The Common Room

Dumbledore could hardly determine where this little girl had come from, bearing the Grindelwald name and having such a close connection to Gellert.

He had not suspected the Grindelwald family, who had moved away from Europe long ago. After all, Anna's face looked exactly like that person's! One look was enough to tell they were closely related by blood!

And there was the complicated look the girl had given him during the Sorting ceremony. Clearly, she knew about the history between him and Gellert, and possibly knew a great deal.

Her name was ordinary enough; hundreds of people across the United Kingdom could easily be found with it. Yet she was called Anna of all things. Who had named this child?

If she really was Gellert's descendant, why were her eyes sky blue like his own, rather than deep blue like that person's?

Ahem, his thoughts had wandered.

The old headmaster took a sip of the pumpkin juice on the table to cover it up, then continued thinking back over what Anna had said.

Her ideas were entirely different from Gellert's, though she was just as eloquent as he was.

She was deeply involved with the faction of School Governors who had joined a few years ago. From what she said, those former Acolytes were loyal to her, not the one still locked away in prison.

After all, Riley's father had only sent his regards to her, not to "his excellency," and Anna's tone had carried a faint air of authority.

It seemed he would have to question the Sorting Hat thoroughly when he returned to the Headmaster's Office.

Come to think of it, the Sorting Hat's attitude toward her had also been unusual...

The old headmaster felt a slight headache coming on. There were simply too many questions surrounding this child!

After the desserts were cleared away, the feast for this year's new students drew to a close.

Headmaster Dumbledore rose and began conducting the entire school in a chorus of the school song.

The Hogwarts school song had no fixed tune, so students could sing it to whatever melody they liked.

Anna sang absentmindedly, her attention drifting to Dumbledore as he conducted.

Because of the contract on her right palm, she had deliberately sought out knowledge about such things from a very young age. This allowed her to sense, albeit faintly, that while the Hogwarts school song sounded like a chaotic joke, under the headmaster's direction it came together as a harmonious performance, with a power akin to a contract hidden within the singing.

This power was extremely ancient, recorded only in very old books. It was probably left behind when the Four Founders established Hogwarts a thousand years ago, its general purpose being to protect students from particularly serious harm while they attended the school.

It was a legacy created with great care, but now Voldemort had reached his claws inside. Surely Mr. Slytherin would not have wanted to see such an outcome.

When the song ended, Dumbledore gave the new students detailed instructions about the rules, including the strict prohibition against entering the Forbidden Forest and using wands to fight with classmates in the corridors. Only then did he have the Prefects of each house lead their students back to their dormitories.

He did not call Anna back, but watched her leave calmly.

It seemed that the old father was not the only one avoiding things; a certain headmaster had his own reservations as well.

The Slytherin group was visibly divided into three sections.

A number of people followed Riley Charles, facing off against Lucius Malfoy's group of prospective Death Eaters. Between them were the neutrals, looking somewhat suffocated as they were squeezed into the gap.

But Riley clearly noticed that some students who had previously been neutral were subtly leaning toward Anna after what had happened earlier. Most of them were half-blood wizards.

Presumably, the reason was not Anna's surname. More than that, it was what she had said earlier that had won them over.

It had not even been two hours since she entered Hogwarts, yet she had already gained control over the direction Slytherin was taking. This only strengthened Riley's resolve.

The Slytherin dormitories were in the dungeons and, like Gryffindor's, required a password to enter.

The new fifth-year Prefect stood before a stone wall, cleared his throat, and said the password for the first week of the term.

"Pure-blood."

The atmosphere at the front of the group seemed to freeze.

A stone door appeared in the wall and slowly opened, revealing the rather dim common room within.

Slytherin House's colors were emerald green and silver. Numerous green and silver silk ribbons hung in neat rows above the common room, and outside the windows were the depths of Hogwarts's Black Lake.

Students could often see enormous aquatic creatures swimming past, usually very interesting ones, such as the Giant Squid that lived in the Black Lake year-round.

After this year's new students arrived in Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy, the leader among the Slytherins, was to give them a few words of instruction. He now stood at the very front of the room, his gaze sweeping over all the new students.

Anna stood beside Riley, watching Lucius with interest.

Lucius felt a catch in his chest. Recalling what had happened at the long table earlier, he had to suppress his emotions before he could speak.

"Congratulations on coming to Slytherin.

"First, let me explain some of the rumors you've heard.

"Not all Slytherins are dark wizards. The other houses say that we only associate with people from ancient pure-blood families or those born into distinguished families and the like. That is their gossip, and you needn't take it seriously.

"I won't deny that our house has produced dark wizards, but there have been such people in the other houses too. Many simply overlook that fact.

"We pursue glory and victory. I trust that as we spend time together, you will understand that choosing us will be the best decision you make."

His final words carried a double meaning. Everyone could tell it was Lucius Malfoy's warning to the new students, a hope that they would be clear about which side to choose, especially concerning one person in particular.

But the young lady standing at the front showed no sign of concern. She even gave a little yawn.

Clearly, Lucius Malfoy's slow, meaningful speech was boring her.

Lucius felt that if this went on, sooner or later he would no longer be able to keep his composure. As soon as he returned to his room, he would write to his father and ask how to deal with it!

"The common room password changes every two weeks. New students, please check the notice board; it will be written there when the time comes.

"Also, never bring students from other houses into our common room, and never tell them the password.

"As for your rooms, your names will be on the dormitory doors. Find them yourselves."

After hurriedly finishing, he left with a dark expression. Some students among the Death Eaters' followers exchanged looks and wisely refrained from making trouble for Anna and her companions.

"Go get a good night's sleep. Classes begin tomorrow."

Narcissa Black spoke up from the side to smooth things over. After a long day of travel, many of the young witches and wizards were already struggling to stay awake.

The crowd in the common room gradually dispersed.

Anna and Snape were about to look for their dormitories when Riley called them back.