In my third year at Hogwarts, as I went to sit at the Slytherin table as usual, there were two girls I did not recognize sitting there instead of Pansy with her pug-like face and the burly Millicent.
The first was a striking beauty with jet-black bobbed hair and sharply defined features. Her eyebrows were boldly arched, her large eyes wide and expressive, giving off a strong-willed impression. Her pink nails were neatly groomed, and the contrast between her petite facial features and her lively, energetic aura naturally drew attention.
The other had wavy, light-brown semi-short hair, well-trained limbs with no excess, and a toned, healthy figure. Sparkling earrings adorned her ears, and her sharp gaze hinted at a fierce temperament. Paired with a crooked, slightly sarcastic smile, she had a bit of a delinquent vibe, but in a cool, attractive way.
"Um… may I ask who you are?"
"I'm Pansy! And this one's Millicent!"
"You look like completely different people compared to last year."
When I stared at them in shock, Pansy and Millicent exchanged glances and grinned smugly, clearly pleased with themselves.
"We worked hard all through summer vacation, dieting, exercising, and practicing makeup!"
"So? What do you think of our Hogwarts third-year debut?"
"Honestly, it's beyond what I imagined."
When I gave my sincere impression, still reeling from the shock, Pansy and Millicent cheered and high-fived each other.
Since last year, with Daphne's mantra of "Beauty can be created through skill and effort," they had refined their makeup techniques and focused on dieting and strength training. After nearly a year, those efforts had finally borne fruit.
Yes, we were now thirteen in our third year at Hogwarts, an age where charm slowly began to matter more than appetite.
Slytherin, with its many precocious girls, was quick in that regard. Even among the older students, girls who had not stood out much when they first enrolled gradually polished themselves, often getting boyfriends ahead of students from other houses.
"Lately, I feel like people are looking at me more than before. Being noticed really does feel good."
Pansy puffed out her chest with a smug little hum. Her third-year debut seemed to have given her quite a bit of confidence.
"I used to think, watching Elaina praise herself all the time, 'What an annoying narcissist,' but now I kind of get it."
"Shall I scatter your old photos around?"
"If anything, that would just highlight how much we've improved!"
Pansy was really getting carried away, or rather, becoming very positive-minded.
Of course, natural looks, athletic ability, and intelligence matter too, but in kindergarten or elementary school, the differences are not that pronounced.
Still, habits are important. Whether you build habits of studying, exercising, and taking care of your appearance from a young age gradually shows as you grow older, through middle school, high school, and university.
"Oh, by the way, I don't see Daphne anywhere?"
When I asked, Millicent replied with an "Ah."
"Her younger sister is enrolling this year, so she's right up front… ah, speak of the devil."
Following Millicent's gaze, I saw Professor McGonagall just beginning the customary Sorting Ceremony.
At the spot closest to the Sorting Hat from the Slytherin table stood an especially eye-catching figure: Daphne Greengrass.
She had wavy, shaggy semi-long blonde hair, round emerald-green eyes, a neatly defined nose, a sharp facial outline, and porcelain-white skin. Up to that point, she was simply a beautiful girl. The problem lay in her outfit.
Her skirt was short, her tie loosened, and her shirt left open down to the second button. The shirt itself was deliberately a smaller size, so the buttons were stretched taut over her developing chest. A first-year boy who had just been sorted into Slytherin and warmly welcomed promptly turned bright red.
"…Is Daphne going through some kind of rebellious phase?"
When I asked Pansy, she shot me a strangely accusatory look.
"No, Daphne ended up like that because of you, Elaina."
"Why is my name coming up here?"
"You were spreading Muggle magazines all over Hogwarts last year, weren't you?"
"I was."
Incidentally, I had no intention of continuing this year. I sold the rights outright to Professor Lockhart's publishing company. As a result, Lockhart Publishing now handled not only novels, but also a magazine division focused on fashion.
"That's it. Lockhart immediately started running features like 'L.A. Style,' didn't he?"
"Ah, so she jumped on the trend."
"Exactly."
It seemed Professor Lockhart was trying to realize his ideal of "harmony between the magical and Muggle worlds" through fashion magazines.
By avoiding openly calling it "Muggle-style" and instead softening it as something like "L.A. Style," and since the magical world was generally more tolerant of fashion or rather, full of people dressed strangely anyway, it was gradually catching on.
And so, while we chatted about such things, the sorting continued.
"Greengrass, Astoria!"
As soon as the name was called, a single girl stepped forward gracefully.
She had long, honey-colored hair with soft waves, narrow blue eyes, and clearly defined double eyelids. For a first-year, she had a surprisingly mature beauty, but what stood out most was her calm, composed demeanor.
It was an aura, the unique presence of someone born to privilege, seeping into her every movement.
Astoria donned the Sorting Hat with an indifferent expression. Even when it loudly declared "Slytherin!", she did not change her expression, and with an air of complete inevitability, she walked calmly toward our table.
"Ta-da! So this is my little sister, Astoria! Let's have a round of applause!"
Daphne clapped cheerfully, but Astoria cast her a sidelong glance that said, "Honestly…," before giving us a light, graceful bow.
"I am Astoria Greengrass. Thank you for always taking care of my sister."
Her refined, composed presence was hard to reconcile with Daphne's lively personality. Millicent gave a wry smile, and Pansy looked exasperated as well. As expected, they all seemed to have known each other for years as fellow purebloods.
"Oh, come on, Astoria, isn't it a bit late for that? Half of Slytherin are familiar faces anyway. No need to be so formal."
"If you say so, Millicent, then I shall take you up on that kindness."
Astoria's expression softened with a quiet chuckle. When she smiled, she suddenly looked younger, making it easy to see that she really was Daphne's sister.
She then turned her gaze toward me and spoke with a dignified smile.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Celestelia. I am Astoria Greengrass."
"Elaina is fine, Astoria."
Thinking how different she was from Saya, who was friendly to the point of being overly familiar despite also being a junior, I returned her greeting with a gentle smile.
"Anyway, I'm so happy that Astoria is in Slytherin too! Your big sister is thrilled! Let's celebrate, celebrate!"
"It somehow feels like you're the one being celebrated, Sister."
"Either way is fine. Come on, cheers!"
Following Daphne's high-energy lead, Pansy, Millicent, and the others joined in with cries of "Yeah!" and "Woo!", clinking their goblets filled with Gillywater or pumpkin juice in a noisy toast.
"What's this, Daphne's little sister? Introduce her to me too."
Drawn by the commotion, Blaise Zabini appeared, the notorious flirt and the flashiest boy in our year. He leaned over from Pansy's side, prompting Pansy to whisper to Astoria with an annoyed look.
"Astoria, you can forget about Zabini."
"If Pansy-senpai says so."
"That's harsh!?"
After that, Theodore Nott came over to offer a perfunctory greeting that plainly said, "This is a hassle, but it's social courtesy, so I'll do it. Now I want to eat," written all over his face. Then Draco Malfoy appeared, accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Astoria, you… you're in Slytherin?"
For Draco, his awkward manner was unusual.
"Yes, well. My family has been Slytherin for generations, after all…"
For some reason, Astoria also wore a distant expression, her smile stiff and artificial.
When I glanced at Daphne, she had a face that said, "Oh no."
"…Daphne, does Astoria dislike Draco?"
"It's more like Draco dislikes Astoria."
Apparently, they had not been particularly hostile in the past, but as time went on, they stopped seeing eye to eye. That kind of thing was common enough between boys and girls in their teens, but over the past two years especially, their relationship had grown tense.
"And why is that…?"
I soon found out.
Just as Harry appeared from the marble staircase, Draco's gray eyes gleamed maliciously, and his expression lit up with delight.
"Well, if it isn't Potter! You just fainted from those terrifying Dementors. Are you sure it's fine not to be hospitalized and kept on strict bed rest?"
It must have hit a nerve. Harry clenched his teeth, his face turning bright red, and stalked off irritably toward the Gryffindor table.
Pansy snickered, and when Draco gleefully mimicked fainting with exaggerated gestures, laughter rose from the surrounding Slytherins, with voices saying things like, "Give him a break."
"So the great Harry Potter fainted because of a Dementor, huh. Makes you wonder what a 'hero' really is."
"Malfoy-senpai."
The stiff voice that cut in belonged to Astoria.
"Coming from someone who fled a compartment with a deathly pale face, that doesn't sound very convincing."
Draco's pale face instantly flushed red. Behind him, Crabbe and Goyle almost burst out laughing, but when Draco shot them a glare despite being smaller than they were, they shrank back.
After watching Draco storm off with a snort, Daphne let out a long sigh.
"Astoria, I've told you so many times to just ignore him."
"I cannot do that."
Astoria crossed her arms with a scowl.
"An old and distinguished pureblood family demands appropriate conduct. Such reckless behavior only lowers one's own dignity. As a member of proud Slytherin and of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, I cannot overlook it."
At Astoria's rebuttal, Daphne made a conflicted face. "I get what you're saying, but…"
It seemed that for Astoria, pureblood pride was not a tool to look down on others, but a genuine source of personal discipline and self-respect.
Precisely because of that, she could not ignore fellow purebloods who engaged in pointless posturing. By repeatedly calling him out, she had ended up being resented by Draco.
"You know, Astoria, you're a bit too stiff. Why not be more like your big sister and go for a soft, easygoing vibe? At this rate, you won't be popular."
"In that case, perhaps you should tighten your mental guard a little more, Sister."
"Who are you calling a soft, scatterbrained big sister?!"
Just as Daphne neatly wrapped things up with that retort, it seemed the sorting had finished. Headmaster Dumbledore stood up, and we ended our conversation and took our seats at the table.
After that, the atmosphere remained relaxed as the usual announcements followed: the introduction of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the appointment of Hagrid as the professor of Care of Magical Creatures, and the decision to station Dementors around Hogwarts as a countermeasure against Sirius Black. Then the feast began, bringing our first day of third year at Hogwarts to a close.
(End of chapter)
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