Hogwarts' Golden Glory

In the Great Hall, after Dumbledore finished speaking.

He turned to the Slytherin table, his gaze settling on Kane.

"And among us," the old principal's voice was clear and powerful, "one student proved with his actions that true courage knows no boundaries between colleges."

All eyes were on Kane Malfoy.

The boy sat quietly, neither flustered nor smug.

"When danger came, Kane Malfoy did not wait, nor did he back down." Dumbledore's voice echoed in the silent Great Hall. "He displayed a strength beyond his years and made the most correct choice."

Kane raised his eyes, his grey-blue eyes calm.

"More importantly," Dumbledore's gaze deepened, "he chose protection over ostentation; action over words. This integrity is more precious than any magic."

He raised his wand, and the tip of the wand emitted a silvery-green light.

"Therefore, in recognition of this courage, strength and integrity—I add one hundred and fifty points to Slytherin House."

Applause erupted. This time, there was no shock or uproar as before, but rather a more sincere and heartfelt recognition.

Kane stood up, nodded slightly to Dumbledore, and then calmly sat back down.

After Dumbledore announced the bonus points, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was like a pot of fermenting magic potion—various emotions were bubbling, churning, and undergoing wonderful chemical reactions.

Hermione's eyes lit up, and she grabbed Harry's arm: "Do you see that? Everything Dumbledore said is spot on!"

Harry was somewhat confused by her excitement: "Compare to what?"

"Kane's character!" Hermione whispered, but spoke so quickly it was like a mantra, "Brave yet unassuming—remember?"

"Powerful yet humble—when he tutored me in Old Runes, he never said 'I'll teach you,' but rather 'Let's look at this grammar point together.'"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Hermione, if you keep praising him like that, he'll turn into a saint, Malfoy."

"I wasn't praising him!" Hermione's face flushed slightly. "I was stating a fact. And..."

She paused, her voice lowering, "And it bothers me a lot."

Harry and Ron were both stunned.

"Troubled?" Harry asked.

Hermione bit her lip: "I think I'll never catch up to him in this lifetime!"

Harry tried to comfort him: "But you're amazing too, you're second in your grade..."

"That's just within the scope of the exam," Hermione shook her head. "Kane is way beyond the textbook. It's like...like I'm trying to run a kilometer while he's already designing rockets. I can't even understand his direction."

Harry suddenly understood Hermione's anxiety.

It was a kind of anxiety of being left far behind by the friend you value most—not jealousy, but a fear of losing the right to have a conversation.

"But he's still your friend, isn't he?" Harry said softly.

Hermione was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Yes. He even helped me revise the promotional material for the House-Elf Rights Promotion Association last week."

Harry found it difficult to describe his feelings for Kane.

envious?

There are some.

That Slytherin always seemed to know what he was supposed to do.

Harry's life was like a Quidditch match under a Chaos Charm—he had to chase the ball wherever it flew.

admire?

there must be.

Harry deeply understood the courage required to face the Basilisk alone when confronting Quirrell and Voldemort.

But there's something deeper... a strange resonance.

It's like they're both fighting against something massive and dark, only Kane chose a quieter way.

Smarter.

"Do you think he's lonely?" Harry suddenly asked.

Ron and Hermione both looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

He couldn't continue.

That corridor leading to the Mirror of Eris was one of the loneliest moments in his memory.

"Him? Worshipped by so many people? Lonely my foot!"

Ron was very unhappy with Kane at that moment!

But he could only think about it in his mind, because his brothers were actually celebrating for Kane!

"That's fucking unfair."

Ron spread a thick layer of butter on the bread.

"He did something big, okay, I admit it. But 150 points? Fred and George blew up half the toilet and only lost 50 points!"

"And why him?"

"Gryffindor didn't win the House Cup last year because of him!"

"None of our seven children ever received a 150-point house credit. My father cried tears of joy when Percy became a prefect, but Dumbledore didn't give Gryffindor a 150-point credit."

Human joys and sorrows are not the same!

Fred and George are being attacked by a group of Gryffindor students.

"Are you celebrating for Slytherin?!"

"Calm down, Angelina." George raised his hands. "We're celebrating the success of our business partner. It's like...like you supporting your Quidditch teammate, whether he's your cousin or not."

"But he's Malfoy!"

"He's also a very insightful investor," Fred said earnestly. "He's our best partner!"

Several students couldn't help but laugh, but Angelina remained unmoved:

"What about the Academy Cup? We're down by 150 points now!"

"On the bright side," George winked, "if Kane Malfoy continues to be this 'heroic,' maybe he'll be reassigned to Gryffindor?"

"George Weasley!"

The twins were still whispering as they slipped away:

"Honestly, if he's transferred to another hospital, will Mom let us take him home for Christmas?"

"Dad might faint first—'My sons brought home a Malfoy!'"

Professor Sprout whispered to Flitwick, "That boy asked me about the catalytic effect of mandrake tears last month. Now it seems he might be preparing an anti-petrochemical agent..."

“Ancient runes!” Flitwick exclaimed. “He asked me last year about the variants of the word ‘basilisk’ in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs—at the time I thought it was just academic interest!”

Both of them looked at Snape at the same time.

The potions professor sipped his coffee leisurely: "He asked about the similarity between snake venom and the petrification curse when he enrolled. I gave him six references at the time."

Professor McGonagall was shocked: "So he was preparing as soon as he enrolled?"

"Or even earlier." Snape put down his cup. "Smart people don't wait for a crisis to happen before they start thinking about solutions."

Sirius grinned. "I like that about him. He's a doer. Unlike some people who just write papers..."

Snape looked at him coldly: "People who write papers at least know what they're doing. Action-oriented people usually die from 'I thought I could do it.'"

"At least they tried!"

"And the dead can't write summaries of their experiences."

Dumbledore coughed lightly, interrupting the argument that was about to escalate.