A/N: Thanks to Indianpipe, (I don't know if this will turn out to be mega-long but I have decided to continue it,) Kail Ceannai, sallene, Magic and Sparkle, AnavaraAna, Hana1, Lady Aegis, Duj, (You keep me on my toes! I made some changes regarding where he was coming from, but it didn't work the way I wanted if he noticed that she had been crying first.) droxy, Verity Brown, (don't forget he's a leglimens!) Natsuyori, azulkan2, AMRA1, Pathatlon, and magicalwonder.

Points and Ponderings

Green and silver banners fluttered from the charmed ceiling as the students filed in for their last meal in the Great Hall before climbing on the train headed home. Professor Snape watched as his Slytherins strutted in, their chests puffed out with the knowledge that they had once again secured the House Cup for themselves. With almost as much satisfaction, he noticed the slouched shoulders and slow steps of the Gryffindors.

There had been so many whispers at the beginning of the year, now that they had Potter surely this would be their year, but even the hero of the Wizarding world couldn't win them the coveted cup. Some, he knew, tried to compensate for the loss with the knowledge that he had once again saved them. If they couldn't have the cup then they could at least boast that they had a hero among them.

Most of the school knew that the-boy-who-lived had spent the last several days in the infirmary, after defeating Voldemort for the second time in his young life. Most however did not know, and probably didn't care, about the roles his two friends had played. Snape had heard rumors flying around his classroom and in the hallways about the great Harry Potter who had ridden his broom through underground tunnels miles beneath the castle to save the Philosopher's Stone from Quirrel.

He watched with disgust as Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley entered in the wake of the new school hero. No one called out to either of them Congratulations or a Job Well Done. Somehow the fact that Ronald Weasley had sacrificed himself in an impressive game of wizard's chess had been forgotten. And certainly no one cared that the bushy haired know it all had solved in mere minutes the logic puzzle that it had taken him over a month to concoct; just as no one had ever acknowledged his own role. He repressed a wave of admiration for the girl's intellect; he was certain she would become even more unbearable in class if he showed her any praise or approval.

But he briefly wondered if Miss Granger felt the sting of jealousy as tributes were paid to her 'friend.' Or the burning stab of resentment when he failed to include her in the spotlight. Did she wonder why she still helped him when in the end it seemed to earn her nothing, not even a pat on the back? He had received his meager thanks in private, the understanding of course, that his true loyalties could not be revealed. But in his opinion a young and insecure witch like her deserved better than second-hand fame.

Turning his attention to the headmaster, his stomach dropped and the small smile that had played on his lips when Dumbledore announced the house points disappeared as Snape realized what the old man was doing. The House Cup was stripped away from him as the cheers from the Gryffindor table grew louder. Fifty points each to Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Ronald Weasley, sixty for Potter, and another ten to Neville Longbottom, who apparently had more of a backbone than he had previously shown in Potions class. He watched as Weasley and Granger received the applause and accolades he had just thought they might have been missing.

He pushed away all thoughts of sympathy for the girl out of his mind as he watched her smile modestly at the enthusiastic cheers of her classmates. He had nothing in common with a mudbood Gryffindor and friend of Potter.