Bold and Elegant Jerry

"Damn it, at this point, I can only take things one step at a time!"

All of these analyses were conclusions Jerry had drawn from the results himself. He could not be sure whether they were actually true.

After all, logically speaking, the Sorting Hat was supposed to follow a Little Wizard's deepest inner wishes when assigning them to a House, and he had clearly wanted to go to Gryffindor.

Could it be that, deep down, he actually wanted to go to Slytherin?

Forget it. There was no point dwelling on that now. Since he had already been sorted into Slytherin, he could only study magic properly at Hogwarts as a Slytherin.

He raised his head and looked at McGonagall, who had gotten along quite well with him earlier, standing on the stage.

Then he looked at Professor Snape at the teachers' table, who seemed like a giant bat—gloomy, stern, cold, and harsh. Jerry could not help sighing again.

Plans really could not keep up with changes!

The whole set of strategies he had drawn up for Gryffindor was useless now. He could only rack his brains again and map out a new route for Slytherin.

But after thinking it over carefully, becoming a Slytherin was not entirely a bad thing.

At the very least, although Snape was stern and harsh toward Wizards from the other Houses—especially Gryffindor—he was quite friendly to the Little Wizards in his own House.

Besides, Snape was proficient in all kinds of Dark Magic. If Jerry could build a good relationship with him, perhaps he would have the chance to learn quite a bit of highly destructive Dark Magic.

"Harry Potter. Gryffindor!"

Just then, the famous and eagerly watched Harry, after communicating with the Sorting Hat for a while, was assigned to Gryffindor as if it were fate. With that, the Sorting Ceremony officially came to an end.

"Draco, I didn't expect you to be sorted into Slytherin too. We really are destined to meet!"

Coming back to his senses, Jerry looked at Little Malfoy and his group of three sitting far away from him. His eyes flickered, and he immediately walked over, squeezed in between them, and warmly draped his arms over their shoulders.

"Y-yes, destined..."

(Of course I'm a Slytherin! How could a guy like you possibly be a Slytherin?!)

Little Malfoy's body instantly stiffened. His face twitched as he forced out a smile.

When he had just seen Jerry sorted into Slytherin, he had nearly cursed on the spot.

No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not understand why a crude, ill-mannered brute like Jerry could be sorted into the noble and elegant Slytherin.

However, given how Jerry had effortlessly beaten the three of them by himself on the train, after the Sorting Ceremony ended, he still suppressed his anger and led Goyle and Crabbe to seats far away from Jerry.

A gentleman's revenge was never too late. Fighting with one's body was not the sort of behavior an elegant Slytherin Wizard should have. Once he had mastered magic, he would definitely let the other boy know the price of angering a noble Malfoy.

"Draco, you all seem to be very close!"

At that moment, the short-haired young witch sitting opposite Malfoy looked at Jerry, Malfoy, and the others with their arms around one another, her face full of surprise.

"Of course. Draco, Goyle, Crabbe, and I met on the train. We became good friends back then, didn't we?"

Jerry narrowed his eyes and applied a little pressure with the arms around Malfoy and Goyle.

Seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories, all three of them shuddered at the same time, then nodded very unwillingly.

"Hello, my name is Jerry Carmen!"

"Pansy Parkinson!"

Jerry removed his right hand from Goyle's shoulder and held it out to Pansy.

Pansy froze for a moment, but still reached out and gave Jerry's hand a light shake.

With Malfoy's pride, the friends he was willing to associate with must surely be Wizards from outstanding pure-blood families. Yet why had she never heard the name Jerry Carmen before?

"The feast begins!"

At that moment, Headmaster Dumbledore, seated in the very center of the teachers' table, slowly stood and announced loudly.

As Dumbledore's voice fell, Jerry discovered that the previously empty golden plates before him were suddenly filled with all kinds of steaming, fragrant food:

Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, steaks...

The silver goblets were also filled with different drinks, such as fruit juice and milk.

"It looks like I'll need to spend some time learning this kind of cooking magic in the future!"

Seeing the food that had suddenly appeared, Jerry's eyes lit up. He immediately decided to add cooking magic to the magic study plan he had made for himself.

Once he learned cooking magic, he could greatly reduce the time he spent cooking every day after returning to the main world.

Right, and he could not neglect the magic that could handle household chores either!

While planning out all the magic he would learn in the future, Jerry's body did not stop moving. Like the other ravenous Little Wizards, his stomach had long since begun to growl.

Whether because he was too hungry or because the House-elves' cooking magic was truly excellent, he felt that the food on the table tasted especially delicious today.

"Pansy, long time no see. You cut your hair short."

While Jerry was busy eating, Malfoy pretended to strike up a conversation with Pansy and quietly shifted his seat.

"Draco, you actually noticed. Does it look good?"

Pansy's face reddened slightly.

"Uh... it looks quite good!"

Jerry glanced over and saw Little Malfoy move away from his side. He secretly smiled but did not stop him.

He had already achieved the effect he wanted. Whether Little Malfoy sat beside him or not no longer mattered.

"Ah...!"

Just as Jerry had eaten half of a steak, the Little Wizards' screams suddenly rang out beside him.

Looking up, he found that Little Malfoy and several other Little Wizards in his year were staring beside him with terrified expressions.

He turned his head in confusion and saw a gaunt, hollow-eyed, terrifying-looking ghost in robes stained with silver Bloodstains sitting beside him at some unknown point.

"Hello, I'm Jerry Carmen, a new Slytherin student!"

Jerry smiled, elegantly set down his knife and fork, and gave the ghost beside him a slight nod of greeting.

The ghost turned his head and looked at Jerry in surprise. It was the first time he had encountered a new student who was not afraid of him. A trace of appreciation appeared on his rather frightening face.

"Baron. Or you may call me Bloody Baron, like the other ghosts do. I am Slytherin's ghost. Welcome to Slytherin!"

"Thank you!"

After chatting briefly, Jerry calmly continued eating his steak.

As an adult, especially one who had experienced life and death and had blood on his hands, he would not be frightened by a ghost.

Seeing that Jerry was not afraid at all and could speak to the terrifying ghost with such elegance and composure, most of the first-year Slytherins, including some second-year Little Wizards, showed looks of admiration.