At the Banquet

Samuel was a dark-skinned male Prefect. Tall and handsome, he appeared to be of mixed Black and white heritage. He came from a medium-sized Pure-blood family. At a time when nearly half of the Twenty-Eight Pure-blood Families had declined, his family could absolutely be considered an up-and-coming force among Pure-bloods. Coupled with his decent popularity and abilities, becoming a Prefect had been only natural.

The female Prefect was named Ilina. She came from a small Pure-blood family, whose support was not particularly significant, but her personal abilities were outstanding. Even among Slytherin's female witches, she stood out from the crowd.

Especially in Charms, Ilina had joined the Charms Club as early as her second year. During the Prefect selection, students from her own year had challenged her, but Ilina won three consecutive matches, thoroughly cementing her position as Prefect.

Samuel and Ilina might each have their own strengths in terms of family background and personal ability, but the other aspect also gave each of them considerable support. They were therefore examples of having both. By contrast, the most famous example of someone becoming a Prefect purely through family background was Malfoy of the Fifth Year.

As for someone who had become a Prefect solely through personal ability, the most famous one was the former He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

In short, in Slytherin's eyes, the two most important things were, first, family background. Those words encompassed a great deal: wealth, power, connections, and so on. Second, ability. That word was much simpler—it meant being outstanding enough yourself. As long as you were good enough, you would likewise be respected and admired in Slytherin!

That was what Ilina had meant by asking for Samuel's opinion.

Relationships between Pure-blood wizards had to be forged from childhood. Only by forming connections at Hogwarts could their networks remain stable after they left Hogwarts. Much like fraternities and sororities in the ordinary world, alumni ties in the Western world could often resolve many matters in the future. The wizarding world was no different.

Thus, while at Hogwarts, many Pure-blood wizards began investing in newly enrolled Young Wizards—offering them help or standing alongside them. Such efforts could bring enormous benefits in their future lives.

At this point, Ilina and Samuel could not yet see the freshmen's personal potential, so they focused on family background. Naturally, Draco and Millicent, the two freshmen from the Malfoy family and the Bulstrode family, caught their attention.

"That Sean Bulstrode who hit Malfoy—is he from the Bulstrode family too?"

Between Samuel and Ilina, Ilina's opinion faintly held more weight. This had been the decision they reached after secretly competing with each other following their election as Fifth Year Prefects.

So after hearing Ilina's words, Samuel immediately said, "Before term started, the Bulstrode family's affairs were passed around as gossip for a while. You don't like gossip, so you might not know about it.

"Old Boster has three children. His eldest daughter and youngest son are both normal children, but only his middle son, the second son, is a Squib. According to the Bulstrode family's rules, the descendants of Squibs may retain the family name, but once they come of age, they are cast out to live on their own.

"Then, a little over a month before school began, news spread that the child born to the Bulstrode family's Squib second son and a Squib woman had undergone a magical outburst and possessed the aptitude of a wizard. According to the Bulstrode family's rules, that child would be accepted as a member of the Bulstrode family, and the child's parents could return to the Bulstrode family as well."

"If that's all, it's just an ordinary change. It hardly counts as gossip. Is there more?"

Samuel nodded at Ilina, took a sip of Pumpkin Juice, and continued, "That's right. Apparently, Old Boster likes this Sean Bulstrode very much. He even gave Sean a magical item that should have gone to Millicent, which caused dissatisfaction from both Millicent and his father. But Old Boster suppressed their complaints. It seems he really does like Sean, this grandson of his."

Ilina set down her fork, pondered for a moment, and said quietly, "I think this Sean Bulstrode is rather pitiful. From what he was like earlier—impulsive, reckless, and rough in his behavior—he seems like someone with little guile. If he truly believes that Old Boster genuinely favors him, then that would be a disaster."

Samuel raised an eyebrow slightly and asked in a low voice, "How so?"

"A son of a Squib who was originally cast out of the family. A grandson he had never met since childhood. If Old Boster truly liked him, how could he have never seen him growing up? Yet he suddenly appeared only after the boy awakened magical talent, then gave him the magical item another grandson wanted most. The intentions behind this...

"Heh, Samuel, the Phillips family isn't exactly a small family. You can't possibly fail to understand this sort of thing, can you?"

Samuel froze for a moment. He glanced at Millicent, who was eating not far away, then at Sean at the far end of the table, whose manners and bearing were impeccable. In an instant, he understood something. He nodded faintly and said, "If that's really the case, then this Sean Bulstrode really is rather pitiful."

Ilina shook her head and sighed, saying no more. She changed the subject. To them, Sean's affairs were only temporary conversation fodder and not worth discussing further. In their eyes, Sean was simply not worth investing in. Rather than invest in Sean, they would be better off investing in Millicent, the legitimate future heir of the Bulstrode family. Although Millicent's father stood before him in line, there was no harm in investing early, was there?

Sean could feel many people watching him, but he did not care much. At this stage, his main goal was to keep as low a profile as possible and become stronger as quickly as possible. As for whether he could make friends, Sean did not place much importance on it.

Just as Sean finished a piece of steak and was about to have some chicken, he suddenly spotted Harry Potter sitting across from him at the Gryffindor table. Seeing Harry give him a small wave, and the faint regret and confusion on his face, Sean smiled lightly at him and gave a slight nod, then prepared to lower his head and finish the chicken on his plate.

But just then, a Young Wizard carrying a plate sat down opposite Sean and said to him with a smile, "I saw you greeting Harry Potter just now. Are you one of his fans too?"

Hearing this, Sean looked at him and replied with a question of his own, "I really didn't expect anyone to take the initiative to sit across from me at a time like this."

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