Single Dormitory

"Prefect," he said, breaking the brief awkward silence, "I can live by myself. There's no need to trouble yourself."

His voice was not loud, but it carried with unusual clarity through the quiet common room.

It did not sound like a request so much as a statement—or rather, a solution.

The Prefect looked up and met Fotkai's gaze.

They were a pair of... difficult-to-describe eyes.

Under the dim green light, they seemed exceptionally deep, calm and still, yet as though they concealed something unsettling.

The Prefect felt a chill creep up his spine as well. He recalled what had happened in the Great Hall, along with all the rumors surrounding this new student.

"This..." The Prefect hesitated.

By the rules, dormitories were usually shared by two or more students, but there had been exceptions... especially under such... special circumstances.

He swiftly weighed the pros and cons—if he forcibly assigned Fotkai a roommate and something really happened, he would be held responsible too.

Rather than that...

"Fine." The Prefect nodded and marked the list.

"The empty dormitory at the very end is yours alone. Remember to observe curfew and the common room rules."

"Thank you."

Fotkai replied indifferently, picked up his trunk, ignored the gazes around him—open and covert, mixed with fear and curiosity—and headed straight for the most secluded room the Prefect had indicated.

His figure looked especially solitary in the dim corridor, yet it carried a cold aura that kept strangers away.

[Emotion Points +10] (From the Prefect's wariness and compromise, as well as the other students' continued observation and fear)

[Emotion Points: 505/100]

His Emotion Points had finally surpassed 500.

But Fotkai did not immediately check the so-called Shop.

He pushed open the door to the single dormitory. The furnishings inside were simple: a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and beyond the window lay the bottomless waters of the Black Lake.

He closed the door, shutting out every gaze and whisper.

Leaning against the cold wooden door, he slowly let out a breath.

Solitude was sometimes a convenience too. It was just that this beginning seemed even more... out of place than he had expected.

He walked to the window and watched the massive shadows occasionally swimming past outside.

Thus began his first night at Hogwarts.

The cold dormitory door shut out every sound from outside.

Skofot casually set his trunk in the corner and walked to the window.

The deep waters of the Black Lake churned beyond the glass. Occasionally, a huge blurry shadow swept past, casting a fleeting darkness.

He watched expressionlessly for a while, until the faint irritation born from being isolated had completely subsided.

With a thought, the system panel appeared once more.

This time, the previously gray, unclickable [Shop] button was giving off a faint, enticing white glow. His Emotion Points balance read: 505/100.

He focused his mind and opened the Shop.

The interface was simple to the point of being crude. It was divided into two sections:

[Fixed Items]

[Teleport Card - 5 Emotion Points] (Effect: Teleportation)

[Manifestation Card - 5 Emotion Points] (Effect: Whatever you want, you get)

[Today's Items]

[Killing Curse Simulation Card - 30 Emotion Points] (Effect: Releases a magical projection with no magical fluctuations and no actual lethal effect, but perfectly simulates the green beam of Avada Kedavra and the near-death pain illusion upon impact. Duration: 3 seconds. Single use only.)

Skofot's gaze lingered on the [Killing Curse Simulation Card] for a moment.

Avada Kedavra... even seeing the name on a simulation card carried an ominous allure.

It could not kill anyone, but it seemed quite useful for frightening people, causing chaos, or creating an opportunity at a critical moment.

And the price was acceptable.

He did not hesitate. "Purchase [Killing Curse Simulation Card]."

[Emotion Points -30]

[Emotion Points: 475/100]

A phantom card with edges glowing an ominous dark green appeared in the [Backpack] slot of the system panel, marked ×1 below it.

[Backpack: Killing Curse Simulation Card ×1]

Looking at the card resting quietly in his Backpack,

the satisfaction of possessing a trump card and a weapon dispelled the chill of being alone.

Delighted? Perhaps not quite.

But a cold, calculating satisfaction did spread through his heart.

He did not inspect anything else, nor did he use his remaining Emotion Points.

After closing the system panel, he washed up briefly and changed into pajamas—still those plain cotton clothes, far from soft.

Lying in the cold four-poster bed, listening to the steady, low surge of lake water outside the window, he closed his eyes.

His first day at Hogwarts had begun with an absurd Sorting Hat farce and ended with everyone fearing and isolating him. Yet in the end, it concluded with a [Killing Curse Simulation Card] hidden in his system Backpack.

Not too bad.

He needed rest. Tomorrow, more "Emotion Points" would be waiting for him.

His breathing gradually became steady and long. In the dim dormitory deep beneath the Black Lake, Skofot Leoqi sank into his first dream in the magical world.

[Emotion Points +5] (From the secret satisfaction of obtaining a new trump card)

[Emotion Points: 480/100]

(The slight numerical change came from the value generated by the protagonist's own emotions. The system deemed it valid.)

Over the next few days, Fotkai's life at Hogwarts was peaceful, but an invisible barrier surrounded it.

The unsettling feeling brought by the [Scavenger] card was like an invisible force field, causing most students—especially his fellow Slytherins—to keep their distance from him.

He went everywhere alone: attending class, eating meals, then returning to his single dormitory at the end of the corridor.

Over the next few days, he gradually gained another 30 Emotion Points from scattered fear and curiosity caused by his presence.

[Emotion Points +30]

[Emotion Points: 505/100]

That morning, he was on his way to the Great Hall for breakfast when a slightly hesitant voice called from behind him, "Leoqi?"

Fotkai stopped and turned around.

It was Harry Potter, with Ron and Hermione standing beside him.

Harry seemed to have gathered his courage. Under the encouraging looks of his two friends—mainly Hermione—he asked, "We're going to the Great Hall. Do... do you want to come with us?"

Fotkai looked into Harry's green eyes. There was concern in them, perhaps along with a trace of curiosity and sympathy born from the Sorting Hat incident and the conflict with Malfoy.

Instinctively, he tried to pull on a friendly smile appropriate for his current age.

However, the curve of his lips looked somewhat stiff, even carrying a hint of coldness that he himself had not noticed.

He spoke in a steady voice. "All right."

The moment that word fell, he clearly saw Harry shudder almost imperceptibly, as if Fotkai's gaze or that fleeting smile had pricked him.

Ron even directly shrank half a step behind Harry, while Hermione frowned and watched him warily.

A nameless irritation instantly rose in Fotkai's heart.

He had already been very restrained!

He had merely... merely responded to an invitation!

But the irritation came quickly and faded just as fast, replaced by a flicker of bewilderment.

When had he become so cold and irritable?

Had it started when he put on the [Scavenger] card?

Was this card not only affecting how others perceived him, but also subtly distorting his own emotions?

He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and stopped trying to make any expression. He merely nodded in silence, accepting their proposal to walk together.

The atmosphere along the way was awkward enough to freeze. Harry's trio spoke quietly beside him, but no one took the initiative to speak to him again.