Penelope: "Who Is Menethil?"

Shortly after the start of the school year, Penelope began to pay attention to Bell.

This is certainly not because Bell is handsome or anything. No matter how handsome someone is, they wouldn't be particularly outstanding at the age of 11.

When Penelope first met Bell at the Sorting Ceremony, her only impression of Bell was his enormous appetite. He ate almost as much as five or six Little Wizard combined, leaving Penelope completely stunned.

She thought, if she had a younger brother like that, her father would probably go bald from worrying about food every day.

Watching Bell wolf down his food, Penelope felt a little amused, but strangely enough, she didn't find him rude at all; instead, she felt he was quite hearty.

What a strange person.

Penelope rarely saw Bell after that. Because Bell always got up very early and rarely stayed in the Ravenclaw common room, Penelope seldom encountered Bell, and she gradually forgot that there was such an interesting Little Wizard in her house.

Penelope began to notice Bell again during a dinner.

That evening, Penelope went to Professor Flitwick's table before dinner to talk to him about some matters concerning the Professor Flitwick Prefect.

After the discussion, on her way back to the Ravenclaw table, she overheard a conversation between several Little Wizard at the Slytherin table.

"Have you gone to Menethil?" one of the Slytherin Little Wizard asked the other.

"No. I asked the Ravenclaw people before, and they said Menethil rarely appears in the common room. I don't know where to look for him. I can't exactly go and wait for him at the Ravenclaw common room door, can I? Given our house's reputation, if I'm not careful, they might think I'm here to cause trouble! My family has repeatedly told me to make a good impression."

"Hmph! After all that talk, I don't think you've even bothered to look for it properly!"

"How dare you talk to me like that? It's like you've actually searched for it!"

After saying that, she glared at the other person with dissatisfaction. It's clearly a case of the eldest brother not speaking ill of the second brother, so why are you making it so explicit?!

"Sigh~!"

The first Little Wizard sighed.

"After all, we are people of some standing. It would be really embarrassing for us to go to other houses and actively befriend a freshman! As far as I know, even the Malfoy family heir hasn't made a move yet, and they're still in the same year."

"Who says otherwise! Tell me, why wasn't the heir of the Menethil Family sorted into Slytherin, but instead went to Ravenclaw?"

"How would I know? When my family asked me if I had been able to speak to Menethil, I told them that Menethil had been sorted into Ravenclaw and I had no chance to talk to him. My family was shocked. I heard from them that the Menethil Family are all Slytherin."

"So what do we do?"

Penelope was very surprised to see the two little snakes with their gloomy faces.

She recognized one of the two. He was someone who had enrolled with her; she had forgotten his name, but she vividly remembered that four years ago, when Penelope first enrolled, he was always surrounded by a group of Little Wizard. He would stand in the middle of them, loudly discussing magic, family, and all sorts of seemingly impressive things.

Gradually, Penelope, who was new to the Magical World, became increasingly aware of the gap between herself and Little Wizard from wizarding families, especially those from the Pure-blood Family.

She envied others' magical items, and she couldn't join in their conversations. Everything that was taken for granted by others was so foreign to her. So she could only devote all her time to studying, persevering alone in this place far from her family.

And today, she actually saw that Little Wizard from the Pure-blood Family, whom she had once envied and been so jealous of, racking his brains to figure out how to please a freshman! And this freshman was from his own academy!?

Penelope was very curious about who this so-called Menethil was. She felt she needed to find out.

Penelope began investigating Menethil, asking everyone she knew in Ravenclaw, but surprisingly, no one knew who Menethil was.

Penelope didn't realize that Menethil's full name was Bell Menethil until she saw the Ravenclaw student roster in Professor Flitwick's office.

Penelope recalled the Little Wizard who had been feasting and drinking at the opening party. She found it hard to believe that such a person could have such an extraordinary background.

After refocusing her attention on Bell, Penelope discovered that Bell's performance completely overturned her views on so-called Pure-blood and nobles.

Shouldn't Pure-blood walk with their heads held high, look down on others, and talk about their family history every three sentences, making them annoying yet enviable in their noble manners and longing for the banquets and lifestyles they speak of?

But why is Bell completely different?

In Penelope's eyes, Bell was just a quiet little boy. Every time she saw him, he was always quietly reading or doing his homework by himself, seemingly without any friends. However, he would greet and chat with those around him. It was said that his grades were quite good? But that wasn't anything to boast about in Ravenclaw.

In Penelope's eyes, Bell was so ordinary, even to the point of being mundane. If there was anything unusual about him, it was that he would often disappear, and no one knew where he went.

Bell's life was so regular that Penelope could accurately tell him "what time and where he would appear each day" with almost no mistakes.

Gradually, Penelope grew bored, and she even began to doubt whether Bell was really a child. Could a child really be so self-disciplined? Even her father probably couldn't do that.

Penelope wanted to give up. She felt so stupid. What was she even trying to do? Even if she knew what kind of person Bell was, what kind of family he came from, what good would it do? What did any of this have to do with her?

However, everything changed that night.

It was Halloween Eve. After the afternoon classes, everyone happily went to the Great Hall to enjoy the banquet.

The Great Hall was beautifully decorated that day. Hollowed-out pumpkins the size of carriages hung from the ceiling, countless bats fluttered in the air, and all sorts of pretty little ornaments were placed throughout the Great Hall. All of this made the Great Hall seem like a scene from a fairy tale.