Man, you could have heard a pin drop for a solid three seconds. The only sound was the sputtering of the floating candles, and they almost sounded like they felt bad about it. Someone lifted the Sorting Hat off Evelyn's head, and she blinked in the sudden light, looking out at all the shocked faces. The Hufflepuffs looked totally horrified. The Ravenclaws were already whispering, trying to figure her out. And the Gryffindors... well, they were cheering, but a few of them, like a redhead named Ron Weasley who'd just been sorted, were staring at the Slytherin table like she'd just personally betrayed them.
It had been a wild sorting ceremony. She'd watched Hermione Granger practically skip to the Gryffindor table, seen a pale, pointy-faced Draco Malfoy get sorted into Slytherin almost before the hat touched his head, and witnessed the whole hall go silent for Harry Potter's nail-biter of a Sorting. Her own name, an anomaly not on the list, had come right after.
Now, the Slytherin table started clapping. But it wasn't the huge, cheering welcome the new Gryffindors got. Nope. This was a slow, formal, and totally unimpressed clap. It was the kind of applause that says, "Fine, we'll acknowledge you exist, but we don't have to like it." It was the sound of pure-bloods being polite to someone they already decided was beneath them.
Evelyn slid off the stool and headed toward the green and silver banners, feeling hundreds of eyes on her. She just kept her chin up and her face calm. In Witchcraft: Legacy of Hogwarts, the characters totally reacted to how you carried yourself. She wasn't about to look weak on her first day.
She glanced over at the teachers' table. Professor McGonagall looked seriously unhappy. But Dumbledore... his reaction was interesting. You could see this super curious twinkle behind his famous glasses. He wasn't looking at her like a student, but more like a weird new piece in a game he was playing. Fine by me, she thought. Stay curious.
She sat down at the table, and a couple of seats away, she saw Malfoy mutter something to his new cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. They all sneered. Nobody said a word to her. They didn't have to; the silent treatment was way louder than any insult.
Honestly? It was kind of cute. She calmly loaded up her plate with shepherd's pie. She'd taken on literal Lich Lords. A bunch of snotty eleven-year-old wizards weren't exactly scary. Her mind was already on her next goal.
Quest Log Updated!
[Main Quest: The First Night]
- Survive your introduction to the Slytherin Dormitories.
- Establish a foothold. (Optional)
- Identify key players. (Optional)
The feast wrapped up with Dumbledore giving his usual weird warnings. "...And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Evelyn almost cracked a smile. The 'Fluffy' quest. Right on time.
"Slytherin first-years! With me!"
The voice belonged to a tall, severe-looking fifth-year prefect. He led the new Slytherins, including a strutting Malfoy, out of the Hall and down into the dungeons. "The Slytherin common room is behind this wall," the prefect said, stopping at a blank, damp spot. "The password changes, so don't go sharing it with anyone from the other houses. Got it?"
A few kids mumbled, "Yes, Prefect."
"Good," he sniffed. He turned to the wall and said, "Ambition."
The wall slid open, showing a long, low room with a weird green glow. It came from the windows, which looked right out into the Black Lake!
"Girls' rooms are on the left, boys' on the right," the prefect said, waving a hand. "Your stuff is already there. Don't be late for breakfast." And with that, he left them to find their own way.
Evelyn went to the girls' room. It was a circle-shaped room with five big beds with green velvet curtains. There were four trunks by four of the beds, and a plain, boring-looking one by the last bed. Hers. She sat down on the mattress as the other girls, including a pug-faced girl she recognized as Pansy Parkinson, whispered for a second before yanking their own curtains shut.
Okay, System Check, she thought, closing her own curtains. Total darkness. She focused, and the good old UI popped up in her head, looking sharper than ever.
Name: Evelyn
Level: 100
HP: 5000/5000
MP: 10000/10000
STATS:
Strength: 100 (MAX)
Dexterity: 100 (MAX)
Constitution: 100 (MAX)
Intelligence: 100 (MAX)
Wisdom: 100 (MAX)
Charisma: 100 (MAX)
She kept scrolling, her heart beating a little faster. It was all there! Her inventory was loaded with awesome crafting stuff and tons of gold. Her spell list? Perfect. Every single spell from the game was right there in her head, from the easy ones to the super-forbidden curses. She knew it all like the back of her hand.
She wasn't just some kid at a magic school. She was a walking, talking, fully-loaded magical powerhouse. The other Slytherins thought she was some weak nobody. Ha! If they only knew.
A little smile played on her lips in the darkness. They could ignore her all they wanted. It didn't matter. This wasn't their story anymore.
It was hers. And it was time to start grinding.