Once the excitement of singing the school song subsided, the noise in the Great Hall receded like the tide, leaving only fatigue slowly settling in the air.
The freshmen rubbed their sore faces, yawned a few times, and then slowly left their seats at the invitation of their respective Prefect.
On the Gryffindor side, Percy was already standing at the end of the long table.
He adopted a standard " Prefect " posture, cleared his throat, and said, "First-year Gryffindor, follow me! Be careful not to fall behind!"
As he walked, he didn't forget his duty, his voice echoing between the stone walls. "Everyone, follow me, especially Mr. Malfoy. Don't look around, and don't tell anyone the location of Gryffindor Passage."
When he uttered the words " Mr. Malfoy," the air in the group visibly froze.
The freshmen in front subconsciously moved to the side, as if by getting away from Draco, they could distance themselves from this "time bomb."
"I will, Senior Percy," Draco replied politely, his manner impeccable.
Percy seemed surprised by Draco's decisiveness, paused for a moment, then straightened his face and continued leading the way.
Draco was left behind, a few steps away from the crowd in front of him.
This distance, neither too long nor too short, acted like an invisible force field, isolating him.
Ahead was a group of chattering lion cubs, behind was an empty corridor.
Draco, however, lies somewhere in between.
He walked steadily, his back straight, his footsteps landing on the stone slabs with a soft, rhythmic sound, quite different from the noisy footsteps ahead.
His school uniform swayed gently behind him, and his blond hair gleamed coldly in the torchlight.
The Weasley Twins walked a short distance behind Draco, one on the left and one on the right, like guards or escorts.
They said they were "watching the show," but their steps unconsciously kept a subtle distance from Draco, neither too far nor too close.
As you pass through the Entrance Hall, the marble floor stretches out beneath your feet, reflecting the shadows of the young wizards.
The armor in the distance gleamed eerily in the firelight, like silent guardians.
At first, everything was relatively calm.
Only a few Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff upperclassmen cast curious glances, exchanged a few whispered words, and then quickly looked away.
Nobody wants to get into trouble on the first night.
But when a group of Slytherin students with silver thread embroidered along the edges of their robes appeared ahead, the air instantly turned icy.
Those were Marcus Flint and several members of the Slytherin Quidditch Team, along with a few older girls.
They apparently "just happened" to pass by at that time.
The two met at the corner of the stairs.
Percy frowned and stepped aside to let the other person pass. "Excuse me."
Flint stopped.
His massive body almost blocked half of the stairwell.
His gaze passed over Percy's shoulder and landed precisely on the blond figure at the back of the line.
"Look who's here," Flint's gruff voice echoed through the stone walls, his undisguised sarcasm reverberating. "Our lost little darling, does he know the way to his new home? Need... directions?"
The Slytherin students around him immediately erupted in a low, malicious chuckle, like a pack of jackals smelling blood.
Draco didn't pause in his steps, nor did he even look up.
He seemed not to hear anything, and just kept walking forward, like a fish gliding through water, oblivious to the ripples on the surface.
" Flint, please move aside and don't block the way for students from other houses," Percy's voice was stiff.
Adhering to the principle of official business, he gestured to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to continue, saying, "We still have a long way to go."
"Of course, Prefect." Flint bowed exaggeratedly, making a narrow gap for Draco to pass through, but his gaze remained fixed on Draco.
As Draco passed by, he suddenly tilted his head slightly and said in a very low voice, loud enough for several people nearby to hear, "I hope there are no fleas on Gryffindor's mattress, Malfoy! After all, you look like you attract bugs."
A Slytherin girl next to him chuckled, then immediately covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes filled with schadenfreude.
Without looking back, without speeding up, Draco didn't even change the rhythm of his breathing.
He walked past Flint calmly, like a walking wax figure, leaving behind those venomous gazes and whispers.
Flint frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat displeased.
What he wanted was anger, rebuttal, and loss of composure, not this complete disregard.
However, the attacks did not stop.
The way to the Gryffindor Tower involves navigating several corridors and then climbing the famous, unpredictable Moving Staircase.
The staircase, like a winding stone snake, slowly turns between the walls, connecting to another section of the passage.
As the wizards stepped onto the stairs, the stone slabs beneath their feet suddenly wobbled slightly, emitting a low, grinding sound.
"Hold on!" Percy shouted instinctively.
Just as the staircase was about to complete its turn, Draco was about to step onto a step with his left foot, the surface of the stone step suddenly twisted eerily!
Draco's pupils contracted sharply, and the muscles in his right leg tensed instantly, abruptly halting his descent. His body leaned back slightly.
At the same time, he casually tapped the "empty" steps above them and whispered a Finite Incantatem.
After casting the spell, Draco tested the stairs with his foot, and once he felt safe, he landed steadily on the solid stone slab of the next step.
The whole process went so smoothly, as if this was his intended route.
"The stairs are old, some of the steps are a bit unstable." A slow, deliberate voice came from the Slytherin crowd below, tinged with malicious concern.
Draco didn't look down to find the source of the sound; he simply continued upwards.
But at the illusory step Draco had stepped on, a trace of almost imperceptible magical disturbance remained in the air.
George's eyes lit up, and he nudged Fred with his elbow. "Hey, see that? Illusionary Stairs, standard Probe."
Stroking his chin, Fred analyzed seriously. "Reaction speed... B+. Used ' Finite Incantatem '? The technique was covert, which is a plus, but facial expression control... A+, completely expressionless, like someone who ate a booger-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans."
Harry's ears immediately perked up.
He had also noticed the unusual arrangement of the steps, but wasn't sure.
The word " Finite Incantatem " was like a pebble thrown into his heart, stirring up ripples.
"Don't listen to their nonsense!" Ron tugged at Harry impatiently. " George and Fred just love to bluff!"
Hermione quickly turned to look at the twins, her brown eyes flashing sharply.
She then looked back at the spot where Draco had just stood, her lips moving silently, as if reciting the principles of a spell.
An excited Lavender gripped Parvati's arm tightly, his eyes shining. "Did you hear that? Parvati! In that critical moment! He could still be so calm! That's—that's true courage!"
"I heard you." Parvati had been told this by Lavender countless times.
Percy gave a reminder and then led the group forward.
As the procession passed a suit of ancient armor, the helmet suddenly creaked and tilted sharply toward Draco, the rusted visor almost brushing against his hair.
At the same time, the torch in the nearby niche suddenly burst open with a "poof," sending a burst of scorching sparks flying everywhere.
Draco was prepared.
The instant the helmet made a strange noise, he had already turned slightly to the side, and at the same time, his right hand emerged very naturally from his robe sleeve, and he swept his wand in front of him.
A thin, almost invisible barrier of water vapor instantly condensed, and the Aguamenti from before the start of the school year came in handy.
The sparks collided with the water vapor, making a hissing sound and turning into wisps of choking black smoke.
A few stray fish grazed Draco's shoulder, leaving a few scorch marks on his robe, but he himself was unharmed.
Draco stopped and slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the still slightly swaying armor and the torch still burning "normally" as if assessing a flawed item.
Then he looked at a Slytherin upperclassman a few steps away who was pretending to joke with his companions, but a trace of distorted heat still lingered on the tip of his wand.
Draco's gaze lingered on the man's face for exactly one second.
It's enough to make the other party realize they've been seen, but brief enough not to be provocative.
Then, as if merely confirming the source of the noise, he indifferently turned back, shook his head, and continued walking.
The Slytherin's smile froze.
George whistled softly, "Beautiful! Instant water mist barrier! Precise magic control! Does he have an automatic defense spell calculator in his head?"
Fred pulled out a small notebook and quickly jotted down. "Write this down: A layered defense strategy against attacks in complex environments. And... he glanced at Kent, just once, and Kent's face turned pale. Psychological deterrence, effective!"
Harry's green eyes widened slightly the moment he saw Mars being deflected.
He instinctively glanced at the Slytherin spellcaster who had been given a cold look by Draco.
The other person turned pale and avoided eye contact.
"A smokescreen!" Ron scoffed, but his laughter was a bit dry. "Maybe some kind-hearted portrait artist helped out!"
Hermione nodded slightly, her lips moving silently. "It seems to be a spell like 'Aguamenti,' with excellent range control... The countermeasures are systematic."
Lavender leaned against Parvati, almost fainting. "Psychological intimidation! He used just one look... and that Slytherin was terrified! That's—that's the majesty of a lion!"
Several freshmen around him simultaneously let out a low "wow" sound.
Seamus Finnigan grinned at Dean Thomas and said, "That was a cool move! How did you do that?"
Dean scratched his head. "I don't know any chickens either."
Percy urged the young wizards to quicken their pace; if Draco got hurt, it would be his fault.
However, crowds inevitably thronged the narrow archway passageway.
A Slytherin student carrying a thick magic dictionary "accidentally" slipped, and the heavy corner of the book slammed into Draco's ribs.
Draco seemed to stumble half a step to the side from being jostled, his elbow "unintentionally" rising and landing squarely on the nerve in the other man's arm holding the book.
The student grunted, and the book slipped from his hand, crashing to the ground with a "crash."
"I'm sorry," Draco's cold voice rang out, but there was not a trace of apology in his words.
He even slightly shifted his body in the crowd, as if to make room for the other person to pick up their books. "It seems the corridor is a bit unfriendly to everyone today. Perhaps we should suggest Mr. Filch add a few more lights, or... remind everyone to hold onto their belongings."
As he spoke, Draco's gaze was fixed on a portrait of Fat Friar dozing at the top of the passageway, as if he were talking to himself.
After saying that, he ignored the Slytherin who was grimacing and rubbing his arm, and walked straight ahead.
Only the scorch marks on his shoulders and the frayed edges of his robe from being torn by the corners of books were clearly visible in the flickering torchlight.
But the whispers and the gazes never ceased.
"Look at that robe... it must have been charred by the fire in Lion's Den, right?"
"Traitor..."
"He's quite the actor..."
Draco's response to all this was to raise his chin almost imperceptibly, fixing his gaze on a blurry darkness at the far end of the corridor.
When he hears particularly vicious words, a faint, cold, fleeting smile appears at the corner of his mouth, as if he has heard something so stupid as to be laughable.
When the words "a disgrace to the Malfoy family " reached his ears, Draco even uttered a single word at a volume just loud enough for a few nearby people to hear:
"Boring!"
The word struck the stone floor like an ice bead.
The surrounding whispers paused briefly.
[Ding! Original storyline added, Fortune Points increased by 20!]
George grinned. "'Hold on to your own things'... Oh, I like that phrase. It's sarcastic, but it gives us that moral high ground we used to have!"
Fred laughed too, "An elbow strike to the nerve, followed by a trip... a clean and efficient physical counterattack, and it can be explained as an accident. This kid's been trained in fighting, or maybe he's just a born rascal—I mean, in a good way!"
Harry's lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to laugh but forced himself to hold it back.
He saw the Slytherin's embarrassed expression.
"Like them?!" Ron's face flushed red. " George, are you crazy?! How can Malfoy be compared to you guys?!"
Lavender cupped his hands around his heart, almost shedding tears of emotion. "'They have the spirit of our time'... This is mutual respect between heroes!"
Seamus and Dean couldn't help but burst out laughing, then quickly covered their mouths.
Neville hugged Trevor tighter, stealing a glance at the Slytherin rubbing his arm and grimacing, a faint, almost imperceptible, sense of pleasure washing over him.
"Watch where you're going!" Percy said, his face ashen as he strode back.
He looked at the scorch marks on Draco's shoulder and the tear in his robe, his brow furrowing even more.
"Are you alright? Can you continue?" Percy's tone was entirely businesslike.
He glared at the twins and mouthed, "Shut up."
Draco shook his head, Percy returned to leading the group forward.
Beyond that point lies a place Slytherin cannot set foot in.
Therefore, the danger has been temporarily averted.
The rule is that things shouldn't happen more than three times, but the threats were made more than three times.
It seems these people are still resentful about their choice to Gryffindor.
Draco hadn't expected that these people wouldn't wait until nightfall and would target him so quickly.
I need to think of a solution, otherwise, forget about studying, even protecting myself will be difficult.
Fortunately, I had strengthened the spells I already knew before I ran out of Fortune Points to exchange for new spells, otherwise I would have been embarrassed tonight.