𝗗𝗜𝗘 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 ☼ 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘆

↘︎ chapter eight

8 | End-of-term Feast

It was the end of the first school year at Hogwarts for Marley Macmillan. She was excited that her first year ended successfully and it turned out to be really good. The girl had spend an amazing time with Fred and George Weasley, her new friends, Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan. They were one year older than her but no one seemed to care. The group of friends had three Quiddtich players and Marley and Lee were always supporting their friends at matches. Till the end of the year the girl was almost convinced that her friendship with the ginger twins will be strong.

Today was the last night of the summer term and End-of-term Feast. It's held in the Great Hall and the headmaster Albus Dumbledore would announce the House Cup. The house winner will get the Great Hall decorated with the colours of their house. Marley had heard from Fred that Slytherin had won the cup last year and they were usually the winners. Marley hoped Gryffindor would win, but still didn't have high expectations. A lot of points were removed this year from the house.

The whole school was sitting on their house tables in the Great Hall. The dishes were the same as the Start-of-term Feast. Every student was wearing their uniform and robe. The teachers and staff were sitting on the High Table, peacefully eating while the students were impatient to understand who'll win the House Cup. Ravenclaw students were speculating on their table and as the house, where were smart people sorted in, they looked much more excited and loud than usual; Hufflepuffs were also excited and their faces were red; Slytherins were smirking proudly, totally sure they'll win and Gryffindors - they were something like the Ravenclaws.

"Prepare for Slytherin to re-applaud аnd take all the fame." murmured quietly Lee Jordan so the Slytherins won't hear him or he'll be dead to sunrise. Marley just giggled.

"We deserve to win the House Cup this time." insisted Angelina Johnson, who was sitting beside Marley on the table. "But that will stay in our dreams. Just hope Gryffindor will win once until I reach sixty."

Fred and George burst into hard laughter, later followed by Marley herself. But their happy moment was interrupted by Dumbledore, who called for silence in the Great Hall. His white beard was longer than before and his hair was reaching his waist. He looked realy calm and restrained. The headmaster coughed.

"As you know, it's that time of the year again. Another year at Hogwarts passed by, but I'm sure you're not here to listen the speech of some old geezer." Dumbledore said, making the students laugh and laughter echoed in the stone walls. The wizard just smiled and continued. "We all know we had gathered to announce this year House Cup winner. Maybe there are not surprises here."

After his words Marley noticed the Slytherins were grinning even more haughtily, Gryffindors repining, Ravenclaws were worried and Hufflepuffs confused. Dumbledore hist cleared his throat and all that bustle stopped. "The House Cup winner this year is Slytherin with 477 points."

Stormy ovations and applause erupted from Slytherin's table, some even hissing. Teachers, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs clapped and Gryffindors barely got around to clapping, which was rather sarcastic. No one was happy that Slytherin had won again. Angelina rolled her eyes annoyed, Lee sighed deeply, the red-haired twins were looking badly at the Slytherins.

The decoration in the colours of Slytherin descended from the ceiling, with the colours of the dark house, the torches lit even more strongly, and the Slytherins exploded again in shouts. However, Dumbledore simply raised his hand to restore silence in the midst of all this flurriness. "They are followed by Hufflepuff with 442 points, next is Gryffindor with 426 and finally Ravenclaw with 352."

Now the whole hall burst into displeasure, everyone began to whisper and frantically discuss the points they had received. This year, Gryffindor was in third place, and Slytherin would make fun of them for life. Or at least until the next End-of-term feast. Marley was disappointed with her house - she could do better, they all could.