Nighttime Talk in Slytherin

After dinner, Su Yu led the Slytherins back to the common room.

He sat on the common room sofa with the Nine-Tailed Fox in his arms, looking at everyone standing before him—from first-years to seventh-years, filling the entire hall. They stood there, some nervous, some expectant, some lowering their heads, afraid to look at him. Su Yu swept his gaze over them and spoke to everyone for the first time.

"I know you chose me because of my strength. Because I am so strong that I frighten you, and because you are afraid, you decided to attach yourselves to me. Whether you mean it sincerely or are merely going through the motions, it does not matter. I am now Slytherin's Prefect."

The hall was so quiet that they could hear the crackling firewood in the fireplace. No one spoke, and no one moved.

Su Yu leaned back into the sofa, his voice soft.

"Then let me tell you what I think. First of all, I believe this world is wrong. They call several spells we commonly use the Unforgivable Curses. That is wrong. Does power have a right or wrong? Only strength decides right and wrong. Weakness is wrong."

Several older students exchanged glances, but none dared make a sound.

"We are Slytherins. Every one of us has been exposed to magic since birth, and our resources far surpass theirs. But what about you?" Su Yu's gaze fell on Malfoy. "Malfoy, you are still delighted by dumping a bag of sweets sent from home onto a table with a clatter, then mocking Harry."

Malfoy lowered his head and said nothing. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him, fiddling with their fingers, looking exactly like a pair of dimwits.

"I remember ambition, desire, elegance, and nobility being synonymous with Slytherin, yes? But nowhere among them is bullying the weak."

Malfoy lowered his head even further.

Su Yu continued, "I do not think being ambitious is a derogatory term. Is putting profit first wrong? The other houses all say Slytherins are Dark Wizards—but they forget that famous Dark Wizards all came from Slytherin. We merely tend to produce wizards who stray down crooked paths. Those evil wizards care only about achieving their goals by any means necessary, but they are unworthy of being called Slytherins. We have ambition, and we do whatever it takes, but our greatest strength is still our proud hearts."

He paused, and his voice turned cold.

"Like Voldemort? He even looked down on his own father? Just because his father was a Muggle? After killing his father, he did not even dare write down his own name?"

A wave of sharp inhalations sounded through the hall. Several younger students took a step back. Cedrian's expression changed, but no one dared interrupt.

Su Yu ignored their reactions.

"Whether his father was a Muggle or not, he did not even dare face his own father. Can someone like that still be called a Slytherin? He is a disgrace. What is his ideal? To play terrorist every day and create some black humor for Muggle families? Or hide in some dark, stinking gutter waiting for revenge? Look at the pathetic things he has done—a Dark Lord, a Dark Lord! What did he lead your parents and elders to do? Petty thievery every day?"

The Nine-Tailed Fox raised her head in his arms, glanced at him, then lay back down.

"And your fathers," Su Yu said quietly, but every word drove into their ears like a nail, "you are proud of them, strutting around behind Voldemort. But did they know never to put all their resources in one basket? Where did Slytherin's principle of putting profit first go? Into dragging their whole families into rebellion? The whole family became Death Eaters—how laughable. They had no brains, so you do not either? Will you follow them down one dark road to the end? What does family mean to you?"

No one spoke. Several faces had already gone pale.

"I know Slytherins all value family bonds. But precisely at times like these, should you not be thinking for your families? Yet what did you do? Sit on the fence? If you cannot beat them, join them, is that it?"

Su Yu's tone grew colder.

"Do you know the families of Eastern University? Whenever they encounter a major crisis, they split their families apart and each chooses a different faction. They devote themselves wholeheartedly to supporting the faction they choose. Even if they end up facing one another with blades drawn, it does not matter. In the end, whoever wins, they win. That is why they have endured for a thousand years. And you? Shortsighted, caring only about petty gains. Where did all your connections, wealth-buying, and rule-manipulation go? What is your current style of doing things? Simple and crude, methods laid bare, image ruined, unusually irritable, acting entirely on instinct, never considering the consequences or costs."

He glanced over everyone.

"Tell me, how many of you have brains?"

Silence.

"Oh, I am not targeting you two, Crabbe and Goyle. You two can keep playing."

Crabbe and Goyle looked up and exchanged blank stares, as if they understood and did not understand at the same time. But they were very happy, because the Prefect had mentioned them! Then they lowered their heads and continued playing with their fingers.

Su Yu rose from the sofa. The Nine-Tailed Fox jumped from his arms to the floor and crouched by his feet, her nine tails swaying gently behind her.

"In short, you are Slytherins, not gangsters. Remember, your hearts are proud. No matter when or where, you must preserve that pride—the hearts that cannot be weak or lose the will to fight in the face of anything! Even if one day you have nothing left, you cannot let that change your hearts! Always remember—"

His voice was low and powerful.

"We are born noble! We are naturally elegant! We are filled with ambition! We crave power! Greatness inspires jealousy! Jealousy breeds resentment! If you can bring me profit, that is your ability!"

He paused and swept his gaze across every face.

"Let the students of the other houses see what a true Slytherin is."

The hall fell silent for three seconds.

Then, no one knew who started it. One, two, three—all the Slytherin students, from first-years to seventh-years, from Malfoy to Cedrian, dropped to one knee one after another.

Their right fists pressed against their chests, their heads slightly bowed, their voices so united that they sounded like one person.

"We obey your will, Prefect!"

At that moment, every Slytherin was willing to accept him as their Prefect.

Gemma Farley knelt amid the crowd and looked up at Su Yu. Her eyes shone a little too brightly, her lips slightly parted, and two unnaturally red patches rose on her cheeks. Her hand clenched the hem of her robe until her knuckles turned white, and her legs unconsciously pressed together for a moment.

This was the boy she should follow.

Cassandra Vole knelt beside her, her gaze never leaving Su Yu's face. The usual sharpness and cunning were gone from those green eyes, replaced by something she had never shown before anyone. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, but the smile was unlike her usual one—not mockery, not appraisal, but pure, heartfelt admiration.

This boy was unbelievably handsome.

Su Yu stood before the sofa, looking down at the Slytherins kneeling all over the floor, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He had finished speaking. Then he turned and left.

The Nine-Tailed Fox followed at his feet, her tail held high.