Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 261 Medal and Dinner

Newt?

The moment Mike heard the name, he felt a special sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this name before.

"Is this our protagonist today? It's all thanks to you, otherwise it would be difficult for me to meet Dumbledore."

Newt was obviously a very kind old man, and he smiled and joked with Mike.

Mike couldn't even call out the other person's full name, so naturally he couldn't act too familiar and could only smile awkwardly.

Dumbledore only then reacted and introduced the two:
"Mike, this is Mr. Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And this, I'm sure you already know, is Mike Townley."

"Oh, of course I know. You are the new generation leader of Ravenclaw." Newt looked at the exaggerated Ravenclaw symbol on Mike and joked, "I have to say, you look really handsome today."

Mike only then truly remembered who the old man in front of him was. A look of surprise immediately appeared on his face. He held Newt's right hand with both hands and said excitedly:
"You're the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Oh my god, that's my favorite book!"

Mike's excitement was beyond words. What he said was all true. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" was indeed his favorite book, no doubt about it.

This book records Newt's experiences of traveling around the world when he was young, and describes in detail various magical animals, including their appearance, living habits, special abilities, habitats, breeding methods, things to be careful about, etc.

Because the quality of this book is so outstanding, it was unsurprisingly chosen as a textbook for Hogwarts.

Although Mike did not choose the Care of Magical Creatures class, he likes this book very much. The reason is very easy to understand. Compared with other cumbersome and boring magic books, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is obviously more interesting, especially with many exquisite magic pictures, which makes the little wizards more interested in reading.

Newt Scamander is also a legend. He has loved magical creatures since he was a child. After going to Hogwarts, he was sorted into Hufflepuff House by the Sorting Hat. Unfortunately, due to some accidents, he did not graduate but was expelled.

Dumbledore, who was not yet the headmaster at the time, tried his best to defend Newt, claiming that he was innocent, which resulted in Newt not receiving additional punishment and retaining the right to use the wand.

After being expelled, Newt began his journey and helped Dumbledore defeat the first Dark Lord, Grindelwald.

But this was just the beginning of his legend. In 1947, he founded the Werewolf Registry and made outstanding contributions to improving the work of alleviating the ravages of werewolf disease in the UK.

In 1965, he wrote the "Prohibition of Feeding for Experimental Purposes" decree, which was eventually approved by the Ministry of Magic and issued.

This move protected the survival of magical creatures and effectively curbed the prevalence of creating new untamable animals in Britain.

His most outstanding achievement in his life was of course the writing of the series of books "Where Are the Artifact Animals", for which he was awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class.

Mike was obviously very happy to be able to meet such a legendary wizard. He talked to Newt intently without paying any attention to other people.

Perhaps because he had no children in his life, Newt obviously liked young people very much. He was very enthusiastic in talking to Mike. Dumbledore, who was standing next to him, was the most powerful white wizard of this generation and undoubtedly became the most dazzling star in the entire venue. Almost everyone present wanted to say a few words to him.

This also made Dumbledore a little exhausted.

To be honest, he didn't like such occasions. If Mike and Snape hadn't received the second-class medal, he wouldn't have come here to suffer.

While talking with Newt, Mike also noticed a medal pinned on Newt's chest.

This is a beautiful gold medal with a circle of purple ribbon around it, which looks extremely gorgeous.

"This is the second-level badge of the Order of Merlin. You will have one later." Newt noticed Mike's look and explained, "The only difference between the first and third-level badges is the ribbon."

Mike instinctively glanced at Dumbledore and found that the badge on his chest was indeed decorated with a green ribbon.

"You see, that's the Order of Merlin, First Class, the highest honor a wizard can get." Newt said, "The first-class ribbon is green, and many people think that this color represents Merlin's college in Hogwarts, which is Slytherin. But this is obviously wrong, because there was no Hogwarts when Merlin was a child. Haha.

The second-level ribbon is purple (Newt points to his medal), and the third-level ribbon is white."

Mike nodded. He didn't really have such a deep understanding of the Order of Merlin.

Seeing that Mike was listening attentively, Newt was happy to explain and said:

"The Order of Merlin is awarded by the Wizengamot to honor those who have made contributions. The history of the Wizengamot is much longer than that of the Ministry of Magic. It existed long before the Ministry of Magic was established. Now, the role of the Wizengamot in the Ministry of Magic is equivalent to the court and parliament in the Muggle society..."

As Newt's explanation became more in-depth, Mike truly understood the true meaning of the Order of Merlin.

It turns out that each level of the Order of Merlin has its own different meaning.

The Order of Merlin, First Class, is awarded to those who "show outstanding courage or perform outstanding deeds". The most famous winner is Dumbledore, who received the highest honor in the wizarding world for defeating the Dark Lord Grindelwald.

The Second Class Order of Merlin is used to reward "extraordinary efforts and achievements", just like Newt who is explaining to him. The magical book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" he wrote is obviously an extraordinary achievement!
The Order of Merlin, Class 3, is awarded to those who have "contributed to our knowledge and entertainment." From this point of view, Lockhart, a best-selling author, is indeed worthy of this medal.

However, Newt also hinted some things to Mike, such as there were some shady dealings in the awarding of medals.

Those who are favored by the Minister of Magic, especially those from upper society, always seem to receive the Order of Merlin unexpectedly.

And this is not the real hammer.

The most powerful evidence of the medal's shady dealings is that Fudge actually awarded himself the Order of Merlin, First Class!
This incident made almost everyone angry, and everyone thought that Fudge's career achievements were far from excellent.

Others who were less deserving of the medal included Sirius' grandfather, Attalus Black, who was believed by everyone to have bought his medal.

Newt's tone was a little sour when he said these words, which was not surprising, because to be honest, with his achievements, he fully deserved a first-class medal, but now he only got a second-class one.

However, Mike felt a little embarrassed, because in fact he was one of those "hypocritical people who don't deserve the reputation" mentioned by Newt, and his medal was strictly speaking bought. Since this award ceremony was in the form of a free banquet, compared to the award ceremony, this banquet was more like a gathering of the members of the Merlin Sir Group. Everyone talked and laughed wantonly, completely weakening the presence of the protagonists of the night, Mike and Snape.

However, Mike, who may be the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin, Second Class, in history, has obviously attracted the interest of many people, especially the exaggerated Ravenclaw emblem on his body, which has won the favor of many Ravenclaws.

So quite a few people came to greet him.

Snape, by comparison, was in a miserable situation. Almost no one came over to talk to him. Mike even felt that everyone was avoiding him intentionally or unintentionally.

So Snape could only huddle in a corner and drink alone, looking a little sad.

This is not surprising, as Snape was once a notorious Death Eater, and there was a natural class opposition between him and the people present.

To be honest, Fudge's giving the Order of Merlin, Second Class Medal to Snape must have caused dissatisfaction among many people. It was a blessing that these people did not cause trouble for Snape in public today.

As time went by, the banquet finally reached its climax.

Under the illumination of a beam of light, Fudge, wearing a coquettish suit, appeared on the stage amid the applause of the crowd. On his chest, a first-class medal of the Order of Merlin with a green ribbon was shining.

Behind him, two white women dressed as waiters were holding two wooden trays, on which were placed the Order of Merlin, Second Class.

Mike in the crowd was a little overwhelmed, and Newt kindly pushed him and signaled him to go to the stage to receive the award.

Mike smiled and walked up to the stage under the friendly gazes of everyone around him.

Of course Snape did not remind anyone. In fact, a vacuum zone magically appeared around him. Obviously no one wanted to stay with him.

So he had to come to the stage alone.

After the two men stood still, Fudge spread out his hands, pointed at the two men and said to the crowd below:
"Today, we welcome two new members! Mike Townley! This young Ravenclaw has eagle eyes. He keenly discovered the mistake of old Barty and saved the last dignity of the Black family! Therefore, after discussion, the Wizengamot Council believes that he deserves the Second Class Medal of the Order of Merlin!"

Perhaps because everyone present was a powerful person, Fudge's speech was straightforward and concise, not at all like his usual procrastination.

When he finished his story, he took out a second-class medal from a wooden tray in the hands of a waiter behind him and solemnly put it on Mike's right chest.

The golden medal matched the Ravenclaw emblem on his left chest, and was greeted with warm cheers and applause.

After awarding the medal to Mike, Fudge turned his gaze to Snape standing beside him.

"Next is the famous potion master, Severus Snape!" Fudge said, "Mr. Snape has been working hard on potions all his life, which has enabled him to achieve outstanding achievements! He not only improved the formulas of many commonly used potions, including the hemorrhoid potion, but also restored the long-lost Dragon's Roaring Potion! (A potion that can communicate with dragons after drinking)

Therefore! After discussion, the Wizengamot Council decided to award him the Order of Merlin, Second Class Medal! "

After hearing this, Mike finally understood that the reason why Snape won the award was not because he also participated in the capture of Blake.

Originally, since both of them won the award at the same time, I thought that the reasons for their awards should be the same. But now it seems that compared with Snape's achievements, my medal is even more watered down.

The process of Snape's awarding of the medal was exactly the same as Mike's, but after Fudge put the medal on him, very few people applauded him in the audience, as if everyone was deliberately ignoring his existence.

But Snape obviously didn't care about these people's reactions. He stiffly bent his neck towards the people below the stage, indicating that he had finished bowing, and then stood behind Fudge like a puppet.

Snape didn't care, and Fudge obviously didn't care even more. He gave a passionate speech, talking about the contribution of their Order of Merlin to the world.

Finally, he, along with Mike and Snape, bowed vigorously to the audience and said:
"Magic is glory!"

The people in the audience were also aroused and returned the greetings, shouting the slogan "Magic is glory".

At this point, the entire awarding ceremony is over.

After accepting the blessings of the people who came to watch the ceremony, Mike and others returned to Hogwarts.

And here, there is a banquet waiting for them.

Unlike previous banquets, this banquet was not initiated by the professors of Hogwarts, but by the students of Hogwarts.

Compared to the serious and solemn dinner at the Ministry of Magic, Mike obviously liked this celebration among classmates more.

As soon as he entered Hogwarts, he let out a long sigh, and followed Dumbledore into the hall with a smile on his face.

As soon as they appeared in the hall, there was a deafening cheer. Everyone was applauding Mike and Snape, even the Slytherins who were usually the most indifferent were no exception.

Snape's feelings should be similar to Mike's. He looked at the students who usually acted like quails in front of him and now applauded him enthusiastically, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

This smile only lasted for a moment, but was noticed by the Slytherin students.

So they applauded even more enthusiastically, especially Malfoy, who waved his hand, which had just been untied, desperately, hoping that his godfather Snape would see him.

The protagonists of this dinner were undoubtedly Snape and Michael. Dumbledore had no intention of stealing the show. After speaking a few words, he returned to his seat.

This made everyone present have more fun.

Now that their exams are over and the results have not yet been announced, everyone is caught up in a brief and crazy joy, able to ignore all the enthusiastic carnival in the outside world.

(End of this chapter)