Two Months Later

That morning, Su Yu was still having breakfast with the Slytherin crowd.

Malfoy sat at the other end of the long table, his fork raised to his mouth but never reaching it. His gaze remained fixed on the two people over at Gryffindor—Harry and Ron were walking into the hall, chatting and laughing. They looked a little tired, but they were in remarkably good spirits. Harry had his head lowered as he said something to Ron, who laughed so hard he nearly doubled over, completely unaware of Malfoy's stare.

Malfoy could hardly believe his eyes. After last night's midnight duel incident, he had thought Potter would at least be punished by Professor McGonagall and given detention. Yet there they were, wandering around Hogwarts freely, completely unscathed, and laughing so happily?

Malfoy flung his fork onto his plate with a sharp clatter.

Su Yu sat at the other end of the table with a sandwich in hand, taking in the whole scene. He took a bite, chewed twice, and found it pretty good—tuna mayonnaise with beef. Malfoy had actually handled things quite well. He had exploited the rules, nearly gotten Harry into serious trouble, kept himself completely clean, and shifted all the blame onto Potter. His methods were just a little underhanded.

But when had Slytherin ever used honorable methods? They were not a bunch of heroes.

Su Yu swallowed the sandwich and took a sip of pineapple juice, no longer bothering with these kids' squabbles. Nine-Tailed Fox lay beside him with a slice of cheesecake in front of her, breaking off tiny pieces with her little paws and eating slowly and neatly. She was practically a different fox from the one two months ago, who had devoured food like a whirlwind.

"Look at Malfoy's face," Nine-Tailed Fox said without looking up. "Like he swallowed a fly."

"He brought it on himself," Su Yu said.

"You're not going to do anything?"

"Do what? He didn't lose."

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

During those two months, the Slytherin students seemed like entirely different people. They used to huddle in the common room gossiping, comparing family fortunes, and mocking Gryffindor for being poor. Now, they huddled in the common room—practicing spells.

After Su Yu lowered the floor of the common room by two meters, the space became much roomier, enough for dozens of people to practice at once. Every evening, the Slytherin students were either in the common room or the Forbidden Forest, practicing in small groups. Sister Fa led the upperclassmen in practicing nonverbal spells, Sister Ka led the middle years in practicing Dark magic, while Su Yu sat on the sofa, having his shoulders kneaded by Daphne as he pointed out their shortcomings.

"Why do you get so excited every night lately?" Daphne stood behind the sofa, her fingers pressing against Su Yu's shoulder blades as she kneaded them with just the right amount of pressure. "Did you fall asleep at your desk again?"

"No," Su Yu said.

"Every time you say no, it means yes."

Su Yu fell silent. Daphne pressed on his shoulders a few more times, sighed, and continued massaging him.

Su Yu also created several new spell combinations for everyone.

Avada Kedavra Lightning Chain was the nastiest of them. First, use curse-applying spells like Repel Three Feet to mark the enemy, then cast Avada Kedavra—the Killing Curse would jump between marked targets like lightning. One bolt of green light would strike, and a whole line of people would fall.

During the first demonstration, Su Yu stood in the Forbidden Forest before a group of Acromantulas. He cast several Repel Three Feet spells, covering every Acromantula. Then he raised his wand and softly spoke an incantation.

A green light shot from the tip of his wand and struck the first spider. It did not stop—the green light bounced from the first spider to the second, then from the second to the third, leaping between them like lightning. In less than a second, all seven spiders collapsed.

The Forbidden Forest was silent for a full ten seconds.

"Chief," a sixth-year boy said in a trembling voice, "isn't that... an Unforgivable Curse?"

"What's the problem with that? Better for the enemy to die than for us to die," Su Yu said.

No one asked any more questions. Sister Fa leaned against a tree trunk with her arms folded, watching Su Yu's back with a faint, unreadable smile on her lips. Sister Ka stood beside her, her gray-green eyes shining, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something. In the end, she merely licked her lips and said nothing.

Su Yu also used Wood Release chakra to grow a whole lot of Eastern Great Gluttonous Cabbage in the common room. The things grew incredibly fast. Gluttonous Cabbage had no legs, but it could bite. Throw one out, and it would automatically roll toward the nearest living creature, open its serrated leaves, and bite down viciously. Its bite was powerful enough to chew through armor.

Every Slytherin student could carry a few on them and use them like grenades.

The results were surprisingly good, though their duration was a little short. About ten minutes after being thrown, they would wither and die. Still, ten minutes was enough.

Su Yu often took them into the Forbidden Forest to "farm monsters."

To Su Yu, the creatures in the Forbidden Forest were just minor mobs. Acromantulas, Red Caps, Grindylows—he led the Slytherin students through sweep after sweep. It let them practice while giving these little snakes, who spent all day cooped up in the common room, a way to vent their excess energy.

The first time they went into the Forbidden Forest, several younger students' legs were shaking. When an Acromantula rushed out of the bushes, one girl screamed and ran backward, only for Sister Fa to grab her and yank her back.

"What are you running for?" Sister Fa's voice was cold, but her movements were swift—a Hindrance Jinx pinned the spider in place, and another Slytherin student immediately followed with a Blasting Curse. The spider fell to the ground, its legs curling up as it stopped moving.

"See?" Sister Fa patted the girl on the shoulder. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

The girl nodded. Her face was still pale, but her hands had stopped shaking.

After going often enough, everyone got used to it. The Slytherin students marched through the Forbidden Forest in formation. Whenever they encountered Acromantulas, they split into groups and surrounded them, their coordination growing more and more seamless. Su Yu walked at the rear of the group and only occasionally acted—one sweep of his sand could wipe out an entire nest of spiders.

This whole series of actions once made the Slytherin students feel that Su Yu was even more Voldemort than Voldemort.

Were Easterners all this bloodthirsty?

The most shocking incident happened on the night of a full moon. Su Yu led a small team patrolling the edge of the Forbidden Forest when they encountered several werewolves. Before the werewolves could even howl once, Su Yu's sand swept toward them. The werewolves reacted quickly and turned to run. Su Yu chased them for half a mile, his sand slithering rapidly over the ground like a yellow snake, nearly wrapping around the last werewolf's leg several times.

In the end, they still got away.

"What a pity," Su Yu said as he stood beneath the moonlight and watched the werewolves vanish, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather. "I was thinking of slicing them up for research."

The Slytherin students behind him exchanged glances. Slice them up for research? Werewolves?

From then on, Daphne tried every day to persuade Su Yu to act more like a decent human being.

"What did those Acromantulas ever do to you?" Daphne sat beside Su Yu, tidying his collar as she nagged. "They have to suffer mass slaughter at your hands every day. Professor Hagrid has already complained to Dumbledore, saying you Slytherins have no respect for life."

Su Yu leaned against the sofa and let Daphne fuss with his collar. "We're maintaining the balance of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid's Acromantulas have become a serious threat to every ecosystem there. We Slytherins are restoring peace to the entire Forbidden Forest."

Daphne's hand paused, and she raised her head to look at him.

"The centaurs can testify for us," Su Yu continued, sounding perfectly justified. "We Slytherins are in the right."

The corner of Daphne's mouth twitched.

"But," she said, "the other night, your Slytherin students 'dueled' the centaur chief and broke his leg. He can't come testify in person anymore."

Su Yu fell silent for a moment.

"That was an accident," he said.

"You sent five people to beat up one old man."

"Centaurs aren't old men. Centaurs can live for two hundred years. Their chief is only sixty, in the prime of his life."

"That still isn't a reason to break his leg."

Su Yu said nothing. Nine-Tailed Fox lay nearby with her ears perked, listening for a while before she could not help interjecting, "That centaur kicked first."

Daphne glanced at Nine-Tailed Fox.

Nine-Tailed Fox buried her face in her paws, pretending she had said nothing.

They had really only gone over to threaten them, hoping to get the centaur tribe to testify. But the two sides could not see eye to eye and started fighting. There were five people on the Slytherin side and only one centaur chief. They had not held back, and they beat him so badly that he could not get out of bed. Even now, the centaurs had two tribe members guarding him in the hospital wing, terrified that the Slytherins would come cause trouble again.

Daphne sighed and continued tidying Su Yu's hair.

"Could you not fight next time?"

"Depends on the situation," Su Yu said.

Now, every creature in the Forbidden Forest avoided that group of Slytherins. They were an annoying bunch. The moment they saw you, they wanted to fight, and the moment the fight ended, they ran off. Who would not find that irritating? Acromantulas shrank back at the sight of green robes, Red Caps burrowed underground at the sound of Slytherin footsteps, and even unicorns went around Slytherin students—despite the fact that unicorns usually rarely showed themselves at all.

Dumbledore could do nothing about it either. He comforted Hagrid, saying there really were too many Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. Although the Slytherin students' methods were somewhat crude, they had objectively helped regulate the ecosystem. But he also issued an order—Slytherin students were forbidden from harassing other animals again.

"Especially centaurs," Dumbledore added, his gaze sweeping from Professor McGonagall to Professor Snape. "I do not wish to receive any more reports about 'cross-species diplomatic disputes.'"

Snape said expressionlessly, "The Slytherin students are merely developing practical skills."

"Breaking the chief's leg is practical skill development?" Professor McGonagall snorted.

"That is combat experience," Snape said.

Professor McGonagall nearly dropped her teacup.

Su Yu's evaluation of the order was simple. "Annoying."

Still, with fewer fights, the Slytherin students became bored again. Su Yu sat on the sofa flipping through a directory of magical schools around the world, his gaze stopping on the South America section.

"I heard Brazil has a school called Castelobruxo," Su Yu said, spreading the book open before Daphne. "There are more magical creatures there. We could take the Slytherin students over there to kill some. I just don't know where it is."

Daphne wordlessly lowered her head to glance at the map in the book, then looked up at Su Yu. "How are you going to get there?"

"I'll ask my family when I have time. My father and mother probably know."

"You think they'll tell you?"

Su Yu thought about how hands-off his parents were. The last time his mother wrote, she said they were in Antarctica looking at penguins, and she had included a photo—his mother was standing on the ice in a down jacket while his father shivered beside her. There was also a note in the envelope that read: "Your dad didn't say he misses you, but I think he's being tsundere."

Su Yu felt that this was a long shot.

"I'll give it a try," he said.

Over those two months, Su Yu's relationship with Sister Fa and Sister Ka also continued to grow warmer.

Hugging and cuddling had become routine.

Every time Sister Fa saw Su Yu, she practically wanted to hang off him. She was half a head taller than Su Yu, so whenever she hugged him, she had to bend slightly and rest her chin on top of his head. Her hair carried a faint floral scent, and whenever Su Yu was held by her, he felt as though he were wrapped in a giant flower.

"Sister Fa, you should lose some weight," Su Yu said once.

Then Sister Fa pinned him to the sofa and tickled him for three minutes. Nine-Tailed Fox squatted nearby, her tail swaying behind her as she laughed hard enough to reveal two sharp little fangs. Daphne sat on the other side, pretending not to see as she turned a page in her book.

Sister Ka was not as clingy, but she liked to loop her arms around Su Yu's neck from behind and press her face close to his ear when she spoke. Her breath was light, and her lips nearly brushed his earlobe when she talked. Every time she did that, Su Yu could feel her heartbeat—far faster than he had expected.

"Your heart is beating so fast," Su Yu said once.

Sister Ka's arms tightened for a moment, then loosened. She stepped back, the familiar half-smiling expression returning to her face.

"You imagined it," she said, then turned and left.

Su Yu saw that the tips of her ears had turned red.

If you ignored the fact that Sister Fa occasionally barged into Su Yu's dormitory in the middle of the night, the two mature older sisters really were quite nice.

Daphne was still the same as always.

Like a gentle girl-next-door older sister, she indulged Su Yu in everything. If Su Yu did not want to do his homework, she let him copy hers. If Su Yu did not want to attend class, she signed in for him. If Su Yu lay on the sofa and did not want to move, she sat beside him and let him rest his head on her lap for an entire afternoon. Her legs were soft, and Su Yu thought they were more comfortable than any pillow.

But now, she had learned how to nag.

"Su Yu, you didn't eat vegetables again today."

"Su Yu, your robe is dirty. Change into another one."

"Su Yu, don't put your feet on the coffee table."

"Su Yu, you forgot to wash your hands again."

One after another, unhurriedly, in a tone as calm as if she were reading from a textbook.

Nine-Tailed Fox lay on the sofa with her ears perked, listening as Daphne listed them one by one.

"A second Butler Carson," Nine-Tailed Fox said. "Exactly the same. Even the way she talks is the same."

Su Yu buried his face in Daphne's lap and muttered, "Can you say a little less?"

Daphne looked down at him.

"No," she said.

She reached out, brushed Su Yu's fringe aside, gently pressed a finger between his brows, then continued reading.

Nine-Tailed Fox jumped down from the sofa, walked to Daphne's feet, and looked up at her.

"Did he fall asleep?" Nine-Tailed Fox asked softly.

Daphne looked down at Su Yu. His breathing was even, his shoulders completely relaxed, his fingers hanging over the edge of the sofa without moving.

"He fell asleep," Daphne said.

Nine-Tailed Fox jumped onto the sofa and curled up by Su Yu's feet, spreading her nine tails over his legs. She yawned, then closed her eyes.

Daphne said nothing. She turned a page, her fingers gently stroking through Su Yu's hair.

The fire in the fireplace flickered against the logs with a crackle. Outside the window, the waters of the Black Lake flowed slowly, casting patches of green light over the stone walls. The common room was quiet, filled only with the sound of turning pages and Nine-Tailed Fox's occasional indistinct mumbling.

Su Yu turned over on Daphne's lap and mumbled something incoherent. Daphne lowered her head to listen, but she could not make it out. Still, she hummed in response, as if answering him. Su Yu quieted down.

Daphne looked down at him, then continued reading.