The atmosphere at the feast was lively.
Except for the Slytherin table, the young wizards were eagerly introducing themselves and getting to know one another.
At the Slytherin table, most of the students proudly introduced their family backgrounds, creating an atmosphere that felt almost like a gathering of young aristocrats.
Will had just exchanged names with a few people around him when a nuisance quickly appeared.
“Well, well, well. Behrens, I don’t seem to have heard of this family. Am I simply too ignorant?”
The boy sitting near Will had a large belly and spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
Will remembered that the boy had introduced himself as Ivan Selwyn.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the Selwyn family was one of the less prominent families among the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
So this guy wants to use me as a stepping stone?
“I come from the Muggle world,” Will said lightly, as though he were unaware of what Slytherin represented.
“Then you should feel honored to be in Slytherin. Perhaps you could open a shoe-shining business in the common room. That way, you might be able to live comfortably at Hogwarts. Hahaha!”
Ivan Selwyn laughed like a stereotypical villain.
“Selwyn, shut up,” Sylvia said coldly.
“Oh, oh, oh. Since when does someone from the Lestrange family defend a Muggle boy? Did someone give you a love potion?”
The Slytherin sitting beside Ivan immediately joined in.
This was Obern Nott, a member of the Nott family.
Will rubbed his forehead.
See?
This is exactly why I didn’t want to be in Slytherin.
He didn’t want to waste his time dealing with Slytherin’s idiots.
“If all you can do is show off with your useless tongues, I don’t mind giving both of you Tongue-Tying Curses. If you have a problem with me, feel free to find me after the feast. Don’t spit into other people’s bowls at the dinner table like two noisy, rutting wild ducks.”
Will’s words caused the students around them to instinctively step back.
“What did you say?”
“If your ears aren’t working properly, you can go to St. Mungo’s. I’m too lazy to repeat myself.”
Will focused his attention on his steak.
Ivan’s fat face turned crimson.
He glanced toward the professors’ table, snorted, and turned away without saying anything else.
The surrounding students also distanced themselves from Will, clearly unwilling to offend Ivan Selwyn.
Only Sylvia frowned slightly before leaning closer to Will and whispering, “You being in Slytherin is clearly the wrong choice.”
“I never intended to come here. That broken hat made the decision itself. I wanted to go to Hufflepuff.”
“All right. Whatever happens, you can come find me.”
“Find you?”
Will looked at her in confusion.
This Lestrange girl seemed a little too interested in him, which felt strange.
Noticing his confusion, Sylvia blinked.
“You remind me of someone. As for the details, I’ll tell you later.”
Will was surprised.
Riddle masters really are everywhere.
The feast eventually ended, and the prefects led the new students back to their respective common rooms.
Will was already beginning to suspect that living in the Slytherin dormitories for too long might give him rheumatism.
After a long descent, they finally arrived in front of a stone wall.
“The password is ‘Glory’!” the prefect announced loudly.
“You must remember it, or you’ll have to spend the night outside. Of course, if anyone forgets the glory of Slytherin, they might as well forget about staying here.”
The serpentine pattern on the floor slid upward, forming an arched doorway shaped like a snake.
The stone wall automatically parted, and the students continued down another staircase, with enormous snakes carved into both sides.
The Slytherin common room finally appeared before them.
Numerous lanterns illuminated the room, while a huge, intricately carved fireplace roared with flames.
The warmth made the entire common room dry and comfortable, and Will finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The surrounding walls were made of black Gothic marble, while the ceiling was a transparent crystal dome that was currently pitch-black.
Green-glowing lamps hung from chains overhead, adding a distinctly gloomy atmosphere to the underground common room.
Standing in the darkness deep beneath the castle, Will felt somewhat helpless.
That damn Sorting Hat.
At least there was one advantage.
Slytherin students seemed to have double rooms, perhaps because there was more space underground, or simply because there were fewer Slytherin students.
The dormitory itself was spacious, and Will’s trunk had already been delivered to his room.
The bed was excellent, a tall four-poster bed surrounded by emerald-green hangings decorated with silver threads.
It looked extremely luxurious.
The magical abilities of witches and wizards made it easy for them to enjoy a quality of life that Muggles would have found difficult to achieve.
Moreover, despite being deep underground, the dormitory wasn’t stuffy or stale.
The air circulation was surprisingly good, making it little different from the rest of the castle.
However, Will’s mood didn’t improve.
After all, his roommate was Obern Nott.
Obern was glaring fiercely at him.
“Boy, you’re finished!”
Here we go.
Two figures pushed open the dormitory door and entered.
One was Ivan Selwyn.
Will didn’t recognize the other, but it was obvious that he was part of Selwyn’s group.
“Hey, Muggle boy. You’d better apologize to Ivan quickly, or you might spend your first night at Hogwarts in the Hospital Wing.”
Obern pulled out his wand, apparently eager to show off the few spells he had already learned.
But when he noticed that Will already had his wand in his hand, Obern seemed amused.
“What? Are you planning to use your wand as a stick to hit us?”
He sneered.
“Or is this Mudblood actually deluding himself into thinking he knows enough magic to cast Avada Kedavra?”
“Obern, why waste words on this Mudblood? Just teach him a lesson and show him how he should behave toward nobles.”
Ivan hadn’t even brought his wand.
Instead, he rubbed his fists together, preparing to charge at Will.
After all, first-year students mostly relied on physical strength when fighting, and the almost spherical Ivan clearly intended to use his weight to his advantage.
The other student he had brought along cracked his knuckles.
“It doesn’t matter if Mudbloods don’t understand the rules. Perhaps I can let you work with my family’s house-elves for a while. Then you’ll learn how to serve nobles.” This story is hosted at novelping.com.
The three of them looked like classic school bullies cornering a weak scholar.
Unfortunately for them, this was the wizarding world, where knowledge was power.
Despite their threats, Will showed no sign of fear.
His silver-gray eyes held nothing but cold mockery.
That only made them feel more humiliated.
Ivan Selwyn lost his temper first and charged toward Will.
A trace of malice flashed through Will’s silver-gray eyes.
The wand already in his hand immediately released a flash of red light.
“Stupefy!”
The charging Ivan was struck directly in the forehead by the spell.
He instantly collapsed unconscious like a felled pig and, carried forward by his momentum, landed at Will’s feet.
“You actually used a spell?!”
Obern blurted out the foolish remark before hurriedly raising his wand toward Will.
“Otherwise? Are wizards supposed to fight with their fists and feet? Idiot.”
Will’s wand moved.
“Expelliarmus!”
Obern’s wand flew from his hand.
“Petrificus Totalus!”
His entire body immediately went rigid, leaving him frozen in place in a comical pose.
The last student, seeing what had happened, immediately lost his courage.
He turned and tried to slip away.
Will’s Petrificus Totalus caught up with him almost instantly, stopping his heroic escape.
“I hate idiots.”
Will’s silver-gray eyes swept over the three of them.
“Especially ones this stupid.”
A few minutes later, Will’s dormitory was quiet again, with only him remaining inside.
He cast Colloportus on the door before comfortably lying down on his bed.
Indeed, the air felt much fresher without those idiots around.
As Will peacefully drifted into sleep, three stiff first-year students were left hanging from the wall lamps in the Slytherin common room.
It was certainly a memorable first night at Hogwarts, one they would probably never forget.
Will didn’t care whether his actions created enemies.
What he needed was time and knowledge.
In a world where the power of an individual could determine the course of an era, strength was the foundation of everything.
If Will eventually possessed power comparable to Dumbledore’s, who would dare say anything to him?
For now, he had only one goal.
Level up his skills.
Learn magic.
He had no time to waste playing house with idiots.