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and pumpkin juice filled the hall.
Draco sat to Tamara's left, excitedly boasting to the surrounding first year students about the spectacular flying car incident he had witnessed on the train. At the front of the hall, the tattered Sorting Hat wriggled on its stool, singing its dreadful song.
One by one, the new students stepped forward.
Tamara's gaze moved through the crowd, finally settling on the little red haired girl.
"Ginny Weasley!" Professor McGonagall's stern voice rang out.
Ginny walked onto the platform with visible nerves and put on the hat, which almost swallowed her head whole.
Only two seconds passed.
"Gryffindor!"
The Sorting Hat shouted loudly.
The long table on the far left erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.
That was the passion of the lions, and the glory of the Weasley family.
Ginny took off the hat, but her first reaction was not to look at the cheering crowd. Instead, she subconsciously turned toward the Slytherin table on the other side of the Great Hall.
She searched for the black haired figure among the green and silver.
That was her only anchor of reassurance in this enormous, unfamiliar castle.
Tamara caught that pleading gaze.
She did not speak. She merely raised the goblet in her hand slightly, and across the bustling heads and noisy air, gave Ginny an elegant, distant, yet encouraging smile.
Ginny's eyes lit up, and she was about to wave back.
"Brilliant, Ginny!"
"I knew you'd be in Gryffindor!"
Two identical red haired figures suddenly rushed over. Fred and George.
Without another word, they seized Ginny and dragged her into that sea of red.
"Oi, Percy! Now the whole family is in Gryffindor!"
"Mum's going to be so pleased!"
The enthusiastic Weasley twins surrounded Ginny. Percy also walked over, patting his sister on the shoulder with a serious yet proud expression as he reminded her to obey the school rules.
Ginny stood in the middle of them, her ears filled with deafening cheers and greetings.
She strained onto her toes, trying to catch another glimpse of the Slytherin table.
But she could not see it.
There were too many people.
The enthusiastic Gryffindors were like a thick human wall, surrounding her completely.
At that moment, Ginny suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of loss.
Everyone was kind to her, and this was her brothers' house, but she still felt... so far away from Sister Tamara, who understood her and listened to her.
It was as if an entire world had come between them.
...
Halfway through dinner, the relaxed atmosphere created by the food suddenly shifted into something strange.
Harry and Ron still had not appeared.
Rumours began to spread among the four long tables.
"I heard Potter crashed a flying car into the Whomping Willow!"
"Professor Snape caught them!"
"They're definitely going to be expelled!"
The atmosphere at the Slytherin table instantly became livelier than a holiday.
"Did you hear that, Tamara?" Draco's face flushed with excitement, and he even forgot the chicken leg in his hand. "Potter's finished! I knew it. An idiot like him doesn't deserve to be at Hogwarts!"
Pansy shrieked in agreement. "They broke the school rules as soon as they arrived. Gryffindor will definitely be at the bottom of the House Cup again this year!"
The surrounding Slytherins were all gloating, as if they could already see Potter packing his bags and leaving in disgrace.
Only Tamara was different.
"Don't celebrate too soon, Draco."
Tamara's cold voice was like a basin of ice water, extinguishing the false flames of excitement in Draco's heart.
"What?" Draco was stunned. "But everyone says..."
"Everyone says?" Tamara put down her knife and fork, then gently wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. Her dark eyes carried the cynicism of someone who had already seen through the world.
"In this school, rules are meant to restrain us, not those admired by Dumbledore."
"Just watch."
She raised her chin slightly, gesturing for Draco to look at the staff table.
Dumbledore's seat was empty. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were also absent.
"If it were you who had made this mistake, Draco, your luggage would probably already be outside the castle."
"But that is Harry Potter."
"How could he possibly be expelled over a few insignificant school rules?"
Draco's expression changed.
He bit his lip, the excitement in his eyes gradually turning into resentment and anger.
Just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened.
But Harry and Ron were not being escorted out.
Instead, Dumbledore walked in calmly and returned to the Headmaster's seat.
Although Harry and Ron did not appear, no announcement of expulsion was made either.
Before long, the exact news arrived.
House points deducted.
Detention.
That was all.
"Bang!"
Draco slammed his hand down on the common room table in fury.
"This isn't fair! They flew a car! They violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy! They even damaged the precious Whomping Willow! And all they get is point deductions?"
The surrounding Slytherins were also in an uproar. Anger spread through the common room like fire through dry parchment.
Tamara watched the scene, a barely perceptible curve appearing at the corner of her mouth.
"This is reality, everyone."
Tamara did not lose her composure like the others. She remained seated, her voice not loud, yet it clearly reached every Slytherin's ears.
She surveyed the furious first year students and the indignant older students.
"Remember this feeling tonight."
"This is called privilege."
Tamara's voice was low and seductive, as if she were stating a cruel truth.
"In Dumbledore's justice, fairness is nothing but a joke. The savior is granted unlimited immunity, while we Slytherins are expected to obey the rules without exception."
"This is why we pursue power."
She leaned forward slightly, ambition burning in her dark eyes.
"Because only when you stand above the rules can you make the rules."
"Otherwise, you can only sit here like beggars, waiting for scraps from that old madman."
.....
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