News of Oren spread quickly throughout the wizarding world.
The Daily Prophet portrayed him as a deranged dark wizard, dedicating an entire page to his wanted notice.
The remaining pages lauded the Ministry of Magic's heroic rescue of two students during the operation — though few bothered to read these articles.
Many parents wrote to the school demanding an early holiday.
They weren't comfortable letting their children stay at Hogwarts, fearing Oren might still be hiding in the Forbidden Forest.
Dumbledore agreed, allowing students to return home early on that day's Hogwarts Express. Report cards would be delivered by owl in the following days.
In just one day, Hogwarts lost a third of its students, leaving the castle feeling empty.
However, Kyle didn't leave, and neither did Cedric and the others.
Chris arrived at Hogwarts looking travel-worn, and only breathed a sigh of relief after thoroughly checking his son several times.
He then took Kyle to an empty classroom and said sternly, "Didn't I tell you not to get involved in this matter?"
"It was an accident." Kyle replied obediently, "I'll be more careful next time."
Clearly unsatisfied with his response, Chris lectured him at length.
Throughout the lecture, Kyle didn't try to defend himself, simply nodding with an exemplary attitude of accepting his mistake.
As they were leaving the classroom, they encountered Newt, who had just left Dumbledore's office. Chris asked if Newt wanted to return together.
Kyle declined, saying he wanted to take the train back with his friends. After some consideration, his father didn't press the matter.
To Kyle's surprise, Diana appeared the next day.
Unlike his father, she went first to the Forbidden Forest, then proceeded directly to the headmaster's office on the eighth floor.
What happened next remained a mystery, but during this time, students began noticing unfamiliar faces in the castle corridor portraits — faces claiming to be former Hogwarts headmasters.
The gargoyle that usually guarded the eighth floor had vanished.
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Kyle didn't know when his mother left.
That evening, he and Cedric attended the end-of-year feast together. The Great Hall was split in two — green and silver decorations for Slytherin on the left, yellow and black for Hufflepuff on the right.
Notably, Oren's house points from the Forbidden Forest incident had been counted. Combined with the Quidditch Championship, Hufflepuff's points matched Slytherin's exactly, resulting in a tie for first place.
The two sat at the Hufflepuff table, where Kyle noticed Kanna's continued absence.
When Dumbledore arrived shortly after, Kyle couldn't help but notice his nose appeared more crooked than usual.
The hall's chatter gradually died down.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, "Before you dive into our delicious feast, I must trouble you to listen to an old man's ramblings.
Despite some minor incidents near the end, it has undeniably been an excellent year, and your minds are certainly fuller than they were... You have the whole summer ahead to sort everything out and make room before next term begins...
Now, let us proceed with the House Cup ceremony. The points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor with one hundred and one points; in third place, Ravenclaw with three hundred and thirty-two points; Slytherin with four hundred and ninety-seven points; and Hufflepuff with four hundred and ninety-seven points."
The expected cheers didn't come. Hufflepuff and Slytherin students glared at each other, both dissatisfied with the tie.
After all, there was only one House Cup — it couldn't be given to two houses at once!
The other two houses' students quietly watched the drama unfold.
"Yes, both houses performed admirably." Dumbledore said, clearing his throat, "However, recent events must be taken into account. Mr. Kyle Chopper..."
All eyes turned to Kyle.
"Not only did he save a first-year student in the Forbidden Forest, but he also discovered a dark wizard hiding in the school, demonstrating tremendous courage and exceptional bravery.
For this, I award him the Special Award for Services to the School, and award Hufflepuff two hundred points!"
Although there were far fewer students at the feast than usual, the cheers were deafening — anyone standing outside the Great Hall might have thought an explosion had occurred.
There was no need to calculate the points anymore — Hufflepuff had successfully prevented Slytherin's sixth consecutive win and claimed the House Cup!
And most importantly, there was that Special Award for Services to the School.
Fred and George excitedly stood on their benches, shouting to Kyle, "Don't worry, Kyle! Next time we're in detention, we'll make sure your trophy is cleaned extra thoroughly!"
"Even cleaner than the others..."
Professor McGonagall gave them a cold look, her exhaustion evident.
"This means..." Dumbledore announced, "We need to make some small changes to our decorations."
He clapped his hands, and instantly the green hangings transformed to yellow, the silver became black, and a magnificent banner bearing the Hufflepuff badger materialized on the wall behind the High Table.
Snape shook hands with Professor Sprout, his face serene and his characteristic smile perfectly natural, betraying not a hint of displeasure.
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Before leaving school, the exam results were released. Kyle achieved the highest marks of his year with an outstanding score.
Looking at Kyle's report card, Cedric exclaimed in amazement, "By Merlin, your scores are far better than mine last year! And only one point shy of perfect marks — what a shame..."
Kyle felt a twinge of regret.
During the exam, his enthusiasm had led him to list thirteen uses for dragon's blood instead of twelve, costing him that single point. The professors, it seemed, didn't share his view that dragon's blood could be used as a cooking ingredient.
Apart from this tiny misstep, he earned perfect scores in all subjects, including potions.
Snape awarded him full marks for his Boil-Cure potion — a distinction rarely granted even to Slytherin students.
With Kanna securing second place in their year and Cedric leading second year, Hufflepuff had truly distinguished itself. Professor Sprout had taken to wandering the castle, leaving her beloved greenhouses behind to share her house's achievements with the other professors.
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