Draco Malfoy

Whitebeard had announced four things in total.

First: students were not allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest.

Second: no casting spells in the corridors where others could see.

Third: anyone who wanted to sign up for their house Quidditch team should do so quickly.

Fourth: if they did not want to die, they should stay out of the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor.

After that, Gemini watched helplessly as a pair of red-haired twins at the Gryffindor table sang the entire Hogwarts school song to the tune of a funeral march...

It even moved Dumbledore to no end. It was utterly absurd...

After dinner, the bustling students left the Great Hall. Gemini trailed at the back of the Slytherin first-years, following the Slytherin prefect all the way down to the castle's basement.

Hogwarts's basement was a very broad term. Every floor below the first floor was called a basement.

Most of these basements were old storage rooms. But they were not to be underestimated—various potions, herbs, celestial models, and Alchemical Products were stored within. There were even specimens made from magical creatures, all of them immensely valuable.

Gemini followed the crowd to a damp stone wall. Only upon close inspection could one see that a hidden door was concealed within it.

"Victory of the Goddess."

That was the common room password for the next two weeks.

The hidden door opened, and Gemini entered the Slytherin common room with the crowd.

Most of the common room was transparent. Above them and directly opposite the entrance, they could see the bottom of the Black Lake. However, it was night now, so they could not see a thing.

Gemini had originally assumed the transparent part was glass, but upon getting closer, he realized it was not glass at all, but a transparent wall.

The other walls were built from black Gothic marble. The ceiling was a transparent semicircular crystal structure, with green-glowing lamps hanging from chains. Faintly, he could see unknown creatures swimming through the Black Lake above them.

An exquisite carved fireplace stood against one wall, its flames burning brightly. Firelight fell across the carved armrests of the nearby soft chairs, adding a touch of warmth to the cool-toned common room.

"The boys' dormitories are to the left, and the girls' dormitories are to the right. All right, I think you should all go to sleep now."

As he spoke, the prefect clapped his hands and dismissed the first-years present.

Seeing Gemini still standing where he was, the prefect drew a breath, put on a polite smile, and walked over to him.

"Is there anything else you would like to know, Gemini?"

Gemini swept his gaze across the common room, then smiled gently at the prefect. "Nothing. Thank you very much for your help."

"It was nothing." The other boy smiled. Gemini's refined manner had left quite a favorable impression on him.

It would have been even better without that terrifying combat ability...

Still, it was no great matter. Slytherin admired the strong.

Gemini had taken down more than a dozen upperclassmen by himself. That was an indisputable fact.

As Slytherin's prefect, he knew very well that if Gemini could take down more than a dozen upperclassmen with magic next time, then all of Slytherin would be his to command.

That was Slytherin!

"My name is Davis Pruitt. I'm a Slytherin prefect. If there's anything you want to know in the future, feel free to ask me." Davis spoke politely, showing no disdain because of Gemini's age.

Those idiots who had not taken Gemini seriously were all lying in the hospital wing right now. And there was that idiot Marcus—he had reportedly only just been discharged from St. Mungo's today.

Broken ribs were nothing, but apparently his arm had nearly been ruined. A group of healers had gone through considerable trouble to set it back in place.

"Thank you very much."

In the boys' dormitory, a golden nameplate hung on the black carved wooden door. Two names were written on it.

Gemini Fox.

Draco Malfoy.

When Gemini pushed open the door and entered, he saw a pale tea-haired boy curled up nervously on the bed, watching Gemini with caution and panic in his eyes.

"Gemini Fox." Gemini gave Draco a polite nod. "It seems we'll be roommates for the next few years. I hope we can get along well."

Draco froze for a moment, then nodded repeatedly, quietly letting out a breath of relief.

"My name is Draco Malfoy."

Gemini raised his head and looked around. Green velvet curtains hung on the walls, but behind them were not windows, but elaborate, exquisite carpets. In Britain, hanging carpets on walls was hardly unusual. Strictly speaking, these should be called tapestries, though they were essentially just carpets...

A small fireplace stood in one corner, surrounded by two black sofas and a small tea table. On either side were two large beds, each draped with green curtains patterned in silver.

Golden light spilled from the crystal chandelier overhead, casting the room in warm hues.

Judging by the conditions so far, the Slytherin dormitories were somewhat better than Gryffindor's. Still, each of the four houses probably had its own distinct features. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw lived in proper castle towers, while Slytherin lived underground.

Hufflepuff was underground as well, though not as deep as Slytherin. Their dormitories had skylights and excellent lighting. Rumor had it that Hufflepuff's dormitories were the warmest place in Hogwarts, though they probably did not offer as much personal space as Slytherin.

"Judging by the surroundings, this place is much better than The Leaky Cauldron." Gemini smiled, took off his robe, and sat on the other empty bed.

He drew his wand and gave it a casual flick. The coat Gemini had removed flew up with a whoosh and hung itself on the rack by the head of the bed, leaving Draco stunned.

"Gemini?" Draco looked at Gemini tentatively. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Gemini nodded with a smile.

"Well..." Draco hesitated, seemingly choosing his words carefully. He had seen the miserable state of those Slytherin upperclassmen, and he had no desire to follow in their footsteps.

"How did you end up being sorted into Slytherin? I mean... I heard rumors that... you used to live in a Muggle Orphanage. Of course, I'm not trying to mock you. Even Muggle-borns can be very powerful wizards."

That was a very Slytherin thing to say.

When they held the upper hand, they called you a Mudblood. When they did not, it became, "Muggle-borns can be very powerful too."

"By wizarding standards, I should be a half-blood, though I don't know who my parents are." Gemini smiled. He did not care about the Blood Curse. During the feast, the Weapon Shop had already offered dozens of ways to resolve it.

Right after that, Gemini clearly saw the smile on Draco's face become far more sincere in an instant. It seemed Draco cared deeply about blood status.

"Then how did you do it?" Draco no longer seemed as nervous as before. He asked curiously, "How did you defeat those upperclassmen?"

Gemini thought for a moment. "With my fists, I suppose. I've always been rather strong."

"That's incredible. I've never heard of a first-year taking down more than a dozen upperclassmen with his fists. You might be the first since the school was founded."

Gemini did not take Draco's flattery to heart.

Strictly speaking, he had cheats. Taking down a few upperclassmen was nothing worth boasting about.

Still, Draco seemed to admire Gemini greatly.

His handsome looks, impeccable attire, elegant manner of speech, extraordinary strength, and gentle, gentlemanly temperament—at that moment, Gemini was everything Draco considered an outstanding Slytherin. It would have been even better if he were a pure-blood.

"Oh, right, where's your luggage? I haven't seen it anywhere." Draco glanced curiously at Gemini's cabinet. It was completely empty inside.

"I don't have much luggage, so I simply carried it all with me." Gemini had only chatted with Draco for a short while before rising from the bed and putting on his robe.

"Where are you going?" Draco looked at Gemini in confusion and reminded him softly, "It's already curfew. If you run around outside now and get caught, points will be deducted."

"I only came to find out where my dormitory was." Gemini spoke gently. "After beating up so many people today, I won't feel at ease staying in the dormitory."

"You're not staying in the dormitory? Then where do you want to go?" Draco asked.

"Find somewhere comfortable to sleep. I think the Hufflepuff common room seems quite nice."

Gemini waved, turned, and left the room. Draco opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.