Chapter 261 Medal and Dinner

Newt?

The moment Mike heard the name, he felt a special sense of familiarity, as if he had seen the name before.

"Is this our protagonist today? It's really thanks to you, otherwise it would be really difficult for me to see Dumbledore."

Newt was obviously a very nice old man, smiling and joking with Mike.

Mike couldn't even pronounce the other party's full name, so naturally he couldn't act too familiar, so he could only smile awkwardly.

Only then did Dumbledore react and introduced the two of them:

"Mike, this is Mr. Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And this, I believe you should already know, is Mike Townley."

"Oh, of course I know, the new generation leader of Ravenclaw." Newt looked at the exaggerated Ravenclaw symbol on Mike and joked, "I have to say, you are really well dressed today. Handsome."

Only then did Mike really remember who the old man in front of him was. A look of surprise appeared on his face. He held Newt's right hand with both hands and said excitedly:

"You're the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Oh my God, that's my favorite book!"

Mike's excitement was palpable, and what he said was all true. The book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" was indeed his favorite book, bar none.

This book records Newt's experience of traveling to various countries when he was young, and describes in detail various magical animals, including their appearance, living habits, special abilities, habitats, feeding methods, and things to be careful about.

Because the quality of this book is so outstanding, it was no surprise that it was selected as a Hogwarts textbook.

Although Mike did not take the Care of Magical Creatures class, he loved this book very much, and it is easy to understand why. Compared with other cumbersome and boring magic books, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" is obviously more interesting, especially since it has It is accompanied by many exquisite magic pictures, which makes little wizards more interested in reading.

Newt Scamander is also a legend. He has been fond of magical animals since he was a child. Later, after going to Hogwarts to study, he was sorted into Hufflepuff House by the Sorting Hat. Unfortunately, due to some accidents, he ended up in Hufflepuff House. Instead of graduating, he was expelled.

Dumbledore, who was not yet the headmaster at the time, tried his best to defend Newt, claiming that he was innocent, which allowed Newt to receive no additional punishment and retain the right to use the wand.

After being expelled, Newt began his journey, and during the journey he also helped Dumbledore defeat the then-first Dark Lord, Grindelwald.

But this was just the beginning of his legend. In 1947, he single-handedly founded the Werewolf Registry and made outstanding contributions to the work of improving the ravages of lycanthropy in the UK.

In 1965, he wrote the "Prohibition of Feeding for Experimental Purposes" decree, which was eventually reviewed and issued by the Ministry of Magic.

This move protects the survival of magical animals and effectively curbs the creation of new untameable animals in Britain.

The most outstanding achievement of his life is of course the writing of the series of books "Where Are the Artifact Animals", for which he was awarded the Second Class Order of Merlin.

Mike was obviously very happy to be able to meet such a legendary wizard. He talked to Newt selflessly without any concern for other people.

Perhaps because of the childless relationship, Newt obviously likes young people very much. He also showed great enthusiasm when talking to Mike. Dumbledore, who is standing next to him, is the strongest white wizard of this generation. There is no doubt that Newt likes young people very much. He became the most dazzling star in the entire venue, and almost everyone present wanted to say a few words to him.

This also made Dumbledore a little exhausted.

To be honest, he didn't like such an occasion. If Mike and Snape hadn't received the second-level medal this time, he wouldn't have come here to suffer.

During the conversation with Newt, Mike also noticed a medal on Newt's chest.

This is a beautiful gold medal with a purple ribbon around it, which looks extremely gorgeous.

"This is the second-level badge of Sir Merlin. You will also have it later." Newt noticed Mike's eyes and explained, "The only difference between the first to third-level medals is the ribbon."

Mike instinctively glanced at Dumbledore and found that the badge on his chest was matched with a green ribbon.

"You see, that is the Order of Merlin, First Class, the highest honor a wizard can receive." Newt said, "The first-class ribbon is green. Many people think that this color represents Merlin's status in Hogwarts." The house he is in is Slytherin. But this is obviously wrong, because there was no Hogwarts when Merlin was a child. Haha.

The second-level ribbon is purple (Newt pointed to his medal), while the third-level ribbon is white. "

Mike nodded. He really didn't know that much about the Order of Merlin.

Seeing that Mike was listening seriously, Newt was happy to explain and said:

"The Order of Merlin is awarded by the Wizengamot to recognize those who have made meritorious deeds. The Wizengamot has a much longer history than the Ministry of Magic. It existed long before the Ministry of Magic was established, and now, The role of Wizengamot in the Ministry of Magic is equivalent to the courts and parliament in Muggle society..."

As Newt's explanation gradually deepened, Mike also truly understood the true meaning of the Order of Merlin.

It turns out that each level of the Merlin Order has its own different meaning.

The Order of Merlin, First Class is used to reward those who "exhibited outstanding courage or performed outstanding deeds." The most famous recipient is Dumbledore, who received this Order of Merlin in the wizarding world for defeating the Dark Lord Grindelwald. the highest honor.

The Second Class Order of Merlin is used to reward those "extraordinary efforts and achievements." Just like Newt, who is explaining to him in front of him, the magical book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" he wrote is obviously an extraordinary achievement!

The Order of Merlin, Level 3 is awarded to those who have "contributed to our knowledge and entertainment." From this point of view, Lockhart, a best-selling author, is indeed worthy of his name.

But Newt also hinted something to Mike, such as there was some shady secret behind the awarding of medals.

Those who are favored by the Minister of Magic, especially those from the upper class, always seem to be awarded the Order of Merlin unexpectedly.

And this isn’t even the real deal.

The most powerful evidence of the shady nature of the medal is that Fudge actually awarded himself the Order of Merlin, First Class!

This incident made almost everyone angry. Everyone thought that Fudge's career achievements were far from outstanding.

Others less deserving of the medal include Sirius's grandfather, Attalus Black, whose medal was believed to have been purchased.

Newt's tone was a little sour when he said these words, which is not surprising, because to be honest with his achievements, he fully deserves a first-level medal, but now he only received a second-level medal.

However, Mike felt a little embarrassed, because in fact he was one of those "hypocrites who did not deserve the name" in Newt's mouth, and his medal was technically bought.

Since this investiture ceremony was in the form of a free banquet, compared to the investiture ceremony, this banquet was more like a gathering of members of the Sir Merlin Order. Everyone talked and laughed freely, completely integrating tonight's protagonists, Mike and Si Nepe's presence was weakened.

However, Mike, who may be the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin Level 2 in history, has obviously aroused the interest of many people, especially the exaggerated Ravenclaw mark on his body, which has won many Ravenclaws. Good impression.

So there were not many people coming to greet him.

Snape was miserable in comparison. Almost no one went to talk to him. Mike even felt that everyone was avoiding him intentionally or unintentionally.

So Snape could only huddle in a corner and drink wine, looking a little sad.

This is not surprising, Snape was once a notorious Death Eater, and there was a natural class opposition to these people here.

To be honest, this time Fudge gave Snape the Order of Merlin Level 2, which must have caused dissatisfaction among many people. It was lucky that these people did not cause trouble to Snape in public today.

As time passed, the banquet finally reached its climax.

Under the illumination of a bunch of lights, Fudge, who had changed into a fancy dress, appeared on the podium amidst the applause of the crowd. On his chest, a First Class Medal of the Order of Merlin with a green ribbon was displayed. sparkling with light.

Behind him, two white women in waiters' costumes were holding two wooden trays, and the trays contained the Order of Merlin, Second Class.

Mike in the crowd was a little overwhelmed. Newt gave him a kind push and motioned for him to go to the stage to receive the award.

Mike smiled and walked onto the stage under the kind eyes of everyone around him.

Of course, Snape didn't remind him. In fact, a vacuum magically appeared around him. Obviously, no one wanted to stay with him.

So he could only come to the stage alone.

After the two of them stood still, Fudge spread his hands and pointed at the two of them respectively and said to everyone in the audience:

"Today, we welcome two new members! Mike Townley! This young Ravenclaw has the eyes of an eagle. He keenly discovered the mistakes of old Barty and saved the last dignity of the Black family. ! Therefore, after discussion, the Wizengamot Council believes that he is worthy of this second-level medal of the Order of Merlin!"

Perhaps because everyone here is a powerful being, Fudge's speech was crisp and concise, not at all like his usual procrastination.

After he finished speaking, he took out a second-level medal from the wooden tray in the hand of a waiter behind him, and solemnly put it on Mike's right chest.

The golden medal echoed the Ravenclaw emblem on his left chest, and he was greeted with warm cheers and applause.

After conferring honors on Mike, Fudge turned his attention to Snape.

"Next is the famous potions master, Severus Snape!" Fudge said, "Mr. Snape has been working hard on potions all his life, which has also made him achieve outstanding achievements. Achievements! Not only did he improve a variety of commonly used potion formulas, including hemorrhoid potions, he even restored the long-lost Dragon Cry potion! (a potion that allows you to communicate with fire dragons after drinking)

therefore! After discussion, the Wizengamot Council decided to award him the Order of Merlin, Second Class! "

After hearing this, Mike realized that the reason why Snape won the award was not because he also participated in Black's capture.

Originally, because the two of them won the award at the same time, I thought that the reasons for their awards should be the same, but now it seems that compared with Snape's achievements, my own medal is more worthy.

Snape's awarding process was exactly the same as Mike's, but after Fudge gave him the medal, very few people applauded him in the audience. It seemed that everyone deliberately ignored his existence.

But Snape obviously didn't care about the reactions of these people. He stiffly bent his neck towards everyone in the audience, indicating that he had finished bowing, and then stood behind Fudge like a puppet.

Snape didn't care about Fudge, and he obviously didn't care either. He spoke enthusiastically about the contribution of their Order of Merlin to the world.

Finally, he, Mike and Snape bowed vigorously to everyone in the audience and said:

"Magic is glory!"

Everyone in the audience was also aroused and returned the favor one after another, shouting the slogan "Magic is Glory".

At this point, the entire award ceremony is over.

After receiving the blessings of everyone who came to watch the ceremony, Mike and others returned to Hogwarts.

And here, there is still a banquet waiting for them.

Different from the usual banquets, the initiators of this banquet were not the professors of Hogwarts, but the classmates of Hogwarts.

Compared to the serious and serious dinner at the Ministry of Magic, Mike obviously liked this celebration among classmates more.

As soon as he entered Hogwarts, he took a long breath and followed Dumbledore into the auditorium with a smile on his face.

As soon as they appeared in the auditorium, there were deafening cheers. Everyone was applauding Mike and Snape desperately, even Slytherin, who was usually the coldest, was no exception.

Snape's feelings must be similar to Mike's. He saw that the students who usually looked like quails in front of him were now applauding him enthusiastically, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

This smile only appeared for a moment, but it was noticed by the Slytherin students.

As a result, they clapped even more enthusiastically, especially Malfoy, who waved his newly untied hands, hoping to make his godfather Snape see him.

The protagonists of this dinner were undoubtedly Snape and Mike. Dumbledore had no intention of overshadowing the guests and sat down in his seat after saying a few words.

And this also made everyone present have more fun.

Now that their exams have ended, and the results have not been announced, everyone has fallen into a short and crazy joy, and can put aside all the enthusiasm and carnival in the outside world.