"So that means we're following in the footsteps of those great founders?"
"Wow, my Merlin, that's so cool!"
The excited young witches and wizards began chattering nonstop, completely dispelling the fear brought on by the darkness.
Hermione lifted her chin proudly and even winked at Chu Yang, subtly showing off.
Chu Yang was just about to compliment her to calm her down when an ill-timed voice suddenly rang out.
"Look at that! A little Mudblood from a Muggle family lecturing real wizards about Hogwarts history?!"
"What a joke!"
A small boat drifted over from the side, carrying three boys. The two on either side were tall and broad—both even bigger than Neville.
Sitting between them was a blond boy with a handsome face but a sinister gaze that immediately gave off bad vibes.
In a low, disdainful voice, the blond boy said, "Lowborn Mudbloods like you aren't worthy of talking about the four great founders—especially the great Salazar Slytherin."
"Mind your own damn business!" Hermione snapped, shaking with rage. Ever since entering the wizarding world, nothing infuriated her more than people insulting her parents for being Muggles.
"How can you use such vicious words?" she shouted.
Even the usually timid and awkward Neville spoke up, pointing angrily at the blond boy. "You shouldn't talk like that!"
"Mudblood? What does that mean?" Hermione froze for a moment, instinctively sensing that it was a terrible word.
Neville hesitated, then leaned over and whispered a few words in her ear.
Hermione's expression instantly changed. Her face went pale, and her eyes reddened.
Chu Yang narrowed his eyes, coldly staring at the blond boy. Among the new students, there was only one person who could so casually spit out such venom—
Draco Malfoy.
Ordinary first-years might know nothing about the incoming class, but Draco Malfoy was different.
The Malfoy family was a prestigious lineage in Hogwarts history, and his father, Lucius Malfoy, was one of the school governors. Getting hold of the new student list in advance and selectively befriending influential wizarding families was a standard Malfoy tactic.
When Lucius Malfoy discovered that the list included two Muggle-born students, he had flown into a rage right in front of Draco.
Every member of the Malfoy family had graduated from Slytherin House and firmly believed in Salazar Slytherin's pure-blood ideology.
They believed that only pure-blood wizards were worthy of learning and wielding magic.
Chu Yang found this belief laughable.
By that logic, the very first wizard to discover and use magic wouldn't have been qualified at all—because his parents would have been Muggles.
Without the first generation of Muggle-born wizards pioneering magic, exchanging knowledge, and developing the path forward, where would wizarding families even come from?
This wasn't some "chicken or the egg" paradox.
Muggle-born wizards clearly came before pure-blood families.
Enraged by Hermione's fierce retort, Malfoy lost control and began spewing even more vicious insults.
"So this is the etiquette of pure-blood wizards? Resorting to filthy insults the moment someone disagrees?" Chu Yang sneered. "I've only seen behavior like that from street thugs in London. Your upbringing is seriously lacking."
Draco Malfoy's face flushed crimson as he jumped to his feet, shouting furiously, "I only show courtesy to real wizards! You lowly—"
Before he could finish, the boat suddenly lurched violently. Malfoy nearly toppled overboard, saved only when Goyle reacted quickly and grabbed him.
At that moment, twisted tree roots burst up from the bottom of the lake.
Under the moonlight, the branches rising from the water slowly wrapped around Malfoy's boat, causing it to slow, then stop entirely—before beginning to rock violently.
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?! Wasn't this lake supposed to be completely safe?!" Malfoy screamed hysterically, clinging to the edge of the boat in terror.
The branches spread rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, the three boys had no room left to stand.
Only then did Hagrid notice the commotion behind them. His eyes widened as he shouted, "Blimey! What in the world is that thing?!"
Under the moonlight, the surface of the dark lake looked hazy and indistinct.
To Hagrid, the writhing branches and vines around the boat looked more like the tentacles of some monster, violently shaking the boat in an attempt to drag the boys into the water.
"Blast it—what do I do? I didn't bring my wand!" Hagrid panicked. He hadn't brought his umbrella-wand that day, since he was only escorting students and hadn't expected any trouble.
Now that an emergency had erupted right before his eyes, he was completely helpless.
While Hagrid was still cursing himself, Malfoy and his companions finally lost their footing and plunged into the lake like dumplings.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Malfoy desperately tried to grab the boat, but branches wrapped around his legs and yanked him downward.
Gurgle… gurgle…
Like tripe tossed into a hotpot, Malfoy bobbed up and down in the water. Every time he tried to scream for help, lake water poured straight into his mouth.
Compared to Malfoy, his companions Goyle and Crabbe were far luckier. They also fell in, but quickly managed to climb back onto the boat.
Strangely enough, once Malfoy went under, the boat stopped shaking.
Aside from being drenched, Goyle and Crabbe weren't injured at all.
The same thought occurred to both of them—
The "monster" in the lake seemed to be targeting Malfoy alone.
Realizing this, both of them instinctively looked toward Chu Yang and Hermione—the ones who had just clashed with Malfoy.
Their eyes immediately met Chu Yang's icy gaze.
Both boys shuddered violently, lowered their heads at once, and didn't dare look again.
Malfoy, terrified of being eaten, burst into loud sobs. "Help me! Someone help me! I don't want to be eaten by a monster! Anyone—please, just save me!"
"Goyle! Crabbe!"
Desperate, Malfoy screamed his companions' names.
Goyle instinctively moved closer, bent over the edge of the boat, and reached out to pull him up.
The boat instantly began rocking wildly again.
With a scream, Goyle was dragged back into the lake.
Crabbe nearly jumped out of his skin. He immediately backed away from Malfoy, pretending nothing was happening—and narrowly avoided disaster.
By now, he was certain.
The "monster" was targeting Malfoy.
When Goyle climbed back onto the boat for the second time, having learned his lesson, he followed Crabbe's lead and pretended not to hear Malfoy's cries.
Poor Malfoy had practically drunk his fill of lake water…
At first, when Hermione saw Malfoy fall in, she felt an immense sense of satisfaction, as if all her pent-up anger had finally been released.
But as time dragged on, she began to worry that he might actually be in danger.
After all, she was still just an eleven-year-old girl—simple and kind-hearted at her core.
Anxiously, she asked, "Why aren't his companions helping him? They're both so big—either one of them could pull him up!"
Chu Yang glanced at her in surprise. "After all those horrible things he said, you're still worried about him? You're not angry anymore?"
"Of course I'm angry!" Hermione said firmly. "But I don't want to hate a dead person. Only if he stays alive will I get a chance to get back at him!"
Chu Yang wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead.
The old saying was absolutely true—never provoke girls, especially clever ones.
(End of Chapter)