The Hogwarts Welcoming Feast, or more accurately, the Welcoming Banquet, wasn't particularly remarkable aside from the eating, drinking, and singing of the school song.
Dumbledore, whom Lupin madly admired, was very tall, with silver hair and a long beard, wearing a purple wizard's robe dotted with star patterns.
Snape still had that half-dead look on his face, only showing a hint of emotion when his gaze occasionally swept over a certain corner of the Gryffindor long table.
Old Snape didn't notice Anton, as all his attention was clearly drawn to a certain cute little boy.
The stern-faced McGonagall, Quirrell with his heavy turban, Sprout wearing a hat full of patches, the short but kind-looking Flitwick, the towering Hagrid...
After the banquet, it was bedtime.
Led by the prefects, they descended a long, winding stone staircase, arriving in front of a stone wall.
The female prefect's name was Gemma Farley, and the male prefect was Phineas Goldstein.
"The password is 'Pride'." Prefect Phineas held his head high, and the first-years could practically only see his nostrils. "This password was set especially for the new students, I hope you will remember the qualities of us Slytherins!"
After saying the password, the stone wall split apart, revealing a bright common room with a fire burning in the fireplace and torches lining the walls.
The common room had large windows, through which you could see the rippling lake water outside, with unknown small creatures occasionally swimming past.
Evidently, this dormitory was located beneath the lake in front of the castle.
Anton didn't feel any dampness. He touched the wall; powerful magic clearly ensured the most basic living conditions.
The dormitory was large, with tall four-poster beds hung with green silk curtains. The bedspreads were also green, embroidered with large snake patterns in silver thread.
"Yes, but why do I have to share a room with him!"
Just as Anton was looking around with interest, Draco was roaring at the prefect in a rage.
Prefect Phineas gently patted his hand away. "First-years can only be assigned their fate. What you should do is figure out what attitude to adopt to adapt to this arrangement, so you can feel better about it!"
Draco clenched his fists, looking at him coldly. "Don't use your ridiculous prefect title to order me around. My father is a school governor."
"Hahaha..." Phineas laughed, stroking his exquisite sideburns. "As if whose father isn't a school governor."
He lowered his head and stared intently at Draco. "Junior, first lesson, respect your seniors, especially the prefects."
Bang!
Draco flew in an arc in front of Anton, crashing onto the bed.
His two little cronies quickly ran over. Crabbe nervously went to help him up. "Are you alright?"
Draco shook him off, staring intently at Prefect Phineas. "I'll remember you."
Phineas laughed heartily. "I'm honored."
Then, he walked over, looked down at Anton mockingly, "Oh, I know, you poor kid, living with three people who hate you. Your days ahead are not going to be easy."
"But listen up, be good, don't cause trouble for the prefect, and the prefect won't cause trouble for you, okay?"
He gracefully adjusted Anton's collar. "So, after you get bullied, just hide under your covers and cry, don't make a fuss."
Anton smacked his lips, looking at him curiously. "You just attacked Draco. Are you allowed to attack fellow students like that in school?"
The prefect pursed his lips and shrugged, as if it were commonplace. "It's no big deal. This is Slytherin, understand? We compete on background, on power, on excellence, and of course, ultimately, we compete on strength."
With a look of amusement, he gently patted Anton's little cheek. "Survival of the fittest, kid. Learn to respect the strong."
Anton smiled with understanding. "Got it."
His eyes suddenly turned into the vertical pupils of a python, and his body rapidly transformed into a giant viper, its thickest part as wide as a large truck tire.
The terrifying python's body quickly coiled around the prefect's torso, squeezing forcefully.
"Animagus!"
"How is that possible!"
"The first-years are all monsters!"
This senior student clearly had some combat experience. Amidst his cries of alarm, he managed to cast a Shield Charm on himself in his panic.
However, that was as far as it went.
The snake's tail whipped out, lashing across the prefect's face and knocking the wand from his hand.
The great snake's enormous head reached the dormitory ceiling. It lowered its head, a pair of vertical pupils staring at him coldly.
Draco's two little cronies were so scared they jumped onto the bed, hugging Draco tightly. The young master himself kicked his legs, retreating to the furthest part of the bed. The three of them swallowed hard in unison.
The great snake sighed faintly. "I originally thought a school of magic would be an ivory tower."
He squeezed forcefully. The Shield Charm on the prefect seemed to be overwhelmed, beginning to flicker with unstable magical light.
The great snake rested its head next to the prefect's ear, its cold scales sliding gently against his cheek. This senior, who had been so proud he was nothing but nostrils, was now trembling with nothing but fear.
"Dear Prefect, have I earned your respect now?"
The prefect nodded his head repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice, staring in terror at that massive mouth.
"Really?" The great snake seemed a little excited. "You're not lying?"
"Really, really!" The prefect's voice trembled with fear.
Thud.
The prefect fell to the floor. Anton had already returned to his human form. He looked very happy, reaching out to pull the prefect up and standing on his tiptoes to straighten the prefect's messy collar.
"So it seems I've earned respect?"
The prefect stared intently at the small, fair hand moving around his neck. This was a gesture he usually loved, but now it only brought him terror. "Yes... yes."
"That's great!" The little wizard was clearly delighted, with a clean, pure smile, waving his little fists. "Before school started, my aunt kept reminding me to hit it off with my classmates, to actively integrate into the group, and not be so withdrawn. It looks like I've done it."
He turned to smile at Draco and the other two. The smile was so brilliant that his white teeth looked somewhat distorted under the shimmering Slytherin lights.
"Don't you agree?"
The three of them nodded in unison.
Anton was very happy. He gave the prefect a big hug. "Thank you for your guidance, Prefect. Good night."
The prefect's mouth twitched. In the end, he just said "Good night," then lifted his head and walked out proudly, though the mechanical steps of his legs looked so stiff.
"Well then, my lovely roommates, good night."
The three of them said in unison, "Good night."
"What a wonderful day." Anton stretched as he walked to the bed closest to the window. He glanced at the silhouette of a giant squid swimming past outside and marveled, "I like Hogwarts, I like Slytherin, this is great."
"Gah gah gah."
He had been worried that the series of bad habits he'd developed under the old wizard's tutelage would affect his life in this ivory tower where white magic prevailed. But apparently not. He felt a sense of bliss, like a fish in water. It was truly wonderful.
A beautiful night's sleep.