After finishing their exams, William, Cedric, and Cho paid a visit to Hagrid.
He was dressed in an enormous apron and humming cheerfully as he busied himself over a cauldron. Nearby, Fang was bound to a table, squirming and howling as if being tortured.
Standing by the window, Cho asked softly, "Hagrid, what are you up to?"
"Oh, it's you three!" Hagrid exclaimed, waving them in eagerly. "Come on in, I've just taken it out of the oven—come, have a taste!"
Fang howled louder, seeming to slip into utter despair at Hagrid's invitation.
The three of them entered and gathered around the cauldron, watching as Hagrid lifted the lid.
It turned out he was baking a cake!
It was a steaming chocolate cake, with green icing that spelled out: HAPPEE BIRTHDAE HARRY.
…Hagrid had misspelled every word except "Harry."
The cake itself looked suspiciously like hardened mud, almost rock-like in texture—perfectly lethal if used as a weapon.
Fang caught a whiff of it and began thrashing wildly once more.
"Oh, Fang, I know you're eager for a taste, but hold on. This cake's for William and his friends to try, of course including Boba Tea," Hagrid reassured, scratching the cat's head nestled in William's arms.
Fang seemed to relax at the mention of the cat's name, but now Boba Tea was trying to wriggle free.
Cedric asked, "How many of these cakes have you fed Fang?"
"Not many—just three," Hagrid replied nonchalantly.
William figured that even if Fang wasn't poisoned by Hagrid's "delicacies," he'd be on the verge of bursting from sheer quantity.
He quickly exchanged glances with Cedric and Cho, then clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Ah, too bad… I've eaten way too much sugar lately, Hagrid. Got a bit of a cavity—it hurts so much that I can't eat anything sweet!"
Cho's face fell as she heard this; that was precisely the excuse she'd planned to use. She shot William an indignant glare.
"Oh, I see," Hagrid nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, gotta protect those teeth, William! Roy's been sending me a lot of dental care products lately."
Hagrid and Roy were friends, and Roy often sent Hagrid books and other supplies about dental hygiene.
"Well, that means you two and Boba Tea can split the cake. Don't be shy—eat up! There's plenty more!"
"…"
"Hagrid, has Professor Dumbledore agreed to let you go pick up Potter?" William asked, setting Boba Tea free.
Hagrid had come to William's house last summer to prepare for this task. Though things hadn't gone smoothly, he had gained some experience.
"Yep, he's all for it! Dumbledore's a good man. Naturally, he couldn't give the job to anyone but me. I'm trustworthy!" Hagrid said proudly.
"Oh, thanks for your suggestions too. I spoke to Dumbledore about it again this morning."
"What did you discuss?"
"Why, about Fluffy, of course," Hagrid replied, a little too mysteriously.
William feigned ignorance as he looked at Hagrid.
Dumbledore had long known that the three-headed dog was hidden in the Room of Requirement, but he hadn't mentioned it.
William had brought it up once, and Dumbledore had said he'd allow Fluffy to stay.
Of course, Hagrid had no idea about any of this.
"The Headmaster agreed to let me take care of Fluffy and even got me a special license for it," Hagrid added cheerfully.
"For now, though, Fluffy needs to stay in the castle; Dumbledore wants to borrow him for a while."
The three of them were stunned, William included.
"Why would the Headmaster need Fluffy?" Cedric asked cautiously.
"Oh—well—I can't say for sure," Hagrid stammered. "Maybe Dumbledore just enjoys playing with cute dogs. Fluffy is adorable, after all!"
Hagrid's eyes darted away, clearly hiding something.
The three exchanged looks, realizing there might be more to the story.
"By the way, you'll have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor next year," Hagrid said, changing the subject.
"Who is it?"
"Professor Quirrell. Oh, I remember him—he was top of his class back in the day. But he took a year off to gain some hands-on experience, went on a trip around the world."
"I haven't seen him in years, but Dumbledore said he'll be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor next term."
William raised an eyebrow; it seemed Quirrell wasn't put off by the curse on the position.
Considering what happened to Professors Robert and Tywin, the position was clearly hazardous.
Hagrid seemed quite relieved. "Thank goodness Professor Quirrell agreed to take over! Ever since Tywin was sent to Azkaban, the post has been vacant for months."
The trio tried to steer the conversation back to Fluffy, but Hagrid just kept talking about Professor Quirrell, keeping his mouth tightly shut about Fluffy.
It was obvious that Dumbledore had briefed him thoroughly.
Eventually, they had to admit defeat, unable to extract any useful information from Hagrid.
That night, the school held its end-of-year feast.
The Great Hall was decorated in Ravenclaw's sky blue and bronze to celebrate their victory in the House Cup, breaking Slytherin's longstanding streak. A massive banner depicting a Ravenclaw eagle hung behind the staff table.
When William entered the hall, silence fell instantly, and then everyone broke into loud whispers and chatter.
Given the Daily Prophet's coverage of his story, the attention wasn't surprising.
After a few moments, Dumbledore entered, and the noise died down.
"Another year has gone!" he said jovially. "Before we enjoy this wonderful feast, I must ask you all to indulge me for a moment as I share a few words from an old man.
"What a splendid year it has been! I trust your little heads are all the fuller than before. And with an entire summer stretching ahead of you, you'll have time to digest all that knowledge before next term, so your minds will be ready for new things..."
"Now, as I understand it, we have the House Cup to award. Here are the final standings:
"In fourth place, Gryffindor, with eighty-nine points. In third, Hufflepuff, with two hundred and forty-eight points. In second, Slytherin, with three hundred and twelve points. And in first place, Ravenclaw, with four hundred and eighty points!"
The Ravenclaw table erupted with cheers and stomping.
The Gryffindors, meanwhile, were quiet, their heads bowed.
They had struggled to overcome the other Houses' points throughout the year and had barely managed to end up in the positives.
Because of the situation with Tywin, the final Quidditch match had been cancelled, so Gryffindor and Hufflepuff missed out on those crucial House Cup points.
Dumbledore raised a hand, and the hall fell silent again.
"However, those are not the final standings. Certain recent events must also be accounted for."
The hall grew very still.
"Ahem, ahem," Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Let me see… William Stark…"
Every eye turned to William again.
"William caught a dangerous fugitive and protected Hogwarts' students from a Death Eater—a feat that hasn't been accomplished here in many years.
"For this, I am awarding him the Hogwarts Special Service Award and giving one hundred points to Ravenclaw."
The Ravenclaws nearly tore the enchanted ceiling apart with their cheers. The stars above them seemed to shake from the noise.
It wasn't just the hundred points that excited them. They were thrilled that William had received the Special Service Award.
It was a tremendous honor, complete with a golden plaque that would be permanently displayed in the trophy room.
Once the Headmaster had concluded his speech, every student began eagerly devouring the food that appeared in front of them, chatting loudly about their summer plans.
William ate quickly, knowing that if he didn't, he'd soon have to leave the feast unfinished.
Sure enough, halfway through, Peeves appeared over the Slytherin table, holding two enormous dung bombs.
The stench quickly spread through the hall.
Taking advantage of the chaos, William and his friends slipped outside.
If it hadn't been for the dung bombs, it would have been a perfect evening.
But one way or another, William's first year at Hogwarts was finally coming to a close.
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