Storytelling

How could I have ended up in Slytherin?

Wasn't the Sorting Hat negotiable?

Could it be that I'd opened it wrong?

Damn Sorting Hat, you couldn't treat me differently just because I wasn't the protagonist!

The food at Hogwarts was especially good. Although it was located in Britain, it seemed to have its own menu.

At the very least, Eli hadn't seen the famously horrific British dish from his previous life—Stargazy Pie—on the long tables.

The young Wizards were all digging in heartily, especially the newly arrived first-years, who had nothing but praise for Hogwarts' food.

Only Eli angrily jabbed the chicken leg on his plate with his fork.

Malfoy and his two lackeys beside him watched in terror, as if Eli's fork were stabbing into them.

They couldn't figure out why this strange fellow harbored such immense resentment.

But ever since entering the Great Hall, they had deeply realized that this guy was a bad omen and absolutely not someone to provoke.

For a moment, the area around Eli fell under a low-pressure atmosphere.

He still couldn't understand it. His biological parents, the Potters, and his older brother, Harry Potter, were all Gryffindors.

Why had he become a Slytherin instead?

Could it be...

He suddenly shook his head. "Wrong direction, wrong direction..."

He let out a long breath and even suspected that the Sorting Hat had made a mistake.

Slytherin had always recruited only ambitious Wizards, but other than wanting to protect his brother and family, he just wanted to coast through life!

What? You mean the potion business? Oh, it was just a small business!

Forget it. Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it!

From afar, he looked at Harry and Ron Weasley over at the Gryffindor table. They seemed to be looking at him too, and they didn't seem very interested in the food either.

Eli gave them a reassuring smile.

Looking at all the food on the table, he couldn't let it go to waste, could he? He immediately began wolfing it down.

Malfoy, seated beside him, looked even more horrified.

Was this guy having some kind of episode? Why was he uninterested one moment and suddenly stuffing his face the next? He wasn't going to bite me, was he?!

As Malfoy inwardly grumbled without pause, all he could do now was pray that he wouldn't end up sharing a dormitory with this bad omen.

If I share a dormitory with him, I'll have the worst luck of my life!

Eli paid no attention to Malfoy beside him, whose face kept turning green and white like a chameleon, and he knew even less about Malfoy's internal complaints.

Instead, he remembered Dumbledore's earlier warning.

"Do not go into the Forbidden Forest. Do not go to the Third Floor Corridor."

Eli knew perfectly well how dangerous the Forbidden Forest was. There were Acromantulas in there that could swallow children whole!

Wouldn't running in there be suicide?

He swore that if he ever went in there to seek death himself, he'd be a dog.

Still, who would have believed that those man-eating monsters had once been raised by Hagrid?

Then again, once you learned that the three-headed dog had also been Hagrid's pet, it probably wasn't so surprising anymore.

Speaking of the three-headed dog, that was one of the reasons Dumbledore had forbidden students from entering the Third Floor Corridor.

Beneath a trapdoor on the fourth floor was hidden a treasure of the Wizarding world—the Philosopher's Stone!

It was also called the Sorcerer's Stone.

It could turn stone into gold, contained immensely powerful magic, and could even be used to brew an elixir of immortality!

It was an enormous temptation for Voldemort, who desperately wanted to return to life and craved immortality above all else.

In the story from his previous life, Dumbledore had taken advantage of Voldemort's desire for the Philosopher's Stone.

He had set up several trials to protect it.

It was a trap aimed at Voldemort.

It was also a test for Harry Potter and his friends.

Those so-called trials were nothing more than a series of games Old Dumbledore had set up for Harry and the others.

Otherwise, Dumbledore would never have so conspicuously emphasized that no one was allowed on the fourth floor.

He was showing Voldemort and Harry the way!

At that thought, Eli couldn't help shuddering.

He sucked in a sharp breath.

"Scheming old man. Terrifying indeed!"

The meal was basically over, and Eli had cleaned out the entire area in front of him.

Poor Malfoy had barely gotten anything to eat.

Looking pitiful and aggrieved, Malfoy secretly glared resentfully at Eli, who contentedly patted his stomach.

Dumbledore waved his hand, and everything on the tables vanished in an instant.

Dumbledore's display made Eli's expression change. He truly was worthy of being called the greatest white Wizard.

Even from where Eli sat below, he could sense the terrifying power contained within Dumbledore.

The prefects led the students of their respective Houses back to their common rooms.

Along the way, Prefect Gemma Farley continually introduced them to Slytherin House.

She looked exactly like one of those motivational lecturers Eli had seen in his previous life.

Let's hear some applause!

"Welcome to Slytherin House. Congratulations on joining the finest House at Hogwarts!"

"You may have heard certain rumors about us before, claiming that we specialize in training dark Wizards or that we only admit pure-blood Wizards."

"I think it's necessary for me to explain. The other Houses have dark Wizards too; they simply refuse to admit it. However, we do prefer to recruit pure-blood Wizards, though many of our students have at least one Muggle parent."

"We are aristocrats in spirit! Our symbol is the snake—the cleverest of creatures. Like us, they are shrewd and ambitious. Here, you can meet like-minded partners. Here, you can realize your ambitions!"

Eli pursed his lips as he listened. It was obvious that she was extremely proud of her House.

Slytherin's pure-blood ideology was also one reason he found it distasteful.

In China in his previous life, only cats and dogs cared about bloodlines.

Still, the pure-blood ideology had faded considerably in recent years. He didn't know whether that had anything to do with Voldemort's downfall.

But since he had come to Slytherin, Eli wasn't going to harbor any bad feelings about it.

He had always believed that there was no single best House. Everyone was excellent and equal.

So, even though it differed from what he had expected, he would gladly accept the result.

Slytherin's common room was unique. It was underground.

It was directly beneath the Black Lake, and one entire wall was made of glass. From within, it looked as though they were inside the Black Lake itself.

Rippling light reflected across the common room walls, creating a rather distinctive atmosphere.

Eli smacked his lips. He had to admit that Slytherin's taste was pretty good.

Though he was a little worried about getting rheumatism.

He even wondered whether Slytherin would be wiped out if that glass wall broke.

Smiling, he shook his head and drove away the absurd thought.

Still, it was entirely possible.

Malfoy moved a little farther away from Eli.

This guy didn't say anything, but he kept pursing his lips one moment and smiling the next. He wasn't going to suddenly attack me, was he?!

It was getting late, and the prefect finally ended her impassioned speech.

The young Wizards below looked excited, as though they had already inherited Slytherin's greatness.

It had to be said that she was quite talented at giving speeches.

It was getting late, and everyone gradually entered their dormitories.

Eli arrived at his room, still wondering which man he would be sleeping beside for the next seven years.

The moment he opened the door—

"You?"

"You!!"

The moment he entered, he saw Malfoy's pale little face, along with the terrified expressions of Goyle and Crabbe, Malfoy's two lackeys.

Malfoy wanted nothing more than to run.

I really have the worst luck of my life. I've actually been assigned to the same dormitory as this bad omen. He's a lunatic! A violent maniac!

He could already imagine his miserable future over the next seven years.

No, I have to tell Father! I have to leave this dormitory! No, leave Slytherin, leave Hogwarts!

Seeing the spectacular expressions on the three boys' faces, Eli was amused.

He generously stepped forward and patted their shoulders.

That scared them so badly that they fell back onto the beds.

Eli laughed helplessly. These unlucky kids were too funny!

"Hey, why are you all so nervous? We had a little friction before, but we're roommates now. We'll be sleeping together for seven years! Let's just pretend none of that happened."

Why would he get angry at a few bratty children?

He took the initiative to extend his hand to Malfoy. "Let me introduce myself again. I'm Eli Hall. Pleased to meet you."

Malfoy looked at the polite and refined Eli in surprise. He looked nothing like the ferocious monster who had seemed ready to eat children earlier.

Some of the wariness in his heart eased.

But who wants to sleep with you for seven years?!

Perhaps Eli's initiative had worked, and perhaps it was because of the aristocratic education Malfoy had received.

Malfoy stood up and solemnly shook Eli's hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Draco Malfoy."

Eli was amused again by Draco's deliberately serious expression.

Draco's face darkened. What was this guy laughing at again?!

Eli then shook hands with Goyle and Crabbe in turn.

The two of them looked even more nervous.

"My name is Vincent Crabbe."

"I... I'm Gregory Goyle."

After becoming acquainted again, the atmosphere improved greatly. It was still quiet, but no longer as tense as before.

He placed Dogdan in a specially made reptile enclosure and set it by his bed.

That seemed to catch Draco's attention. "Is that your pet?"

Eli looked at Draco in surprise. He hadn't expected Draco to speak first.

"Yes, it's a little black snake. I don't know what kind it is, but you can call him Dogdan!"

"Dogdan?"

Draco found the Eastern-style name a little awkward to pronounce.

He seemed quite interested in keeping a small snake as a pet.

Seeing that the conversation had opened up, Eli chatted with him now and then.

Goyle and Crabbe joined in as well.

The atmosphere immediately became much better.

Eli added a little more fuel to the fire and began telling them mythological stories from China.

It proved that all children were drawn to these sorts of stories.

Just look at Draco and the others' fascinated expressions.

"What about the monkey? What happened after he was pinned down?"

"That Buddha Tathagata was awesome!"

"Exactly!"

They had even learned the Eastern slang Eli had taught them.

Eli put on a mysterious expression. "If you want to know what happens next, tune in next time."

The three bratty kids looked furious.

Seeing that they clearly wouldn't sleep unless he told them more today, Eli continued, "Then I'll tell you the story of Laozi leaving Hangu Pass."

Draco had been completely won over by Eastern stories and eagerly settled into a listening pose.

"Thousands of years ago..."

Several thousand words omitted here.

Eli finished with a hint of satisfaction, then looked at them, only to find them all wearing confused expressions.

"Why did this Laozi go out and teach people?"

"Wouldn't he run into danger while traveling?"

"Yeah, he didn't even bring a guard."

Eli was stunned by the three deadly questions.

What the hell was this?!

Why would an old man need to take an army with him when he went out? Was he going to conquer territory or something?!

Annoying bratty kids. I hated bratty kids the most!

But judging by their expressions, they wouldn't let it go without an answer.

Eli organized his thoughts, then continued.

"Laozi was actually an incredibly powerful Wizard, and he was especially skilled in combat. Along the way, he killed anyone who blocked him and slaughtered any god who stood in his way. With a single machete, he hacked his way from Hangu Pass all the way to the Thames River, raising and dropping the blade without even blinking. His machete was chipped, and his wand was smoking."

Eli rattled all that off in one breath, then looked at the unlucky kids again.

Draco and the others wore expressions of sudden understanding.

So that was it. That old man was a powerful expert.

Suddenly, Draco Malfoy added, "But if he never blinked, wouldn't his eyes get dry?"

"..."

Aaaaaah!!!

Eli instantly snapped. "I was telling you about Laozi preaching, and you asked why he didn't bring an army. I told you he fought his way all the way there, and you actually asked whether his eyes got dry. Forget it. Go to sleep!"

Eli's sudden outburst startled the others.

Seeing that Eli was ignoring them, Draco Malfoy sulkily burrowed under the blankets.

"I was just asking..."

From then on, Hogwarts spread the tale of Laozi leaving Hangu Pass and hacking his way all the way to the Thames River.