People always praise those who are kind, brave, and intelligent.
They fantasize that beautiful things are pure and untainted.
This serves as the breeding ground for their dreams and the source of their fantasies.
But to Silan, it was all bullshit.
Imagining the world to be so wonderful will only lead to a painful and humiliating experience, leaving you battered and bruised, and then you'll lament in an embarrassing manner that the world has deceived you.
That's disgusting.
You've clearly misjudged the world, yet you claim the world has deceived you.
Foolish idea.
So when Snape asked her to prove her worth, Silan wasn't annoyed.
For Slytherin, exchanging value was not a humiliation, but rather an affirmation.
After all, "colluding with each other" and "mutual exploitation" can be disguised as "complementary value" and "shared ideals" with a little repackaging.
Snape was very pleased with Silan's reaction.
Do not expect charity from others, and do not indulge in your own fantasies.
If you want something, you should strive for it yourself, whether by clever means or by any other method.
If I want it, I will get it.
This is what a proper Slytherin should be like.
"I have an order for Baruffio's Brain Elixir." Snape turned to Silan. "If you can make 20 Baruffio's Brain Elixir Tonguefire Grass."
Silan looked at the bottle of Baruffio's Brain Elixir she had just drunk from, and without hesitation, agreed.
"Professor Snape, the materials..."
Making Potions is no problem, but preparing the materials is a real hassle.
Twenty documents are no small number.
"I'll prepare the materials," Snape said, "But only 30 servings. If they fail to make or are of poor quality..."
Snape didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: he should face the consequences.
Silan was not worried at all; in fact, he was overjoyed.
What a wonderful dean and professor! I love this kind of outrageously extravagant lifestyle.
He has two levels of [Potion Prodigy], which can save 35% of the main potion.
The ingredients for 30 servings are enough for him to make about 46 servings of Baruffio's Brain Elixir.
As for auxiliary medicines, they are not difficult to obtain with a little money.
Out of 46 attempts, only 20 bottles of Baruffio's Brain Elixir were produced, a success rate of less than 50%.
This wasn't too difficult for Silan.
"You have one month." Snape nodded in satisfaction when he agreed.
He could make 20 doses of Baruffio's Brain Elixir within a day or two if he were in charge.
He entrusted this matter to Silan not only to find an excuse to give him the Tonguefire Grass seeds, but also to see Silan's potential.
After all, doing something under the guidance of a teacher and doing it on your own are completely different concepts.
You can understand it when you hear about it, but you fail when you try to do it; the essence is that you don't know how.
As for the time...
Snape didn't care; he just told the Potions buyers to wait.
Don't want to wait? Then go find someone else.
Having finished discussing important matters, Snape suddenly remembered that today seemed to be Halloween Eve.
"Get the materials later. Let's go to the Great Hall for the dinner now. We're already late," Snape said, rising to his feet.
Silan followed him out of the office.
As they walked toward the Great Hall, they heard a commotion as soon as they crossed the corridor.
A large group of students gathered together, chattering noisily.
What's going on?
"Mrs Norris!"
"Great! I mean, terrible..."
"Look up there, there are words written on the wall!"
Snape frowned and strode quickly toward the crowd.
"... It's time to kill..."
Suddenly, Silan heard a hoarse, tearing sound coming from the ceiling.
That sound... Basilisk?
He looked up and saw that the stone ceiling was empty.
"... It's been... so long..."
The sound began to wriggle on the ceiling, growing weaker and weaker until it finally disappeared.
Silan stopped and stared in the direction from which she had just heard the sound, lost in thought.
"It seems Lockhart has already released the Basilisk."
It's not surprising that he has an entry on Animal Bloodline and can hear the Basilisk speaking.
"Prewett!" Snape suddenly turned around, frowning, and said, "Follow me!"
Silan looked away and quickly followed Snape.
The Basilisk was released.
Chaos is about to begin.
If he had acted earlier, obtained Voldemort's Diary, disposed of it quietly, or simply handed it over to Dumbledore, all this chaos could have been avoided.
But what good would this do for Silan?
For love and justice, or to uphold the peace and beauty of Hogwarts?
Don't be silly.
For Silan, chaos is the ladder to advancement.
All he needed to do was make sure Hermione was alright.
Silan and Snape walked into the crowd.
When the students saw Snape coming, they instinctively moved aside and automatically made way for him.
The caretaker Filch, stumbled over, pushed through the crowd, and saw Mrs Norris hanging upside down. In horror, he grabbed his face with his hands.
She screamed and howled incessantly, "My cat! My cat! What's wrong with Mrs Norris!"
His bulging eyes scanned the crowd before fixing a menacing look on Harry.
"You!" he shrieked, "You must have killed my cat!"
Snape stared at the petrified Mrs Norris, his brow furrowed slightly, lost in thought.
Silan looked up at the wall.
On the wall between the two windows, a line of words was smeared in bright red blood, which gleamed in Winky light of the burning torches.
[The Chamber of Secrets has been opened; those who are enemies of the heir should be on their guard.]
Seeing Filch staring at Hermione and the other two with a somewhat frantic expression, Silan frowned and walked over.
Don't spit on Hermione.
Malfoy pushed his way to the front of the crowd, and when he saw the frozen, stiff Mrs Norris, a sinister smile spread across his face.
"Beware of those who oppose the heir!"
His gaze fell on Hermione, and he said with a hint of disdain, "You're next, you idiots..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly saw Silan walk up to Hermione and pull her back.
Seemingly sensing something, Silan glanced in their direction.
Across the crowd and the firelight, the two locked eyes.
The flickering flames were reflected in Silan's almost black eyes.
Malfoy felt a cold, sinister snake coil around his neck and up his back, rendering him speechless.
He didn't care about Hermione.
But he had witnessed Silan's abilities firsthand, and provoking him at this moment would not be a wise choice.
And he came with Snape.
Malfoy couldn't help but wonder, "Why are those two together?"
Was Prewett put in solitary confinement for violating school rules?
Surely it couldn't be that Headmaster Snape was giving Prewett special treatment, could it?
I, the heir to the prestigious Malfoy family, a wizard of the noblest and purest blood, don't receive this treatment. Why should Prewett?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
They might have just happened to run into each other.
Seeing that Malfoy hadn't finished speaking, Goyle, ever the sycophant, wanted to help him out.
"You're next, you filthy mud..."
Upon hearing this, Malfoy's heart pounded, and he cursed inwardly.
Idiot!
Are you crazy?!
Malfoy jumped up, grabbed Goyle by the neck, and forcefully covered his mouth, gritting his teeth and shouting angrily, "Shut up!"
Ignoring the cold sweat on his face, he glanced at Silan out of the corner of his eye and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Xilan wasn't looking in his direction.
Then he kicked Goyle again.
"Don't let your mouth, which is meant for eating, develop the ability to speak on its own."
"This is unnecessary!"
Goyle was completely unaware of the seriousness of the problem and pouted in grievance.
Chris Nott, hiding in the crowd, felt a pang of regret when he saw that Malfoy and Goyle hadn't finished speaking.
Say that word out, Malfoy!
Why are you afraid of him?!
His feelings were actually very complicated.
I want to see Malfoy utter "Mudblood" to provoke Silan, but I also want to see Silan kick Malfoy twice.
The hardship of the first day of school shouldn't be borne by one person alone.
As a result, Malfoy chickened out.
And Goyle chickened out along with him!
This was a great pity for Chris.
Filch continued to howl furiously, "I'll kill you all! I'll..."
"Argus!"
Dumbledore's voice suddenly rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
He untied Mrs Norris from the fireboard stand, his gaze penetrating even through his Half-moon Spectacles.
"Ah... Severus, it's nice to see you here too."
"Come with me, Argus." Dumbledore turned to Harry, "And you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger."
After speaking, Dumbledore's gaze lingered on Silan for a moment, but he said nothing.
"Looks like I don't need to go with them," Silan thought to herself.
Since things have come to this, let's eat first.