Slytherin

The orthodox Slytherins of this generation are not like the Gryffindor lions, who can be provoked into an explosion by a few words. There were many malicious gazes directed at Ezio, but the vast majority of them were merely watching, some even wearing expressions eager to see a good show.

Sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight has always been something these little Slytherin snakes enjoy. Compared to stepping into the arena themselves, they prefer to use their brains to scheme.

This is actually very un-Slytherin, because Salazar Slytherin himself did not have this personality. He tended to finish off anyone who didn't please him or provoked him, then use them as experimental materials to recycle the waste. If he hadn't been that way, he wouldn't have become friends with Gryffindor, who was keen on dueling and easily hot-headed. To some extent, both of them were killers back then, just with different methods of finishing people off. Gryffindor liked to provoke duels and let people prepare before they died, while Slytherin usually slaughtered them on the spot, which seemed a bit lacking in "martial virtue" for that era.

However, this atmosphere gradually changed after he left Slytherin. Cunning and deceit were only one side of Slytherin, but they were magnified tenfold by later wizards, even being treated as the most prominent trait of the house.

And these guys who wanted to watch the fun successfully achieved their goal; no one knew better than them what their own house was like these days.

The proportion of genius wizards among pure-bloods does indeed have a slight advantage compared to half-bloods and Muggle-borns, otherwise, pure-blood wizarding families would not be so obsessed with maintaining the purity of their bloodline. Perhaps some wizards are complete idiots, but wizarding families cannot be idiots for generations; at least the ancestors who founded the families were not.

But because of the obsession with blood purity, it has reached the point where the descendants of pure-blood wizards are often mixed with a lot of trash below the standard, and unfortunately, Slytherin has become this trash can.

The proportion of these fools reaches almost a quarter or even a third of the total number of Slytherins. For those truly shrewd little Slytherin snakes, watching the monkey shows put on by these idiots is also an entertaining activity to relieve boredom.

"Some things don't need to be said so clearly." A senior boy sitting diagonally in front of Ezio reminded him with a smile: "Let's get acquainted, I am Labas Foley, a Slytherin prefect. People are already waiting to see you make a fool of yourself. Some guys who don't like to use their brains are always easily incited by a word or two."

"You mean that thing over there that looks like an ape?" Ezio raised his head calmly. About six or seven meters to his front left, a burly man with a savage appearance threw a gaze in his direction after hearing what the person next to him said. Judging by that expression, it was as if he wanted to tear Ezio apart alive.

"Ah, if I'm not mistaken, you must be referring to Marcus." Labas didn't even need to turn his head to know which fool the other onlookers would incite to go up and perform. "I quite agree with your metaphor for him, but provoking a beast with brute force is not a wise move."

"If Slytherin only had conspiracies and tricks, how could he stand side by side with the other three great, world-renowned wizards?"

Ezio picked up a meat pie and began to eat it with relish. "Guys who only play with conspiracies can only be clowns. If you want to be a great ambitious person like Slytherin, both strength and means are indispensable. I chose Slytherin because he is the most orthodox wizard in my heart."

"It seems Slytherin is going to welcome an extraordinary freshman this year." Labas cast an appreciative look. "After you solve this little trouble, I hope you can become a member of the true Slytherin."

"Prove that you are one first."

Ezio spoke indifferently. This remark made Labas's face stiffen slightly. He stopped talking, picked up his knife and fork, and began to tackle his dinner.

The sumptuous dinner filled everyone's stomachs. The house-elves at Hogwarts have excellent skills; even the simplest smoked fish had much more flavor than what is sold outside, without a trace of the "dark cuisine" native to England.

When the last piece of pudding on the plate disappeared, Dumbledore stood up again, and the Great Hall returned to silence.

"Oh, now that everyone is fed and watered, I have a few more words to say. At the beginning of the term, I want to point out a few things to everyone."

"First-year students, please note that students are strictly forbidden from entering the forest on the school grounds."

Dumbledore's gaze swept across the room, but Ezio noticed that Dumbledore stayed on the Slytherin side for a little longer. He was probably still wondering why Harry ended up in Slytherin.

"Furthermore, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you all not to cast magic in the corridors between classes."

"Tryouts for the Quidditch teams will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested should contact Madam Hooch."

"Finally, I must tell you that anyone who does not wish to meet with an accident or a painful death, please do not enter the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor."

"What does that mean?" Harry nudged Ezio's elbow.

"It means telling you that you must go and check out the corridor on the fourth floor."

"Oh." Harry nodded in sudden realization. "If he didn't say that, surely no one would go there voluntarily, right?"

Ezio nodded: "That's the logic. I think there must be a prank arranged in that corridor, and a very scary one at that."

Harry stuck out his tongue. He suddenly felt that this kind-hearted old man with a white beard must be black-hearted inside; he was so old and still liked to tease children.

"And now, before we all go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore said loudly with a smile on his face. The teachers behind him stiffened their smiles, except for Snape, who looked like he had won the lottery tonight but didn't dare tell anyone, constantly trying very hard to restrain the expression on his face.

After Dumbledore's wand emitted golden lyrics, messy singing rang out in the Great Hall, but Dumbledore, as the conductor, listened with intoxication. When the singing ended, he spread his arms.

"Music! A magic beyond all we do here! And now, off to bed. Off you trot!"

The senior students left first, and the prefects of each house guided the first-year freshmen.

"Follow me!" Labas and another female prefect said to the Slytherin first-years. "Our common room is in the underground area of the Astronomy Tower. It's a bit of a distance from the Great Hall, but except for Hufflepuff, we have the shortest route."

Following the spiral staircase to the basement, the freshmen lined up and walked along the torch-lit corridor. After turning two corners, they arrived in front of a blank wall.

"This is the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Remember this wall; on the other side of the wall are the stairs leading to the Astronomy Tower and the Dragon Statue Courtyard."

Labas stood still in front of this wall, signaling the freshmen to look left and right to memorize the markers, and then said: "Say the password, and the door to the common room will open. We will change the password at the end of every month. You can see it on the notice board in the common room. This month's password is—Glory."

As he finished speaking, two giant snakes suddenly swam on the otherwise empty wall. Then, the giant snakes coiled up, revealing a stone archway. A large black door appeared at the archway, which Labas reached out and pulled open.

"You can see the scenery under the Black Lake from the common room, but don't expect to see merpeople. The Black Lake merpeople are very ugly and will easily make you lose your appetite."

"Alright, follow me inside now."