Chapter 6: A Fight on the First Day?

When the long-bearded headmaster announced the start of the feast, Lys desperately wished she could move from the green long table to the red and yellow ones.

Did everyone at this green table eat in such deathly silence?

When an incredible array of delicious dishes materialized before them in the blink of an eye, they barely showed any surprise. They took such tiny portions on their plates - portions that wouldn't even satisfy a mail-delivering owl.

While Lys was internally judging her fellow Slytherins, they too were regarding her with disapproving frowns.

Especially Narcissa - her brother had already tarnished the Black family's honor by joining Gryffindor, which would certainly diminish their standing before Him. And now here was another Black, though unfamiliar... who was, unmistakably, crude and unrefined.

Her table manners were bringing fresh shame to the Black name.

But Lys couldn't help herself - she had never seen such an extraordinary spread of magical dishes before. With both sides of her teeth aching, it was impossible not to hiss while gnawing on chicken legs. The pain was simply too much.

By the time dessert concluded, Lys was so stuffed she nearly became sick during the school song.

The first-years who had intended to speak with her while following the prefect to the dormitory were deterred by her damp, shabby robes, despite her most courteous smile.

After the feast, the prefects led their respective house's first-years to their dormitories and territories.

The Slytherin female prefect guided her young snakes from the marble staircase in the entrance hall down to the dungeons, halting before a stone wall.

"Password: Pureblood."

"First-years, memorize this password well. You'll need it every time you wish to enter our common room. Forget it? Then you'll be spending the night in the dungeon corridors."

Lys bounced along at the back of the group, carefully committing the password to memory while sneaking touches at the serpentine carvings on the wall.

As the stone wall parted, she hurried in with the others. The place felt gloomy and bathed in green light, but undeniably magnificent.

She thought they were finished and could retire to bed, but the prefect hadn't yet directed them to their sleeping quarters.

After watching Narcissa, who managed to look radiant despite her frown, bid goodnight to the platinum-haired male prefect, Lys began to feel drowsy.

The female prefect who had led them stood in the center of the common room, vanishing the central sofas with a wave of her wand, and addressed the first-years with her head held high:

"Since you've all been chosen for Slytherin, I believe you bear the responsibility of upholding Slytherin's honor. We are elegant, composed, ambitious, and pursue victory." She paused, casting a pointed glance at the rust-red-haired young witch. "We are Slytherin, and Slytherin's honor is protected by pure blood and power. Now, let us determine who will be the first-year leader."

Lys could never have imagined that on her first day of school, she would be required to participate in a magical duel!

Her mother's modified wand was thick, heavy, and long - she could barely hold it steady enough to cast spells, let alone wield it properly.

"Starlys Black!"

After witnessing the previous victor receive considerable applause, Lys was determined to prove herself. But standing there, she realized with horror that she didn't know any spells!

"Uh-" Before she could devise a strategy, her opponent had already cast a Leg-Locker Curse at her.

Lys lost her balance while dodging and tumbled onto the common room carpet. Looking up at the crowd looming over her, panic and fear seized her heart.

She instinctively swung her exceptionally long wand, striking the boy's knee, while the wand's tip released a brilliant silver light that enveloped his head.

Taking advantage of his temporary blindness, Lys attempted to stand, but her legs remained locked firmly together. She could only manage to sit up, completely at a loss for what to do next.

The boy dispelled the light with some unknown counter-curse, and ultimately, Lys was defeated.

She twisted around to lean against a nearby sofa, water squeezing from her sodden cloak beneath her.

"Very well, new students, remember this: honor comes first! Now find your dormitories and get some rest. Your name plates are on the doors, and don't forget to check your course schedules on your desks. Attend all classes punctually. Boys' dormitories to the right, girls' to the left."

The platinum-haired male prefect even offered encouraging pats on the shoulders of several outstanding performers.

"Oh, yes - Finite Incantatem," the female prefect cast the counter-curse on the defeated students.

Even after the prefect removed the Leg-Locker Curse, Lys remained seated for quite some time. The floor was ice-cold, and her legs were painfully stiff from being locked together for so long.

Soon the common room emptied, with everyone retiring to their dormitories to unpack. The first day of school always meant organizing new possessions and settling in.

As Lys finally managed to stand, a black-haired boy emerged holding a book adorned with mushrooms on its cover, apparently intending to read by the fireplace.

"Hey Snape, hello- I mean, good night!"

Lys reflected that he was the only Slytherin who had shown any willingness to speak with her. Everyone else regarded her with the same look her mother gave her, and they would probably maintain their distance as well.

Watching Lys head toward the girls' dormitories, Snape looked startled. "The boys' dormitories are that way, you..."

"I know."

"You're a girl!" Snape couldn't mask his astonishment. His impression of this young witch had been rather vague, partly due to his lack of careful observation, but she was female?! It was completely imperceptible.

Lys dabbed at her swollen mouth corners, which were threatening to drool. "Um, I believe so, yes."

Seeing that Snape had nothing more to say, Lys covered her cheeks and prepared to search for her name plate among the doors.

"If your intelligence is at a normal level, you should be aware that a single bottle of Tooth-Healing Potion from the hospital wing could readily resolve your problem, rather than making those unseemly hissing sounds at the dinner table."

Lys turned back to look at the black-haired youth, offered him a smile, and disappeared into the last dormitory.