In the quiet night, the Ravenclaw common room was enveloped in a layer of dreamlike starlight.
On the enormous circular dome above, constellations slowly rotated like rare jewels embedded in the night sky, radiating brilliant yet solid glimmers.
Countless dazzling starlight projections fell throughout the common room, like the Milky Way cascading down, creating a fantastical atmosphere that was utterly enchanting...
Unlike the other houses, the velvet sofas here weren't only large but also laid with thick cushions. One could hardly imagine how comfortable it would be to lie on them whilst reading.
"Beautiful, isn't it..."
Tiger leaned back on the sofa, stretching lazily in contentment, Venom's head positioned alongside his.
"Very beautiful. I love this night view. I have to thank you for bringing me to this world..."
Venom's voice was always hoarse and irritable, but in this moment, Tiger sensed its tranquility.
"Mm..."
"Don't mention it, brother..."
Above the dome, the brilliantly flowing constellations turned in Tiger's slightly dazed eyes.
He didn't know whom he should thank.
He only knew that he also loved this world very much—it was like entering a fairy tale.
Every place here had "scenery" he had never seen before.
He enjoyed every minute and second in this world, including those things he didn't like.
This fresh and special encounter made him unable to stop—he yearned to see more landscapes.
"It would be even better with hash browns and chocolate."
Venom smacked its lips. The faint aroma drifting from the student dormitories made it feel ravenous.
Compared to the bitter taste of adults, these carefree children tasted much sweeter...
"Oh! Damn it!"
Tiger wiped his cheek, suddenly stood up, and grabbed Venom's neck, shaking it whilst cursing.
"Bloody hell! Bastard!"
"Your drool got on my face!"
"That's not my fault, you git!" Venom growled irritably. "You said it yourself!"
"I could eat those bad guys!"
"But this is a damn school—there are children everywhere, children, and more bloody children!"
"Not a single bad guy!"
"...(?_?)"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Tiger released Venom, picked up the blue cushion in his arms to wipe his cheek, then tossed it aside.
"Sod Slytherin."
Slytherin's black leather sofas only looked expensive—in reality, they were just a pile of shite.
Walking slowly to the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, Tiger's angry expression became indescribably complicated.
The Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch, the cliffs—all spread out before his eyes.
Though at this moment, night had fallen deep, Tiger could completely imagine how, during the day, standing here and looking far into the distance—watching sunrise and sunset, watching autumn leaves and falling snow, watching rain and mist swirling—what absolute beauty that would be.
The sound of night wind brushing against the window strings should have been particularly refreshing, but in comparison, Tiger felt stifled.
"Bloody hell..."
Tiger cursed as he left the window.
The continuous stream of profanity without repetition would've been enough to make the model-student-heavy Ravenclaw scream and flee in all directions if anyone had heard it.
Deep in the common room, a few weak desk lamps still flickered—that was the library, even larger than the entire common room. From the quiet, dark corners came the faint sound of focused page-turning.
"Hermione would definitely go mad seeing this."
Tiger sighed with considerable emotion.
Though he was talking about Hermione, in his heart he was thinking about what Slytherin's common room had.
Wine cabinets, silver ornaments, medieval tapestries, outdated honor display cases, and Slytherin rules hanging on the walls.
Giant octopi, strange creatures, and those portraits of nobles with upturned noses, stupid as death.
Beneath the seemingly refined and noble exterior, everything reeked of decaying twilight...
What kind of demons and monsters was this place meant for?
He was still a bloody kid!
This damn place was full of kids!
What he needed to live in was a common room, a haven, a home for the next few years—not a sodding dungeon!
Look at the crystal chandeliers of other houses, then look at the iron chains hanging from Slytherin's eaves. Why didn't the person who built the common room hang a few mummified corpses on those chains?
The heavy door slowly opened, and Tiger left the Ravenclaw common room expressionlessly.
Only the eighteen generations of founder Slytherin's ancestors were being cursed so clearly that the portraits in the corridor heard every word.
Looking at the sturdy figure walking away quickly, the portraits in the corridor were dumbfounded.
(???)(O?O)(?д?)
They had never heard such vicious yet fresh profanity. Only Sir Cadogan showed admiration and worship in his eyes.
"This is simply artful cursing..."
Tiger didn't care about the whispered discussions in the corridor. He wanted to quickly transform his house's common room into a place where normal people could live.
Didn't these little snakes who considered themselves noble feel embarrassed living in this ghostly place?
[Tiger, is that a bad person?]
[I sense it—evil, cruelty, flowing with the rich fragrance of fresh blood...]
[Oh, like black coffee mixed with liquor and poison. I love his taste to death!]
Tiger stopped in his tracks, looking down at the staircase below with surprised eyes. This was the first time he'd discovered someone who could produce such enormous temptation for Venom.
A somewhat familiar figure flashed by, quickly disappearing into the pitch-black corridor.
[Professor Quirrell?]
[He's a professor?!]
Tiger narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. As if seeing a feast disappear, Venom wailed in despair...
Morning.
Piercing sunlight streamed through the windows into the Great Hall, casting dappled light on the carefully groomed hair of Slytherin students, forming rings of orange halos.
"That idiot Potter..."
Facing his smug friend, the faint smile on Blaise Zabini's face froze. He lowered his voice and grabbed Draco Malfoy's arm, looking somewhat pained and incredulous.
"Are you mad, Draco?"
"You actually used a duel as an excuse to trick Potter?"
Seeing his friend's expression, Draco Malfoy seemed to realize something. His originally somewhat bewildered look gradually became tense.
"I... I was just..."
"Having a laugh..."
He explained, stammering.
Blaise Zabini seemed defeated by his stupidity and naivety, slapping his forehead with an exasperated expression.
"Draco, tell me."
"Slytherin rule number fifty."
He knew very well that no one would care whether Draco Malfoy was joking or not.
Once the news got out, such behavior wouldn't only bring shame to the Malfoy family but would also cause Draco Malfoy to lose his voice in Slytherin.
"Every duel..."
"Is a battle of honor, treat it with caution..."
Draco Malfoy muttered to himself, his face looking quite ugly. Obviously, he and his friend were thinking the same thing.
Setting aside family influence, as the initiator of a duel with a Gryffindor student, yet avoiding the duel—such behavior was undoubtedly throwing Slytherin house's honor on the ground and trampling it.
"Merlin's beard..."
Draco Malfoy became more and more frightened as he thought about it.
He gripped Blaise Zabini's hand tightly, speaking urgently in a pressed voice:
"Blaise!"
"Help me, what should I do!"
His already pale little face completely lost all color, as if the next moment Potter would charge into the Great Hall with that Weasley pauper, angrily demanding to know where he was during the duel.
Just then, Tiger walked into the Great Hall yawning, striding with leonine confidence.
Gunpowder lay lazily on top of his head like a little hat, occasionally flicking its tail.
Last night's dog-fighting had been exhausting...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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