Chapter 11: A Toad-like Woman
Axel couldn't understand the meaning of the system's words.
There were no records of the girl in this world? And further information was locked?
'What the hell does that mean?' he asked.
[It means that the system can't give you any information on her at the moment. The system, like Akashic Records, is bound by the laws of the world. The entity AR has managed to secure a business relationship between us. Thus, many things can not be given to you unless you have the required approval rate or unless one of us pays a penalty or completes a task of equivalent difficulty.]
Axel nodded slowly,
'Is that why you can't provide the information on ways to cure me?'
[Affirmative.]
Axel gave the purple-haired girl another look. Who the hell was she that this world doesn't even have records on her and the information on her is locked?
Well, whatever. Not his business. Delicious free food is the priority right now. Hmm… can he take some back to his room?
After the feast, Dumbledore stood up once again.
"Now that you have been fed and watered, I have a few start-of-term announcements to make.
"The staff remains the same except for the Defense Against Dark Arts. It will be taken by Professor Dolores Umbridge, who's shown remarkable mastery of the subject in her interview. Let us all welcome her."
Axel saw that it was a woman in pink whose looks matched fairly well with a toad's. The students seemed to have never heard of her, so they just gave her a polite applause, to which the woman gave a sickly sweet smile that made Axel cringe.
"And—"
"Hem-hem..."
Dumbledore was going to make further announcements, but he stopped since Dolores Umbridge had stood up for some reason after clearing her throat.
"Pardon me, headmaster. But I'd like to say a few words to the children on this occasion," she said in a high-pitched voice that grated on Axel's nerves.
"Of course, of course... You're most welcome, Professor Umbridge," said Dumbledore magnanimously.
"Hello, my children. As the headmaster said, I'm going to be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher from this year. But, that is not my main aim of coming here," she said and paused for the dramatic effect.
"I'm here, to teach you things that'll change your life and can change the world. I want to find capable children who are willing to be enlightened. So, let us all get along, heeehe," she said and let out a high-pitched fake laugh in the end before sitting down. There was a lukewarm applause for her, since most students didn't seem to share her passion.
Though among the students, someone was much more reactive than everyone. It was Martina Valentino. She was looking at Umbridge with a frown, as if she was surprised and disgusted by her presence.
After the applause, Dumbledore went on,
"Thank you, Professor Umbridge, for your kind words. Now, I have an important announcement to make, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor is a prohibited area. Students are not allowed to enter, unless they want to die a painful death."
That got Axel's attention. He was now feeling somewhat curious about what was inside. The old man shouldn't have left it like a cliffhanger.
Dumbledore made a few more announcements before it was time for the feast to end.
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" He said enthusiastically and Axel, who was rather tired and sleepy, suddenly jerked his head up.
'Wha-did-he-say??' He thought, hoping it was not another song from the hat.
But alas, it turned out to be something worse.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"
And the school bellowed:
"HOGWARTS, HOGWARTS, HOGGY WARTY HOGWARTS,
TEACH US SOMETHING PLEASE,
…
…
This thing made sorting hat's loud and annoying sound tame in comparison. It seems he'll have to keep a set of earplugs during his stay here.
'Damn it, a warning would have been helpful,' he thought as he pulled his hands off his ears which he'd covered in annoyance.
Now that the feast was finally over, the first year Slytherins followed their prefect into the dungeons where the Slytherin dorms were located.
While the other firsties had no idea where they were going, Axel made sure to memorize all the paths carefully. They all stopped in front of a bare stretch of stone wall in the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle.
"This is the Entrance to the Slytherin common room," said the Prefect. "You need a password to enter— Preservation."
When he said the word, the wall parted with a low rumbling to show the Slytherin Common Room.
The common room was a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. This dungeon extended part way under the lake, giving the light in the room a green tinge. The common room had lots of low-backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas, skulls, and dark wood cupboards.
The walls were decorated with tapestries that featured wizards wearing Slytherin robes. Even though it had quite a grand atmosphere, Axel felt quite out of place here.
Currently, the huge common room was dimly lit with the many crystal balls levitating in mid-air. And it was filled with students.
A tall blond-haired boy stepped out of the crowd. He had the head boy badge on his chest, indicating his position.
Performing a noble courtesy, he addressed everyone,
"Welcome and welcome back, everyone. To those who don't know me, I am Alaric Malcolm, the head boy of Hogwarts," he said, his voice having a slight Russian accent.
"Most of you already know, but just for the information, I'm a Pureblood from a pureblood family. The Malcolm family is an influential family of Russia. We branched out to Britain seven years ago."
He then swept his gazes over the first years.
"Before everyone goes to their dorms, I need to make some things clear, especially with our new members," he said as he relaxed back into an armchair.
"One," he said, raising his finger, "As everyone must have heard from many sources, anything that happens in Slytherin, stays in Slytherin. We will always present a strong and united front."
"Second, Slytherin House has been winning the house cup for the past 7 years, and I intend to continue that. So, you all would do well to gain points, and if not then at least try not to lose them. Professor Snape will handle the rest," he said, adding the last part with a slight smirk.
"Third, and the most important one," he said, sitting up straight. "As everyone is already aware, Britain has observed many changes in the past years," he said, taking out a mirror-like object that Andromeda also had used to emphasize the point.
"While some changes are welcome… some are not. The mudbloods, who now call themselves 'Newbloods,' have now started thinking themselves equal to us Purebloods. They are demanding equal rights! The audacity!"
Many sneered at that, agreeing wholeheartedly with Alaric. "No," he said, shaking his head.
"The Malcolm family came to Britain thinking of it as a land of opportunities and old heritage. But it's turning into a festering ground of mudbloods.
"So, everyone should do well to not lose to mudbloods and... remind them of their place from time to time."
Many people began voicing their agreement on the last one, some sporting cruel smiles like the bulky-looking crooked teeth dude standing behind Malcolm like a bodyguard.
Axel on the other hand was worried about his blood status. What the hell is he supposed to do here? It seems like there's no muggle-born in here.
Malcolm raised his hand to silence everyone,
"So, now that we're done with the basics, let's get an intro of our new members. The name, Blood Status, and your family background. Just like how I introduced myself in the beginning.
"Make sure not to lie since whatever you say can be confirmed easily. And, it would be better if you didn't hide your background since your background will decide your treatment and standing in the House."
'Noooo!'
Hearing the words Axel felt a sinking feeling all of a sudden. He had planned to remain lowkey and not reveal his family background to anyone. Even Andromeda, Rose, and the others didn't know that he grew up in the muggle world and was most probably a muggle-born.
When Andromeda had asked him, he had just said that he didn't want to call anyone he knew and that he didn't have parents.
They just thought that his parents were dead. But like Rose and Susan, he had been raised by a wizarding family. How else would he have the knowledge to come to the Saint Mungo's by himself along with the other basic knowledge if he was raised by muggles?
But… what was he supposed to do now that everyone has to reveal their blood status and family background?
He was a guy who didn't even know his full name until an hour ago. And now he's supposed to tell his family background and blood status?
He sighed in exasperation.
Actually, Axel's plan wasn't too bad. Usually, the first-year Slytherins don't have to introduce themselves. But this year, the first year Slytherins have at least 5-6 prominent Pureblood Family Heirs that everyone knows about. And many other influential Pureblood Families from other countries or magical communities have also migrated to Britain or just sent their children to Hogwarts.
Thus, Alaric Malcolm just wants to build connections with these kids so that they'll be helpful to him in the future. Axel just happened to be unlucky enough to suffer from the collateral damage.
"System, can I lie about my family? Will they find out?"
[It's not recommended, Axel. The mirror in his hand is a device with which he can access information about most of the Pureblood families.]
Axel was surprised.
'Really? What the heck is that device? Everyone seems to have it," He asked curiously. Even Rose and the others each had one and they had spent most of the time of their train ride together playing something with it and he'd seen it being sold in many shops.
[It's called a Magi-Mirror. It is a device that has been complexly enchanted to perform a multitude of tasks. The wizards have made their own version of the Internet which they call the Magi-hive. Anyone can search the information you provide through the Magi-hive using that device.]
Axel shook his head. He shouldn't get side-tracked. Currently, the main question is—what the fuck is he supposed to do right now?
Upon being asked for an introduction, the arrogant blondy from earlier pompously strutted forward.
"I am Draco Malfoy. I'm a pureblood with direct relation with the Black family. And the Malfoy family is a rich and influential Pureblood family," he announced proudly.
While some were impressed, Axel only felt disdain at how these people were being all proud and arrogant at having something they never had to work for.
After listening to the very unreasonable words the Malcolm guy said and observing the attitude of these people, a deep sense of disdain and contempt had developed in his mind.
He doesn't want to be a part of this house.
While the others were introducing themselves, he quietly slipped out of the first years and mixed in among the other Slytherins. With the skills he'd picked up, this much was easy to him, even when he was a cripple.
There were about 50 students that were sorted into Slytherin this year. No one paid attention when he didn't introduce himself.
After the introductions were over, and when the first years were being taken to their dorms, Axel joined the others, though he still made sure to keep his presence low.
Unfortunately, someone did actually see him.
"Hey, Axel! Where did you vanish during the introductions?" Came a girl's annoying voice.
Pausing in his steps, he ground his teeth to suppress the urge to punch whoever had asked that.
It turned out to be the Pansy girl. And when she had asked that, several people also heard it.
Unfortunately, that Malfoy boy had also heard it.
"Yeah, you didn't introduce yourself," he exclaimed. "Why did you not do it? Are you a half-blood? A Weasley? Don't tell me you're a mudblood?"
Draco Malfoy didn't really care whether he was Weasley or a mud-blood. He was just jealous that Axel's appearance and temperament were much more attention-grabbing than his.
Axel frowned. He'd not said a word to this guy up to now. But the guy was repeatedly attacking him for no apparent reason at all.
Axel was not a monk and his patience was not infinite.
"You should ask that to your mother, blondy," he said blandly.
*Gasp*
Many people around them heard his reply and some people like Pansy gasped while some sniggered. Axel didn't pay attention to any of them as he moved on.
In Slytherin, everyone had a room for themselves and when they were sorted, their luggage had been transported to their rooms by the House-elves.
Axel walked along the doors and quickly found a door with his name written on it.
Malfoy, who was too stunned to speak for a few moments, finally came to his senses.
"You! You mudblood! I'm sure you don't have any family background! You think you can get away with this?—"
But Axel was not in any mood to listen to his threats. He entered his room and shut the door behind him.
He examined his room. It was a big room, mostly decorated in green and silver. There was a soft bed, a study table, a wardrobe, and some other miscellaneous furniture. He found his bag lying on the bed.
It was the first time he was going to have a room of his own. He hadn't slept on a bed for three years and the one at the orphanage was a bunk bed with springs sticking out of the mattress. Not a soft and comfortable one like this one.
Too bad he was never going to be able to sleep on it.
Yeah, when he was in the common room, he had already decided that he was not going to stay in this place. The people here were all bigoted idiots and every second he stays here, he's going to be in more danger.
He's already made one enemy in just a few hours. And he's not sure how many he'll make if he stays any longer. Currently, he's not in the right condition to fight… in any way. Be it physically, magically, or in terms of background.
It's just fortunate that he at least has his wits about him. Otherwise, he'd have just decided to stay here and then humiliatingly gotten kicked out one day after being bullied one-sidedly.
Why not leave on his own terms instead of leaving after suffering the inevitable suffering that was waiting for him here?
The only regret was…
"I thought I'd at least get to sleep in the bed for one day before I left," he lamented while looking at the very inviting bed.
But with the blondy's and Pantsy's help, there's no guarantee that someone among these arrogant people won't come to disturb him at night. Due to magic, locks are useless.
If anyone comes, he's not confident he can defend himself without killing or maiming anyone. And that'll just bring more trouble and enemies.
He is not going to let anyone bully him.
Thus, after an hour of wait, giving a last glance at the room, he left the Slytherin dorms for good with his backpack sling over his shoulders.
****
A.N.: As stated, no bullying. Let Axel teach you how to escape bullying without having to submit to anyone. Also, how did Umbridge get here?!
there's info on the mysterious girl in the next chapter
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