Snape left the sobbing Malfoy behind and headed straight for the first-years' dormitory. Goyle and Crabbe had just finished changing when Snape dragged them out for questioning.
After receiving a firm confirmation, Snape, full of doubt, made his way to Chu Yang's room.
Malfoy and the other two followed closely behind him.
Snape pushed the door open forcefully, then lifted his head to look up—and found that not a single spot showed any sign of damage.
Chu Yang had just come out of the bathroom. Seeing Snape with a face like thunder, and Malfoy behind him looking utterly wronged, he smiled politely.
"Good morning, Professor Snape. Is there something you need so early?"
Snape took a deep breath. He didn't mention the bookmark at all, instead asking coldly, "Mr. Malfoy is your roommate, yet he spent last night sleeping in the common room. Do you care to explain that?"
Chu Yang glanced quickly at the three of them, then asked in surprise, "Malfoy slept in the common room last night?"
A look of regret appeared on his face, his tone filled with apology. "I went to bed early last night. When Malfoy and the others came back, they woke me up, and I complained a bit. He might have gone to sleep in the common room because of that."
Chu Yang smiled warmly at Malfoy. "I'm very sorry, Malfoy."
Malfoy's scalp went numb.
"But if I remember correctly," Chu Yang continued sincerely, looking straight at the three of them, "I invited you to stay and rest afterward, didn't I?"
Goyle and Crabbe nodded instinctively at the side. Chu Yang wasn't lying—he really had invited Malfoy to stay. It was just that Malfoy had been too frightened and ran off.
Having finally understood the whole story, Snape turned his icy gaze on Malfoy.
"Mr. Malfoy, I have a deep dislike for lies. Today's behavior of yours will be reported truthfully to your father."
Malfoy let out a shrill cry.
The most sophisticated lie in the world is to scramble the order of the truth—then embellish it slightly when telling it.
Chu Yang smiled comfortably, but in Goyle and Crabbe's eyes, that smile looked downright demonic.
"Get to class. Now!"
Snape roared, sending Malfoy and the other two scrambling out of the dormitory.
Before leaving, Snape gave Chu Yang a long, deep look.
He knew things weren't as simple as Chu Yang made them sound, but since Chu Yang hadn't left any obvious flaws, there was no need to pursue it further.
As for Malfoy, Snape's anger toward him came entirely from his stupidity.
Arrogance without matching strength was nothing but foolish conceit.
Understanding Snape's temperament, Chu Yang knew from his reaction that the matter was effectively over.
The first thing Chu Yang had done upon waking was erase all traces from the previous night.
After retrieving the bookmark, he had used a Repairing Charm to restore everything to its original state.
Snape likely hadn't imagined that a newly enrolled first-year could cast spells so proficiently.
After Malfoy and the others left with Snape, Chu Yang slowly packed his things and headed out. The moment he reached the common room, several upper-year students blocked his path.
"Kid, I heard you knocked down quite a few classmates the night before last. The tricks you picked up in the Muggle world won't always work here," a tall upper-year student said, glaring down at him.
Chu Yang smiled politely. "That's fine. As long as they worked that night."
The tall student's anger flared instantly. He hadn't expected a first-year to talk back so brazenly.
"Harper!" A lanky boy with long curly hair reached out to stop him. "We're wizards, not Muggle street brawlers. We have our own way of handling things."
The burly boy named Harper suppressed his anger and stepped back a few paces. "You're right, Marcus."
As he spoke, Marcus pulled his wand from his robes and pointed it at Chu Yang. "Do you know how many points our House lost because of you? It's only the start of term!"
Seeing the wand come out, the courteous smile vanished from Chu Yang's face. His expression turned serious. "First, I already earned back the points Slytherin lost. Second—are you sure you want to do this? Do you have the courage to bear all the consequences?"
"Courage?" Marcus laughed mockingly. "Courage isn't exclusive to Gryffindor. Slytherin has never lacked it."
As the two faced off, another upper-year emerged from the spiral staircase. He carried himself with authority, walking up with his head held high.
"Marcus, don't take this too far. Otherwise, it'll be hard for me to explain things to the school. This is my final year—I don't want to leave behind a stain."
"No problem, Prefect," Marcus replied respectfully. "I'll just use a simple Petrification Spell and have him lie in the common room all day."
The prefect cast Chu Yang a cold glance, then turned and left without another word.
Was dealing with a non–pure-blood wizard in Slytherin a big deal?
Of course not.
These upper-years had wanted to teach Chu Yang a lesson the night before—but since he had suddenly changed dorms, they hadn't been able to find him.
Who would've thought an orphan from a Muggle background would end up in a double room?
Students continued to pass by Chu Yang, their expressions indifferent.
No one here cared what would happen to him.
"Slytherin really is a nice place," Chu Yang said, the corners of his mouth lifting—his eyes, however, radiated danger. "I'm starting to like it more and more."
"I'll show you that fists are useless against wizards!" Marcus shouted, swinging his wand while chanting an incantation. His casting speed was extremely fast—he completed the motion in barely two seconds.
A faint glow lit up the tip of Marcus's wand.
With a sharp flick, the activated spell shot toward Chu Yang like a bolt of lightning.
Chu Yang sidestepped the spell effortlessly, twisting his waist as if warming up. He sneered, "Nice casting—looks like you've used that one on people plenty of times. But you're too slow. Even my neighbor's grandmother is quicker than you."
"So this is a wizard's way of handling things? Not even as solid as a Muggle's fist."
The words weren't especially lethal—but the insult was devastating. Laughter erupted from the surrounding students as Marcus's face flushed bright red. He raised his wand again, preparing a far more powerful spell.
Enough playing around.
Enraged beyond restraint, Marcus only wanted Chu Yang crushed.
"Confringo!"
He was casting the Blasting Curse!
Unfortunately for him, Chu Yang—who possessed Observation Haki—had already drawn his wand and cast his own spell before Marcus even finished shouting.
"Expelliarmus!"
Disarming Charm!
A flash burst from the tip of Chu Yang's wand, striking Marcus's wand dead-on and blasting it out of his hand.
The laughter in the common room died instantly.
Everyone stared in shock at the first-year who had already caused so much trouble.
This was clearly not the scene they had been expecting to witness.
(End of Chapter)