Knowing What You Want Is the Only Way to Get It

"Neville's toad has been found. Ron, you need to apologize to Lyon."

Little Hermione tugged at Lyon's sleeve, her face full of indignation. Even the Weasley Twins, Ron's brothers standing nearby, saw nothing wrong with it.

Indeed, Ron had falsely accused Lyon, yet Lyon had not said a single offensive word from beginning to end.

His tone had been a little cold, but that was only natural. If they had been wrongly accused, they would have acted far worse than Lyon had.

"Ron, stop being stubborn and apologize to Lyon. Lyon is a generous person."

As Fred spoke, he deliberately added that last line so Lyon would not make things too difficult for Ron.

But Ron felt as though everyone was watching him, and a wave of humiliation and shame rose within him.

"Why should I apologize to him? His attitude was terrible!"

"I saw him shaking hands with Malfoy's father at the station. He must be some evil Slytherin."

"Harry, don't you think so?"

Ron looked toward Harry as he spoke, hoping to see approval on his friend's face.

Caught in the middle, Harry looked awkward. "Uh, Mr. Shelby, why not just let it go?"

Lyon suddenly smiled but said nothing.

Hermione beside him grew angry at those words as well. "Why does Lyon have to back down whenever someone else makes a mistake? He kindly helped you find your toad, Ron, and you can't even say thank you."

"Lyon didn't even say a single curse word. Now that it's over, you want to leave without saying anything? Have you considered Lyon's feelings?"

Hermione clutched Lyon's sleeve tightly. She felt that Lyon had done absolutely nothing wrong in this matter.

When she had run into Harry earlier while buying magical supplies with him, she had not felt much about it.

But now Harry was actually taking Ron's side. Wasn't that just bullying?

"Alright, don't be angry." Lyon comforted Hermione, glanced at the Weasley Twins, then looked at Ron.

"Mr. Malfoy and I had a very pleasant collaboration. I don't think he is difficult to get along with. As for evil Slytherin..."

Lyon's polite smile eased the atmosphere slightly. "Slytherin is not evil."

"Bullshit!"

"Voldemort came from Slytherin! Those Death Eaters all came from Slytherin! It's evil!"

Ron's words frightened all the new students. After all, the man whose name could not be spoken was the nightmare of all Wizarding Society.

"You're wrong. You always judge things by isolated examples. That way of thinking is extremely narrow-minded."

Lyon did not speak loudly, but everyone present felt an inexplicable pressure from him. It was the presence he had honed over the past year.

"Mylo Millard, one of the most renowned magizoologists of this century, also came from Slytherin."

"And Alfonso Ewell, Dexter Hadley... those famous Charms professors also came from Slytherin."

"And Professor Snape, whom I consider the greatest Potions master of this century, without equal. He too came from Slytherin."

"So many great people and wise minds have left behind profoundly educational achievements. Hogwarts: A History even records that Slytherin is the house most likely to produce great wizards among the four."

"Yet you call Slytherin evil. Perhaps, to your childish way of thinking, ambition itself is evil."

After Lyon finished, Hermione looked at him with sparkling eyes. She had never even heard some of the names he had mentioned.

Lyon must have been diligently studying History of Magic this past month!

But to have studied History of Magic to such a degree while also finding time to practice the Summoning Charm until he could cast it without a wand... could Lyon be a magical genius?

Harry, Neville, and the two Weasley brothers also stared wide-eyed after hearing him. Was Lyon really a first-year student?

He seemed to know even more than upper-year students.

The group of new students gathered around them also gained a deeper understanding of the magical world and looked at Lyon with admiration.

His words moved them all.

"Sir, may I ask which family you belong to?"

A little girl in the crowd looked timidly at Lyon. She felt that someone so knowledgeable must have come from a pure-blood wizarding family.

Perhaps one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Families.

"The Shelby Family. Many people prefer to call my family the Razor Gang."

After hearing that, everyone present soon began drawing sharp breaths inside the compartment.

The name Razor Gang was famous in both Wizarding Society and the Muggle world.

In Wizarding Society, many who had read the news knew that a young wizard had built a massive Muggle mafia in just one year.

And when they connected that with Lyon's surname...

"Gasp!"

Lyon frowned, feeling that he had said a little too much. He gave everyone a polite smile. "Alright, I'm a little tired. You should all head back first."

The others looked disappointed at that. Many of the girls even wanted to go forward and ask Lyon for his autograph, but little Hermione refused them all outright.

With the farce over, everyone gradually dispersed. Neville and Harry, however, remained in the compartment. There was no other reason: they had spent all their time helping Neville search for his toad after boarding the train, and now they had nowhere to sit.

Ron did not stay behind. Compared to Lyon, Ron had appeared extremely petty in what had just happened.

He was too embarrassed to remain there.

News that the Razor Gang's leader had arrived at Hogwarts quickly spread.

Most Hogwarts students learned that there was a young wizard named Shelby who was not only a mafia boss, but also extraordinarily learned and highly accomplished in magic.

Those with a discerning eye could tell that Lyon had actually used two spells just now.

One had been a Summoning Charm, and the other a Levitation Charm. Both had been cast wandlessly and silently: he had first summoned the toad, then immediately cast a Levitation Charm on it.

And since he could smoothly link two spells together, no one would believe that Lyon's magical ability was anything but profound.

But Lyon did not know about this, or rather, even if he had known, he would not have cared.

"Lyon, do you really think Slytherin is that good?"

Inside the compartment, little Hermione looked confused. Neville, Harry, and the others all looked at Lyon. They had only a superficial understanding of the different houses.

"No." Lyon answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Huh? Then why did you..."

"The four houses are relative. Gryffindor represents courage, but things must be viewed dialectically. Courage can also become recklessness."

Lyon's first statement won everyone's agreement, and his knowledge made little stars seem to shine in Hermione's eyes.

"Hufflepuff represents diligence, but it also gathers plenty of fools."

"Ravenclaw represents wisdom, but in my view, there are more than a few arrogant people there."

"Slytherin represents ambition. Those who enter that house are generally destined for great things, but ambition often corrodes a person's reason."

"In the end, they become people like Voldemort."

The moment Lyon finished speaking, everyone present except Hermione and Harry shuddered.

"Oh! Merlin himself is going to leap out of his coffin! Please don't say that word!"

Fred did not look pleased, but Weasley-style humor naturally eased the atmosphere somewhat.

Everyone began chattering about which house they wanted to join.

"Out of all those houses, I think I might prefer Hufflepuff. It suits me better..."

Neville could not make up his mind. The little Sword Saint had yet to discover the courage hidden in his heart.

"Lyon, which house do you want to go to?"

Hermione could not decide which house she liked more, so she simply looked toward Lyon.

"I prefer Slytherin."

Lyon answered without any hesitation. There had always been one thing in his heart: finding the murderer who had killed his father, then leading the Razor Gang to rule all of Wizarding Society.

Hermione frowned at that. She did not feel that she had much ambition.

"Perhaps you could go to Ravenclaw. I think you'll find many like-minded friends there."

"But didn't you say there would be lots of arrogant people there?"

"Hold fast to your heart. Always know what you want, and you will surely get what you want."

After Lyon finished speaking, Hermione fell into thought and stared at him for a long while. Only George and Fred's snickering brought her back to herself.

Hermione shot George and Fred a glare, then lowered her head with a flushed face.