Harry Potter: Glory Bows to Me

They were escorted all the way back to the castle.

Passing through the main building's high corridors and marble steps, under the watchful eyes of countless people, I returned to the entrance of the secret passage in front of the Slytherin common room.

"Let's go in! Let's go in and celebrate!"

"We have prepared special cookies and pumpkin juice for you!"

"Sing the school song! Change it to the Slytherin tune!"

When the stone door to the common room opened, a wave of heat rushed out – the fervor of Slytherin.

The fireplace was burning brightly, and the firelight reflected on the emerald green velvet curtains.

Before Amanta could even step inside, she was surrounded by a group of lower-year Slytherin students.

"Senior Amanta! You're amazing!"

"You are truly an honor to our college!"

"I want to join the SO group in the future!"

Behind her, Harry and Draco were also caught in a similar frenzy. Someone grabbed Harry's arm and bombarded him with questions, while someone else handed Draco a glass of pumpkin juice that had been secretly flavored by someone.

Even the usually arrogant Draco couldn't muster his usual haughty demeanor.

He simply tilted his head back and drank the strongly flavored pumpkin juice, then was surrounded by his juniors and led to the sofa in the rest area, like a prince being lifted high.

And Amanta... she stood in front of the fireplace, being pushed around, hearing countless times the words "That's great," "You are the real champions," "We were so ignorant before," and "You have always been very good."

The long, dizzying celebration was finally interrupted when prefect Grell stepped in to maintain order, shouting, "Those who should go back to their dorms, go back to your dorms! We're still in the competition! The school rules still apply!"

Amanta finally came to her senses.

When she turned her head, she saw Julius standing by the bookshelf, his slender figure hidden in the green light and shadow, and he was looking at her too.

*

The auditorium the following morning.

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass, casting a warm glow on the Great Hall's long table. The air was filled with the aroma of toast, bacon, and honey pumpkin juice; Hogwarts was unusually lively today.

The Slytherin table was crowded with people.

The usually aloof and arrogant Green Silver faction was now surrounded by students from all directions who came to congratulate them.

Several third-year Hufflepuff girls blushed as they brought homemade green ribbons to Draco and Harry, while the Ravenclaw students nodded to Amanta, their eyes showing a hint of respect for the first time.

Even at the Gryffindor long table, younger students were watching them from afar, whispering among themselves, and some even boldly waved.

“This is outrageous,” Draco muttered under his breath, stirring his oatmeal with a spoon. “Yesterday they were calling us the heirs of the Death Eaters, and today they’re all swarming to curry favor?”

“That’s the power of victory.” Julius elegantly cut a piece of bacon, slowly put it into his mouth, a faint smile playing on his lips. “They don’t care who you are, they only care who won.”

Harry put down the pumpkin juice, smiled at the person opposite him, and said, "Seriously, I'm starting to understand why you enjoy being in the center of the stage so much."

“You don’t understand it deeply enough,” Julius said calmly, but his eyes were somewhat profound. “Standing in the center is just the beginning. The next step is how not to be dragged down by the ignorant masses.”

"Can't you shut up for a minute?" Draco shoved the jam jar next to him, his tone unfriendly.

Amanta sat between them, munching on a piece of toast, with Neville laughing loudly in her ears.

"Let me tell you, I almost cried last night! The moment you came out of the water, I thought I was hallucinating!" He waved his knife and fork. "It was only a dozen minutes! I hadn't even decided what to have for lunch and you were already done!"

“Yeah, I was betting on you guys for at least half an hour.” Cedric walked over, his expression teasing. “But you guys showed me the start and ended the match. That was ruthless.”

"Are you praising us or insulting us?" Harry replied with a laugh.

Hermione finally peeked out from the crowd, panting as she squeezed in, a smile playing on her lips: "We even went to the library to check the records of that competition from a hundred years ago. You broke the record for the fastest completion time, by a full five minutes."

“Yesterday when you came out of the Black Lake, the whole school was stunned.” Luna stood not far away, holding a notebook that looked like it was covered with feathers and sequins, and winked at them. “I wrote a poem and drew a picture of you turning into seals to save people.”

“I didn’t turn into a seal,” Harry said, half-laughing, half-crying. “I used a spell—”

“But you should try it, it really suits you,” Luna said earnestly.

Just as everyone was surrounded by laughter and triumph, a sharp, buzzing sound came from the doorway:

"Ah, here it is! Could the four heroes of Hogwarts share some inside information with the loyal readers of the Daily Prophet?"

Rita Skeeter walked into the hall in high heels, with a beeping camera floating in mid-air behind her, and her gleaming golden automatic quill pen hovering eagerly above the parchment.

The air suddenly became quiet.

"And how did you get in?" Hermione stood up almost immediately, her brow furrowed.

“Darling, I’m an official reporter invited to participate in the Triwizard Tournament.” Rita smiled, but her gaze swept sharply toward Slytherin. “Especially when Hogwarts has produced such an amazing performance, a reporter’s duty is to uncover the truth.”

She approached and stared at Amanta. "Regarding your participation in the competition as a hostage this time, do you have any particular thoughts? For example... did the mermaid treat you exceptionally well? Did she know the location and process in advance?"

"Shut up," Draco said coldly, leaning forward.

“You need evidence to back up your claims,” Julius said lazily, glancing over. “Or you could learn some law.”

"Don't get excited, Mr. Hoffman, I just want to reveal the truth—" Rita changed the subject, looking at Harry, "For example, our dear Mr. Harry Potter, in the mission, not only rescued the hostages, but also incidentally completed Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' mission. Do you want to take all the credit for yourself?"

Harry's face flushed red. "I just... saw that no one else was going to help them, and I was worried about their safety, so I helped them out."

"By the way?" Rita immediately jotted it down. "Harry Potter admits to interfering in another school's mission without authorization; the Hogwarts Four allegedly manipulated the Black Lake tournament, raising questions about whether it was an inside job..."

"What nonsense are you writing!" Hermione slammed her hand on the table in anger. "Stop right now!"

Students from other colleges nearby also turned to look, whispering amongst themselves.

The situation suddenly became delicate. The excitement of the celebration had not yet dissipated, but the sudden appearance of the reporter caused a sense of unease.

Amanta put down the toast and turned her gaze to Rita.

“You can write whatever you want.” Her tone was calm but cold. “But if it’s untrue, I will take you to the Ministry of Magic to file a lawsuit. As a student, I have plenty of time.”

Rita was taken aback, her smile froze, and she took a half step back the next second.

"Of course not." She chuckled dryly. "Miss Merlin, you've misunderstood. I'm just being overly sensitive in my profession."

“I can put you in an anonymous complaint against you with evidence,” Hermione retorted. “Want to test my guts?”

The scene became extremely tense.

Professor McGonagall arrived and stopped the situation.

“Ms. Skeeter,” she approached with an unfriendly tone, “please leave the Great Hall of Hogwarts. You have seriously disrupted the students’ order.”

Rita snorted and turned to leave, but before she left, she didn't forget to say, "Thank you for your cooperation. The Daily Prophet will definitely 'report the truth'."

She emphasized the truthfulness in her tone.

After she left, the atmosphere became tense. After a long pause, Luna softly said, "I could draw her as a spotted ladybug... Do you think that would suit you?"

Everyone laughed, and the tense atmosphere eased slightly.

“Never mind her.” Harry patted Amanta on the shoulder and whispered, “We won, that’s what people will remember.”

Amanta looked at him with a calm gaze, but a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips.

"Well, you did a great job."