"A magical technique," Harry said quietly but firmly, "a technique that allows you to draw on magic that is not your own."

Dumbledore smiled softly: "I thought it would take you a long time to discover this."

"sure."

"Your Patronus Charm is also excellent. Perhaps you can start trying to change the form of your Patronus."

"Next semester, it'll be my turn to give you detention, how about that?"

Professor McGonagall breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I don't have it as easy as the professors. I'm afraid I can only give you one lesson a week." Dumbledore waved his wand and refilled Harry's glass.

Harry nodded. "It's my pleasure."

"Professor McGonagall's detention, Quidditch training, Professor Sprout's, and Professor Dumbledore's for you, that's exactly seven days."

At this point, he looked up at Snape and said in an unusually calm tone: "Professor Snape, I'm afraid I can't continue your detention."

Snape didn't say anything, but nodded reluctantly, but his expression slowly darkened as he nodded.

This was clearly something he had been looking forward to for a long time, but why did he feel so uncomfortable when he heard such words now?

Professor McGonagall's hands were shaking a little.

Will I still be unable to escape the fate of being put in detention by Harry next semester?

Watching Harry finish his milk, Dumbledore said softly: "Harry, you should go back now, have a good sleep, and don't think about anything else."

Harry nodded, looked at Snape deeply, and turned away.

Professor McGonagall walked him all the way to the door of the common room.

The little lions were terrified and, except Hermione, they all hid in their own dormitories. They were afraid that another dark wizard would suddenly appear and attack them.

Wait for Harry to climb in.

Hermione poked her head out from under the table and breathed a sigh of relief: "Harry? You're back?"

"You haven't rested yet?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded: "I'm a little worried, even though your Patronus said everything is safe..."

"It's safe now." Harry interrupted her. "The dark magic item and Tom were dealt with by Professor Dumbledore, and the basilisk was killed by Professor Snape and me."

Having said this, he suddenly paused.

Although the basilisk has been dissected, the spoils have not yet been put into my pocket. I will write him a letter tomorrow.

He hadn't really wanted to see Snape lately.

"Really?" Hermione was still not very reassured. What she experienced today had overturned her entire worldview.

Harry nodded. "Of course."

"Are you hurt?" Hermione asked with concern, sighing in relief.

Harry smiled: "Don't worry, it's okay."

"If I was injured, I would be in the infirmary by now, or going to St. Mungo's with Mr. Weasley and the others."

They talked for a while and then went back to their dormitories to sleep.

The unrest in the second grade ended here.

Dumbledore announced at breakfast the next day that Hogwarts was safe again.

The little wizards didn't quite believe it at first.

Gryffindor is missing so many people - even the Weasley brothers are nowhere to be seen. How can this be called safe?

oh……

Perhaps in some ways, the departure of those two mischievous pranksters would indeed make Hogwarts safer.

They spent a week in fear.

The castle was peaceful and harmonious. Peeves stopped making noise, the rooster in the portrait disappeared, and the statues returned to their original appearance. The professors also relaxed and the homework became heavy again.

The Weasleys returned to Hogwarts on the first weekend after the incident.

This incident was a heavy blow to the Weasley family.

Medical expenses at St. Mungo's.

And a brand new wand - Ginny's wand was brought back by Dumbledore and it was not affected much, but Ron's old wand was destroyed by Tom, so he had to get a new one.

The Quidditch Cup did not go ahead.

The Slytherin captain lay in the infirmary.

The two main players of Gryffindor couldn't even hold a fork.

Hogwarts protected Ginny very well. The explanation given to the outside world was that a dark wizard used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as Ginny, and also pinned the theft of the Slytherin common room on that dark wizard.

But Ginny felt very guilty. She didn't know how to face Harry. After returning to Hogwarts, she hurriedly thanked and apologized to Harry, and then she kept avoiding him and dared not meet him.

Ron was also in a daze. His personality changed. He became a little taciturn, started to study hard, and from time to time he asked Harry how to duel.

Those lying in the school infirmary were successfully rescued before the final exam.

As soon as they close their eyes and open them again, before they have learned anything, they have to face the beginning of the final semester and the professors' pressure.

In every college, the cries of students recovering from petrification can be heard.

They have to make up an entire semester's worth of knowledge in just a few days.

The atmosphere gradually improved, and everyone seemed to have forgotten about the basilisk's rampage until the end of the semester.

There wasn't much change in the second grade.

Harry was still first, followed closely by Hermione - she suffered from the lack of a professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ron's performance was surprising, and he successfully got third place.

Until the last day.

The auditorium was newly decorated, and hanging above the teachers' seats was not a lion or a snake, but a cheerful, fat badger.

The yellow and black of Hufflepuff filled the hall.

Dumbledore stood up and said with emotion: "We have had a difficult year. Too many things have happened in Hogwarts this year. I think this painful experience will help you grow."

"Let's see how much you will grow based on this year's house scores."

He waved his wand.

Golden words appeared in the air.

"Fourth place Slytherin, 18 points."

"Gryffindor, third place, 19 points."

"Second place Ravenclaw, 28 points."

"First place Hufflepuff, 54 points."

There is growth, but it is negative.

Several deans couldn't help but buried their heads. The basilisk issue was resolved, but the conflicts between the colleges were not resolved.

Their conflict continues, with a large number of fights still occurring every day.

The score had been barely maintained before, because of Lockhart, but now he had exploded like a firework, and there was no balancer to stabilize the score.

The scores of the four colleges continued to fall.

Both Snape and McGonagall were somewhat relieved that the scores of their own house had not dropped to single digits.

"Before the house cup is awarded, I have something to announce." Dumbledore struggled to look away from the ten-digit score. This was the first time he had seen such a situation in all his years as headmaster.

The little badgers were startled and turned their heads to Harry at the Gryffindor table. They felt a pang in their hearts and had a bad feeling.

"Harry Potter!"

"He was the first one to discover the trace of the dark wizard, and when I was away from Hogwarts, he fought against the dark wizard and protected the classmates who were kidnapped by the dark wizard."

"I think he deserves a special contribution award, and—"

"One hundred points for Gryffindor."

Ginny wanted to bury her head in the cream soup.

The little badgers were a little unbalanced. For Hufflepuff, the House Cup was not something so easy to win, but they did not hesitate to give applause and cheers, and together with the little lions of Gryffindor, presented it to Harry Potter.