Hogwarts Castle

Hogwarts Castle

Putting down the napkin and paying Malfoy and the others no further attention, George turned and walked straight out of the Great Hall.

At that moment, applause gradually began to rise in the hall. Then, whether because people loved watching trouble unfold or because they really loved watching trouble unfold, the clapping grew louder and louder.

It came not only from the upper-year Slytherin wizards, but from the wizards of the other three houses as well.

The upper years naturally bore some responsibility for losing the House Cup last year, but with George putting it that way, all the blame was shifted onto the second years. It was hard for the older students not to agree.

As for the wizards from the other three houses, Slytherin was already rather disliked to begin with. Being able to watch them fight among themselves now was naturally something they were more than happy to see, and the applause was mostly meant to add fuel to the fire.

Still, there were a small number of more innocent young wizards whose eyes seemed to sparkle as they looked at George's back, sincerely applauding him.

George, of course, understood all this.

Whether sincere or false, at least his goal had been achieved.

"Harry, honestly, I was kind of impressed just now. Even though he's a Slytherin and said he was going to take the House Cup from us, I actually don't find him annoying."

"Especially Malfoy's face—did you see it? Even when we won the House Cup last year, he didn't look that awful."

At the Gryffindor long table, Ron could not help saying this to Harry.

When it came to disliking Malfoy, he was actually even worse than Harry, especially since back in Diagon Alley, his father and Malfoy's father had even gotten into a fight.

Harry nodded as well.

"George is different from Malfoy. But we still can't lose the House Cup."

"Like George said, this is healthy competition. Everyone just needs to work hard together."

Hermione, at this point, was no longer angry over Harry and Ron's dangerous behavior yesterday and had returned to her usual self.

"We'll work hard!"

Beside them, Ginny and Colin both looked toward Harry with faces full of anticipation, as though waiting for his response.

Harry encouraged them somewhat helplessly.

"Do your best!"

"I think the two of them will be able to start a Harry Potter fan club any minute now."

Seeing this, Ron could not help teasing him.

Compared with the cheerfulness on this side, Malfoy's face on the other side was so dark it looked as if water might drip from it. The louder the applause in the Great Hall had been just now, the harder his face had been slapped.

He knew the Slytherin upper years had always been unhappy about losing last year's Quidditch match and the House Cup. It was just that, out of consideration for his family and status, they had not said much.

Because before their year, Slytherin really had won six years in a row. That proved that Slytherin's six upper years were stronger than the other three houses.

Yet last year, they had lost everything to Gryffindor, and the biggest reason for that had been Hermione, Harry, and the others in his year.

So as the representative of Slytherin in that same year, he naturally had to take the blame.

If his grades could surpass Hermione's, his Quidditch could surpass Harry's, and he could earn more points, then even if Harry and the others had gained so many points at the end, they would not have lost.

"We must win the House Cup back. But not through him—through me, Malfoy!"

"Don't worry. He's just a joke. Time will prove that you're the hope of Slytherin!"

Although Pansy's expression was also ugly, she was not worried in the slightest.

Because unless George was so outstanding that he left everyone far behind, then even if his grades really were decent, they still would not be worthy of what he had just said. The ending had already been decided.

"No helping it. You're the one who walked right into this."

After leaving the Great Hall, George continued exploring the first floor.

As a Slytherin without the support of a family background, if he wanted to become famous and valued as quickly as possible, he had to show his edge. He could not hide his abilities.

As for whether doing this would make Dumbledore think of Voldemort, it should not go that far. He had shown no signs of hating Muggle-born wizards, and he had openly acknowledged his friendships with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the others.

So Malfoy picking a fight with him had actually given him the perfect chance to make his stance clear and establish his image. Otherwise, he really would not have had a good way to say those things so openly.

In truth, if not for that, he could have completely ignored Malfoy's provocation. In any case, the other party could do nothing to him.

Aside from the Great Hall and the Sorting Ceremony Waiting Room where he had stayed before, there were actually many rooms on the first floor.

For example, there was the Staff Room prepared specially for the house teachers, Filch's Office, the Transfiguration Classroom, and several other temporary classrooms.

After finishing his walk around the first floor, he followed the Marble Staircase up to the second floor.

The second floor mainly had the History of Magic Classroom where he would attend class that afternoon, the Gryffindor Head of House Office, and the Hospital Wing. The Hospital Wing was managed by Poppy Pomfrey, who was skilled in healing magic.

There was also a Girls' Lavatory.

The most important places on the third floor were the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office and Moaning Myrtle's lavatory. That lavatory led to the Chamber of Secrets. George did not go in; he merely sized it up from outside.

The fourth floor had the Charms Classroom, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the Display Room, and the Armour Corridor.

There were many enchanted suits of armour in the Armour Corridor. When he passed by, he was fortunate enough to see two suits of armour fighting. The cause seemed to be that one suit of armour sang too terribly, and the other could no longer endure it.

He was very interested in this kind of magic that could grant intelligence to dead objects. If it were used at Mutant School in the future, it could add quite a bit of defensive strength to the school.

There was another place on the fourth floor that was also very important—or rather, to him, it should be the most important place.

That was Hogwarts Library, said to contain tens of thousands of magic books and also hiding countless restricted books that could not be bought outside. It closed before eight o'clock every evening.

The Fifth Floor was full of abandoned classrooms and a unisex bathroom.

The Sixth Floor also had abandoned classrooms and the Prefects' Bathroom.

The Seventh Floor had some unused offices and a boys' bathroom.

The Eighth Floor held the Ravenclaw Head of House's office, the Gryffindor Tower Entrance, the entrance leading to the North Tower's Divination Classroom, the Ravenclaw Tower Entrance, the entrance to the West Tower, the Headmaster's Office Entrance, and the Room of Requirement.

George knew how to enter the Room of Requirement, but he did not go in.

As he saw it, the whole of Hogwarts Castle was most likely under Dumbledore's surveillance. If he suddenly entered the Room of Requirement, it would be hard not to arouse suspicion.

More importantly, he had no use for the Room of Requirement right now.

As for the Voldemort Horcrux hidden inside the Room of Requirement, he had no intention of touching it for the time being either.

After touring the castle, he made another circuit around the grounds: the Greenhouses and Gardens used for Herbology, the Broomstick Flying Practice Grounds, the Quidditch Pitch, and so on.

By the time he finished checking every spot, it was already noon. He did not go farther out to Hagrid's Hut or the Forbidden Forest, but returned to the Great Hall for lunch.

This time, when he entered the hall, he was clearly no longer a nobody. Many young wizards were secretly pointing at him and whispering—some admiring, some jealous, some disdainful, and some maliciously waiting to laugh at him.

George did not care.

He also ran into Harry and the others, who had come over to eat after class.

Hermione showed him the exquisite button she had transformed from a beetle in Transfiguration. Ron was in a terrible mood. Harry told him it was because, after George had left that morning, Ron had received a Howler from his dear mother.

That afternoon, George held his History of Magic textbook and began his first class at Hogwarts.