Slytherin

Linley recalled the scene of his first meeting with Professor Foxx.

He really couldn't reconcile the teasing, somewhat cool, yet somewhat cute old man with the murderer Betty had described.

"Could you pass me the clotted cream scone in front of you?"

Betty asked Linley softly.

"Uh, sure."

Actually, Linley also wanted to eat the unique dessert on the long table; it was his favorite.

But since Betty had just helped him out of a tight spot, Linley felt awkward refusing.

His mind was still preoccupied with Professor Foxx, but with the limited information he had, he couldn't possibly conclude Professor Foxx was a bad person based solely on someone else's word.

What Linley could trust now were the characters of Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.

Clearly, they both trusted Professor Foxx a great deal, and Linley himself had a good impression of him, otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to accept his investment.

As for what exactly happened with the killing...

It would be best to ask him directly when there was an opportunity. There was no need to harbor too many suspicions over something like this.

The atmosphere in Slytherin was actually quite good.

Most of the students here were the next generation raised with family traditions. While there were bound to be a few who were misguided or came from improper households, most were generally easy to get along with.

The older students shared many interesting stories about their time at Hogwarts. Suddenly, another clotted cream scone appeared in front of Linley, making him marvel at the thoughtfulness of the house-elves.

After dinner, everyone sang the Hogwarts school song in various different tunes. The scene was chaotic, but it was evident that Dumbledore enjoyed it immensely.

The first-year students were led back to their dormitories by the prefects of each house.

"Our Head of House, Professor Snape, might not have the best reputation around the school, but every Slytherin student sincerely adores him. Do you know why?"

Slytherin's dormitory was underground. On the way, Betty explained the professors of various courses to the new students.

The first-years shook their heads, indicating they didn't know. Judy walked along, explaining to them:

"The reason other house students dislike Professor Snape is that he openly favors us too much. Perhaps from the perspective of other houses, it is indeed unfair to them, but why does the professor do this?

In the end, it's us Slytherin students who benefit.

So, students from any house have a reason to dislike him, but we alone do not. He might be unfair, but he truly looks out for us, making him the best Head of House for Slytherin."

"You might know that Gryffindor values courage, Ravenclaw favors wisdom, and Hufflepuff cherishes loyalty. As for Slytherin, besides valuing shrewdness and ambition, many overlook another quality we possess: unity! A unity unique to Slytherin."

"You know, everyone who enters the Serpent's den has the potential to become a great person. This proves that Salazar Slytherin valued the unique qualities within you. Our house has many rumors circulating outside; they say we all enjoy studying dark magic and falsely claim we use blood status as an admission standard.

You shouldn't believe what the houses competing with us say. I don't deny that our house has produced some dark wizards, but the other three houses also have dark wizards—they just don't want to admit it.

Yes, we do tend to recruit descendants of reputable wizarding families, but you can also find many Slytherin students with at least one parent who is a Muggle.

I really like our house crest, the giant serpent, which symbolizes: cunning, power, and often being misunderstood."

The young wizards following behind her listened to her words and quickly formed a deep impression of the Slytherin house.

Betty was undoubtedly a qualified prefect. Even Linley's impression of the Serpent House significantly improved through her introduction.

They followed Betty to a hidden entrance in a basement.

"The password to enter the common room changes every two weeks. Recording it on paper is forbidden, as is sharing it with other houses. The day before the password changes, the new one will be posted on the notice board in the common room. The password for these two weeks is: Blood Oath."

The first-years entered the Slytherin common room together. To be honest, it was very beautiful.

The common room was located at the bottom of the lake and was semi-transparent. The walls were made of black Gothic marble, and the ceiling was a transparent semicircle carved from crystal, allowing one to see the shimmering waves of moonlight from above.

Greenish lights were hung from the ceiling by chains. Inside, there was a fireplace with a beautifully carved mantelpiece, and carved chairs beside it. Occasionally, large octopuses or strange creatures could be seen through the windows.

"Brad, can you help me take these gentlemen to their dormitories when you have time? I still need to look after the ladies."

Betty said to a boy reading a newspaper in the common room.

Brad put down his newspaper and stood up. "Where is the male prefect, Raphael? Why are you the only one receiving the new students?"

"Professor Snape called him to help prepare materials needed for tomorrow's class."

"That's quite unfortunate." Brad shrugged. "Leave them to me."

Linley and the girls parted ways, and a new guide led them to the boys' dormitory.

Their luggage and pets had already been delivered to each person's bed by the house-elves.

Upon arriving at the dormitory, Linley first gave Umr some water and biscuit crumbs before starting to unpack his luggage.

The dormitory environment was quite pleasant.

The beds were traditional four-poster beds with green silk drapes and silver embroidery on the bedspreads. Medieval tapestries on the walls told tales of the great adventures of famous Slytherins, and silver lanterns hung from the ceiling.

If one listened carefully with a calm mind, they could hear the gentle lapping of the lake's waves against the windows from outside.

After Linley finished unpacking everything, he took out the class schedule Judy had given them earlier.

They had three classes tomorrow: Charms in the morning, History of Magic, and Potions class in the afternoon.

Linley didn't rest immediately. Instead, he took out the textbooks for the three classes tomorrow and quickly flipped through the content he had already previewed during the summer.

To earn talent points in all subjects, he had to perform better than the other first-years.

Just then, a discordant scoff came from beside him.

"What 'genius once in three hundred years'? I think you're just a mediocre talent once in a hundred years. Who reads before class even starts? Are you afraid of embarrassing yourself tomorrow?"

Wizards are few in number, as evidenced by the new students admitted to Hogwarts each year.

This year, there were only eight Slytherin boys admitted, and unfortunately, Linley was rooming with that detestable brat Hubert.

Linley shifted his gaze from his book and glanced at him.

He had been a teacher in his previous life. Although he hadn't taught children of this age group, he generally understood their thoughts.

This Hubert clearly had issues with his upbringing, meaning his family's conduct was improper.

Furthermore, after being reprimanded by Betty at the banquet because of Linley, he felt he had lost face and now wanted to regain it in front of his two other roommates.

As for his motives...

It was likely not just because Linley came from a Muggle family and he found him displeasing. He probably also wanted to use this opportunity to establish his leadership among the boys in the same year.

In other words, as we commonly say, he wanted to be the ringleader.

His intentions were simple, even laughably childish, but they could also be very hurtful. Much school bullying started out this way.

Linley had a perfect solution for this kind of situation in his previous life, and it would work just as well at Hogwarts, a magical academy.

He looked at Hubert coldly and chuckled softly.

"Perhaps I am mediocre, but what about you? McLean, what do you amount to?"