I'll Handle Snape

"You..."

As the excited Slytherin snakes hoisted the group of fallen guys into the air, Labas approached Ezio with a complex expression.

"I happen to have something I want to discuss with you."

Ezio beckoned to Labas, also signaling for Harry to join them.

People cleared a path for them, leaving space, and they sat down by the fireplace in the corner of the room.

"I don't know how to describe you, but I always feel like you're going to stir up big trouble."

As a young man about to come of age who also served as a Slytherin prefect, Labas wasn't easily swayed by Ezio's words, but he admitted that these words had truly struck a chord with him.

He also hated those pieces of trash who had wormed their way into Slytherin. The original purpose of the society he belonged to was to gather the outstanding members of Slytherin, and he knew very well that these people were the true core of the house.

It was just that no one had dared to expel those 'garbage' with such fanfare before. Firstly, there were considerations regarding family connections—no one wanted to sour relations—and secondly, these idiots were like toads sitting on one's feet; although they were disgusting, they weren't a big enough problem to warrant a major conflict.

"At worst, if you hit the small ones, the old ones come out. If we play by the rules, they can't do anything to me at Hogwarts. If they don't play by the rules, I won't be the one who ends up unlucky."

Ezio certainly knew the consequences of doing this, but he didn't mind bearing the backlash. Having nothing in the wizarding world, he needed to actively strive for things, and at Hogwarts, the risks of such behavior were minimized.

And if they were outside Hogwarts, to be honest, Ezio wasn't afraid of these people taking action, because that would be at least a year away. By the time that year passed, he would have enough power to protect himself.

Dumbledore was right; as long as he was at Hogwarts for a day, no one dared to come here to cause him trouble. Dumbledore was the greatest protective umbrella at Hogwarts, and no one dared to come to Hogwarts to challenge his authority and power.

The title of the White Wizard was recognized by the entire wizarding world, even if people didn't say it out loud. One had to remember that Dumbledore's closest friend was Grindelwald, the leader of the Wizarding Party who had once stirred up the world. No one was naive enough to think Dumbledore was a pushover who could be easily manipulated.

Dumbledore had defeated his closest friend, but he never denied his relationship with Grindelwald.

People are multifaceted and complex.

"I remember there is a tradition in the wizarding world that has been passed down to this day." Ezio stroked his Elder Wand and narrated in a calm voice: "The Honor Duel. This is the only ritual in the wizarding world where it is legal to kill the other party, right?"

"When two wizards believe that the other has tarnished their honor, they can initiate this duel, which must be publicly announced and notarized in front of people."

"Wizards can use any magical means except for the Unforgivable Curses to take down the opponent on the dueling platform. As long as the opponent does not voluntarily drop their wand and surrender, the duel will not stop until one party is dead."

"Yes... there is such a thing." Cold sweat broke out on Labas. As a pure-blood wizard, he knew this very well because, in his family history, his house had engaged in honor duels with other wizards. It was a life-or-death confrontation that staked family reputation and personal honor, where surrender was not an option.

Surrendering in an honor duel could have consequences even worse than dying on the platform.

"But aren't you afraid they will find trouble with you outside of school?" Labas wiped his sweat; he wasn't naive enough to think those guys wouldn't pull some dirty tricks.

"Catching a wizard who can use Apparition is harder than reaching the heavens, isn't it? At worst, I'll go abroad during the holidays. Once I leave England, the Ministry of Magic can't touch me."

Ezio smiled indifferently. He didn't mind exposing some of his magical prowess. Apparition was a skill with high risks if self-taught, but it wasn't actually difficult to master, and Ezio wouldn't give up trying. He had long since witnessed how convenient teleportation was.

"You actually learned it?" Labas widened his eyes in shock. As a sixth-year student this year, he had only just reached the age to learn Apparition, and the exam wouldn't be until the end of the term.

"It's not difficult, is it?"

Ezio shrugged. "This magic only requires you to maintain a high level of focus, target, determination, and composure. I don't lack any of these three key elements."

"Fine, fine..." Labas smacked his lips with a strange feeling. "It is indeed our honor that Slytherin has you. Are you really not from some wizarding family?"

"Can I take that as you questioning my ability to start a wizarding family?"

"Of course not!" Labas shook his head decisively, then said solemnly: "I have a younger sister who is coming to Hogwarts next year. Do you want to meet her? Hanna is a very beautiful little angel."

"Don't let a little angel fall for a guy like me who is destined for hell."

"Hanna will be sad. She would definitely love a boy who is as capable and handsome as you."

Regarding Ezio's claim that he was going to hell, Labas didn't care at all. After all, wizards didn't believe in Muggle gods. There were many so-called miracles in history that were actually just wizard magic; people talked about gods, but no one actually believed in them.

"Then let's talk about business."

Ezio ended the banter, and Labas became much more serious than before. He was gradually gaining some confidence in this junior.

"I want to make Slytherin great again; it's not just an empty slogan. I intend to do something. There are quite a few people in Slytherin with brains like that gorilla Marcus, and even in my year, there are two show-offs."

Ezio glanced to the side, and Labas followed his gaze.

"Crabbe and Goyle, the lackeys of the Malfoy family. It's not just the two of them who are stupid; their fathers are also idiots. Death Eaters, they are all just rotten-brained scum."

Labas didn't hold back when talking about this. "My family didn't get involved in You-Know-Who's affairs before." Labas looked at Harry beside him and said, "Back then, to fight against You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters, two elders in my family died. They were both Aurors. Not all Slytherins are bad people."

Harry nodded from the side but didn't speak.

"I can give you an analogy." Labas was quite attentive to Harry; after all, he was a celebrity with a great reputation in the wizarding world, and it was clear that his relationship with Ezio was good.

"If Azkaban were filled with prisoners from Hogwarts, then out of a hundred people, Slytherin would account for half, Gryffindor would account for forty, Ravenclaw would account for seven or eight, and the remaining two or three spots would be taken by the constantly bullied Hufflepuffs."

"In terms of the number of dark wizards, Gryffindor, which seems to have the best reputation, is actually no better than Slytherin. Most of them are just a bunch of impulsive, brainless people. Even with good intentions, they might end up doing bad things, and they don't even think they did anything wrong. I know of a Gryffindor idiot who, in order to save a Muggle child being beaten, beat the child's parents to death in front of him. The reason the child was being beaten was that he had stolen money from home, but afterward, this guy still insisted he was upholding justice. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban."

"So, judging the quality of wizards in a house based on their reputation in the outside world is incorrect. It is said that Merlin was a student of Slytherin, but he was a legendary wizard more famous than the four founders of Hogwarts, with countless great achievements in his life."

"Merlin was a student of Slytherin?" Harry's eyes widened.

"The timeline doesn't quite match up." Ezio didn't agree with this statement. "The era Merlin lived in was around the fifth or sixth century, while the time Hogwarts was established should be no earlier than the eighth or ninth century."

"However..." After thinking for a moment, Ezio added, "Merlin was also a wizard who advocated for pure blood, which aligns with Slytherin's philosophy. They both championed the theory of genius. If Merlin had really studied at Hogwarts, Slytherin would indeed have been his first choice."

"Alright, let's not get off-topic with these historical stories."

Ezio looked at Labas. The previous words were intentional on this guy's part, just to avoid talking about this matter with Ezio, but clearly, he couldn't hide anymore.

"Fine." Labas shrugged. If he couldn't avoid it, he had to accept it.

"I need to determine the future screening mechanism for Slytherin to make it easier to weed out those redundant fellows."

"But we can't just kick them out of Hogwarts, can we?"

"Of course not, but we can minimize their influence to the greatest extent. For guys like that, there is no soil for them to survive in Slytherin; they either turn into the soil to be trampled under our feet, or they roll out of Hogwarts themselves. Isn't there always Durmstrang to choose from? It's not like they have nowhere to go."

"I shouldn't need to explain to you in detail how to squeeze out their value, or how to make them feel Slytherin's 'mercy' toward them, right?"

"Although I would love to hear your thoughts," Labas sighed, "I also have to demonstrate a bit of my own value, don't I? Fine, I admit, I do have a bit of a family legacy when it comes to doing this sort of thing."

"This will be very troublesome, but if you really intend to do this, there is some pressure you must be able to withstand. For instance, our dear Head of House, Professor Snape, is creating class stratifications within the house; you must get him to nod and approve."

"I can handle Snape. Perhaps he'll be looking to have a heart-to-heart with me tomorrow."

Ezio spread his hands. He didn't harbor any fearful attitude toward Snape, even if, in the eyes of the students at Hogwarts, that guy was a Great Demon King-level figure.