Hogwarts: I Am Such a Model Wizard

Chapter 111: Dumbledore’s Crooked Nose

News of Orenʼs disappearance quickly spread throughout the wizarding world. The Daily Prophet portrayed him as a deranged dark wizard of the utmost evil, devoting an entire page to his wanted poster. The rest of the paper praised the Ministry of Magic for successfully rescuing two students during the operation—though few actually read that part.

Many parents wrote to the school, requesting an early holiday. What if Oren was still lurking in the Forbidden Forest? The idea of leaving their children at Hogwarts unsettled them. Dumbledore agreed, and arrangements were made for the students to leave early on the Hogwarts Express that day, with report cards to follow by owl in the coming days.

In just a single day, Hogwarts lost a third of its student body, and the castle felt strangely empty. Yet Kyle remained, as did Cedric and a few others. Chris returned from his travels and, after a long journey, finally arrived at Hogwarts. He looked Kyle over multiple times before he let out a sigh of relief. Taking Kyle to an empty classroom, he spoke in a stern tone.

“I told you not to get involved in this!”

“It was an accident,” Kyle replied honestly. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

Chris, clearly unsatisfied, lectured him at length. Kyle, however, didn’t argue. He simply nodded, accepting his mistake with a calm demeanor.

As they left the classroom, they happened to see Newt coming out of Dumbledore’s office. Chris asked Kyle if he wanted to return together, but Kyle declined, saying he wanted to take the train back with his friends. Chris considered this for a moment, then agreed.

The next day, Kyle didn’t expect Diana to show up as well. Unlike Chris, Diana went first to the Forbidden Forest, then directly to the Headmaster’s Office on the eighth floor. No one knows what transpired after that, but soon after, students noticed unfamiliar faces in some of the portraits along the castle corridors—figures who claimed to be former Heads of Hogwarts. And most notably, the gargoyle on the eighth floor was gone.

...

Kyle didn’t know when Diana had left. That night, he and Cedric attended the end-of-year banquet together. The Great Hall was divided into two sections: the left side was adorned in green and silver for Slytherin, while the right side gleamed in yellow and black for Hufflepuff.

Remarkably, the extra points Oren had given in the Forbidden Forest still counted, and together with the Quidditch championship, Hufflepuffʼs house points were exactly the same as Slytherinʼs, tying them for first place.

Kyle and Cedric walked over to the Hufflepuff table and sat down. Kyle noticed that Kanna wasn’t there either. After a short wait, Dumbledore arrived. Kyle couldn’t help but think that Dumbledore’s nose looked a little more crooked than before.

The noise in the hall gradually faded as Dumbledore raised his voice to speak.

“Another year has passed!” he said enthusiastically. “Before you indulge in these delicious delicacies, I must trouble you all to listen to the musings of an old man. Despite the minor mishaps at the end, it has undoubtedly been an excellent year, and I suspect your young minds are fuller than ever before. You’ll have the whole summer to digest it all before the new term begins.”

“And now, let us proceed to the House Cup awards ceremony. The scores are as follows: fourth place, Gryffindor, with one hundred and one points; third place, Ravenclaw, with three hundred and thirty-two points; and in a tie for first place, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, both with four hundred and ninety-seven points.”

But the expected cheers didn’t come. Both Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables fell silent, each side casting dissatisfied glances at the other. There was only one House Cup, and it couldn’t be awarded to two Houses at once. Students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw settled back to enjoy the spectacle.

“Yes, both Houses have done exceptionally well,” Dumbledore continued, clearing his throat. “But there’s another recent event we must consider. Mr. Kyle Chopper…”

Every head in the hall turned toward Kyle.

“Not only did he save a first-year student in the Forbidden Forest, but he also identified and helped apprehend the dark wizard hiding on the grounds, showing great bravery and courage. For this, I have decided to award him the Special Award for Services to the School and an additional 200 points to Hufflepuff!”

Though attendance was lower than usual, the cheers were deafening. Anyone standing outside the hall might have thought something had exploded. There was no need to calculate any further; Hufflepuff had broken Slytherin’s six-year streak and won the House Cup. And Kyle had earned the all-important Special Award for Services to the School.

Fred and George stood on their bench, shouting to Kyle, “Don’t worry, Kyle, when we get you into detention later, we’ll make sure to polish your trophy real good!”

“And shinier than all the rest!” George added, grinning.

Professor McGonagall shot them a withering glare, suddenly feeling weary.

“Which means,” Dumbledore bellowed, “we need to make a few changes to the decorations here.” He clapped his hands, and the green streamers transformed into yellow, the silver turned black, and a huge banner featuring the Hufflepuff badger appeared behind the guest of honor’s seat.

Meanwhile, Snape was shaking Professor Sprout’s hand, his expression calm, his trademark smile plastered on his face as if nothing were amiss.

Before term ended, exam results were released. Kyle had performed exceptionally well, earning the highest grades in his year.

Cedric glanced over Kyle’s report card in surprise. “Merlin, your scores are even higher than mine were last year, and you only missed a perfect score by one point—it’s such a shame…”

Kyle felt a twinge of regret himself. He’d been writing so fluently during the exam that he didn’t notice he’d listed thirteen uses for Dragon’s Blood instead of twelve, which had cost him that single point. Apparently, the professors didn’t agree that Dragon’s Blood could be used in cooking.

Aside from this small oversight, he’d received perfect scores in all his other subjects, including Potions. Snape had even awarded him full marks for his Boil-Cure Potion, a rare honor, even among Slytherin students.

Kanna had come in second in their year, and with Cedric leading his own year as well, Hufflepuff had clearly excelled. Professor Sprout, delighted, hardly went to the greenhouse anymore, instead spending her time proudly lingering around the other professors whenever she had a free moment.