Chapter 19: I'll Handle Snape
"You…"
As the excited little Slytherin snakes were stringing up the group of boys who had been knocked to the ground, Rabastan approached Ezio with a complicated expression.
"There's something I need to talk to you about."
Ezio beckoned for Rabastan to come over, also motioning for Harry to join them. People made way for them, clearing a space. They sat down in a corner of the room by the fireplace.
"I don't know how to describe you, but I have a feeling you're going to cause some big trouble."
As a young man who was about to come of age and was also a Slytherin prefect, Rabastan wasn't so easily swayed by Ezio's speech. However, he had to admit, the words had truly struck a chord with him. He also detested the useless members who had infiltrated Slytherin. The original purpose of his own society was to gather the excellent members within Slytherin; he was well aware that these people were the true core of the house.
It was just that no one had ever taken the step of openly expelling the 'trash' before. Firstly, there were family considerations; no one wanted to sour relationships. Secondly, these idiots were like toads on your foot—annoying, but not a big enough problem to warrant a major upheaval.
"The worst that can happen is that after I beat up the young ones, the old ones will come. If they play by the rules, they can't touch me inside Hogwarts. If they don't play by the rules, I won't be the one who suffers."
Ezio was, of course, aware of the consequences of his actions, but he didn't mind bearing the backlash. Having nothing in the wizarding world, he needed to proactively fight for things, and within Hogwarts, the risks of such actions were minimized.
And if it came to a confrontation outside of Hogwarts, frankly, Ezio wasn't afraid of them making a move. That would be at least a year later, and after a year, he would have enough power to protect himself.
Dumbledore was right; as long as he was at Hogwarts, no one would dare to cause him trouble here. Dumbledore was Hogwarts' greatest protector; no one dared to challenge his authority and power within its walls. The title of 'White Lord' was universally acknowledged in the wizarding world, even if people didn't say it out loud.
One had to remember, Dumbledore's closest friend was Grindelwald, the leader of the wizard superiority cause, had once shaken the world. No one was naïve enough to think Dumbledore was a pushover who could be easily manipulated.
Dumbledore had defeated his dearest friend, but he never denied his relationship with Grindelwald. People are multifaceted and complex.
"I recall there's a tradition in the wizarding world that has been passed down to this day," Ezio said, stroking his elder wood wand, his voice calm. "The Honor Duel. It's the only ritual in the wizarding world where one can legally kill another, correct?"
"When two wizards believe their honor has been sullied by the other, they can initiate this duel ritual, which must be publicly announced and officiated."
"Wizards can use any magical means except the Unforgivable Curses to kill their opponent on the dueling platform. As long as the opponent doesn't voluntarily drop their wand and surrender, the duel will not stop until one of them is dead."
"Yes… that exists." A cold sweat trickled down Rabastan's back. As a pure-blood wizard, he was very familiar with this tradition. In his family's history, they had engaged in Honor Duels with other wizards. It was a life-or-death confrontation where family reputation and personal honor were at stake; there was no room for surrender. Surrendering in an Honor Duel could have consequences more severe than death.
"But aren't you afraid they'll cause you trouble outside of school?" Rabastan wiped away his sweat. He wasn't naïve enough to think those people wouldn't resort to dirty tricks.
"Catching a wizard who can Apparate is harder than climbing to the heavens, isn't it? At worst, I'll go abroad during the holidays. Once I leave England, the Ministry of Magic can't control me."
Ezio smiled nonchalantly. He didn't mind revealing some of his magical abilities. He had no intention of giving up on learning Apparition, a skill that was high-risk to self-learn but not actually difficult to grasp. He had already seen how convenient teleportation was.
"You've already learned it?" Rabastan's eyes widened in surprise. As a sixth-year, he had only just reached the age to learn Apparition, and the test wasn't until the end of the term.
"It's not difficult, is it?" Ezio shrugged. "This spell only requires you to maintain a high level of concentration. Destination, Determination, and Deliberation—I don't lack any of these three key elements."
"Right, right…" Rabastan smacked his lips, a sour taste in his mouth. "It is indeed an honor for Slytherin to have you. Are you really not from some wizarding family?"
"Should I take that to mean you're questioning my ability to found a wizarding family of my own?"
"Of course not!" Rabastan shook his head decisively, then said with a serious expression, "I have a younger sister who will be coming to Hogwarts next year. Would you like to meet her? Hana is a beautiful little angel."
"A guy like me who is destined for hell shouldn't be corrupting little angels."
"Hana would be heartbroken. I'm sure she would adore a boy like you who is both powerful and handsome."
Rabastan was completely unfazed by Ezio's claim of going to hell. After all, wizards didn't believe in the Muggle God. Throughout history, many so-called miracles were actually the work of wizards' magic. They might talk about it, but none of them actually believed in it.
"Let's get down to business then."
Ezio ended the banter. Rabastan also became more serious. He was gradually beginning to have some confidence in this younger student.
"My desire to make Slytherin great again is not an empty slogan. I intend to do something. There are quite a few people in Slytherin with brains like Marcus, even in my own year, there are two conspicuous ones."
Ezio glanced to the side, and Rabastan followed his gaze.
"Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy's cronies. It's not just the two of them who are stupid; their fathers were idiots too. Death Eaters, all of them are scum with rotten brains." Rabastan was blunt about it. "My family didn't get involved with the Dark Lord's affairs back then." He glanced at Harry beside him. "Two of my family's members died fighting against the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. They were both Aurors. Not all Slytherins are bad people."
Harry nodded but didn't say anything.
"I can give you an example." Rabastan was still trying to win Harry over. After all, Harry was a celebrity with a huge reputation in the wizarding world, and it was clear his relationship with Ezio was good.
"Let's say all the prisoners in Azkaban came from Hogwarts. Out of a hundred, Slytherin would account for half, Gryffindor for forty, Ravenclaw for seven or eight, and the remaining two or three spots would be for Hufflepuffs who were pushed too far."
"In terms of the number of dark wizards, Gryffindor, which seems to have the best reputation, is actually not much better than Slytherin. They are mostly a bunch of impulsive fools. Even with good intentions, they can cause disasters and still not think they did anything wrong. I know of a Gryffindor idiot who, in order to save a Muggle child from a beating, killed the child's parents in front of him. The reason the child was being beaten was that he had stolen money from his family. But afterwards, this guy still insisted he was carrying out justice. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban."
"So, judging a wizard's character based on their house's external reputation is incorrect. It's said that Merlin himself was a Slytherin student, but he is a legendary wizard more famous than the four Hogwarts founders, with countless great achievements in his lifetime."
"Merlin was a Slytherin student?" Harry's eyes widened.
(Note: Rowling says that he was a Slytherin student but historically it doesn't add up.)
"The timeline doesn't quite add up," Ezio disagreed. "Merlin lived around the 5th or 6th century, while Hogwarts was founded no earlier than the 9th or 10th century."
"However…" After a moment of thought, Ezio added, "Merlin was also a wizard who advocated for pure-blood supremacy, which aligns with Slytherin's philosophy. They both promoted the theory of genius. If Merlin had studied at Hogwarts, Slytherin would indeed have been his first choice."
"Alright, let's not get sidetracked with these historical stories."
Ezio looked at Rabastan. Those last words had been a deliberate attempt by the prefect to avoid talking business, but it was clear he couldn't escape now.
"Fine," Rabastan shrugged. If he couldn't avoid it, he had to accept it.
"I need to establish a future screening mechanism for Slytherin to conveniently eliminate the redundant ones."
"But we can't just kick them out of Hogwarts, can we?"
"Of course not. But we can minimize their influence. For people like them, there is no soil for survival in Slytherin. They either become the soil we tread on, or they get the hell out of Hogwarts themselves. Durmstrang is still an option, isn't it? It's not like they have nowhere else to go."
"I don't suppose I need to explain in detail how to squeeze out their value, and how to make them feel Slytherin's 'mercy,' do I?"
"Although I would love to hear your thoughts," Rabastan sighed, "I must also demonstrate my own value, right? Alright, I admit, I do have a bit of a family legacy when it comes to this sort of thing."
"It's going to be very troublesome. But if you really want to do this, there's some pressure you must be able to handle. For example, our dear Head of House, Professor Snape. You must get him to nod and agree to creating a hierarchical stratification within the house."
"I can handle Snape. He'll probably want to have a heart-to-heart with me tomorrow."
Ezio spread his hands. He felt no fear towards Snape, even though in the eyes of the Hogwarts students, the man was a demon king.
*****
Guys don't forget the Power Stones.
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