Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 112 Celebration Dinner
Mike and Penelope walked into the auditorium together. At this time, the auditorium was already crowded with people. The young wizards who had been suppressed for a long time were venting their pent-up emotions in the past few days.

In addition to the long tables for the four major colleges, there was another long table in the hall, which was prepared for the Aurors. At Dumbledore's enthusiastic request, these Aurors decided to stay in Hogwarts for dinner before leaving.

Abbott, who was sitting at the long table, had been keeping an eye on the door. When he saw Mike and Penelope finally appear, he quickly stood up and waved to Mike, motioning him to sit next to him.

Mike also noticed Abbott, and calmly brought Penelope to sit next to Abbott.

Abbott was not the only one who noticed the arrival of Mike and the others, Harry and Ron also noticed it.

"Look, it's Mike! He came with senior Penelope, and it looks like they are a couple." Harry said excitedly, pulling Ron aside.

Ron was holding a roast chicken and eating it, but Harry suddenly pulled him, and the chicken in his hand almost slipped out of his hand. He finally managed to hold the chicken steady again, and said with a bitter face, "That's too bad."

"What are you talking about? Mike is our friend!" Harry said angrily, "Not only is he very capable, he is also helpful. You know how he helped that Hufflepuff before. If you ask me, he and Penelope are a perfect match."

As soon as Harry said this, Ron quickly covered Harry's mouth with his greasy hand, and with his other hand, he put his index finger in front of his mouth, made a silencing gesture and said, "Shh! Keep your voice down, don't let Percy hear. I don't mean to say that Mike and Penelope are not a good match, it's just that Percy is also pursuing Penelope, and I just feel sorry for Percy. Although he always looks hypocritical, he is still my brother after all, so you understand."

As he was talking, Ron secretly glanced at Percy, who was sitting not far from them. Seeing that Percy was eating steak with a knife and fork, and there was nothing unusual, he breathed a sigh of relief and let go of his greasy hands that were covering Harry.

But what Ron didn't notice was that Percy's hands, which were holding the knife and fork, had begun to turn white from excessive force. It was obvious that he was not as calm as he appeared to be.

Back to Mike, Abbott seemed a little surprised that Mike brought Penelope with him, but he quickly concealed it and continued talking to Mike and Penelope with a smile.

Abbott, who had received very strict interpersonal communication training, was obviously a very good wingman. During the conversation, he kept bragging about Mike's role in the battle against the Basilisk, but he didn't exaggerate as much as Ron. After the story was told, there was obviously a bit more admiration in Penelope's eyes when she looked at Mike.

When Penelope went to the bathroom, Abbott whispered to Mike, "I didn't expect you to be with Penelope. I really underestimated you. Merlin, you are only 12 years old."

Mike smiled shyly at Abbott, without explaining anything, and continued to eat the steak on the plate. I don't know if it was because he had been eating bread for too long or because the house-elves in the Hogwarts kitchen had great cooking skills, but the food at this banquet was very delicious.

Abbott saw that Mike didn't answer and knew that Mike didn't want to talk about this topic any more, so he said, "Let's get down to business. My father is here this time too. You weren't here when he was speaking on the stage just now, and he came to see you. You have to come with me to meet him after the banquet is over."

This time Mike finally put down the knife and fork in his hand and asked puzzledly: "Your father, why is he here?"

"Please! His son almost died this time. As a father, he must come to see me." Abbott said with an exaggerated expression, "In addition, he is here to commend the team members of this snake removal operation. This operation went very smoothly. It took only one day to eliminate the basilisk. The Ministry of Magic is very satisfied."

Mike understood what he said. Uncle Mario might have come to him to thank him specifically. As for rewarding the Auror team, it was probably just a coincidence. He looked up at the teacher's table on the stage. The enthusiastic Uncle Mario was indeed there, talking happily with Professor Flitwick.

At this time, Penelope also walked into the auditorium. Looking at Penelope who was gradually approaching, Mike nodded secretly to Abbott, indicating that he understood. Abbott also noticed Penelope, and seeing Mike nod, a smile appeared on his face again, and he began a new round of wingman career.

Time passed quickly during the humorous conversation between Abbott and the microphone, and soon the food on the table became the final dessert, which also meant that the dinner was coming to an end.

Dumbledore walked to the podium and tapped a golden cup with a spoon, making a crisp sound. The young wizards were attracted by the sound, stopped what they were doing, and looked at the podium.

"At the end of the dinner, I still have something to say to everyone. Please tolerate the nagging of an old man like me." Dumbledore said when everyone quieted down, "Not long ago, we went through a difficult period. But fortunately, you are all good children. Even in the face of life-threatening situations, you still have full confidence in Hogwarts. Thanks to everyone's unity, we finally won the final victory!"

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, the entire hall burst into deafening applause.

Dumbledore held up his hands and motioned for everyone to be quiet. When the scene quieted down, he continued, "Today, the first people I want to thank are the three temporary management team members who died heroically. They are Baker and Joshier from Gryffindor and Richard from Ravenclaw.

In order to commend their contributions to Hogwarts, after discussion with the professors, I unanimously decided to award them the Hogwarts Special Contribution Award, and at the same time add 100 points to each of them!
In addition, Mr. Mike Townley from Ravenclaw performed very well in this snake removal operation. I would like to give Mr. Townley 100 points! Now, I declare that the dinner is officially over.

Amidst warm applause, the students in the auditorium began to leave the hall under the leadership of their class leaders. The young wizards were obviously very satisfied with the banquet, and they all burped with their bulging stomachs.

After sending Penelope back first, Mike and Abbott went to an office next to the auditorium.

"Mike! I'm finally here." Uncle Mario gave Mike a warm hug. "Thank you so much for this time. If something happened to Abbott, I really don't know what I would do."

"It's just a small favor, Uncle Mario. I am friends with Abbott, and I can't just watch him die in Shekou."

"You're right, I was being polite." Uncle Mario touched the corner of his eye and said, "Don't worry, from now on you are the best friend of our Free family. No matter what difficulties you encounter, we will do our best to help you."

Uncle Mario's words were very similar to Abbot's, and they were indeed father and son. But he was still much more sophisticated than Abbot, and made a clear promise to Mike to prevent Mike from being dissatisfied with them.

Mike did not continue to give in and thanked Uncle Mario. Giving in once is a virtue, but giving in all the time is just showing off.

Seeing that Mike had no intention of continuing to give in, Uncle Mario was obviously relieved. He changed the subject and began to praise Mike's performance in this operation.

It was not until Mike started yawning that Uncle Mario took Abbott to say goodbye to Mike.

(End of this chapter)