A Slytherin with a cold look on his face stood up from the other end of the long table and spoke softly to the new first-years. His tone was one of absolute command. Dudley heard some of the other young wizards whispering that this was the current prefect for Slytherin House.
The heads of the four Hogwarts houses choose one boy and one girl from the fifth-year class to be prefects, and they hold the position until they graduate. Their main job is to guide new students and keep an eye on students in their year. Of course, they can also take points away from their own house, sort of like a combination of a head of house and a class monitor.
This particular young wizard was a fifth-year prefect.
When their own house prefect gave an order, the first-years didn't dare to disobey. Even Malfoy, who was always bragging about his father, dutifully followed behind the prefect.
During the walk, there was a small bit of trouble. A young Slytherin wizard purposely bumped hard into Dudley's shoulder as he walked past. But the pathetic little shove didn't affect Dudley at all. In fact, since actions have equal and opposite reactions, the young wizard who did the bumping ended up falling over himself.
"Are you all right?" Dudley picked him up and brushed the dust off his robes. "Watch where you're going."
With that, Dudley turned and followed the rest of the group. It was his first time at Hogwarts, and his first time heading to the Slytherin common room, so he had to remember the way.
It would be embarrassing to get lost.
"Fabien, you're so clumsy."
"Why did you go easy on him? He crossed a Malfoy."
Once Dudley had moved on, the other Slytherin students swarmed around the fallen boy, chattering in low voices. They had wanted him to give Dudley a bit of a welcome beating, since this boy was the strongest first-year besides Dudley.
Instead of a beating, the boy was the one who got knocked down.
They all agreed that Fabien must have gone easy on him.
Fabien didn't say a word. He just rubbed his still-aching shoulder while watching the spot where Dudley had stood. He was the only one who knew he hadn't gone easy at all—he'd used all his strength. That's why he was in so much pain.
*It felt like hitting a steel plate.*
*What a waste of strength. He'd be a great Quidditch player with that build.*
Fabien shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind.
What a shame he had to go and cross a Malfoy.
The Malfoy family is quite influential in the wizarding world, considered elite members of high society. Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, not only has a lot of pull at the Ministry of Magic and could become a high-ranking official whenever he pleased, but he's also one of the Hogwarts governors. Most importantly, he's very, very rich.
At one point, he was known as the richest of all the Malfoys.
Crossing his son is like crossing the entire wizarding elite. In Slytherin, a normal student who crosses the elite might as well be crossing everyone.
Just as the Sorting Hat said, the Slytherin house's reputation has gone completely sour.
The Slytherin common room is located deep in the dungeons of Hogwarts Castle. To be honest, it's a terrible location.
Cold and damp are the words that come to mind. The moisture in the dungeons is heavy, and staying there for a long time can affect a person's health. It can ruin your skin and easily cause eczema, and in more severe cases, even lead to rheumatic arthritis.
Since Dudley gets full marks in all his subjects, he's even studied some medicine, though he's not an expert—just enough to learn the basics.
Of course, all this is from a scientific point of view. This is Hogwarts.
It's not scientific, it's magic. Maybe Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts school nurse, would have a solution to all these problems.
According to the prefect, they just needed to go through a spiral staircase to get to the Slytherin common room.
Dudley made a mental map of all the surroundings. Since he'd been sorted, he hadn't had a chance to say a word to Harry, Hermione, or the others. Dudley felt a little sad about that. He should have made a plan to meet up with them before the sorting.
Maybe he could send Hedwig to them sometime.
The relationships between the four Hogwarts houses are much worse than he thought.
Especially between Gryffindor and Slytherin—they're practically mortal enemies. Even though the students themselves don't have many real conflicts, the atmosphere of the houses turns them against each other.
Are Gryffindor and Slytherin old rivals?
Dudley wasn't sure when that story started, but all the books he'd read, including the famous *Hogwarts: A History*, mentioned it.
Everyone only remembers that Gryffindor and Slytherin disagreed and went their separate ways. They completely forget that the two founders were once the best of friends, the kind who would face death together.
"Password!" a stone wall asked with a cold, mechanical voice.
The Slytherin prefect replied with an equally cold tone: "Glory."
The stone wall slowly slid open, revealing the spacious common room inside.
"Remember the password. If you forget it, you won't get back in," the prefect said icily to the first-years. After that, he went in first.
The students followed close behind.
The temperature was about two degrees cooler than the Great Hall.
That was Dudley's first impression. Then he noticed the fireplace in the center, a fire blazing brightly.
Without the fire, it would be at least ten degrees cooler than the Great Hall.
Dudley started to look around. The Slytherin common room's style was filled with the mysterious features of gothic architecture. The colors were a murky green, giving off an ominous vibe.
But this kind of lighting isn't good for your eyes. He'd probably need to find another place to read.
Giant arched windows on the walls gave off a constant chill. Through the windows, you could see fish swimming by from time to time. Since it was the Black Lake, Slytherins weren't allowed to open the windows. There was also a permanent sticking charm on them.
In reality, the Slytherin common room was a converted dungeon, which is why it's also called the Slytherin Dungeons. Being a dungeon, it always feels a little gloomy and silent.
Actually, all four common rooms were converted. The Hufflepuff common room was converted from the castle servants' dining area, which is why it's near the kitchens. The Ravenclaw common room is said to be a converted lookout tower. As for Gryffindor, their common room was a converted storeroom.
"Boys go here, girls go there."
The prefect gave a simple command, pointed the first-years to their dorms, and then quickly left.
It was as if he didn't want to be there any longer than necessary.
By the way, none of the upper-year Slytherin students had come back with the prefect. Only the first-, second-, and third-year students were so obedient.
As soon as the prefect left the common room, Dudley felt dozens of unfriendly stares on him.
What they wanted to do was obvious.