The matter concerning Oren quickly spread throughout the Magic Realm.
The Daily Prophet described him as an extremely evil and insane Dark Wizard, dedicating an entire page to publish his wanted notice.
The rest of the pages were filled with praise for the Ministry of Magic's heroic efforts in successfully rescuing two students in this operation.
Though, not many people would really read this content.
Many parents wrote to the school, requesting an early vacation.
What if Oren was still hiding in the Forbidden Forest? They were not at ease letting their children stay there.
Dumbledore also agreed; students could take the Hogwarts Express home early that day, and their report cards would be delivered by owl within the next few days.
In just one day, Hogwarts lost a third of its students, leaving the castle feeling empty.
However, Kael did not leave, and neither did Cedric and the others.
Chris returned, arriving at Hogwarts looking worn out, and repeatedly checked Kael from top to bottom before finally sighing in relief.
Then he took Kael to an empty classroom and sternly said, "Didn't I tell you not to get involved in this matter!"
"It was an accident," Kael admitted honestly, "I'll be more careful next time."
Chris was obviously not satisfied with Kael's response and reprimanded him for a long time.
Throughout the process, Kael didn't defend himself, just nodded and admitted his mistake with a great attitude.
As they were leaving the classroom, Newt happened to be coming out of Dumbledore's office. Chris even asked him if he wanted to go back together.
However, Kael refused, stating that he wanted to take the train back with friends. Chris thought about it and didn't insist further.
What Kael didn't expect was that Diana also arrived the next day.
But unlike Chris, she first made a trip to the Forbidden Forest and then headed straight for the Headmaster's Office on the eighth floor.
No one knows what happened after that, but during this time, many students noticed some unfamiliar faces appearing in the portraits in the castle's corridors, and they claimed to be former headmasters of Hogwarts.
Additionally, the Gargoyle on the eighth floor was gone.
...
Kael did not know when Diana left.
That evening, he and Cedric attended the year-end feast. The auditorium was divided into two parts: the left with Slytherin's green and silver decorations, and the right with Hufflepuff's yellow and black decorations.
Notably, the points Kael earned in the Forbidden Forest were actually valid.
Combined with the Quidditch Championship... Hufflepuff and Slytherin ended up tied for first place for the House Cup.
The two sat down at the Hufflepuff table, and Kael noticed that Conna was still absent today.
After a while, Dumbledore arrived, and Kael couldn't help but feel that his nose was even more crooked than before.
The chatter in the hall gradually quieted down.
"Another year has passed!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, "Before you indulge in these delicacies, I must trouble you to listen to an old man's cliché speech.
Although there was a small incident at the end, it was undeniably a fantastic year, with your little brains certainly being fuller than before... You have the entire summer to digest these, and clear your minds before the start of next semester..."
"Now, let us proceed with the House Cup award ceremony, with points for each house as follows:
Fourth place, Gryffindor, with one-hundred and one points; third place, Ravenclaw, with three-hundred and thirty-two points; Slytherin, four-hundred and ninety-seven points; Hufflepuff, four-hundred and ninety-seven points."
The anticipated cheers did not materialize, as both Hufflepuff and Slytherin glared at each other, somewhat unsatisfied with the result.
The House Cup is a singular trophy, it can't be awarded to two houses at the same time!
Students from the other two houses quietly watched from the sidelines.
"Indeed, both houses performed exceptionally well." Dumbledore cleared his throat, "However, a recent event needs to be accounted for, Mr. Kael Chopper..."
Everyone's gaze turned to Kael.
"Not only did he rescue a freshman in the Forbidden Forest, but he also found the Dark Wizard hiding in the school, displaying tremendous bravery and courage.
For this, I have decided to award him the Special Contribution Award, and reward Hufflepuff with two-hundred points!"
Even though there were fewer attendees than before, the cheering was still thunderous. If someone were standing outside the auditorium at this moment, they might have thought an explosion had occurred inside.
No need to calculate scores anymore, Hufflepuff successfully stopped Slytherin's six consecutive wins and claimed the House Cup!
And more importantly, the Special Contribution Award.
Fred and George excitedly stood on the bench, shouting to Kael, "Don't worry, Kael, when you're in detention again, we'll make sure to polish your trophy really well!"
"Even cleaner than anyone else's..."
Professor McGonagall gave them a cold glance, suddenly feeling quite weary.
"This means..." Dumbledore roared, "We need to make a few little changes to the decorations here."
He clapped his hands, and the green drapes turned yellow, the silver turned black, and a new banner depicting the Hufflepuff badger appeared on the wall behind the main table.
Snape was shaking hands with Professor Sprout, his expression calm, naturally wearing a trademark smile, showing no signs of anger.
Before leaving school, the exam results were also out.
Kael, with exceptionally high marks, became the top student in his year.
Cedric looked at Kael's report card in amazement, "Merlin, your grades are much higher than mine last year, and you're just one point away from a perfect score, what a pity..."
Kael also felt a tinge of regret.
During the exam, he got carried away writing and didn't notice that he had written thirteen uses for Fire Dragon Blood instead of twelve, which cost him a point.
Apparently, the professors didn't agree that Fire Dragon Blood could be used as a culinary ingredient.
Apart from this minor flaw, he achieved perfect scores in all other subjects, including Potion Brewing.
Snape gave him full marks for his Boil Potion, a rare honor even for Slytherin students.
Conna came in second in their year, and with Cedric being the top student in the second year... Hufflepuff certainly had a moment in the spotlight this year.
Professor Sprout was living it up, often hanging around the other professors instead of going to the greenhouse.
...