The Masochistic Peeves

"What's wrong with Slytherin? Letting just anyone in?"

Ignoring Malfoy's muttering complaints, Glenn followed the Slytherin crowd toward the common room.

Just moments ago, Gemma Farley, the Slytherin prefect, had come specifically about the ten points deducted before they'd even enrolled.

She didn't say anything harsh, just a few cold reminders in a flat tone.

But for first-years who hadn't even officially started at Hogwarts yet, it was certainly a terrible beginning.

"Just you wait, Howard. I'm telling my father about this."

As Malfoy finished speaking, Gemma, walking ahead, suddenly stopped, startling Malfoy into thinking she'd heard him.

"Get out of the way, Peeves." Gemma stared at the cane floating in midair.

Her answer came in a loud, shrill sound like a balloon deflating—pfft, pfft.

The next moment, a small man in a jester's costume appeared.

"How delightful, a bunch of first-years." Peeves hovered in the air, cackling slyly.

Before Gemma could say anything more, he lunged straight at the new students, freezing them in place with fright.

"Peeves! Leave now! The Bloody Baron will be here any moment."

"Ah-ha, I doubt it's that quick. He just chased me out of Ravenclaw Tower." Seeing his prank succeed, Peeves doubled over with laughter.

As Hogwarts' self-proclaimed prank king, he rarely got a chance to scare so many Slytherins at once.

Gemma frowned slightly, about to threaten the annoying poltergeist with the Bloody Baron again, when Peeves suddenly stopped laughing.

His gaze swept the crowd, and he let out a shout.

"Oh~ Not just a bunch of first-years, but a fifth-year newbie too!"

With that, he darted in front of Gemma Farley, scrutinizing her closely.

If it were a boy, one might think he was admiring the pretty fifth-year prefect's face.

But for Peeves, that was impossible.

He wasn't even looking at Gemma.

It was just that from this angle, he could catch a glimpse of a certain new student behind her.

Feeling those dark, beady eyes on him, Glenn sighed.

Honestly, he suspected Peeves, besides loving pranks, had a bit of a masochistic streak.

Back then, when Glenn and Sebastian snuck into the library, they'd prepared thoroughly to avoid discovery—if Peeves hadn't butted in.

It infuriated Sebastian so much that even while studying Dark Magic, he made a point of learning every curse effective against him.

See him once, beat him once.

As for Glenn, he was more merciful. He'd only used a spell modified with ancient magic to teach Peeves a small lesson, and never touched him again.

Cough, well, he never got the chance either.

Word had it that for half a year, Peeves didn't show up in Hogwarts Castle—at least, no one saw him...

Recalling that memory, Glenn started to pull his wand from his sleeve.

Seeing this, Blaise beside him frowned.

But wanting to rest after nearly a day of travel, he chose to warn in a very low voice: "Don't take out your wand. It'll only egg him on."

That was his mother's advice.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Peeves let out a strange shriek and vanished on the spot.

"What did you say?"

"...No, nothing." But despite saying that, Blaise's frown didn't ease at all.

This wasn't right! Not what his mother said!

Clearly, Gemma the prefect thought the same.

She looked at where Peeves had vanished, then back at Glenn, who had his wand out.

Confusion flickered across her cold face.

Normally, pulling a wand to threaten Peeves only invited mockery and worse pranks.

A case of Peeves just fleeing like this—she'd never seen it before.

In the awkward silence, a scream suddenly came from the back of the group.

Following the sound, they saw a terrifying ghost drifting slowly toward them.

He stared with vacant eyes, gaunt and haggard, his robes stained with silver blood spots. It was the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost.

Well, that explained everything.

As every Hogwarts student and teacher agreed: Peeves was only afraid of the Bloody Baron.

As for someone who could make Peeves flee in terror just by pulling out a wand, there might be such a person at Hogwarts, but they were probably holed up in the headmaster's office right now, let alone being a first-year.

After this little incident, Gemma continued leading the Slytherin first-years forward.

"On Slytherin turf, Peeves usually doesn't dare to bother us, but if you do run into him, use the Bloody Baron's name to scare him off. Don't try to handle it yourselves—that'll only waste time. Alright, we're here."

Even as she said this, all that lay ahead was a wall.

"Desire."

As Gemma spoke the word, a massive iron serpent emerged along the wall, coiling into a stone-carved snake archway.

Passing through the arch, there was a spiral staircase leading underground.

And the Slytherin common room was beneath Hogwarts itself.

It was a long, narrow, dimly lit stone common room at the bottom of the lake, glowing with a faint green light, furnished with black-and-green leather armchairs.

"Girls, follow me. As for the boys, head that way." With those words, Gemma led the Slytherin girls away.

Glenn followed her directions and successfully found his dormitory.

Because there happened to be one extra person, he was assigned a single room.

Though the room was a bit smaller than usual, that wasn't a bad thing—he had much more personal space.

His luggage had already been delivered there.

And on top of the trunk lay an envelope woven with emerald green and silver, with elegant handwriting on the surface: To the Slytherin First-Year.

Glenn changed into his pajamas, lay down on his own four-poster bed, and opened the letter.

Dear Slytherin First-Year, I am Prefect Gemma Farley, and it is my honor to welcome you to Slytherin House.

Our emblem is the serpent, the wisest of creatures; our house colors are emerald green and silver; our common room lies behind a hidden entrance deep in the dungeons.

You'll find that the common room windows look out onto the Hogwarts lakebed, where we often see giant squid swimming by, and sometimes even more curious creatures.

I personally love the mysterious atmosphere here, like a sunken ship at the bottom of the water.

You may have heard rumors about Slytherin—that we all dabble in dark magic, that we only value pure-blood wizarding families, and other such nonsense.

Don't believe everything you hear from rival houses.

I won't deny that we've produced dark wizards, but so have other houses—they just refuse to admit it.

Truly evil people don't become good just because of which house they're in, and vice versa. It just so happens that the most evil one in recent years was in Slytherin.

We do have a tradition of recruiting from old wizarding families, but nowadays you'll find many Slytherin students have at least one Muggle parent.

You might think some people you meet in the common room have no potential, but remember—if the Sorting Hat placed them here, they have something special. Don't forget that.

There's another fact rarely mentioned by other houses: Merlin was a Slytherin.

Yes, that Merlin—the greatest wizard in history.

Do you want to follow in Merlin's footsteps? Or would you rather sit at the old table of a Hufflepuff who invented a self-cleaning dishrag?

We fight for victory because we value Slytherin's honor and traditions. Ravenclaws are a bunch of hardworking bookworms, sure, but they love competing with each other and often fall apart.

For a common goal and victory, we Slytherins can unite as one, trusting our brothers with our backs even in times of danger.

Many say Slytherin and Gryffindor are two sides of the same coin.

Personally, I think Gryffindors are no less ambitious than Slytherins. Some say Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor valued the same kind of potential in students, so perhaps we're more alike than we'd like to admit.

But that doesn't mean we should cozy up to them. Rather than being friendly, I'd rather beat them.

The walls of Slytherin are hung with medieval tapestries depicting the adventures of great Slytherins, and silver lanterns hang from the ceiling. This is a place of ambition, cunning, and glory.

Now, you have become one of the greatest Slytherins.

Remember: the common room password changes every two weeks. Do not reveal it.

All forests on the grounds are strictly off-limits to students.

Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of this term. Anyone interested in joining the house team should contact Madam Hooch. We're aiming for our seventh consecutive House Cup victory—honor never belongs to those who give up easily.

Finally, a message from the headmaster: Anyone who does not wish to meet a painful, tragic death should not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor.

Well, I think that's about it. I'm sure the sound of the lake water lapping against the windows will help you fall asleep soon.

Welcome home.