Two minutes earlier, Malfoy had still been roughhousing with Crabbe and Goyle.
These two idiots had just exposed his embarrassing story to everyone, making Malfoy feel utterly humiliated.
So he dragged them aside, away from the other Slytherin students, and angrily started beating them up.
Unfortunately, the thick layers of fat on their bodies worked like natural shock absorbers.
After quite a long beating, Crabbe and Goyle showed absolutely no sign of pain.
Instead, Malfoy was the one who ended up exhausted.
"Draco, are you tired? Maybe you should take a break," Goyle said thoughtfully when he noticed the sweat on Malfoy's forehead.
"Yeah, Draco. You didn't eat much earlier because you were busy fighting for seats," Crabbe added honestly.
Malfoy: "..."
He suddenly felt like a bathhouse attendant—exhausted from scrubbing customers while being insulted with, Didn't you eat today?
"Enough!" Malfoy finally gave up, rubbing his sore arms. "You two are on my side, so I've decided to forgive you."
In truth, even if he didn't forgive them, there was nothing he could do to these two walking meat shields.
"Next, you two will come with me to deal with the other people who dared disrespect me," Malfoy ordered. "First we'll teach Hayden a lesson, then tomorrow we'll deal with Harry Potter."
"Okay, Draco!"
"No problem, Draco!"
Crabbe and Goyle stood upright like soldiers awaiting orders.
Malfoy nodded solemnly like a commanding officer and waved his hand.
"Move out. To the dormitory!"
…
When Lykos opened his eyes, he noticed that the dormitory door had somehow been pushed open.
A blond-haired boy was crouched on the floor, hugging his head and trembling violently.
His eyes were red, and his already pale face had turned as white as the Bloody Baron.
"H-H-Hayden… I j-just wanted to t-teach you a l-little lesson… I r-really didn't mean any harm…"
Malfoy stammered through tears.
"I-I'll call you boss… c-can you please not kill me?"
His tears finally spilled over, dripping from his reddened eyes onto the carpet.
Only then did Lykos fully realize what had just happened.
He had been experimenting with spells.
After several failed attempts, he had casually spoken the incantation for the most infamous of the Unforgivable Curses—
The Killing Curse.
And it had worked.
"I wasn't planning to kill you," Lykos said calmly, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. "By the way… what did you say you were going to do earlier? Teach me a lesson?"
"No! N-no! I wasn't!" Malfoy shook his head frantically like a rattle drum. "I just didn't know you could use the Killing Curse!"
Malfoy came from a pure-blood family.
His father had been a Death Eater, and their house contained many books about dark magic.
Because of that, he knew far more about the Unforgivable Curses than most young wizards.
His father—Lucius Malfoy, the "school governor" he constantly bragged about—had told him when he was very young that the Killing Curse was the most dangerous of dark spells.
Only extremely powerful dark wizards could cast it.
Draco had never imagined that a brand-new first-year could actually perform such a forbidden spell.
Just moments ago, that blinding green beam had passed less than a finger's width from his hair.
He had never felt so close to death in his entire life.
BANG!
Suddenly, the half-closed dormitory door was kicked open.
Two enormous figures tried to squeeze through the doorway.
Unfortunately, their bodies were so wide that they couldn't enter at the same time and became stuck in the frame.
"Draco! I heard you crying! Did that Hayden guy bully you?"
"Don't worry, Draco! We're here to rescue you!"
Even though they were wedged in the doorway, Crabbe and Goyle still struck heroic poses, determined to save Draco from Lykos.
"Shut up, you idiots!"
Draco practically screamed the words, his voice cracking with panic.
He was genuinely terrified.
He was afraid that if the demon in front of him became unhappy again, another Killing Curse might fly his way.
Crabbe and Goyle had never seen Draco this emotional before.
For a moment, they forgot how to speak.
Their enormous stomachs remained stuck in the doorframe, their thick fat pressing against the wall.
"Hayden—no, Boss Hayden—I really didn't have any bad intentions," Draco said again, turning back toward Lykos with a sincere expression. "I've figured it out. There's no way I can protect you."
"You should be the one protecting me!"
"Draco, why are you calling him boss?" Crabbe asked, unable to hold back his confusion.
"Shut up!" Draco roared over his shoulder. "You two get out of that doorway right now! From now on, Hayden is my boss—and my boss is your boss. Got it?"
"But…" Goyle's tiny brain struggled to process the logic.
"No buts. Just do it!" Draco shouted.
"Okay, Draco!"
"No problem, Draco!"
Crabbe and Goyle instinctively straightened up, stomping their feet together in determination.
"Boss!" they shouted loudly toward Lykos.
The force of their stomping made the floor tremble slightly.
Lykos rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"I don't remember agreeing to be your boss…"
What kind of situation was this?
On the very first day of school, he had accidentally scared his roommates half to death with an Unforgivable Curse.
And now those same roommates were begging him to become their boss.
Did he look like some kind of mafia leader?
Well… Death Eaters were basically the wizarding world's version of a mafia anyway.
So maybe it made sense.
Lykos glanced toward the door and saw Draco still crouching on the floor, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
He sighed.
First things first—
The secret that he could cast the Killing Curse must never be exposed.
"You can guarantee you won't tell anyone, right?" Lykos asked coldly, slowly rubbing the wand in his hand. "If I find out my secret gets leaked… I think you know the consequences."
"I swear I won't tell anyone!" Draco shouted immediately, raising both hands above his head. "Honestly! I'd rather secretly ask you to teach me magic than expose you to others!"
"Alright. I understand."
Lykos nodded slowly and stood up from the bed.
"But if you really want me to be your boss… I'll need to see some sincerity first."
He walked over to Draco and extended his hand.
"How about… starting with a protection fee?"