Slytherin Common Room

After the feast, the first-years returned to their respective common rooms under the prefects' guidance.

Ravenclaw and Gryffindor headed upward toward their towers. Hufflepuff's students remained on the ground floor, near the kitchens—a rather nice location as well.

In his previous life, Luke had heard plenty of people discuss the relative quality of the four Houses' accommodations.

Almost everyone thought Slytherin's living conditions were the worst. Underground, beneath the lake, with dim decor—it was cool, certainly, but hardly seemed like a place for people to live.

But when Luke actually entered the dormitory, he found that none of those things were true.

Though the surroundings were rather dim, the common room had plenty of candelabras. They simply had not been fully lit, apparently to preserve that shadowy atmosphere.

There was no dampness either. Some sort of magic had probably been fixed in place. Above the warm fireplace hung a huge Slytherin House crest. It did not seem carved, but pieced together from gemstones.

Looking at the emblem, so similar to the one above his family's treasure vault, Luke felt a measure of familiarity.

Many people came over to speak with Luke along the way, but after exchanging only a few words with them, Luke sent them all off to his "best friend."

Malfoy was then delighted to bask in the praise of the crowd surrounding him as he loudly proclaimed the understanding and friendship between himself and Luke.

To hear him tell it, he and Luke had practically grown up wearing the same trousers. From childhood, they had discussed great ambitions and pledged themselves to great deeds. Now that they had arrived at Hogwarts, they would surely accomplish something remarkable.

Luke did not contradict him. He merely nodded and smiled.

Yet some people watched Luke and Malfoy with dark hostility in their eyes.

Seeing the chaotic common room, the prefect gave a light cough.

"Ahem."

But no one in the common room seemed to hear her. Malfoy especially ignored it. His story had reached its crucial point: he and Luke were facing down a dragon. How could he stop at such a perilous moment?

The prefect's eye twitched. She glared at Malfoy with considerable displeasure, her fists already clenched.

"Ahem. Quiet, please."

Luke's voice was not loud, but everyone fell silent. The moment he spoke, Malfoy shut his mouth and looked at him with an awkward, somewhat worried expression.

This was not the first time he had bragged in front of others. But he had never exaggerated quite this much before. He feared that Luke would be upset and expose him on the spot. Fortunately, Luke did not seem as fierce as he had been on the train.

He also seemed far more polite and tolerant toward Malfoy. That sent Malfoy's opinion of him soaring.

Seeing that Malfoy had fallen silent, everyone else stopped talking as well. They stood properly and prepared to hear what the prefect had to say.

Only then did the prefect breathe a sigh of relief. She shot Luke a grateful look, cleared her throat, and began her prefect's address.

"Congratulations. You have come to Slytherin. I am your prefect, Gemma Farley. Our House emblem is a great serpent—the cleverest of creatures. Our House colors are emerald green and silver. The entrance to our common room is hidden in the dungeons. As you can see, through our windows, we can look directly upon the bottom of Hogwarts Lake. We often see a giant squid drifting past the windows, and sometimes even more interesting creatures. We like our home to have the atmosphere of a mysterious sunken ship..."

"...If you get along well with the Bloody Baron, he may help you frighten people. But remember, do not ask where the bloodstains on him came from. Believe me, you will not want to know the consequences."

"The password to the common room changes every two weeks, so pay attention to the notice board. You are not allowed to bring students from other Houses into our common room or tell them our password. No outsider has entered our common room in seven hundred years. You should have heard this fortnight's password just now."

"Glory."

At that, she could not help glancing at Luke below, who was smiling calmly. "I think Luke has already explained part of the meaning behind that password to us today. I hope we will hear even deeper insights from him in the future."

The crowd turned to look at Luke again. Somehow, because of Malfoy's ostentatious behavior, Luke himself had seemed to be overlooked.

"No, I have said more or less everything there is to say today, Senior. What matters more from here on is action."

Luke said it with a faint smile.

Gemma paused, then nodded in deep agreement. "You make a very good point."

She then addressed the new students again. "I believe you will like our dormitories. Our beds are traditional four-posters draped in green silk curtains, with silver-thread embroidery on the bedspreads. Medieval tapestries on the walls tell of the great adventures of famous Slytherins, while silver lanterns hang from the ceiling. Listening to the gentle sound of the waves at the bottom of the lake lapping against the windows, you will sleep very peacefully."

"Do not worry about merpeople or squid breaking in. The enchanted glass is strong enough."

"Also, you are rather fortunate. There are fewer students in your year, so most of you will share a dormitory with just one other person, and some of you will even have rooms to yourselves."

That truly delighted Luke. Hopefully, he would be one of those with a room to himself. That would make sneaking out at night much less troublesome.

Though the Gryffindor dormitories from the films showed that even four to a room was hardly crowded, there were simply too many things to watch out for.

"All right, that is all. Flint! Take the boys to their dormitories. Girls, come with me."

Luke saw the bucktoothed young man who looked like an ape nod to Gemma, then say, "All right, boys, follow me."

As Luke followed the others toward the dormitories, he felt someone watching him from behind.

When he turned around, he saw Taylor—the girl whose bangs covered her eyes—staring at him. Even after being discovered, she showed no sign of stopping.

Luke could only give her a polite smile before turning back, his brow furrowing slightly.

He had a feeling that his life at Hogwarts would not be as peaceful as he had imagined.

At the very least, it would not be only him causing trouble for others.