Chapter 46: The Celebration
The return to Hogwarts was quiet and uneventful.
As Penny confided to me when we had a moment alone, she had arranged for everyone who had been there to keep the news quiet, so that the rest of the school would find out only when the paper came out. And knowing Rita and her fondness for money, that paper was going to come out very, very soon indeed. To be precise, the article was supposed to appear the following morning.
Supposed to.
As it turned out, it appeared that same evening. The Prophet had put out a special edition devoted almost entirely to me, lavishing praise on my talents and the manner in which I had represented the country at an international competition.
The papers arrived during supper and had the effect of a small explosion. The students first looked confused, then read the headline, which was short but said everything it needed to: "DRACO BLACK, INTERNATIONAL DUELING CHAMPION!" And after that, they all looked up at me, almost in unison.
"Why him of all people?!"
Only one sixth-year stayed true to form, which I found mildly endearing. The boy really did have a consistent set of principles. He did not manage to say anything else, however, because one of the twins cuffed him on the back of the head, and then came the soft tap of a knife against a goblet.
Soft was perhaps an overstatement. Dumbledore had clearly applied a nonverbal, wandless amplification charm, because that modest tap rang through the entire Hall and called everyone to silence.
"Quiet, please. On behalf of the entire teaching staff, I wish to congratulate Mr. Black on his outstanding performance at the Dueling Tournament, where he achieved victory not only in his own age group but also over the champion of the next, and conducted himself with great credit in a bout against the champion of the fifteen-to-sixteen age group. That is a remarkable result, not achieved by many an eleven-year-old. Congratulations."
Dumbledore and the rest of the staff set the example, beginning to applaud, and the whole Great Hall followed.
"Thank you."
When the applause had died down, I rose from my seat and pressed my wand to my throat to amplify my voice.
"Thank you all very much. However, my victory would not have been possible without my Master, Professor Flitwick, and I would ask you to show your appreciation for him as well."
This time, it was I who set the example, and the rest of the Hall followed with a fair degree of enthusiasm. After that, I sat back down, set aside the Prophet, which also devoted considerable space to Flitwick, his achievements, and the fact that I was his apprentice, and returned to supper.
"You secretive thing."
Several of my classmates were looking at me with reproach.
"Penny, why didn't you say anything?!"
"And what was I supposed to say? That I knew all along?"
"You knew?!"
That was met with considerable surprise from everyone within earshot.
Not just me. Draco invited the people closest to him to attend the Championship, so I watched the whole thing from the front row.
"And that French girl?! How could you just let that happen?!"
"And who am I? I am neither his fiancée nor his girlfriend."
I detected clear dissatisfaction with that particular fact in Penny's voice. She understood as well as anyone that the likelihood of my choosing her as a wife was not especially high. I had never made a secret of acting in the interests of the House rather than simply following my heart, and that meant I needed a wife of genuine magical strength. Penny was no weakling, but the distance between her and a truly powerful witch was considerable, or so she believed. As for my own view...
I considered her a perfectly possible wife. One of several.
"You fool!"
The girls around her began berating her, and she just kept lowering her gaze further and further, so I decided to step in.
"Well."
I shook my head, speaking clearly enough that the girls reproaching Penny could hear me.
"I am quite glad now that I chose Penny as my companion. She at least understands that picking a fight with the daughter of the head of the French Auror Office, at an international competition in which that young woman was a participant, would have been foolish in the extreme."
The girls fell silent and stared at me. In Penny's eyes I saw genuine gratitude.
"And in any case, as she rightly noted, she is not my fiancée at this moment, and scenes of jealousy of the sort you have apparently been urging upon her would have reflected very poorly on her and most likely ended our friendship entirely."
"You just don't appreciate her!"
That was the unanimous consensus of every girl at the table, after which they promptly changed tack entirely and began talking to Penny in a completely different register, something along the lines of how he was a terrible person, an inconsiderate so-and-so, and generally the sort of man who only ever thinks with his lower half.
I cannot say I enjoyed that particular brand of commentary, but I did not step in again either. I had already rescued Penny from one unpleasant conversation. She could find her own way out of this one.
"Oh, enough out of all of you! I am thoroughly sick of it!"
She silenced the lot of them, and they were clearly not prepared for that from the usually quiet and composed Penny.
"What happens between Draco and me is our own business, and none of yours. Are you not ashamed of yourselves? If you must discuss this sort of thing, do it in your dormitories, not in the Great Hall."
When dinner was over and we returned to the common room, there was another round of congratulations waiting, because I had not only brought credit to England and to Hogwarts, but had raised the prestige of Ravenclaw House specifically. The students were genuinely delighted.
The following morning, after my session with Daphne, I made my way to Flitwick's classroom for a lesson with the third-year Gryffindors and Slytherins. I had decided to find out exactly what they had retained from the first half of the year.
"Books away."
The students did as they were told. I could see that some of them were itching to ask questions, quite a few from both Houses, but they were managing to hold themselves back for the moment.
"Parchment and quills out."
Again the instruction was followed.
"And now..."
A flick of my wand, and a number appeared above each student's head: one, two, three, or four.
"...look above you and take note of your number. That is your version of the assessment. Does everyone remember how I run these?"
"Yes..."
The answer came in chorus, tinged with displeasure.
"Excellent. Version one: your question is: Fire Charms, the advantages and disadvantages of domestic application. I am not asking about household spells. I am asking specifically about Fire Charms."
Quills began scratching immediately.
"Version two: the Permanent Sticking Charm, its applications, limitations, and comparable alternatives."
Another cluster of students started writing.
"Version three: Household Charms, their dangers, and why they have not been banned alongside the Dark Arts."
A low murmur ran through the room.
"Quiet."
The students took a moment, but they settled.
"Version four: Space-Enlargement Charms, applications and limitations. You have fifteen minutes, after which there will be a second question."
I leaned back in the chair at the front of the room and half-closed my eyes. From the outside, it might have appeared that I was resting. In fact, I was watching the students carefully from beneath half-lowered lids. Every one of them knew that the chances of getting away with cheating were nearly nonexistent.
"Miss Smitt, I would ask you to hand me either your diary, which you have just placed on your knee, or your assessment paper. The choice is yours."
The Gryffindor girl froze and stared at me like a rabbit that had just noticed the snake directly above it, while I looked back as though weighing exactly how best to swallow her.
"You may return the diary to your bag. But if you produce any item unrelated to your studies during a lesson for the rest of the term, it will be confiscated and returned to you only at the end of the year. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Professor Black!"
The diary was back in her bag within seconds.
"And ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Smitt, for requiring me to remind you of basic rules you should have learned by now."
"Understood, Professor."
She said it quietly enough, but she didn't look particularly upset, so I chose not to dwell on it and returned my attention to the rest of the room.
"Mr. Adderley, do you require a formal invitation? Or do you believe you're above the rules, and that attempting to take out your textbook unnoticed would go unpunished?"
The Slytherin boy froze and returned his textbook to his bag very slowly.
"A sensible decision. Ten points from Slytherin, nonetheless."
"Understood."
The boy didn't argue, which was the only sensible course available to him, and everyone in the room knew it. I could put anyone in this classroom in their place, except for Flitwick himself. For purebloods, I need only point out that no family in Britain is older than the Blacks, or if there is, it's considered extinct. For those of roughly equal standing, I can add that the Blacks are among the wealthiest as well. And for Muggle-borns and half-bloods, I can simply note that even Muggle schools expect students to pay attention to their studies, and if they wish to lead full lives in the wizarding world, they have even more reason to learn magic properly.
"Time is up for the first question. Second question for version one: Charms suitable for cooking. Again, not household spells. Version two: Concealment Charms, when are they useful, and please note specifically when they are inappropriate. Version three: the applications of Shrinking Charms, advantages and disadvantages. Version four: the applications of Engorgement Charms, advantages and disadvantages."
I settled back to observe, watching for anyone trying to pull out a textbook or a second sheet of parchment. This time, the remainder of the session passed without incident. A third question followed, and a fourth, after which I dismissed the class and began flipping quickly through their answers.
"Well?"
"Well..."
I shrugged.
"I can't say what it was like in previous years, but on the whole they have the necessary minimum. There are a couple of students who have clearly memorized everything word for word."
"There always are. But are you satisfied that all of them passed?"
"There are a couple of borderline papers. But the final call is yours, Professor."
I handed Flitwick the papers the students had given me. There was not a great deal to read, so we went through all of them during the break. The Professor broadly agreed with my assessments, though he adjusted the mark on two of the papers.
"Now then, welcome to the lesson..."
I smiled at the first-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.
"...we will begin with a short test."
The students groaned, at which I could only smile.
"...books away from your desks. Parchment, quills, and ink out, and..."
The lesson followed the same pattern as the previous one, except that this time the questions were considerably simpler, as first-years had not yet gone as deeply into Charms and spellwork. When it was over, I said goodbye to them and made my way to lunch.
"Daph, darling, can't you do something about this tyrant? A test on the very first lesson back, it is an absolute nightmare!"
Tracey looked at her friend, her eyes not entirely dry.
"There was nothing difficult about it, though."
Hermione cut in with an easy shrug.
"Nothing difficult, yes, but the very idea of it... a test on the very first lesson back! Monster!"
"Oh, come off it."
Padma looked at Tracey.
"...if anyone has nothing to worry about, it is us. We know our material. We could pass that test on our worst day. It is the Gryffindors, with their..."
She waved a hand through the air, searching for words that wouldn't come.
"...well. It might be a problem for them. Not for us."
"Ugh, honestly!"
Tracey shook her head.
None of you understand. The issue is not the test. The issue is the timing. But then..."
She waved her hand.
"...you would not appreciate my delicate sensitivity anyway. Some people simply feel these things more deeply."
She shook her head with feeling.
"Tracey, easy..."
Harry decided to weigh in.
"...all right, yes, a test, and yes, the first lesson back. But if you know the material, you could write the answers quickly and just sit back. Every situation has its bright side."
"Not you as well!"
She stared at the hero of the wizarding world as though he had personally betrayed every good and innocent thing he had ever stood for.
"Harry. I did not expect this from you."
She shook her head.
"Hmm? What did I say? I did not say I thought it was a good idea. I said you could find something positive even in that. Those are different things."
"Merlin. And who did I end up surrounded by? I should have gone to Slytherin. They would have understood me there."
"In Slytherin, you would have been on your own, and you would have had to align yourself with someone or other, if I understand the structure of the Snakes correctly."
"Correctly..."
Tracey sighed.
"...yes. And no, don't mind me. I'm just grumbling. Nothing more."
"We know, Tracey. We know."
Daphne patted her on the shoulder, and we continued with lunch.
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