The fifth palace in Tom's mind flared with brilliant light.
His mood was excellent. He did not even mind being turned into a prop for Fudge's political show, cooperating smoothly through the long and tedious award ceremony.
The system prompt followed shortly after.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the highest domestic honor medal.
Reward: 1,000 achievement points, 5,000 academic credits.
This award can be obtained repeatedly. Rewards will be halved each subsequent time.]
What the hell.
This is a repeatable task?
Tom's smile, frozen in place for the photo with Fudge, grew even brighter, this time carrying a trace of genuine joy.
Even if the reward halved each time, this was still a stable source of achievement points.
"Although it may be a little early, I still want to say this. After you graduate, come to the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry needs talents like you. I do too."
After the ceremony, Fudge patted Tom's shoulder, his tone full of appreciation.
Tom smiled and nodded. "If there's a chance, I'll go to the Ministry."
Leaving aside what he would actually do there, the idea that Fudge could last until Tom's graduation was already impossible.
After Fudge and his entourage left, the students finally began to recover from the shock.
Although the newspapers had mentioned before that Tom might receive a First Class Order of Merlin, the long delay had caused most students to gradually forget about it.
A twelve-year-old First Class Order of Merlin recipient felt like still struggling with basic incantations, only to suddenly find a Nobel Prize winner sitting next to you.
How could the gap between people be bigger than the gap between humans and goblins?
Dumbledore, however, did not give them much time to digest it. Fudge's long-winded ceremony had eaten up too much time, and there were still many things left to announce.
"Thank you to Mr. Riddle for bringing unprecedented honor to Hogwarts. He is the youngest recipient in history. For this, I will award five hundred points to Slytherin."
"And the winner of this year's House Cup is obvious. Congratulations to Slytherin, claiming the House Cup for the eighth consecutive year!"
The matter of Peter Pettigrew had not yet been fully resolved, and Fudge had requested confidentiality to avoid alerting Crouch.
So this was the only way Dumbledore could add points for Tom.
The students did not react much. With or without the extra five hundred points, the outcome would not change. They offered polite applause. Even Slytherin themselves were not particularly excited. They had won too many times already and were long used to it.
When the applause died down, Dumbledore's expression grew heavy.
"There are two pieces of unfortunate news I must inform you of."
"Professor Wilkinson has resigned from the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts due to personal reasons. I can only respect his decision and wish him lifelong happiness."
"Additionally, Professor Charity Burbage has resigned from the post of Muggle Studies. She believes she needs to gain a deeper understanding of modern Muggle society. In other words, tomorrow Hogwarts will welcome two new professors…"
Many students wore strange expressions.
Professor Burbage seemed to have changed after being sharply confronted by Wilkinson. She had been admitted to St Mungo's for a period, and after returning, she became noticeably withdrawn.
Had the curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts position spread to other posts?
Professor Wilkinson had looked harmless, yet he turned out to be a professor killer, taking two down with him.
Terrifying.
"The final announcement will be made by Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore said, yielding the floor.
Professor McGonagall stood up without any preamble and went straight to the point.
"Starting next academic year, Hogwarts will be reforming its examination system."
"The detailed changes will be announced when the new term begins. Today, I will say only one thing."
"After the new school year starts, there will be an immediate placement test. The exam scope will cover all content from this academic year."
"You're joking, right? Does that mean we have to study during the holidays?" George jumped up, shouting.
"Mr. Weasley."
McGonagall's severe gaze forced George back into his seat.
"Do you intend to arrive next term with an empty head and face the more demanding curriculum and the world's most elite student exchange?"
"I love this school deeply, and I believe you do as well."
She swept her gaze across the hall.
"If that is the case, then you must realize that aside from a small number of outstanding students, most of you still have significant shortcomings. Two precious months should not be wasted. Even during the holidays."
Everyone understood the logic, but…
Aside from Hermione, not a single student looked happy.
Including Tom.
McGonagall had taken his suggestion and pushed it to the extreme. A placement test right at the start of term.
Who was this vicious?
This was absolutely vicious.
Achoo.
Snape sneezed at the most inappropriate moment, breaking the silence.
"Enjoy your holidays, but do not forget your identity as students. That will be all for today."
The students filed out dejectedly to pack their things.
One group was an exception.
The seventh-year graduates.
They laughed gleefully, offering silent condolences to the underclassmen for the miserable days ahead.
Tom asked Daphne to help deal with the classmates who would surely come to congratulate him. Halfway through, he cast a Disillusionment Charm and slipped out of the castle.
He had no idea what kind of reaction the Merlin Talent reward might cause. The Forbidden Forest was safer.
Once he reached the unicorn territory, Tom released Usagi to stand guard, preventing magical creatures from disturbing him. Only then did he touch the palace and claim the reward.
A golden stream of light shot out from the palace, shifting from intangible to tangible, flowing through his entire body in an instant.
Tom shuddered, then quickly returned to normal.
In the next moment, the world changed before his eyes.
The pitch-black night sky brightened slightly. Looking into the distance, the forest seemed filled with countless clusters of multicolored light.
The largest one hovered directly above his head.
It was Usagi.
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