Rules of the Serpent Swarm

Parkinson glared fiercely at Greengrass from the side and said to Malfoy, "Draco, I thought you and Zabini were friends. You even let him into your compartment on the train earlier."

Malfoy said with a hint of disdain, "Zabini is just a Zabini, not from any great family. I only kept up appearances before because his mother's latest man has business dealings with my father."

"Then he really has ulterior motives, trying to climb up to the Malfoy family." Pansy said, glancing at Daphne, which made Daphne's gaze dim as she hurriedly looked toward Malfoy.

"Pansy, Greengrass and we are both of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. As long as they aren't those red-headed blood traitors, we should be friends."

Pansy smiled, satisfied with her success.

"Of course, Draco, you are always right. Greengrass 'should' be a friend."

Early the next morning, Breeze rose from his daze. Friday in Slytherin only had morning classes, which was Potions. This was a subject where Breeze had only memorized the textbook content without doing a single bit of practical work; like Transfiguration, it made Breeze worry about whether his talent had been ignited.

"You're up really early."

Breeze certainly wasn't talking about himself; he had self-awareness. Besides, in this gloomy dungeon, even with a fireplace, it always felt damp and made it far too easy to sleep.

Of course, Breeze still longed for the breeze of the towers rather than the ugly merpeople swimming outside the window. What luck to open his eyes to that—it was said that merpeople rarely approached Hogwarts.

Zabini had already gone out, so Breeze began to get up and wash. It was the Head of House's class; he only hoped he would be gentle and not so aggressive, as if someone had killed his girlfriend, appearing gloomy and world-weary, looking as if living was such a chore.

Thump, thump, thump...

"Stop it, Miss Mermaid. You can't break the window, and I don't want physical contact with you, nor do I want to remember what you look like when I go to eat breakfast."

After washing up, Breeze picked up his Potions textbook, put it in his messenger bag, and headed out, treating the enthusiastic creature with cold indifference.

He didn't know if it was because of his talent, but with his natural affinity, he was always liked by small animals.

Merpeople were probably small animals; the goblins from before weren't, though they were ugly from a different perspective.

Today was calm, and Breeze walked to the Great Hall safely. It was strange, though—where were the Weasley twins? If they didn't come to find him soon, he would throw the Stinkweed in his bag away.

"Good morning, Breeze."

"Good morning, Cedric. You look good today."

The tables in the Great Hall, from the perspective of the teachers' table from left to right, were Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor.

Breeze sat on the inner side, so he was near Hufflepuff, and Cedric could talk to him easily.

Cedric smiled gently at Breeze's words. It was best to see that Breeze was doing well in Slytherin, but he still had to offer a reminder, such as about Potions.

"Glad to hear it. But be careful in Potions; don't ever do anything Professor Snape hasn't told you to do. He... well, he's a bit strict. But I hear he's quite good to the little snakes—at least he doesn't deduct points from his own house. But you guys don't have great luck; you're having class with Gryffindor."

Cedric didn't say it explicitly, but Breeze understood clearly that Gryffindor and Slytherin were enemies. It had been fine the day before yesterday, as the little snakes had just enrolled, but starting yesterday, once the little snakes stopped focusing on Breeze, they began spitting venom at the Gryffindors, whether they were upperclassmen or lowerclassmen.

Gryffindor was the same; they were indeed very noisy.

Especially with the Boy Who Lived having enrolled, like right now—

A little badger beside Breeze said, "Look, the one next to the red-headed boy..."

"The one with the glasses?"

"Yes, that's Harry Potter. Did you see that scar? It's truly amazing!"

"Hmph, Potter, he really knows how to use his fame. The day before yesterday, yesterday, today—he doesn't let anyone have a moment of peace while eating."

Following Malfoy's words, the surrounding little snakes nodded as if it were a serious matter; the upperclassmen glanced at Potter with furrowed brows before continuing their elegant breakfast.

Thanks to the Slytherin beds and the library, one couldn't run into Potter in those two places.

At the same time, thanks to Malfoy.

Malfoy could always absorb the influence Potter brought, allowing Breeze to study quietly without bumping into Potter or hearing too much discussion about him.

But today he had seen it; the entire breakfast time at Hogwarts was whispering, and even some Slytherins couldn't help but set aside their etiquette to say a few words.

But Potter was clearly unaccustomed to such fame. He wasn't material for a star, perhaps just like Breeze himself...

"Maybe he just wants to spend his seven wonderful years peacefully and graduate smoothly."

Breeze muttered, while Cedric watched his distraction with a smile.

He said, "Hi, are you looking at Potter too?"

"Ah, yes, everyone is looking, aren't they? But I don't harbor hostility toward Gryffindor like the other little snakes." Breeze took a sip of milk and said, "I only hope to spend the next seven years of magic courses well."

Breeze pointed to his Potions textbook.

"Compared to caring about Potter, I'm more worried about whether I have a talent for Potions, or perhaps, a love for it."

Cedric shrugged helplessly, as he didn't like it either, even if he could rank first in the year.

"If you have any difficulties, I can tutor you."

"That would be great, but I have to try it myself first. Well, let's eat. Some little snakes are glaring over here. Honestly."

They clearly didn't like him, yet their desire for control was so strong. Slytherin was truly a twisted house; they could be united against outsiders, but internally divided—they were really just like snakes.

"Coo, coo, coo..."

At that moment, a large group of owls flew in. It had nothing to do with Breeze; he no longer had anyone left who could send him owls frequently.

Today, Potter actually received a letter.

Harry Potter watched the owl flying toward him with a mix of surprise and anticipation; after all, he didn't really have anyone to write to. He wondered aloud, "Who could it be?"

Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig, hadn't brought a letter, but rather a small note.

"Hagrid?"

Harry Potter said to Ron Weasley, who was sitting beside him, "Hey, Ron, it's a note from Hagrid. He wants me to come over at three this afternoon."

Harry happily scribbled a reply on the back of the note.

"Hagrid? Is that the giant?" Ron Weasley looked a bit bewildered, but seeing how happy Harry was, he didn't say anything else and decided to go along with him to see what it was about.

After finishing a multi-person breakfast, amidst the admiring gazes of the Hufflepuffs and the cold glares of the Slytherins, Breeze followed the first-year snakes toward the basement level. The Potions classroom was located there; it was very close to the Slytherin common room, yet strangely isolated.

The Potions classroom was large, easily accommodating dozens of students for a lesson. It contained many small potion-making stations, usually shared by two students, while the shelves lining the walls were packed with bottles and jars containing all sorts of oddities—likely potion ingredients or specimens. To one side stood a storage cabinet for ingredients, and at the front of the room was a blackboard. Because it was underground, the entire classroom felt gloomy, and the lack of human warmth made it feel even colder than the corridors.

Breeze, however, had adapted. He quickly found a seat toward the back. Some of the Gryffindor students who arrived later weren't so lucky; upon entering, they were so intimidated by the environment and the large group of little snakes that their faces turned pale, matching Malfoy's complexion for a moment.

But as Harry Potter walked into the classroom, these students seemed to find their backbone. They gathered around Harry Potter and slowly found their own seats, creating a clear divide from the Slytherins—a block of green and a block of red.

"Hmph, Harry Potter," Malfoy sneered, crossing his arms as he waited for the lesson to begin. He was paired with Gregory Goyle, while Theodore Nott accompanied Vincent Crabbe, and Pansy Parkinson was with Daphne Greengrass—the two of them clearly couldn't stand each other.

As for Breeze, well, thanks to the fact that there was an even number of first-years in Slytherin this year, a girl who looked sturdy and fierce walked over and stood silently by his side.

Breeze looked up slightly to see that this girl, who was a head taller than him and quite robust, was blushing and didn't dare to meet his eyes.

Breeze remained expressionless; at least there was someone to pair up with.

"I'm Millicent Bulstrode, also in the first year," the girl said in a voice so quiet that if Breeze hadn't been right next to her, he wouldn't have heard it.

"I mean, I'm a pure-blood, but I don't hate Muggle... no, I mean... actually, not many Slytherins really hate you. Because, because many people follow the rules—the pure-blood rules."

"You're very impressive. Back on the path, that Lumos spell was excellent. At the very least, back home, I can only get the tip of my wand to glow a little. And Malfoy... you actually dared to provoke him. Although I don't know what happened between you two, many people are saying that the mud on Malfoy's hair during the Sorting was your doing..."

It was clear she was flustered, but what she said piqued Breeze's interest, and he couldn't help but tilt his head.

She seemed encouraged, gathered her courage, and whispered, "It's not entirely Malfoy's fault; it's more about your situation. No Muggle-born wizard has ever entered Slytherin—at least, I've never heard of one—and you've never denied your background, so everyone is afraid to get close to you. Even the half-bloods don't dare; they're even more averse to associating with you than the pure-bloods are."

"Those two second-years that morning were like that, but very few people are that stupid. Perhaps they were incited by someone... because in the unspoken rules of Slytherin, whoever joins us is granted a certain period of protection. Like the nature of a snake, a snake that hasn't been born yet cannot be harmed."

Breeze paused upon hearing this and asked, "How long does this protection period last?"

Millicent Bulstrode glanced toward Malfoy's side and said, "If there are no personal grudges, the internal protection period in Slytherin lasts until the end of all classes in the first week—which is next Wednesday. As for external matters, Slytherin will protect you from bullying by other houses for one month. But they won't care how you fare within the house itself..."

Breeze nodded thoughtfully, then gave her a kind smile and said, "Thank you, you're a good girl."

Millicent Bulstrode blushed and reminded him with some concern, "If you really are a Muggle-born wizard, you need to prove your value. In any subject, at the very least, you must make it so that others have nothing to say."

"I will certainly study every subject diligently, but I'm not doing it for the sake of Slytherin."