After Snape announced the blunt, brutal rules, the first-years did nothing beyond taking a step back in unison, while the older students watching the spectacle whispered among themselves.
Draco had been walking beside Shawn, but then he saw that even those two idiots, Goyle and Crabbe, had the sense to back away.
He opened his mouth, then took a step back as well, tacitly acknowledging Shawn as their unofficial prefect.
"Tsk, tsk. I never expected this year's students to be such cowards. How disappointing."
Snape's gaze was hollow as he delivered the sneer, then turned his attention to Shawn.
"Black. Such an ancient and noble family, yet it produced a vulgar lout like you. Do you imagine you have everyone's support?"
Shawn met Snape's eyes, neither giving an inch, and said calmly,
"I'm already the first-year prefect now. So, Head of House, may I ask whether Slytherin has a tradition of challenging those above you? I believe Slytherin's Chief is the position I should hold."
A flicker passed through Snape's calm eyes, and he took a few steps around Shawn.
"Arrogant. Conceited. Are you really the son of the elegant Regulus? Or are you the bastard child of that fool Sirius?"
The atmosphere in the common room grew heavy. No one present dared make a sound, though they admired Shawn for daring to confront their own King of Snakes like this.
Shawn did not take the bait. Arguing with Snape over Sirius would only inflame his anger, so he repeated his request.
"Please remain impartial, Head of House. Summon the prefects from second through seventh year. I want to challenge them."
Snape clenched his fists and gave a cold snort.
"I believe your punishment has yet to be assigned. It seems a term of detention might help you cool your head. Starting tomorrow, come to my office after six in the evening. Perhaps slug mucus will teach you to respect your betters."
Having pronounced his sentence, Snape showed no intention of summoning the other prefects. He swept his robes aside and made to leave.
Shawn sighed. The old bat really was petty. He casually pulled a photograph from his pocket and flicked it with two fingers, sending it curving toward Snape like a throwing dart.
Seeing the photograph spin toward him, Snape deftly caught it. His expression changed dramatically when he saw its contents, only to soften with affection a moment later.
"Head of House, I believe this gift should be enough to cancel my detention. I also have ways of finding more photographs, and I'll prepare your Christmas present in advance."
Snape was highly accomplished at Occlumency and quickly regained his cold composure. He soon worked out how Shawn had obtained the photograph; his surname was Black, after all. He paused, genuinely tempted by Shawn's Christmas gift. Then, recalling Dumbledore's attitude, he continued toward the exit, though he left an appointment behind him.
"From today onward, Shawn will be Slytherin's Chief. If anyone objects, I trust you know how to deal with them. Do not cause me trouble."
Once Snape disappeared through the common room entrance, the room erupted.
The first-years felt especially proud by association and crowded around Shawn to congratulate him. Draco was so excited that he grabbed Shawn's shoulders.
"Shawn, you're the Chief! You're the king of Slytherin! We really have conquered Slytherin!"
Alice was equally dumbfounded. She had no idea what Shawn had shown their Head of House to make him issue such an absurd appointment.
A first-year newcomer had become Chief! It was a blatant slap in the face to older students like her.
Shawn always seemed capable of doing things she could never have imagined.
She felt no jealousy, however. At that moment, Shawn seemed to glow all over in her eyes!
Shawn was not particularly smug. Any Harry Potter fan knew Snape's fatal weakness. He pushed the clingy Draco away, stepped out of the crowd, and faced the stunned older students who had yet to leave.
"From today onward, I call the shots in Slytherin. Everyone will assemble here at seven tomorrow morning. I have rules to announce. Anyone who fails to attend will bear the consequences."
Several troublemakers from pure-blood families refused to accept this, including the hulking idiot Marcus Flint, whose injuries had not fully healed. He stepped forward to argue.
"What gives you the right? You think-"
Bang!
Before he could finish, a silent streak of golden light knocked him and several students behind him off their feet.
Shawn looked at them with contempt. Not all children of pure-blood families were elites. This Marcus was nothing but brawn without brains.
And he was always so considerate about stepping forward to serve as an example to the others.
Shawn waved his hand again. The students floated into the air, then were hung from the lamps on the wall.
"It seems you still haven't come to your senses. Hang there for the night, then."
"Let me down! The Nott Family won't let you get away with this! Little brother, send Father a letter!"
"Ah! You're humiliating the Flint family, you pure-blood traitor from the Muggle world-"
Ignoring their impotent fury, Shawn swept his gaze over everyone else present.
He checked [Conquer Hogwarts (Stage One)] again. Its progress had reached 65%.
With a soft chuckle, he headed toward the dormitory, and Draco hurried after him.
"Shawn, you were unbelievably cool."
Shawn gave Draco a sidelong glance.
"Aren't you part of that pure-blood family crowd too? You know I'm very friendly toward Muggles."
Draco choked. Only now did he seem to realize that there might be a problem with where he stood.
The Slytherin boys' dormitory was spacious. Though it lay beneath the lake, powerful magic kept it from being damp.
It was a four-person room, and unfortunately, his roommates were Draco and his two useless boys.
Shawn's bed stood furthest inside: a tall, exquisite four-poster hung with green silk curtains, its cover embroidered with a great serpent in silver thread.
His owl's cage had already been placed on the bedside table.
Shawn took various everyday belongings out of the Ring and sorted his books, tea set, and clothes into their proper places.
After coming in, Draco did not rush to unpack. Instead, he sat on his bed in a daze.
As for Goyle and Crabbe, they crawled under their blankets without even taking off their clothes and fell fast asleep.
Shawn changed into his pajamas and lay in bed, reviewing everything he had said and done that day. He found nothing wrong with it.
In particular, his confrontation with Snape in the common room and his handling of those troublemakers had increased his level-two faith value by several dozen points.
Slytherin really was the place that suited him best.
He had only been reading a book for a short while when Draco suddenly darted over to his bedside, startling Shawn into instinctively clutching his blanket.
"What do you want? Don't climb into my bed!"
Draco stopped short and said awkwardly,
"Shawn, you're so powerful. Sooner or later, you'll become as strong as You-Know-Who. You'll definitely be able to lead pure-bloods back to glory. That should be something the pure-blood families are happy to see, so why are they targeting you?"
Shawn sighed, unsure how to explain it for a moment.
"Draco, this is a conflict over interests and beliefs. If I were willing to compromise, I could join those people in their dirty dealings right away."
"Then why don't you?"
"Heh. Why should I? As long as I'm strong enough, everyone else will have to listen to me! Power and money will be mine for the taking!"
Draco was stunned by Shawn's bold declaration. It made so much sense that he could not find a reply.
Only after a long while did he ask another question he could not figure out.
"Then why are you friendly toward Muggle-born wizards? You're a pure-blood through and through."
Shawn gave Draco a strange look, but he felt that this brat could still be saved. He might as well straighten out his thinking.
"I'm not favoring Muggle-born wizards. Those pure-bloods simply can't see where the world is heading and still cling to rotten beliefs. I just don't want to sit around waiting to die with them."
Draco looked utterly bewildered. The platinum hair over his forehead almost seemed to curl into a question mark.
Shawn reached out to smooth it down, then continued,
"Let me give you a simple example. There are probably tens of thousands of people in Britain's wizarding world, but sixty percent are Muggle-born wizards, and the other forty percent are all half-blood wizards. There haven't been any so-called pure-bloods for a long time."
Draco immediately protested.
"Impossible! My Malfoy family is the noblest of pure-bloods!"
Shawn scoffed.
"Heh. I heard the Malfoy family's ancestor came to Britain with a Muggle king, was granted a title, and became a court wizard. Go look through the Malfoy Family Tree and ask your father what sort of people were expelled from the family. They were definitely either Squibs or Muggle-born wizards."
Draco shook his head wildly, refusing to admit it.
Shawn could only deliver the fatal blow.
"The Gaunt Family used to be the purest of pure-bloods. Because they married within the family, they ended up either idiots or lunatics, and their line died out. Oh, right-their only descendant, Voldemort, is a half-blood through and through."
Draco's eyes went wide. He dropped onto the floor and remained speechless for a long time.
The Dark Lord he admired most was actually a half-blood wizard? Then wasn't his loudly proclaimed slogan of "pure-blood supremacy" utterly ironic?
And his own family was actually a half-blood family too!
He did not believe Shawn would lie to him about something like this, leaving Draco completely lost.
Looking at the devastated Draco, Shawn shook his head and cautioned him.
"The world of the future will have no room for the ideology of pure-blood supremacy. But one thing will never become outdated: strength reigns supreme!"