Chapter 198 Interview
After an unknown amount of time, Dumbledore, who was looking up at the starry sky, finally came back to his senses. He sighed and spoke to break the dull atmosphere in the hall.
"This year was difficult. We were attacked by the ancient basilisk. The basilisk was like a dark cloud of fear hanging over us, causing the entire Hogwarts Castle to fall into panic. We spent a long time crowded in this hall, eating hard-to-swallow food, and the days were like years."
As Dumbledore described the basilisk incident in the first half of this year in a low voice, the expressions of everyone in the hall became sad.
But before everyone could grieve for too long, Dumbledore's tone suddenly changed, and he said in a high-pitched voice: "But! We are not defeated. We are united, determined to defeat the strong enemy and overcome the difficulties!
Countless warriors stood up. For everyone's safety and for the future of Hogwarts, they patrolled the school at the risk of being attacked by the basilisk at any time. During this period, three brave martyrs even gave their lives for this!
Their sacrifice was worth it, and we finally defeated the strong enemy! Finally, the dawn of victory came! Although the thousand-year-old basilisk is strong, our united strength is stronger than it! In the face of this power, the basilisk is simply vulnerable!"
Dumbledore's sonorous speech completely ignited the little wizards in the audience. The Slytherin students were okay, but the members of Gryffindor House were so excited that they were shaking. Mike swore that even if Dumbledore asked them to go to Voldemort to die, they would rush forward.
Not only them, but also many students in the usually calm and rational Ravenclaw College believed Dumbledore's nonsense. At this moment, their eyes were red and their fists were clenched.
Yes, Mike's evaluation of Dumbledore's speech was bullshit.
He participated in and witnessed the snake hunting activity throughout the whole process, and he knew the situation on the scene very well.
Dumbledore killed the powerful basilisk in a second with a casual attitude. What had he done with such a strong strength?
Don't say that Dumbledore couldn't find the location of the basilisk. Mike might have believed this when he first entered Hogwarts, but he didn't believe it at all after he understood how terrifying the mental power of a great wizard like Dumbledore could be.
Just when Mike was madly complaining in his heart, Dumbledore on the stage started talking again.
"Although the basilisk has been destroyed, the danger has not disappeared. The so-called heir who released the basilisk was not caught, but lurked among the students. Fortunately, Hogwarts always produces heroes to turn the tide in times of crisis!" Dumbledore paused, then pointed to the direction of Mike and said, "Mr. Mike Townley, this young man who has all the excellent qualities of the four major colleges stood up and defeated the heir hiding among us! For this, I have discussed with the professors and decided to award him the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award!" As soon as
these words were spoken, the little wizards opened their mouths in surprise.
No wonder they were so surprised, because the matter of Voldemort's Horcrux could not be leaked, otherwise it would cause panic. At the same time, Percy might also be excluded because of this matter, so the fact that Mike defeated Percy who was controlled by the Horcrux and won the Special Contribution Award was only circulated in a very small circle.
Just when everyone was so shocked that they were speechless, Dumbledore took the lead in applauding, and everyone finally came to their senses and began to applaud, even the professors in the teacher's seat were no exception.
At this time, Mike was drowned in the applause and was a little overwhelmed. He didn't even see Dumbledore's gesture to invite him to the stage.
Fortunately, Penelope and others were sitting next to him. Penelope stretched out two fingers and made a sword-like gesture, and poked Mike a little above the lower back.
If you have had similar experiences, you will definitely know that no matter how much force you use, once this position is poked, an indescribable sour taste will rush straight to your head.
Mike was of course no exception. He was poked like this and his body suddenly twitched violently. But thanks to this poke, Mike also discovered Dumbledore's gesture on the stage, and stood up in a flash, and walked to Dumbledore's side in the envious and jealous eyes of everyone.
"Congratulations, Mike."
Dumbledore smiled and handed Mike a golden medal. In addition to Mike's name, the reason why Mike won the award was written in very small words below.
"You are too kind. I can achieve what I have today because of your education!"
Mike and Dumbledore praised each other on the podium. Finally, the two of them held up the special contribution award medal and took a photo together. Mike took the medal back to the long table of Ravenclaw.
As soon as Mike sat down, the students sitting nearby rushed up to surround him. They all wanted to touch the legendary special contribution award medal.
Mike could understand their behavior. There were many people who won the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award in history, and their medals were collected in the Hogwarts Trophy Showroom. Although Hogwarts students can often visit, they can't reach out and touch them. So they cherish this opportunity.
In fact, the medal in Mike's hand will still be handed over to Dumbledore later, and he will put it in the trophy showroom. Now it's just for Mike to feel it in his hand.
So this medal representing honor was passed around the long table of Ravenclaw quickly. It had to be fast. If the person who got the medal delayed a little longer, he would be urged by the next person.
The young wizards from other colleges could only stretch their necks and look at the long table of Ravenclaw with envy. They also wanted to touch the medal with their own hands, but the distance between them and the long table where Mike was was too far.
"Well, I believe everyone has become a little impatient after listening to this nagging old man for so long." Dumbledore clapped his hands and shifted everyone's attention from the medal to him again. "Then I declare that the dinner is officially open!"
With Dumbledore's order, countless delicacies suddenly appeared out of thin air on the neatly arranged plates on the long table, and the whole hall was filled with the aroma of food.
The students who had stretched their necks to look at Mike were also attracted by the aroma and started fighting with the food. Only a few Ravenclaw students were unmoved and continued to pass around Mike's medal.
Mike didn't care who had his medal. Anyway, he would give it to Dumbledore later. He didn't believe that anyone would be stupid enough to steal it, so he concentrated on eating the food in front of him.
The food at the Hogwarts banquet was as plain as always, with roast chickens piled up like a mountain, steaks covered with bright sauces, and countless delicacies that Mike couldn't name. The empty plate would disappear the moment it appeared, and then a plate filled with the same food would appear.
An hour later, Mike, who had finished the last piece of pudding, exhaled deeply and leaned back on the chair.
The dinner was over, and at the same time, Mike officially ended his second year of study at Hogwarts.
After Dumbledore's order, the students in the hall returned to their dormitories under the leadership of their respective college leaders. Only Mike followed Professor Flitwick to the small rest area behind the hall. As soon as he entered
the lounge, Mike found that the middle-aged woman with 6-centimeter-long nails was also there, and she was looking at Mike with a smile.
On the desk next to her was an open notebook, and a feather pen was floating motionlessly above the notebook.
"Mike, this is Ms. Rita Skeeter, she is a reporter from the Daily Prophet, and she is here to interview you this time." Professor Flitwick introduced Mike.
As soon as Professor Flitwick said her name, Mike remembered the identity of this Rita Skeeter.
She was the Animagus reporter who could turn into a beetle in the original book. Of course, she did not go to the Ministry of Magic to register.
It is precisely because of her tiny Animagus form and the ability to fly that Rita Skeeter can become the strongest gossip reporter, exploring the privacy and scandals of those celebrities.
Moreover, this reporter is also good at distorting the facts. In order to attract the attention of readers, she often writes some fictitious things. For example, in the original book, Harry and others were severely slandered by her.
"Don't be nervous, Mike, just act like usual."
Professor Flitwick seemed to find that Mike was not in a good state, and patted Mike on the back to comfort him.
The scene at this time was funny. Due to Mike's crazy growth this year, his height is now close to 1.75 meters. The short Professor Flitwick can only try his best to tiptoe to barely pat Mike's back, otherwise he can only pat Mike's butt.
After being patted by Professor Flitwick, Mike also came back to his senses.
He squinted his eyes and was alert, looking at Rita Skeeter in front of him vigilantly, and smiled and said hello after a long time.
To Mike's surprise, the famous reporter stood up from his seat in an instant, took two steps at a time and came to Mike in an instant, shook Mike's hand and said:
"You are Mr. Mike Townley! The hero who saved Hogwarts and the strongest duelist who won the Hogwarts Dueling Competition. I have heard of you for a long time!"
Rita Skeeter's long nails made Mike feel very disgusted, so he broke free from her hand without leaving a trace.
Although Mike was a little confused about Rita Skeeter's attentiveness, his vigilance did not decrease at all. You know, this old woman in front of him is famous for writing negative articles. Mike doesn't want to see an article that specifically criticizes him published in the most famous newspaper in the British wizard world-The Daily Prophet.
"You're flattering me. These are just some insignificant achievements."
Rita Skeeter wanted to say something, but Professor Flitwick looked at the magic clock on the wall and saw that it was getting late, so he said, "Let's get started quickly. Mike is very tired today and needs to rest early."
Rita Skeeter's smile froze when she heard this, but she immediately returned to normal. She smiled and sat back in her seat and began to interview Mike.
Although it was only a moment, Mike still noticed the subtle changes in her expression with his strong mental power, and immediately had a guess in his mind.
Could it be that this Rita Skeeter had already been warned by Professor Flitwick, and this time she came here just to write a report praising herself?
Although he had already made a guess, Mike still performed flawlessly during the interview, leaving no loopholes for Rita Skeeter to talk to. Rita Skeeter's interviewing method is also very special. Now, reporters in the Muggle society use handwriting to record the content of the interview, but in later generations, it is much more advanced. Most reporters will use recording equipment or simply take a video.
But Rita Skeeter is different. She sits comfortably on the sofa chair without having to do anything. The automatic recording feather pen beside her will automatically record the content of their interview.
Mike originally wanted to ask her why she used this recording method, because as far as Mike knows, although the automatic recording feather pen writes very fast, there are also many typos, and the actual work efficiency will not be improved much.
But when Mike saw the carefully maintained nails on the ten fingers again, he did not ask. With such long nails, it must be very difficult for her to hold a pen to write, let alone real-time shorthand.
Half an hour later, Rita Skeeter's interview with Mike finally ended.
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Townley. If nothing unexpected happens, you will soon be able to see the content of today's interview in the Daily Prophet."
Rita Skeeter put away her notebook and quill pen, and said to Mike with a smile.
Mike was also relieved. During the interview, he had been highly focused. In addition, he had just eaten a full meal, so although the questions Rita Skeeter asked were very common questions, Mike still felt a little tired.
After forcing himself to say goodbye to Rita Skeeter, Mike left the room and returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room, leaving Professor Flitwick and Rita Skeeter alone in the small common room.
As for what Professor Flitwick and Rita Skeeter would do, Mike didn't care. He just wanted to go back to his bed and have a good sleep.
ps: coo coo coo...