Upstairs, the young Slytherins remained blissfully unaware of the looming danger. They were busy trying to forget the Muggle-born boy who had, with just a few words, frightened off the Bloody Baron. Their attention was squarely focused on socializing.
Naturally, being pure-bloods, many of them were already acquainted due to their families or complicated bloodlines and had begun forming small cliques of their own.
Draco Malfoy and his two cronies were one such group.
As Louis passed by his dormitory, he gave a casual glance inside at his roommates. Cloaked in his veil of invisible black mist, no one noticed his presence.
Since they were roommates, they deserved a bit of "special care." He'd deal with them last.
A faint red glint flickered in Louis's left eye, lending his expression a sinister air. The Sharingan embedded there was being strained under the surge of spiritual power, nearing its endurance limit.
"Let's take care of the upperclassmen first," Louis muttered.
He slipped into the black mist and vanished down the corridor.
Inside the dorm, Malfoy was busy bragging to the others about his family's power when he suddenly shivered. He cast a suspicious glance toward the door, but the light outside remained unchanged.
"That Mudblood still hasn't come back? Don't tell me he's scared." Gaining a sudden boost of courage, Malfoy called out to the others, "Let's play a little prank on him."
The Malfoy name earned Draco respect — not only did it stand for legitimate nobility, it also represented a kind of radical superiority.
After all, the Malfoys were a surviving and thriving Death Eater family, and Death Eaters were widely respected among pure-blood wizards.
So in this dorm, Draco's words carried weight. The other young wizards looked excited and eager.
"What do you have in mind?" someone asked.
"See his luggage? Let's give him a memorable welcome. Stuff something into his trunk that'll embarrass him — a dead rat? Some insects?" Draco grinned wickedly.
"Where are we supposed to find rats and bugs?" someone objected. "You don't exactly see them crawling around here."
"I was speaking metaphorically! Doesn't anyone here know any gross-out spells?" Draco frowned. "Didn't any of you learn anything useful at home?"
Seeing everyone shake their heads, Draco sighed and shook his own, thoroughly disappointed.
Clearly, he was going to be the leader of this Slytherin generation.
Grinning with pride, Malfoy picked up his wand and headed for Louis's bed.
There, beside it, stood several large trunks — Louis's luggage — and a caged, massive owl with sharp, fierce eyes.
This owl, clearly the muscle of its species, glared menacingly at Draco with an expression that practically said, How can I poke a hole through this bastard getting too close to my master's stuff?
"Scram, you filthy beast." Malfoy shot the owl, Fafnir, a look of disgust. After confirming it couldn't get out of the cage, he smirked smugly.
"Just sit in that cage and watch us teach your Mudblood owner a lesson," he said, making a face before reaching for Louis's largest trunk.
"Let's see what this filthy Mudblood brought with him. Maybe it's full of diapers?" he sneered, sparking a round of laughter from the dorm.
No one noticed when the door slowly became shrouded in creeping black mist. The thick fog began seeping into the room like the grasp of some terrifying creature.
Well, even if they had noticed, they wouldn't have seen it. Until Louis activated the illusion, the black mist was like a curtain — impossible to perceive.
Unless someone's mental strength exceeded that of Louis's, now amplified tenfold.
At that moment, Louis stood silently at the door, watching Malfoy curse and mock him while preparing to open his trunk.
"I thought you'd behave like the upper years and keep your heads down," Louis said to himself, shaking his head as he watched the clueless Malfoy. "You're too young. Too impatient. And you've got no experience."
Louis had already made his rounds through the older Slytherin boys' dorms. As expected, not a single one had put up a fight.
And none of them had even been plotting against him — a testament to Slytherin cunning. They knew exactly when to back off.
All of that was thanks to the Bloody Baron's unusual reaction.
The Baron, with his unique status at Hogwarts, was feared by many. So when someone appeared whom even the Bloody Baron feared, the older Slytherins wisely chose to abandon any plans to mess with Louis.
But Louis hadn't let them off easy. He'd given each one of them a mind-breaking illusion — deep enough to drown in. Just because they weren't attacking now didn't mean they wouldn't get sneaky later. Isolation, tripping spells — who knew what they'd try?
So better to strike first. No harm in being cautious — and it earned him Trick Points, too.
Illusions that deceive and frighten others? A perfect way to rack up Trick Points.
What Louis hadn't expected, though, was that the freshmen, the ones who should've been the most well-behaved, were the ones with the guts to scheme against him.
Even worse — they dared to open his luggage?
Louis decided not to act immediately. Instead, he leaned lazily against the doorframe and watched Draco Malfoy's little performance.
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