This world had gone mad! Or perhaps they were the ones who had gone mad.
—That was what every Slytherin thought after seeing the dramatic changes on the Points Chart.
On the Points Chart, the green-glowing gems occupied roughly three-fifths of the hourglass. This was normal; after all, during the first month of term, Slytherin had maintained the steady performance it had shown for six years.
The key lay with the other three houses. Ravenclaw, far out in front, had so many sky-blue gems that they looked ready to spill out of the hourglass.
Even Hufflepuff, perennially at the bottom, had seen its gem count soar. At this rate, it would soon catch up with Slytherin.
And Slytherin had just won six consecutive championships!
It was not only the Slytherin students. Throughout Hogwarts, whether first-year newcomers or older students from other years, everyone could smell that something unusual was in the air.
A war had truly begun.
Madam Pince had not been happy lately, either. Far fewer students had been coming to the library.
The air in the library seemed frozen these days, so heavy that it was hard to breathe. Not only the students, even she found it difficult to adapt.
She clearly remembered that everything had once been fine. All the changes had begun with the appearance of that male student—Li Mu.
Every morning, Madam Pince rose at six, opened the library doors early, and stood watch there.
Before long, a girl she greatly admired would arrive at the library: Hinata, with her smooth black bob. These days, she was always the first to come study. Sometimes she stayed until the first class of the morning, and when she had no lessons, she could remain there all morning.
Over so many years at Hogwarts, Madam Pince had seen