The atmosphere of the feast was vibrant; except for the Slytherin table, the young Wizards were eagerly socializing and getting to know each other.
At the Slytherin table, most people proudly introduced their prominent family backgrounds, creating a "high society" vibe among themselves.
Will had just exchanged names with a few people around him when a nuisance quickly popped up.
"Well, well, well; Berens, I don't seem to have heard of this family. Am I too ignorant?" A boy with a bulging stomach near Will said with a hint of sarcasm.
Will remembered that the boy had just introduced himself as Ivan Selwyn; if he wasn't mistaken, the Selwyn Family was a lower-ranked family among the "Sacred Twenty-Eight."
Hmm, so this guy wanted to use him as a stepping stone?
"I come from the Muggle world," Will said lightly, as if unaware of what Slytherin represented.
"Then you should be honored to be in Slytherin. Perhaps you could start a shoe-shining business in the common room. That would allow you to live well at Hogwarts, hahahaha!" Ivan Selwyn laughed like a brainless villain from a web novel.
"Selwyn, shut up," Sylvia said, her tone unfriendly.
"Oh, oh, oh, since when does someone from the Lestrange Family help a Muggle boy? Did someone give you a love potion?" The Slytherin Wizard next to Ivan chimed in. This was Obern Nott, a member of the Nott Family.
Will rubbed his forehead. See, this was why he didn't want to be in Slytherin. He didn't want to waste time on some of Slytherin's idiots.
"If all you can do is show off your useless tongues, I don't mind giving you two Tongue-Tying Curses. If you have any complaints about me, feel free to find me after the feast, instead of spitting into other people's bowls at the dinner table like two noisy, rutting wild ducks." Will's words made the Wizards around them step back.
"What did you say!"
"If your ears aren't good, you can go to St. Mungo's. I'm too lazy to repeat myself." Will focused intently on his steak.
Ivan's fat face turned crimson, somewhat resembling an American redneck; he glanced at the Professor's table not far away, snorted, and turned his head, no longer speaking to Will.
The surrounding Wizards also distanced themselves from Will, clearly not wanting to offend Ivan Selwyn.
Only Sylvia frowned slightly, leaning closer to Will and whispering, "You being in Slytherin is clearly not the right choice."
"I never intended to come here. That broken Hat made its own decision. I wanted to go to Hufflepuff."
"All right, whatever happens, you can find me."
"Find you?" Will was a little confused. This Lestrange girl seemed a bit too eager towards him, which felt off.
Seemingly noticing Will's confusion, Sylvia blinked and said, "You remind me a lot of someone. As for the specifics, I'll tell you later."
Will was surprised. Riddle masters really are everywhere... The dinner ended, and the prefects led the new students back to their respective common rooms.
The Slytherin students followed the prefects down a long spiral staircase. Will was already starting to suspect that living in the Slytherin dorms for too long might give him rheumatism.
After a long descent, they finally arrived in front of a stone wall. The prefect loudly announced, "The password is 'Glory'! You must remember the password, or you'll have to spend the night outside; of course, if anyone forgets Slytherin's glory, then he will be expelled."
The serpentine pattern on the floor slid upwards, like an arched doorway formed by a snake's body, and the stone wall automatically parted; the Wizards continued down the stairs, which were carved with giant snakes on both sides.
The Slytherin common room, adorned with many lanterns, finally appeared before everyone. A huge, intricately carved fireplace blazed with a roaring fire, making the entire common room warm, dry, and not damp, which made Will breathe a sigh of relief.
The surrounding walls were built of black Gothic marble, and the ceiling was a transparent crystal dome, currently pitch black; green-glowing lamps hung from chains on the ceiling, adding a touch of Wizarding gloom to the common room.
Standing in this dark common room deep underground, Will felt a bit helpless.
That damn Sorting Hat!
If there was any advantage, it was that Slytherin students had double rooms, possibly because there was more underground space, or perhaps because there were fewer Slytherin students.
The Slytherin student dorms were large, and Will's trunk had already been delivered to his room.
The bed was excellent, a tall four-poster bed draped with emerald green flannel hangings, adorned with silver threads, looking very luxurious—the great power of Wizards allowed them to easily enjoy a high quality of life that Muggles found hard to attain.
Moreover, although the dorm room was deep underground, the air was not stuffy or stale; on the contrary, the air circulation was very good, not much different from the Castle.
However, Will didn't cheer up because of this; after all, his roommate was Obern Nott, who was now glaring fiercely at Will: "Boy, you're finished!"
This was like a "Stupid Villain Accio." Two "idiots" in Will's eyes pushed open the dorm room door and entered. One was Ivan Selwyn, and the other he didn't recognize, but he was clearly with Selwyn's group.
"Hey, Muggle boy, you'd better apologize to Ivan quickly, or you might spend your first night at Hogwarts in the Hospital Wing." Obern pulled out his wand, apparently having learned a few Spells and wanting to show them off.
But when he saw Will's wand already in his hand, he seemed to find it amusing: "Boy, you're not trying to use your wand as a stick to hit us, are you? Or is this Mudblood deluding himself into thinking he's learned Avada?"
"Obern, why waste words on this Mudblood boy? Just teach him a good lesson and let him know what attitude he should have towards nobles." Ivan hadn't brought his wand and was rubbing his fists, ready to charge at Will for a brawl; after all, first-year student fights mostly relied on physical strength, and this almost spherical Ivan clearly wanted to win by relying on his weight.
The other new student he brought was cracking his knuckles, "It doesn't matter if Mudbloods don't understand the rules. Perhaps I can make you work with my House-elves for a while, then you'll learn how to serve nobles."
The group was like classic villains in a school drama, cornering a weak scholar to bully him; but this was the Wizarding world, a place where knowledge is power.
After some threats from the group, Will showed no sign of fear; his silver-gray pupils held only cold mockery, which made them lose face. Ivan Selwyn lost his temper and was the first to charge at Will.
A hint of malice flashed in Will's silver-gray pupils.
The wand already in his hand erupted with a beam of light: "Stupefy!"
The charging Ivan was hit directly on the forehead by this Spell, instantly falling unconscious like a dead pig, and, due to inertia, landed at Will's feet.
"You actually used a Spell?!" Obern blurted out such a foolish remark, then remembered to point his wand at Will.
"Otherwise? Are Wizards supposed to fight with fists and feet? Idiot! Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!" Obern's wand instantly flew out of his hand, and then he was frozen in place in a comical wand-dropping posture.
The last new student, seeing this scene, already felt like retreating and tried to slip away. Will's Petrificus Totalus immediately caught up to him, stopping his "heroic" escape.
"I hate idiots," Will's silver-gray eyes swept over the three, "especially ones this stupid."
A few minutes later, Will's dorm room became quiet, with only him left. He cast a Colloportus on the dorm door, then comfortably lay down on his bed.
Indeed, the air was fresher without the idiots in the dorm room.
And as Will peacefully drifted into dreamland, three stiff first-year students were hanging from the wall lamps in the Slytherin common room. Such a special matriculation night would surely be etched in their memories forever.
Will didn't care if his actions would create enemies. He needed time and knowledge. In a situation where individual power could dominate an era, strength was the foundation of everything.
If Will possessed power comparable to Dumbledore's, who would dare say anything more to him?
What he needed to do now was to level up skills and learn magic, not play house with these idiots.