Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 92 Declaration

"Hey, did you hear? The school suddenly opened up to the public today!"

"No, it's not completely open. It seems there are only some reporters and officials from the Ministry of Magic... They said they'll be attending the year-end party later!"

"Good heavens, what's been going on lately? I haven't heard a thing!"

"Hey, how could the principal possibly leak information beforehand if he wanted to keep it a secret?"

"And thankfully we didn't hear any major leaks beforehand, otherwise we might not have been able to concentrate on studying right before the OWLS exam... But seriously, what could be so important that it warrants such a grand announcement?"

"This must be something serious. Even Professor Snape has been acting strangely lately, like he's lost in thought!"

"..."

Since Dumbledore announced two days ago that he would be inviting journalists and Ministry of Magic officials to the year-end party, such discussions among the students have been nonstop. Even though two days is enough time for thousands of students to speculate on every possibility dozens of times, people are still enjoying themselves and new versions keep emerging...

It was in this atmosphere that Avada, with dark circles under his eyes, followed the Hufflepuffs into the Great Hall and sat down in his seat.

From the day he captured Voldemort until last night, he had to take the base of the Living Hell Soup every night to fall asleep. Otherwise, as soon as he closed his eyes, he would recall that terrifying night in the fourth-floor corridor, Voldemort's furious roar and Dumbledore's last-minute rescue, and then he would writhe in agony on the bed.

It's said that Baron and Harry didn't fare much better, but that didn't stop Baron, Avada, and Hermione from all getting first place in their year's final exams. Harry and Ron's grades were also pretty good; at least they could have a proper celebration for surpassing Malfoy...

"It's finally going to be made public."

He thought to himself, "I wonder how much this will change the magical world?"

What will the remaining Death Eaters, currently lying in wait, think? Will they flee to distant lands? Will they surrender willingly? Or will they fight to the death?

How will Peter Pettigrew react? Will he continue pretending to be a mouse...? Is he useless now? Should we find a chance to expose him directly? Like with Marauder's Map?

"And those people deep inside Azkaban must be going crazy with agony, right? Sirius, on the other hand, will be very happy, but will he still be able to escape then?"

"Fine, it's good to go through legal procedures and get acquitted properly. Peter can't escape it anyway."

—The positioning spell on Peter was never broken. Every now and then, he would find an opportunity to renew the spell, and the three-month duration was more than enough to last through a summer vacation.

Soon, students from the four houses took their seats at their respective long tables, followed by reporters from the Daily Prophet and officials from the Ministry of Magic. They brought their own chairs and arranged them in the space between the four tables, while the reporters set up their cameras…

"Look, Snape's hands are shaking."

Some students noticed the unusual behavior and pointed towards the faculty seating area: "The other professors look just as nervous... What happened?"

The reporter sitting nearby glanced at the students, took a few photos, and quickly jotted down notes: "[The renowned Potions Master Snape appears to be suffering from health problems; his hands are trembling uncontrollably, raising concerns about the quality of his potions...]"

……

Once all the students and invitees were seated, Dumbledore stood up, and the cacophony that had filled the Great Hall vanished instantly.

"Congratulations to everyone! You've had another wonderful year, and your minds are now more refreshed than before... And there's a whole summer ahead of you, which will allow you to digest all that knowledge and clear your minds before the next semester begins..."

Dumbledore said cheerfully, just as he had in previous years: "I am also very grateful to everyone for coming here and taking the time to listen to this old man's clichés... But this year's matter is too important, and I think it is necessary to let the whole magical community know about it."

"However, as far as I know, before you all enjoy the delicious food and announce that matter, the first thing we should do is hold the Academy Cup awards ceremony. The scores of each academy this year are as follows..."

Dumbledore picked up a piece of parchment from the table, held it up to his eyes, and read: "Fourth place, Gryffindor, 382 points; Third place, Hufflepuff, 453 points; Ravenclaw, 456 points; Slytherin, 482 points."

The lower-year Slytherins erupted in cheers, and the upper-years clapped in response—they were too numb from winning to be excited.

"Congratulations, Slytherins! It seems you've done well this year... However, a few recent events must also be taken into account. Therefore, I need to redistribute the points..."

"Those are Mr. Ron Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger. I want to give them a special commendation—they have demonstrated exceptional intelligence, courage, and perseverance, as well as composure and calmness in the face of crisis…and these shining qualities have made them outstanding contributions to the entire magical community…"

A buzz of discussion instantly filled the hall again—what enabled two first-year students to make such outstanding contributions to the entire magical society?

"to this end,"

Dumbledore continued, "I will award them each fifty points, for a total of one hundred points."

"Therefore, I hereby declare that Gryffindor and Slytherin are tied for first place with a total of 482 points and will share this year's House Cup."

As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and half of the ribbons and flags in the Great Hall, which were originally silver and green, turned gold and red, symbolizing that Gryffindor and Slytherin would share the House Cup this year.

A cheer erupted at the Gryffindor table, but it quickly subsided—everyone was curious about what this "outstanding contribution to magical society" was.

"Besides the Academy Cup,"

Dumbledore's smile gradually became mysterious: "I also need to present a special award for Mr. Baron Shafik, Mr. Harry Potter, and Mr. Ken."

"Their determination, wisdom, genius, and indomitable courage have combined to accomplish something truly earth-shattering, genuinely transforming the entire magical world—this is what I'm announcing today. For this, I award them Hogwarts' highest honor, and their medals will be permanently displayed at the very top of the awards hall to recognize and commemorate their contributions. Frankly, if they weren't still minors, I would certainly have applied for the Order of Merlin, First Class, for them..."

wow-

Like a red-hot iron block thrown into a still pond, the hall instantly erupted in a cacophony of voices. Everyone was looking around frantically, searching for Avada, Baron, and Harry, while simultaneously gasping in astonishment at what had happened. Those around the three were either stunned or frantically shaking their shoulders, begging them to tell them what had occurred…

"So——"

Dumbledore had to bring his wand to his lips, amplifying his voice to resound throughout the Great Hall: "I now announce the event that has changed the entire magical society—"

"Voldemort has been caught!"

As if time had stopped, all sound fell silent in an instant, and the air was frozen in a silence so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

But then, in the next second, a deafening roar and the blinding flash of light from cameras engulfed everything...

(End of this chapter)