The Harry Potter world.
Time flew by. Two full months had already passed since Chu Yang enrolled at Hogwarts.
Ever since Chu Yang's previous clash with upper-year Slytherin students, those older Slytherins hadn't stopped harassing him behind the scenes.
The outcome was predictable.
The Hogwarts Hospital Wing stayed perpetually overcrowded—so much so that Albus Dumbledore had to personally step in and issue stern warnings to the upper-years involved, as well as to some of their parents, ordering them to rein it in.
As a result, Chu Yang became famous.
In Hogwarts' nearly thousand-year history, there had never been a case of a first-year beating up senior students.
Partly because they had been thoroughly frightened by Chu Yang, and partly because of Dumbledore's severe warning, the Slytherin students finally restrained themselves.
Chu Yang's school life gradually stabilized.
One thing worth mentioning was that Draco Malfoy still hadn't dared to share a dormitory with Chu Yang. For two whole months, he had been squeezing into Gregory Goyle's and Vincent Crabbe's room instead.
That was, until Draco's father—Lucius Malfoy—heard about it from others.
Humiliated and furious, Lucius stormed into the school and gave Draco a brutal dressing-down, berating him for disgracing the Malfoy family.
Terrified of his authoritative father since childhood, Draco trembled uncontrollably, unable to utter even a complete sentence.
Seeing his son in such a pathetic state, disappointment surged through Lucius's heart. That disappointment—and anger—was quickly redirected toward Chu Yang.
If Chu Yang hadn't been a Hogwarts student, he likely would have "mysteriously" died in some dark wizard hideout in Knockturn Alley.
Those dark wizards would have received a generous reward from the Malfoy family once the job was done.
But unfortunately for Lucius, Chu Yang was a Hogwarts student—one with exceptional talent, constantly under the attention of the entire faculty and student body.
Lucius Malfoy could do nothing to him.
He had once tried to cut off Chu Yang's full scholarship, only to be stopped by Dumbledore. Afterward, he even received a warning from Garrick Ollivander, whose tone had lost its usual friendliness.
Ollivander's exact words were:
"If Mr. Chu Yang were to lose his full scholarship at Hogwarts, then Ollivanders Wand Shop would fully fund Chu Yang's education."
Lucius was shocked. Ollivander had always avoided political disputes—why was he suddenly taking such a firm stance?
Driven by anger and curiosity, Lucius investigated further and learned that Chu Yang occasionally worked as an apprentice at Ollivanders, displaying remarkable talent.
So much so that the elderly Ollivander was considering grooming him as a successor.
This discovery unsettled Lucius deeply.
Under normal circumstances, the school would never allow students to hold outside jobs. That rule had never been broken—yet Chu Yang received special treatment.
Out of caution, Lucius began gathering intelligence on Chu Yang. He had people visit most of the professors, asking for their impressions and evaluations.
The results shocked him.
Lucius had seen many so-called prodigies in his life, but Chu Yang was nothing like the geniuses he knew.
At Hogwarts, every professor who had taught Chu Yang spoke highly of him—this even included the notoriously strict Severus Snape.
Though Snape's temperament didn't exactly match Chu Yang's, he still had to admit Chu Yang's talent.
Charms, Flying, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Divination—Chu Yang dominated first place in every subject. Everyone else was merely competing for second.
The more outstanding Chu Yang appeared, the more mediocre and incompetent Draco seemed by comparison. As a father, Lucius felt anger mixed with an undeniable trace of jealousy.
Why should a Muggle-born mudblood be more exceptional than pure-blood heirs?
Anyone with eyes could tell that the heads of all four houses favored Chu Yang. If Hogwarts didn't have its long-standing rule against changing houses, the four heads would probably have started fighting over him already.
Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff, was still sulking with Dumbledore over the fact that Chu Yang had ended up in Slytherin.
Before this, she had always been known as the kindest professor at Hogwarts.
After fully understanding Chu Yang's situation, the ever-pragmatic Lucius gave up on the idea of punishing him.
No matter how powerful the Malfoy family was, they couldn't afford to shoulder that much hostility at once.
Paying such a price just to deal with a Muggle-born student was utterly not worth it.
Interestingly…
Lucius didn't just abandon the idea of making trouble—he actually began to consider recruiting Chu Yang.
He had his eye on Chu Yang's talent.
So before leaving the school, Lucius specifically instructed Draco to find a way to repair his relationship with Chu Yang.
This sudden whim from his father instantly plunged the bewildered Draco into a dilemma.
Accustomed to obeying every order his father gave, Draco didn't dare resist. Compared to his terrifying father, Chu Yang actually seemed easier to deal with.
From that point on, Draco's attitude toward Chu Yang did a complete 180-degree turn.
Classmates often saw Draco arriving early at the Great Hall to prepare breakfast for Chu Yang when he overslept.
From an outsider's perspective, Draco—running errands left and right—looked even more like a lackey than Goyle or Crabbe.
If even the most prestigious heir acted this way, everyone else naturally felt themselves shrink a notch in Chu Yang's presence.
Chu Yang, however, completely ignored Draco's enthusiasm.
He firmly believed that unsolicited kindness usually hid ulterior motives—and the Malfoy family looked suspicious no matter how one viewed them.
So after two whole months, Draco still hadn't managed to close the distance.
Draco wanted to just give up—but every week or two, Lucius would send letters asking about his progress, driving Draco to the brink of collapse.
To deal with his father's interrogation, Draco was forced to lie, claiming that he and Chu Yang had already become good friends. Only then did the terrifying barrage of letters stop.
But for Draco, that didn't mean the problem was over.
A lie was still a lie.
Unwilling to be scolded again, Draco finally resolved to become Chu Yang's real friend.
The arrival of Halloween delighted most of the teachers and students—except Draco, who wore a gloomy expression.
Chu Yang, on the other hand, was not only happy but excited. Just the day before, Dumbledore had finally agreed to let him enter the library's Restricted Section—a goal he had worked toward for two full months.
Because of Lord Voldemort's past example, Dumbledore was extremely cautious when educating gifted young wizards. Over those two months, he had evaluated not just Chu Yang's academic ability, but also his character.
(End of Chapter)