Slytherin's Rise
By the time Skylar returned to Hogwarts from Bath by Dobby's Apparition, night had fallen and dinnertime was long past.
Looking at the empty dormitory, Skylar sighed deeply. He sat quietly on the bed, clearing his mind of all the distracting thoughts.
He hadn't experienced that feeling of leisure, even a little boredom, of not having to think about anything for a long time.
He suddenly understood Dumbledore's feelings.
Ordinary people always look up to and envy those lofty heroes, but they don't realize that the greater the power, fame, and strength they possess, the heavier the responsibility they bear. In fact, being ordinary is also a kind of happiness.
He took out some snacks he always kept in his pocket, ate a quick bite, took a hot shower, and then lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day.
It's June 28th, four days after the Goblet of Fire ended, and there are still four days until Hogwarts' holiday.
When Skylar entered the Great Hall at breakfast time, he noticed that the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.
He had just sat down next to Daphne when Daphne whispered, "The Daily Prophet came out today. It reports that our former teacher for the Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Kettleburn, for some unknown reason, trespassed into the Centaur Tribe's forbidden territory. Not only did he offend the Centaur, but he also went so far as to attempt to attack Centaur first. As a result, he was killed by the Centaur in the battle, and his body was only delivered to the headmaster last night."
"This matter spread among the students this morning. I heard that Hagrid and the Centaur had a big fight at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and the noise even reached the castle," Daphne said gravely. "Since morning, you can see students discussing it everywhere."
Skylar glanced at the professors' seats. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout were both engaged in serious whispered discussions, while Professor Snape's somber face remained unreadable. Dumbledore's seat was empty.
"So..." Skylar elegantly cut the bacon toast into small pieces with his knife and fork, "What's the school's reaction?"
Daphne glanced at the empty headmaster's seat following Sherrington's gaze before saying, "After the Daily Prophet reported this, the fact that a former Hogwarts professor died in the Forbidden Forest adjacent to Hogwarts has undoubtedly stirred up the sensitive nerves of many parents worried about their children's safety. It has caused a huge uproar throughout the wizarding world. It is said that the headmaster rushed to the centaur tribe in the Forbidden Forest early this morning to try to investigate the ins and outs of the matter, but he was turned away. The angry centaurs didn't even give Dumbledore any face."
Skylar sneered inwardly. Dumbledore had probably backfired this time. He had originally planned to use Kettleburn to monitor the Forbidden Forest, but instead, it had attracted the hostility of the Centaur. Coupled with the alarmist Daily Prophet, parents would once again question Hogwarts' ability to ensure the safety of its students. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Dumbledore's image of wisdom and resourcefulness.
"Inform our companions in Slytherin and other houses that the Forbidden Forest may be turbulent in the near future. Everyone, stay away from there," Skylar instructed.
"Yes, I'll talk to Morrie, Luna, and Susan," Daphne nodded in response.
"After this, let's leave it alone. It's none of our business. Alright, after breakfast, we need to get ready for today's classes." Skylar put the last piece of toast with cheese sauce into his mouth, calmly wiped his mouth with a tissue, and stood up.
Today is Wednesday. I have a Transfiguration with Hufflepuff and a Charms with Ravenclaw.
Professor McGonagall was not entirely satisfied with the progress of the Transfiguration over the past year. Nearly half of the students in both classes were still making mistakes when casting the Switching Spell, and their mastery of the Switching Spell was not yet proficient, let alone the even more difficult Cross-species Switches.
In this class, she harshly criticized Goyle, Crabbe, and Justin because their performance was the worst among them. Then she praised Draco, Daphne, and Susan, although even so, these three only excelled in the Switching Spell and still needed to work harder before they could master Cross-species Switches.
Ernie Macmillan and Zacharias Smith exchanged a meaningful glance, as if they both understood something.
Hufflepuff students are generally very united, and it is rare for students in the same year to form different cliques. For example, if Hufflepuff students in a certain year are close to Gryffindor, under the influence of this collective unconsciousness, it is almost impossible for them to befriend Slytherin badger.
That was the case for the class that enrolled in 1991.
Ernie, Justin, and Harry were close friends, while Hannah Abbott and Megan Jones often hung out with the Gryffindor girls. The rest of the group, even if they didn't interact Gryffindor for various personal reasons, wouldn't have any connections with the other two houses either.
Until recently, a rare outlier emerged among them— Susan Bones.
For some unknown reason, Susan suddenly became very close to Slytherin. Even though Hannah and Megan, who were like sisters to her, tried to find out the reason several times, they could not get any information out of her.
As the year goes by, the fourth grade is coming to an end, and here comes the interesting part.
Aside from the Savior aura, Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't show anything particularly special about themselves compared to other students. Hermione at least had the title of "Miss Know-It-All" and her grades were outstanding enough, but Harry and Ron's performance fell far short of everyone's expectations.
Among the Hufflepuff students who were on good terms with Gryffindor, apart from Ernie and Zacharias Smith who had the advantage of family connections and still managed to do relatively well, the others, such as Justin, Hannah, and Megan, saw a noticeable decline in their grades this school year. However, this was not because they were actually regressing, but because they simply couldn't keep up with the progress of their classmates.
In stark contrast to the two of them was Susan Bones, who mingled with the Slytherin inner circle. Although Susan came from the prestigious Bones family, the entire family had been wiped out in the last Wizarding War, leaving only her and her aunt to depend on each other.
Susan's academic performance has been mediocre since her first year, even lagging behind Hannah, Justin, and Megan. Even in the peaceful Hufflepuff House, she was among the worst students.
But ever since she began to distance herself from her original friends and became enthusiastic about the various activities of the Slytherin clique, her progress has been almost like riding Firebolt with ten times the power. The speed is unbelievable. In just one semester, she has surpassed Ernie and Zacharias Smith and become the leading representative of Hufflepuff in academics.
What this meant— Ernie and Zacharias Smith both knew it implicitly; they had a premonition that Hufflepuff was about to change.
After the Transfiguration, the next Charms with Ravenclaw.
Although the Charms this semester mainly covered Summoning Charm and Banishing Charm, Professor Flitwick actually assigned two to three extra readings before the end of each class, requiring students to study them in their spare time. Although the number may not seem like much, it adds up to a considerable amount of reading—which is why, in the original books, Hermione, who had read all the extra readings, was so proficient in spells compared to Harry and Ron, who just drifted through life.
Flitwick, a beloved and easy-going instructor, was known for his lenient approach to teaching, and most students achieved excellent grades in the course. However, apart from Skylar, no other students, including Hermione from another class, were invited to the Charms Club that year.
Skylar was well aware of this. Although Hermione came from Muggle family and had never been exposed to magic before the age of 11, she had a great talent for learning magic and a deep understanding of how to use it. However, her straightforward personality limited her to learning and using magic, preventing her from innovating or improving any area of magic.
When Professor Flitwick decided to invite students to join the Charms Club, what he valued most was the creativity of innovative magic.
At lunchtime, the Little Snakes gathered at the Slytherin table, excitedly discussing their respective grades.
Fourth-year students have received their grades in almost all subjects. Except for their slightly disappointing grades in Care of Magical Creatures, Slytherin students excelled in almost everything else, including History, Astronomy, Alchemy, Herbalism, Transfiguration, and Charms. The only Defense Against the Dark Arts on Thursday and Potions on Friday.
They had been informed that Thursday's Defense Against the Law class had been cancelled; and Friday's Potions was the Slytherin's strongest subject, and they were confident of their performance in it.
As usual, Skylar sat between Daphne and Astoria.
"Skylar," Astoria said proudly, "Look, these are my grades in all my subjects. I should be number one in the whole school again this year. Praise me!"
Skylar gently stroked her golden hair with affection and said softly, "My Tori, I knew you wouldn't let me down. How did the others do?"
Just then, a fragrant breeze wafted from behind Skylar, and the Carrow Sisters gathered around Skylar. They exchanged a glance, revealed sweet and radiant smiles, and said in unison, "We are second and third in the whole grade."
Skylar nodded in satisfaction; among the second-year students, Slytherin had taken the top three spots.
I heard that the situation is similar among the third-year students. Although Luna from Ravenclaw is firmly in first place, the second and third places are still in Slytherin House. Moreover, the students of the Sleeping Dragon Society all know that Luna is actually one of their own.
With the graduating of Gryffindor outstanding students, it's foreseeable that in the next few years, Hogwarts will be dominated by Slytherin in terms of academic performance.
As for Slytherin's performance in the Quidditch competition, Skylar didn't want Slytherin to be outdone by the other houses, but he didn't want to interfere in this matter; he would leave everything to Draco!
After all, he was Draco's older brother who had grown up with him since childhood. He had confidence in Draco, and under his influence, Draco's personality was much more composed than in the original story.
Skylar had once seen Draco practicing Krum's signature Wronski Feint," in private. Skylar could say with certainty that Draco's mastery of this move was in no way inferior to Krum's —and with the added advantage of the Firebolt, the Seeker at Hogwarts was virtually unbeatable, except for Harry Potter, who, with his protagonist aura, also wielded the Firebolt.