Although I'm a Slytherin, I'm a Good Student

Silan was in a bit of a dilemma.

"Th-this... Mr. Malfoy, you know there are only ten maps. There's only one left now, and the price has already been bid up to fifteen Galleons."

Silan had not expected this group of wealthy Slytherin first-years to be so generous with their money.

They had driven the maps, originally priced at five Galleons each, steadily higher.

In the end, it had even turned into something like a small auction, with them bidding against one another.

The last map's price had already risen from the original five Galleons to fifteen.

"However..."

Silan changed tack. "Since you're Mr. Malfoy's friend, I should give you some face."

"One price only: twenty-five Galleons."

"Regardless of how much anyone else offers afterward, I'll only sell it to Miss Parkinson."

It sounded very nice.

But it was uncertain whether this map could have fetched twenty-five Galleons at all.

Silan had raised its price straight to the ceiling.

He had given face, made money, and put Pansy on the spot all at once.

Silan had deliberately said that he was doing it for Malfoy's sake.

If she refused to buy it now, she would be slighting Malfoy. That had nothing to do with him.

Hearing the price, Pansy felt a pang of pain too.

The map was indeed somewhat useful to her, but wasn't this price far too expensive?

Twenty-five Galleons! That was enough to buy three wands with money left over!

But things had already reached this point, and she did not want to embarrass Malfoy.

She could only grit her teeth and say, "Fine. I'll buy it."

"Thank you for your patronage," Silan said lightly.

Having sold all the maps in his hand, he was ready to go back and count his money.

This time, he had truly made a killing.

Back in the dormitory, Silan cast "Colloportus" with his wand to lock the door tight, then took out all the money he had earned from selling maps and placed it on the bed.

The first three maps had sold for five Galleons each. Most of the later maps had been sold through bidding, so their prices varied.

Altogether, he had earned ninety-one gold Galleons.

That was roughly equivalent to 455 pounds.

It was not a huge amount, but it was decent enough.

Together with the Galleons he had "won" from Theodore Nott earlier, he now had 111 gold Galleons and 57 silver Sickles.

To him, that was an enormous fortune.

There was no doubt that Silan loved money.

But to him, money was merely a means of achieving his goals.

With money, he could do more of what he wanted.

Whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle world, a person could only speak of personal independence after achieving financial independence.

Silan spread every Galleon and Sickle he had beneath his pillow, then closed his eyes.

But he did not fall asleep quickly.

He was accustomed to thinking over certain matters before sleeping, and today was no exception.

It had been nearly two weeks since he enrolled.

During this time, he had eaten, slept, and studied diligently every day.

In his spare time, he occasionally intimidated, blackmailed, and extorted his classmates, or sweet-talked, tricked, and psychologically manipulated free labor.

Though that "occasionally" happened rather frequently.

Still, he had to admit that his life had been very fulfilling.

Did Silan feel guilty about these things, you asked?

Of course he did.

He felt guilty that he had not done enough and had not profited enough.

Thinking back on it now, he had still been too kind.

He should have taken Nott's money pouch at the time, claimed it was his own, and then said, "Don't forget to give me the twenty Galleons you lost to me."

And the Slytherin Map had been priced far too cheaply.

"Selling them for only five Galleons, I really am too kind."

"Honestly, how could I become a qualified Slytherin by muddling through every day and earning such petty profits?"

Silan examined himself three times a day: Had I beaten up a classmate today? Had I broken school rules today? Had I seized wealth through trickery and force today?

No to all of them.

"Although I'm a Slytherin, I'm a good student."

Before falling asleep, Silan checked the several traits he had acquired again.

[Spell Inspiration] had already risen to level two, and he had mastered quite a few spells.

He would need more practice afterward.

[Silver Tongue] was still a little experience short of level two.

There was nothing he could do about it. He was simply too honest.

[Potion Prodigy] and [Animal Bloodline] had been acquired relatively recently, so neither had much experience yet.

"Almost two weeks... It should be nearly Hermione's birthday. I need to prepare a gift for her."

"After selling this batch of maps, I should stop..."

"The barrier to entry for this business is too low. Anyone can do it. If someone comes to compete later, it'll probably turn into a vicious price war..."

After Silan's overly active mind ran wild for quite some time, it gradually settled down.

At last, he drifted into sleep.

Bright moonlight filtered through the lake water and fell upon the windows.

Whenever the wind blew, the little snake-like patterns of light cast from the windows crawled gently along.

In another part of the Slytherin Common Room.

Theodore Nott, carrying more than a dozen pieces of parchment, silently arrived at Noah and Oliver's dormitory.

The two people inside seemed to have expected him.

Before he could knock, they opened the door.

The three silently exchanged glances.

Noah welcomed Theodore inside, while Oliver glanced down the corridor outside.

After closing the door, the three lit a candle and sat around it.

"Theodore, what exactly did you come to us for?" Noah asked.

"Something good." Theodore touched his hair.

Ever since Silan had shaved his head bald, he had developed this habit. He always subconsciously wanted to make sure his hair was still there.

"But first, I need to ask you this: are you really willing to let Prewett humiliate you like this?"

"Can you still call yourselves Slytherins?!"

Faced with Theodore's questioning, both Noah and Oliver fell silent.

The room sank into silence.

The candle flame on the table flickered for no apparent reason, as if their hurried breathing had stirred it.

"What can we do even if we're unwilling?" Noah stared at the flame and said bitterly. "Do you think we haven't tried to come up with something?!"

"But that guy locks his door tight every time he sleeps! Our Unlocking Charms can't open his lock at all!"

Oliver unconsciously glanced at Theodore's newly grown buzz cut.

"You want us to deal with him? Going after him directly isn't a good idea."

Noticing Oliver's gaze, Theodore shot him a vicious glare. Only after putting on his hat did he say, "I came to you to deal with Prewett, not to fight him directly."

"Then what do we do?"

"Take a look at this."

Theodore took the maps tucked inside his robes and placed them before the two of them.

"Maps? This is your plan?" Noah sneered.

"That's right. This is Prefect William's plan. Isn't he selling maps? If he sells them, we'll sell them too. And ours will be cheaper, and they won't be copies."

Oliver seemed to catch on. "Then he won't be able to make any money?"

"Exactly."

Theodore straightened up again, wearing an expression of complete confidence.

"Prefect William provides the money, and we provide the labor."

"He won't let us have an easy time, so we won't let him have one either!"

Oliver and Noah exchanged a look, then both smiled.

It truly was a good plan.

As long as they could deal with Prewett, that was enough.

They might not dare confront him directly, but they could still teach him a lesson through other means. Swallowing their anger was not the Slytherin way!

"Ruin his map-selling business and don't let him earn a single Knut!"

"Let him know the consequences of offending us."

"So, you agree?" Theodore asked.

"Of course."

The three stood up. The candle flame on the table flickered slightly, casting their three shadows into grotesque shapes.

"Prefect William has already prepared some maps. We can start selling them tomorrow."

Noah and Oliver's hearts burned with excitement.

The two of them had been looking for an opportunity to retaliate against Silan.

Now, the opportunity had finally arrived.

Damn Prewett, let's see how you handle us!