Chapter 106 — Hagrid’s Gift

Chapter 106: Chapter 106 — Hagrid’s Gift

Chapter 106 — Hagrid’s Gift

Gryffindor and Slytherin were both stunned.

Their scores were actually tied.

But Dumbledore didn’t seem to care.

He chuckled softly and said, "The House Cup has never stipulated that only one house can win. So the winners of this year’s House Cup are Gryffindor and Slytherin!"

Another cup appeared in Snape’s hands, and he reluctantly handed it to Professor McGonagall.

The Gryffindors’ cheers nearly filled the entire Great Hall.

Although the Slytherins were somewhat unhappy about sharing first place with Gryffindor, they still threw their wizard hats into the air at the same time and jumped up excitedly.

"So, I think the decorations here should be changed a little..."

Because the Great Hall was too noisy, Dumbledore had to raise his voice.

Then he waved his wand.

Half of the Great Hall was covered in silver-and-white streamers shaped like snakes, while the other half was decorated with magnificent red-and-gold lions.

Vesey looked around and met Snape’s eyes.

She immediately gave him a big smile.

The corners of Snape’s mouth curled upward, and he waved at her, looking to be in an excellent mood.

What followed was a feast of eating and drinking.

After Vesey had eaten her fill, Madam Pomfrey caught her and took her back to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey was furious.

"Dumbledore practically locked me in the hospital wing. He insisted that you needed to attend the feast. He doesn’t care about your health at all..."

Madam Pomfrey complained angrily.

Vesey developed a headache from listening to her and quickly picked up the potion that had been prepared for her.

She drank it in one gulp.

When the sleepiness finally appeared, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.

She no longer had to listen to the angry queen of the hospital wing.

Over the next few days, while they waited for their exam results, they discussed what had happened that night.

Of course, many people came to ask Vesey and the others about it, wanting to know more details.

Every time, Vesey said that she didn’t know what had happened inside and that she had only played a supporting role.

But since she had obviously remained unconscious longer than Harry, everyone generally believed that Vesey must have experienced something even more terrifying than Harry.

Harry and the others thought so too.

They hadn’t witnessed the scene where Voldemort struck Vesey, but Hermione and the others had heard the sound and seen Snape’s furious expression.

So they also believed that Vesey had suffered terribly.

Although, from Vesey’s perspective, Harry had actually suffered the most.

Apart from that, they also discussed Snape.

"I didn’t expect Snape really wasn’t doing anything bad. He was trying to protect the Philosopher’s Stone. I saw Quirrell there at the time..."

After saying this, everyone looked at Vesey.

Vesey had never mentioned Quirrell since then, so they knew she must be sad.

She had trusted Quirrell so much, but Quirrell was dead now.

They looked at Vesey sympathetically without thinking too much about it.

Vesey, who appeared to be deeply saddened by Quirrell’s death, had actually never even bothered to give him an encouraging look while he was alive.

But they had forgotten that.

After all, Vesey had always said good things about Snape and Quirrell in front of them.

They had been completely brainwashed into believing that she was such a kind girl that she trusted everyone.

Seeing Harry and the others’ expressions, Vesey sighed. She pretended to be melancholy and said,

"I regret it so much. At the time, he might have wanted to get rid of Voldemort, even if only for a moment or two, but I didn’t realize it. I was even afraid that I would disturb him, so I didn’t encourage him..."

She filled in the final gaps in the story.

Harry and the others immediately comforted her.

"There’s no point blaming yourself. He can’t get rid of Voldemort anymore, and in the end, he didn’t really regret what he did. I think he only regretted it because he was afraid, not because he regretted joining Voldemort in the first place!"

"Exactly. He was already a bad person. Someone like that isn’t worth making yourself miserable over!"

"Yeah. If Vesey’s feeling down, let’s go find Hagrid. Vesey likes Hagrid the most!"

They changed the subject and took Vesey to find Hagrid.

As soon as they arrived at Hagrid’s hut, Hagrid quickly shut the door.

They were surprised and knocked on it.

But Hagrid didn’t open the door.

"What’s going on? You didn’t come to see us when we were in the hospital wing. Do you not want us as friends anymore?"

Harry shouted angrily.

After everything that had happened, almost the entire school had come to visit them or sent them gifts.

Yet Hagrid hadn’t come at the time, and now, when they had come to find him, he still refused to come out.

"Hagrid, if you don’t open the door, we’re taking Vesey away!"

Hermione shouted.

She knew that Hagrid liked Vesey the most, so there had to be a reason why he hadn’t come to see her.

Sure enough.

The moment Hagrid heard Hermione’s words, he suddenly opened the door.

Only then did they see that Hagrid’s eyes were swollen from crying, and his sleeves were covered with tears.

"Hagrid, who bullied you? I’ll deal with him!"

Vesey shouted loudly.

[Ding, Energy Points +10]

Hagrid wiped his tears.

He looked at Vesey’s face and finally couldn’t hold back anymore.

He bent down and hugged Vesey and Harry.

"It’s all my fault! It’s all my fault! Dumbledore told me everything. I’m such a bloody fool... I was the one who told that bastard how to get past Fluffy, and because of me, you got hurt... You nearly died..."

He began howling again.

Harry and the others looked helplessly at Hagrid.

Only Vesey patted him on the shoulder.

"Hagrid, it’s not your fault. He would have found a way to figure out how to get past Fluffy eventually. He even managed to break through the protective magic set up by the other professors. He’s extremely cunning.

"You’re just too simple and kind!"

Vesey said firmly.

But even Hagrid, who had been crying, was amused by her words.

He wiped his nose and said, "I’m stupid, and you’re pure and kind... If I ever drink again, I should be kicked out and forced to live as a Muggle for the rest of my life!"

He started crying again.

Vesey thought for a moment, then took a Chocolate Frog from her pocket.

"Don’t cry, Hagrid. Seeing you cry breaks my heart. We’re friends, and friends should forgive each other, right?

"If I make a mistake, will you forgive me?"

Hagrid nodded vigorously.

Vesey unwrapped the Chocolate Frog and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Then, as your friend, I forgive you!"

Hagrid was caught off guard and ended up chewing on the Chocolate Frog.

His mood gradually relaxed, and Harry and the others pushed him back into the hut.

Hermione found some teacups.

"It’s okay, Hagrid. We’re not angry!"

"Yeah, we all like you!"

They even swore repeatedly that they liked Hagrid very much, which finally brought a smile back to his face.

He looked at Vesey and Harry with tears still in his eyes.

Then he walked farther into the hut, brought out two beautiful photo albums, and handed one to Harry and one to Vesey.

"Dumbledore said you wanted an album of your parents, so I wrote to your parents’ friends and asked them to collect these photographs. I hope they make you happy..."

Vesey opened the photo album.

On the first page, Lily and James were holding Harry and waving at her.

She wasn’t in the photograph.

And she never would be.

She closed the album with a touched smile.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I love this gift!"