Chapter -41.
At the far end of the long table, a Slytherin with a serious expression stood up and addressed the first-year students in a calm but commanding voice. Dudley overheard his classmates referring to him as the current prefect of Slytherin.
At Hogwarts, the heads of the four houses choose exceptional students from both boys and girls starting in their fifth year to serve as prefects until they graduate. Their main job is to guide the first-year students and help manage their peers, and they even have the authority to deduct points from their own house—kind of like a mix between a counselor and a class monitor.
This was the fifth-year prefect.
When the prefect from their own house gave instructions, the first-year wizards naturally didn't dare to argue. Even Malfoy, who loved bragging about his father, followed along without a fuss.
Then, a little incident happened.
As a Slytherin student brushed past Dudley, he bumped into him a bit too hard. But Dudley barely felt it, and the other boy ended up stumbling back instead.
"Hey, are you okay?" Dudley asked, helping him up and brushing off the dust. "Just be careful where you're going next time."
With that, Dudley turned and joined the main group, focused on memorizing the route to Slytherin. It was his first day at Hogwarts, and he didn't want to get lost—that would be so embarrassing!
"Fabian, you really made a fool of yourself."
"Why hold back? You just offended a Malfoy."
As Dudley walked away, the other Slytherin students quickly gathered around, chatting animatedly. They had hoped that Fabian would show Dudley who was boss, especially since Dudley was the strongest third-year student besides him.
But instead of intimidating Dudley, Fabian had ended up on the ground himself.
Everyone agreed that Fabian had gone easy on him.
Fabian stayed quiet, watching Dudley leave while rubbing his sore shoulder. Only he knew that he had given it his all; otherwise, it wouldn't have hurt so much.
'It felt like hitting a brick wall.'
'If only I was fit enough for Quidditch.'
He shook his head, trying to push that thought away.
Unfortunately, he had offended a Malfoy.
The Malfoy family was quite powerful in the wizarding world, part of the elite upper class. Lucius Malfoy, his father, had a significant influence in the Ministry of Magic and could easily step into a position of power there. He was also one of Hogwarts' governors and, most importantly, extremely wealthy—some even said he was the richest Malfoy.
To offend him was to offend someone powerful, and in Slytherin, that meant offending everyone.
As the Sorting Hat had mentioned, the atmosphere in Slytherin had taken a turn for the worse.
The Slytherin common room was located beneath Hogwarts Castle, essentially in the basement. Honestly, it wasn't the best spot.
Cold and damp were the defining features of this place. The heavy humidity could really affect your health over time, leading to skin issues and even more serious conditions.
Dudley, who excelled in all his subjects, had dabbled in medicine, enough to know a bit about it.
But this was Hogwarts, not a science lab. Maybe Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, would have some magical solutions for the little wizards.
According to the prefect, they would reach the Slytherin common room after navigating a spiral corridor. Dudley took mental notes of his surroundings. Since the Sorting, he hadn't had a chance to chat with Harry, Hermione, or the others, which made him a bit regretful. He should have set up a time to meet them before everything got started.
If he had thought ahead, he could have had Hedwig send them a note.
The relationships between the four houses at Hogwarts were more complicated than he had imagined.
Especially the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin; they were practically sworn enemies. There didn't seem to be any real conflict between the students themselves, but the house dynamics turned them into rivals.
When did Gryffindor and Slytherin become enemies?
Dudley wasn't sure when that idea started; all the books he read, including the famous "A History of Hogwarts," mentioned it that way. Everyone seemed to forget that Gryffindor and Slytherin were once the best of friends, standing together through thick and thin.
"Password!" a mechanical voice echoed from the stone wall.
The Slytherin prefect replied in a flat tone, "Glory."
The wall slowly opened, revealing a spacious common room inside.
"Remember the password; if you forget it, you'll be stuck outside," the prefect instructed the first-years coolly before stepping inside.
The young wizards followed him into the common room.
Dudley immediately noticed it was a couple of degrees cooler than the dining hall.
Then he spotted the fireplace in the center, which was always lit. Without it, the room would have been at least ten degrees colder.
Dudley took in his surroundings; the Slytherin common room had a mysterious Gothic vibe, with dim shades of green that made it feel a bit secretive.
However, the low lighting wasn't great for reading, so he'd probably need to find a better spot for that.
The large arched windows let in a chilly draft, and occasionally, he could see fish swimming outside in the Black Lake. The windows were magically sealed, so they couldn't be opened.
In fact, the Slytherin common room was converted from a dungeon, which is why it had that slightly eerie and quiet feel.
All the common rooms had been converted from different spaces; Hufflepuff was turned from the servants' dining area near the kitchen, Ravenclaw's from a watchtower, and Gryffindor's from a storage room.
"Boys stay over here, girls over there," the prefect said briefly, pointing out the dormitory locations for the first-years before quickly leaving.
It seemed he was eager to get out of there.
The older Slytherin students didn't follow the prefect back; only the first and second-years were so obedient.
As soon as the prefect left the common room, Dudley felt dozens of unfriendly eyes on him.
It was pretty clear what they were thinking.
Tl/N: If you want to read more [upto Ten chapters] while supporting me, you can join me on patreon.com/EmptyThoughts ;Thanks.
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Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.
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Upcoming chapters :-
42. Bully, Dudley dursley?
43. Beating them left and right!
44. Don't come over!