Chapter 106: Going Home for Summer Vacation
Dylan was originally still waiting for Old Dumbledore to award Neville ten points.
But it seemed that because he had added an extra sixty points, Gryffindor's score directly crushed the other three houses.
So Old Dumbledore didn't even call Neville's name before announcing—
"The scores have changed! Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"
Dumbledore raised his hands high.
Amidst the enthusiastic and boiling cheers of the little lions of Gryffindor, Dumbledore's voice rang out again.
"Therefore, the decorations here also need to be changed!"
Dumbledore clapped his hands gently, and in an instant, the Great Hall, originally filled with silver and green hues, quickly faded its original colors and was replaced by rich gold and red.
At the same time, the green banners hanging high in the air also transformed into vibrant red in the blink of an eye.
The huge green serpent banner that had been coiled behind the teacher's table also morphed into a lion banner with its head held high and roaring angrily at this moment.
As the overall color scheme of the Great Hall changed, almost all Gryffindor students had flushed faces from excitement.
The cheers surged again, wave after wave, as if trying to break through the ceiling of the Great Hall.
Many lions seemed to have been ignited by passionate flames, leaping up from their seats, waving their arms, and throwing their hats into the air.
Then they surrounded Dylan and Harry in the center, celebrating this glorious moment to their heart's content.
Hufflepuff reacted the fastest, gathering to the side and cheering along with the little lions.
Ravenclaw paused, and after seeing Professor Flitwick applaud, they also began to clap their hands unhurriedly.
Only Slytherin, on the other hand, had extremely ugly expressions.
Not a single person made a sound, and not a single person applauded for Gryffindor.
When the specific report cards were announced.
Neville was the first to breathe a sigh of relief.
He looked at Dylan. "Thank goodness you helped me this school year, otherwise I was really worried I wouldn't pass."
Dylan smiled. "How could that be? In fact, based on your usual performance, just passing the exams would have been more than enough."
He glanced at Neville's report card. While not every grade was excellent, they were at least passing.
—Especially in Herbology, he had directly received an Outstanding (O).
The others were mostly Exceeds Expectations (E) or Acceptable (A).
"Wakka kakkaka!"
At this moment, Ron clutched his report card and hugged it to his chest.
Dylan and Neville looked at him, only to see a somewhat smug expression on his face.
"All passed! Straight through! Easily done! As expected of me~!"
Ron kept chuckling, while Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Even Neville got an O, and all you got were As. What's there to be so happy about?"
Ron glared. "Hey! What nonsense are you talking about? There was an E as well, okay!"
Hermione curled her lip, while Ron snorted and looked at Harry.
"What about you, Harry? How did it go?"
Harry's expression was relaxed as he carefully tucked his report card away.
"Not bad." He also gave a slight smile.
Passing all the exams without failing any made him very happy.
This way, Hogwarts probably wouldn't kick him back to his aunt's house, right?
—He really didn't want to go home.
At school, whether it was his classmates or the professors, he liked them all very much. He wanted to stay with everyone and grow up here.
—Except for the Slytherin students and professors, and that ugly Voldemort.
Harry thought for a moment and added in his mind, "I almost forgot Filch. If he wouldn't chase me around at night, I would still be willing to have... a greeting relationship with him."
"Hermione, Dylan, how were your grades?"
Harry sat on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room, looking at the two opposite him.
Hermione also opened her report card, glanced down, and her eyes immediately widened.
"Huh, I'm actually in first place!"
Ron curled his lip, unable to resist saying something to dampen her spirits. "It's only because you got full marks, and Dylan also got full marks."
"And you, Miss Granger, your initial comes before Hockwood, which is why Dylan suffered from his name!"
"In fact, although you both got full marks, I think Dylan should have been in first place!"
Ron muttered, "Just one letter difference, and you end up one place behind. Honestly, the professors, don't they know who should be in the first place?"
"(`^) You don't even need to say it! A guy who barely passed!" Hermione snorted angrily.
Ron's mouth was still so deserving of a slap!
—Really wanted to give that guy a smack!
Hermione took a deep breath and clenched her fists.
No, Granger, you are a lady, remember that!
Ron also noticed Hermione's fist-clenching action and immediately shut his mouth, shrinking closer to Harry.
"Hey! Talk is talk, but no hitting!"
"Tch! I wouldn't lower myself to hit someone as tasteless as you!"
Hermione turned her head away, looked at Dylan, her expression slightly moved, pursed her lips, and asked softly, "My ranking is above yours, will you be unhappy?"
Dylan chuckled. "What's there to be unhappy about? On the contrary, I should congratulate you."
Hermione blinked. "Although we both got full marks, I also know that you should have gotten first place—"
Speaking of this, Hermione glared at Ron again before continuing, "But my ranking is above yours, why are you still congratulating me?"
Dylan waved his hand, casually folded the report card, then threw it into the inventory of the system panel, took out another notification letter, and casually signed his name.
"Grades are just a periodic measure of the process, not an eternal yardstick that defines our value. Since you also said that you think I should have been first place."
"This shows that everyone has witnessed my efforts and progress, so I don't think there's any need to fuss over a report card, right?"
After signing, Dylan smiled at Hermione. "No matter who gets first place, it's something worth congratulating."
Hermione's expression was slightly stunned as she listened to Dylan's words.
After a moment, she composed herself and also took out her notification letter.
This time, it was her turn to mutter softly.
"Clearly the same age, how can he say so many thought-provoking things?"
Hermione also signed her name on the notification letter, then couldn't help but raise her head and look at Dylan. "I think you could really write a book someday! Many of the things you say make so much sense to me."
Dylan raised an eyebrow and laughed heartily. "A very good suggestion, I'll consider it."
Ron beside him widened his eyes. "Dylan, are you really going to write a book? My old Merlin! Would anyone buy a book written by a ten-year-old?"
Dylan's eyes flicked towards him. "I'm eleven years old now, okay?"
Hermione also glared at Ron again. "Dylan definitely has the ability!"
Ron choked, then shrank back towards Harry, muttering, "I didn't say he didn't..."
Harry placed Ron's notification letter in front of him.
"Alright, Ron, sign this. The professor said we all have to sign our names."
Ron nodded, took the notification letter in his hand, and scanned it up and down.
"I really don't understand why we can't use magic even at home. This is clearly our vacation!"
Ron took the pen from Harry after he had signed and grumbled as he signed his own name.
"Are Muggles really going to see us using magic in our own homes? I think this is completely unnecessary!"
After signing his name, Dylan held the notification letter and flipped it over, looking at it.
He could feel that this was not just an ordinary notification letter. On the contrary, there was a kind of magic within it.
—And the moment he signed his name, this magic had already taken effect.
"Is it the Trace?"
Dylan could clearly perceive that a contract magic had taken effect when he signed, and at the same time, an additional force had appeared on his body.
However, this force was not aggressive, but rather like an invisible net, connecting him to something external.
"An automatic recording charm? I wonder if my magic being undetectable will work against this."
Dylan pondered for a moment, but didn't pay too much attention to it.
The Trace was a monitoring method used by the Ministry of Magic for underage wizards. Similar to a magical tracker, it reacted to magic performed by underage wizards and recorded it at the Ministry.
However, this magic could not directly identify the user of the magic, leading the Ministry to only be able to determine the time and location of the magic's use.
So Dylan felt that his magic concealment should still be effective.
Even if it was useless, it didn't matter. He didn't need to use magic when he went home, and using magic in a place where a group of wizards gathered wouldn't trigger the Trace anyway.
Even if he had to take ten thousand steps back, he could just spam the Unforgivable Curses or powerful dark magic when using magic.
Who would have thought a little wizard like him would use such spells?
"I heard from my family that the magic on this notification will expire when we turn seventeen. Before that, we can't use magic anywhere other than school and large gatherings of wizards."
After Ron signed his name, he also looked up at everyone.
Harry didn't care. "Anyway, as long as we can come back to school, that's fine."
Ron blinked, then nodded. "That's true."
The few of them chatted for a while longer.
After a while, Percy walked in.
"Everyone, let's go together. Mr. Hagrid is already waiting for us."
Hearing Percy's words, the little lions of Gryffindor also picked up their luggage and left the common room.
Everyone followed Percy out of Hogwarts and was immediately greeted by Hagrid.
Dylan stood in the crowd, his gaze meeting Hagrid's for a fleeting moment before they both looked away.
His mother had sent him a letter these past two days, roughly saying that she wanted him to come home for the summer vacation.
Dylan naturally told Hagrid this news.
Hagrid was very heartbroken after learning that he might not see Beta again during the summer vacation.
However, Dylan thoughtfully provided him with a mailing service.
—During the summer vacation, toys, food, etc., for Beta could be directly mailed to his home.
Hagrid was very happy about this.
—Although he couldn't see Beta, being able to let Beta feel his affection for it was also a good thing.
Hagrid led a group of young wizards to Hogsmeade Station and boarded the Hogwarts Express.
Before parting, Dylan sat by the train window and waved at Hagrid, indicating that he shouldn't forget to mail the things over.
—He would give Hagrid the specific address after returning home.
Sitting in the compartment, Dylan took out the coat he had beautified and modified from a spare wizard robe and put it on, changing out of his original wizard robe.
—The cold wind in the carriage was quite strong.
The wheels collided with the rails, making rhythmic sounds, and the scenery outside the window sped backward.
Initially, large areas of ancient forest were lush and leafy. Looking further into the distance, one could still glimpse the looming deep valleys.
As the train continued to move forward, these fantastical scenes gradually and quietly retreated.
Replacing them, what came into view were increasingly orderly towns.
There was plenty of time on the road, enough for Dylan to take the opportunity to read another half of a book.
Until the train stopped.
Dylan looked out the window at the platform, couldn't help but close his book, and then stretched out a big yawn.
"Home."
Carrying his few belongings—a backpack—after leaving the station, Dylan immediately spotted his parents waiting for him at the station entrance.
"Sweetheart—!"
Maeve rushed over excitedly upon seeing her son.
Hearing this familiar and affectionate voice, Dylan couldn't help but smile.
He looked at his approaching parents and quickly went to meet them.
Maeve reached Dylan, looked at her son, and her eyes instantly welled up. Her gaze was eager and gentle as she carefully looked Dylan up and down.
"My darling, you're finally back. Anyone who didn't know better would think you didn't want your mother anymore!"
Dylan's lips twitched.
He didn't know who it was who didn't let him come home for Christmas!
That was Christmas!
What was Christmas? For them, it was a holiday equivalent to the Spring Festival!
They didn't even let him come back then. Who didn't want whom?
Maeve didn't seem to have any intention of letting Dylan answer. She gently placed her hands on Dylan's shoulders, turned him left and right, and then raised her hand to touch Dylan's cheek.
"Let Mom take a good look. This little body... and the cute baby fat on your face is all gone? You've actually lost so much weight. Didn't you eat properly at school?"
"No, Mom, I just grew a bit taller, and the baby fat is long gone," Dylan said helplessly. "I usually eat a lot for all three meals."
Hubert also had a gentle smile on his face at this moment. Looking at his son, he couldn't help but pat Dylan's back. "I feel like you've grown taller again. At this rate, in a few years, you'll definitely be taller than me!"
Dylan smiled. "Even if I'm not, I'll use magic to grow taller."
Hubert was taken aback, then burst into laughter.
"Dad will buy you lots of nutritious food. Even without using that magical power, you'll definitely be able to grow taller on your own!"
Maeve stood up, just about to pick up the luggage Dylan had brought, but found that her son was only carrying a small backpack and nothing else. She couldn't help but blink.
"Sweetheart, didn't you bring your luggage?"
Dylan shook his head. "I did, but it's in my pocket."
Maeve and Hubert both turned their gazes to Dylan's pocket and stared at it for a good while.
Dylan had mentioned the magic of the enchanted pocket in his letters to them.
He had said that some kind of spell was cast on it, allowing a small pocket to have dozens, even hundreds or thousands of times more space inside.
However, this was the first time they had seen it with their own eyes.
"It feels just like an ordinary pocket."
Dylan smiled.
—Nonsense, it was an ordinary pocket.
He had the system's inventory, which could hold anything. Why bother with a space pocket?
Even if he got one, he would just put it in the inventory.
"Let's go home."
Unable to help his son carry luggage, Maeve took Dylan's hand and walked towards the parking lot outside the station.
The summer sun shone warmly, and a gentle breeze blew, carrying the unique scent of London.
The family of three chatted and laughed, and soon they arrived in front of a gleaming luxury car.
Dylan subconsciously raised an eyebrow.
Oh ho, a Bentley!
These two lovebirds were getting rich and knew how to enjoy good cars.
—However, why didn't they mention buying a car in the letters they usually sent him?
"That's not right, they usually don't send me letters," Dylan's face darkened.
Hubert looked at Dylan's expression, thinking he was surprised, chuckled, and had a somewhat smug look on his face.
"Son, how is it? Surprised?"
Dylan gave him a sideways glance and forced a smile. "It's quite surprising."
"Haha! I heard you say that the Bentley brand has a lot of potential, so I used some of the money I earned to invest in it."
"Although I became a very, very small shareholder, the company directly provided me with a car. We didn't spend a single penny!"
Hubert winked at Dylan. "Although it wasn't with your permission, this is the first time your old man made his own decision to invest, and it seems I didn't lose money!"
Dylan chuckled.
He hadn't actually told his dad to invest in Bentley—because he felt that they probably wouldn't look at his dad's small amount of money.
He didn't expect his dad to become a shareholder in Bentley without saying a word?
"Looks like you've made a lot of money under my guidance. And all I get is this little bit?"
Dylan narrowed his eyes.
He planned to take advantage of this summer vacation to help his dad check the accounts properly.
"Get in the car quickly, son! Let Dad take you for a good spin!"
Hubert opened the car door for his wife and son. After they got in, he went around to the driver's seat.
Dylan sat in the back seat, while his mother was in the passenger seat.
Looking at the smiles on his parents' faces, as if they had become ten years younger, he paused.
"Looks like having money really does make people more cheerful."
Curling his lip, Dylan shook his head inwardly. "Forget it, they're not young anymore, as long as they're happy."
His dad still had some skills.
Although he had basically been guiding his parents on how to invest this past year.
But he was also worried that his parents wouldn't grasp the right balance, leading to investing too much and losing everything.
So he had just told his parents to buy lottery tickets while also investing in some stable and profitable large companies, as well as some slightly risky small companies.
Now that his dad had achieved some success on his own based on his existing experience, it was indeed quite good.
(End of chapter)
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