A Small Clash at the Dinner Feast

The dining tables had been empty one second, then filled with every kind of delicious food the next.

The Young Wizards did not hesitate for long before digging in.

Harry was still thinking about what Dumbledore had said earlier.

"Was he a little crazy?"

Harry asked Percy hesitantly. Percy refuted him, saying that Dumbledore was a genius and the greatest Wizard in the world, but he also agreed with Harry. Even in his eyes, Dumbledore was somewhat crazy.

Of course, he also helped Harry pile plenty of potatoes onto his plate.

Hermione listened to Dumbledore's four seemingly unrelated words and could not help thinking of what Luke had said when he introduced the four houses to her.

With that thought, she looked once more toward the Slytherin table.

She saw Luke chatting happily with the other students. The older students also seemed eager to speak with him. Hermione then turned to look at where Harry was sitting.

Well, the two of them were receiving almost the same treatment...

"Hey, Hermione, who in your family is a Wizard?"

A young witch her age beside her suddenly asked.

Hermione looked at this classmate, who had been sorted into Gryffindor right after following behind her, and listened to the snippets of conversation around the table.

It seemed that everyone was talking about the same subject.

So Hermione smiled and replied, "I'm the only Wizard in my family. When I received my Letter, my Mom and Dad were terrified. They thought it was someone's prank!"

"Mine's pretty similar. My Mom's a Wizard, and then..."

It was not only Gryffindor. In all four houses, strangers who had only just met usually talked about their families and past experiences.

However, the atmosphere at the Slytherin table did not seem as lively as it was in the other three houses.

Luke saw the plate of Yangzhou Fried Rice in front of him and immediately looked up toward Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall smiled faintly and held up the utensils in her hand.

They were a pair of chopsticks.

Luke laughed soundlessly. After nodding to the professor, he began digging in as well.

The dishes on the table included classics from nearly every country in Europe. Yet no one touched the local British cuisine.

However, Luke also noticed that while quite a few people at the table were chatting with each other, some were clearly being isolated.

For example, Taylor beside him was merely eating with her head down. She did not look particularly gloomy at the moment, but her messy hair still made it difficult to see her face clearly.

"Luke, are you a pure-blood too? They seemed to welcome you quite warmly earlier."

On Luke's other side, a Slytherin first-year asked through a mouthful of roast chicken.

"Yes, I'm a pure-blood from the Gaunt Family. What about you?"

Luke responded warmly enough. He remembered the boy's name: Humphrey Hagen.

"Me? Ha, I'm a half-blood. My Mom and Dad only told me after I received my Letter. My Mom, uh, she's a Wizard, but she can't cast magic."

As he spoke, he shook his head. "That's what she said herself. She was so happy when I got my Letter."

Luke nodded. He could imagine that feeling. Squibs were anomalies among their own kind. When their children did not have to suffer as they had, their excitement was understandable.

He could also tell that Humphrey probably knew the word "Squib," but for various reasons, such an almost insulting term was difficult for a son to say aloud.

"You..."

Luke had barely opened his mouth before someone interrupted him.

"Ha, a Squib's child, and a half-blood too? Why were you even sorted into Slytherin?"

A sharp, deliberately affected voice cut into everyone's ears.

The contempt and mockery in his tone were barely concealed.

Luke's brows immediately furrowed, and the smile vanished from his face. Taylor beside him raised her head as well, revealing sea-blue eyes beneath her long golden hair.

Humphrey's face turned deathly pale, then flushed red beyond his control.

He turned to look at the person who had spoken.

Luke remembered that person's name.

Blaise Zabini. He had been the last student sorted earlier.

"Say that again!" Humphrey roared furiously.

Blaise paid no attention to Humphrey's anger. Smiling, he said to Luke, "Hello, Mr. Gaunt. My name is Blaise Zabini. You must have heard of the Zabini family. We may not have a legacy as ancient as the Gaunt Family's, but at least we have always taken care to preserve the purity of our bloodline."

"We have not allowed Muggles to taint our noble blood."

With that, he extended his hand.

"I'm sure you would prefer to be friends with people of equal nobility."

Luke was stunned. He stared in astonishment at the apparently proud Blaise, unable for a moment to comprehend the child's thought process.

This sounded somewhat like Malfoy's arrogant remarks on the train. But compared to disputes between two families, Zabini was directly attacking half-blood Wizards and Muggle wizards to their faces.

Bloodline theory might indeed be prevalent in Slytherin now, but that did not mean the house consisted solely of pure-bloods. There were indeed very few Muggle wizards, but half-blood Wizards made up no small proportion of the house.

Was this guy really that bold...?

Blaise wore a smile, seemingly expecting recognition from Luke, the heir of a great family. Although the Zabini family had made quite a lot of money in recent years and begun associating with Nobles, no family of sufficient standing seemed willing to acknowledge them. His Dad had once been deeply troubled by this.

But that worry would not arise again today. When he heard that the Gaunt Family's heir would be entering Hogwarts with him this year, he had gathered countless stories about the Gaunt Family.

They were noble and arrogant, polite and elegant toward Nobles, but contemptuous and disgusted by Muggles. It perfectly matched his own beliefs. Especially when he read how members of the Gaunt Family had dealt with those filthy Muggles in those stories, he wished he could take their place.

At that moment, he felt like a Spiritual Gaunt.

Therefore, he believed that he and the Gaunt Family's heir were destined to be friends.

So, once he had confirmed that the person beside him was a detestable half-blood and the child of a Squib, he immediately spoke up.

Luke Gaunt must surely agree with what I just said.

That was what he thought.

But before Luke could speak, another mocking voice came from across the table.

"Heh, Zabini? The family that started out selling socks? How dare you call yourselves Nobles? And this talk about noble blood? You really have the nerve to gild your own face!"