Anchor Placed

The Golden Rose turned into golden dust and drifted through the air. The entire illusion surrounding Aisling began to break apart and dissipate into layers of golden mist.

She immediately drew upon her magic, trying to stabilize the prophecy before her and see more details clearly. But the illusion continued to collapse beyond her control, gradually vanishing into the mist.

Aisling refused to give up. She manipulated the remaining mist around her again and forcibly activated the prophecy magic. This time, only a brief, blurry scene appeared:

Roy wore obvious disgust on his face. With his wand in hand, he unhesitatingly aimed at her fallen self and cast a Stupefy.

The moment she saw her illusionary self struck by the spell, the watery mist of the prophecy completely dispersed. Aisling suddenly came to and opened her eyes, finding herself back in the real Slytherin Common Room.

"Damn it, what did that mean?"

Aisling muttered a curse under her breath, her gaze falling on the Prophecy Hookah—the skull on its body had closed its eyes. Clearly, if she wanted to use it for prophecy again, she would have to wait until it had recharged.

There was nothing to be done but leave it at that for now. Aisling picked up the Hookah, drew her wand, and lightly tapped the ghostly green fireplace burning in the common room. The flames went out at once, leaving only a few scattered sparks. By the faint glow at the tip of her wand, she felt her way through the dim common room and slowly headed toward her dormitory.

It was nearly midnight. The dormitory was completely quiet, and her roommates were already fast asleep. As she passed their beds, she could hear the steady breathing from behind their curtains.

Since Aisling had told her roommates in advance that Dumbledore had summoned her away, none of them were worried that anything was wrong with her being out so late.

Aisling crept over to her bed, found a hidden corner in a cabinet, and carefully placed the Hookah inside. Its appearance was far too strange: its dark-patterned body and skull decoration would make anyone suspect it was connected to Dark Magic. Although Slytherin was more accepting of such things than the other Houses, Aisling still did not want people gossiping about her, much less labeling her as someone involved with Dark Magic.

But after lying down on her bed, Aisling felt no trace of sleepiness. The scenes from the prophecy kept replaying in her mind, especially the immense magical power that erupted when the golden rose was crushed into golden dust. It lingered in her thoughts.

What spell had that been? Why had it contained such vast golden magic?

The next morning, just as the stone door of the Slytherin Common Room opened, Elliott, the student council president, strode out with several lackeys at his side. The moment he stepped outside, he caught sight of Aisling standing alone beside the corridor, elegant and upright, her expression cool as though she were waiting for someone.

In Slytherin, where strength was worshipped, Elliott was undoubtedly the student leader. Used to throwing his weight around in the House, he also understood that this young witch from the Grindelwald family was beyond his ability to provoke, whether in power or background. To show goodwill, Elliott deliberately stepped forward to greet Aisling.

As Roy put it, bullying the weak while fearing the strong was Slytherin's most distinctive trait.

Seeing the faint, almost imperceptible hint of flattery on Elliott's face, Aisling maintained her proud, aloof bearing. She did not even raise her eyelids, and her tone was calm yet carried unquestionable authority. "Don't cause trouble for that Hufflepuff student. You know who I mean. This is Dumbledore's and the Head of House's decision. Just keep that in mind."

Elliott was certainly a smart man. Hearing this, he immediately patted his chest and promised, even asking Aisling to tell the professors that he would absolutely not do such a thing.

Aisling did not say another word. After giving him a glance, she turned and walked away down the corridor.

"Damn it, are we just going to let that Mudblood from Hufflepuff humiliate Slytherin like that?"

Once Aisling's figure had completely disappeared around the corner, Elliott's lackeys immediately exploded in outrage, cursing indignantly. "Damn it, are we just going to let that Mudblood from Hufflepuff humiliate Slytherin like that? That's pathetic!"

Elliott's face darkened, and he sharply cut them off in a stern voice. "Can't you understand what the Headmaster and the Head of House mean? None of you are allowed to cause trouble for me during this time. Behave yourselves!"

Seeing Elliott's visible anger, the group fell silent one by one.

Elliott snorted coldly and led his little lackeys, still strutting arrogantly, toward the Great Hall.

The Hufflepuff dormitory was an entirely different scene that morning. The moment Roy opened his eyes, he knew without even thinking that Cedric had gotten up early again to preview the day's lessons.

Roy was deeply dissatisfied with this sort of competitive studying in the dorm, but there was nothing he could do about it. In the end, he could only surrender.

"Fine! He's studying, so I'll study too. He's reading The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, so I'll read Alchemy Potion-Making!"

Roy took out a book he had borrowed from the Restricted Section of the library from his bedside table and flipped it open especially loudly, as if competing with him.

The sound of pages turning in the morning woke Gabriel and Connor from their dreams. Their roommate's gaming noise meant nothing to them, but the sound of their roommate studying kept them awake all night.

Even though they knew they could not match Roy and Cedric in their studies, Connor and Gabriel could only pick up that day's textbooks in such an environment and helplessly begin their morning review.

And so, Hufflepuff's morning study session for the new day began.

At breakfast, the entire school's students and staff noticed that the atmosphere at the Slytherin table was completely different.

Yesterday, these pure-blood supremacists had been so aggressive that they had seemed ready to rush over and overturn the Hufflepuff table. Yet today, they were much more restrained, appearing calm and well-behaved on the surface.

Roy saw through them at a glance. The malicious intent of these Slytherin snakes had not changed in the slightest; they had merely hidden their fangs for the time being.

Seeing this, the young Hufflepuffs all breathed a sigh of relief. Many believed that with Dumbledore stepping in to stop them, Slytherin could only accept defeat.

Roy sneered inwardly. A biting dog did not bark; he understood such a simple truth better than anyone. Back in the space corridor, he had been chased and bitten by Havoc's Red-Haired Mad Dog. Slytherin's current restraint was exactly like the Red-Haired Mad Dog's serene patience while waiting for its ultimate ability's cooldown.

After breakfast, everyone prepared to head to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. At that moment, Bill Weasley of Gryffindor quietly approached Roy, lowered his voice, and left him with a brief warning:

"Watch out for the Slytherin students. They definitely won't accept defeat."

Roy gave him a discreet gesture of acknowledgment. Seeing the meaningful smile on Roy's face, Bill smiled knowingly and turned to leave.