Chapter 16 "Slytherin Common Room"

After the applause was over, Professor Trocar sat down.

"Once again, I welcome the first-year!" Professor Grindelwald continued.

"The moment you step into Hogwarts, this place is your home. No matter what danger comes, this castle will shelter you and be by your side for the next seven years. It will be the witness of your growth." He added.

The whole auditorium was filled with claps once again; this time, it was merrier.

"However, all of you must know there are rules and traditions that you must abide. Professor Kettleburn asked me to warn you not to enter the Forbidden Forest; there is a reason it's named Forbidden Forest, after all; The caretaker, Mr. Pringle, also wants me to warn you that casting magic in the hallway is forbidden."

"Finally, Professor Rosier wants you all to know that you'll be severely punished if you are late or miss your homework." Professor Grindelwald explains with a severe expression.

"Even though Hogwarts is divided into four houses, the bond between magic and mystery has always firmly kept us tied together. The founders wish for Harmony and unity, after all, so I don't want to see any unnecessary dispute happen in the castle!" He said firmly.

"I also want to remind everyone that using derogatory words such as mud blood, part-Human, blood traitor, and such is strictly forbidden in this castle!" He turned his gaze to the Slytherin's table.

"Now, before everyone goes to bed, let us sing the school song together!" Professor Grindelwald said at last.

Matthew saw Professor Grindelwald waving his wand, then suddenly, a long gold ribbon flew out, twisting and winding lines of text following like a snake on the teacher's table. Matthew noticed the Professor's wand was different from an ordinary wand.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something, please,

Whether we be old or bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff,

For now, they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgotten,

Just do your best, and we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot

The students start singing the song. Accordingly, the auditorium is filled with the student's voices singing the song. Professor Grindelwald's voice still echoes over beautifully singing the song.

"Now the song had been sung, good night, everyone! I wish you all a good year of studies!" Professor Grindelwald said with a cheering tone.

...

Slytherin's first-year followed Miss Gemma Farley through the crowd, out of the auditorium, and down the stairs.

After such a lively feast, many people were seen as tired. Crabbe and Goyle, for example, could be seen yawning.

They first came to the exit between the castle and the basement, then stepped down the stone steps into the gloomy underground corridor.

The only light source was the torch at the wall; it's so quiet that they can only hear the torch burning and their footsteps.

Miss Gemma then cast a spell with her wand, and suddenly, a light appeared from the point of her wand. She continued leading the Slytherin students through the gloomy corridor.

Matthew was trying to remember each step and turn they took.

Around ten minutes later, they arrived at a stone gate with a silver crest and emerald background and a big silver snake in the middle.

"As you can see, Slytherin's crest is the snake, the smartest creature there is. The color of our house is Silver and Emerald." Miss Gemma explains.

She gently touched the snake's head and whispered, "Pure blood is thicker than Muggle's blood."

The snake on the gate squirmed as if it was alive, then the door opened slowly.

"This is the password; it changes every fortnight. Please check the bulletin board for it." Miss Gemma said.

Then the students walked into the Slytherin common room.

At this moment, Matthew realized the location of the Slytherin common room was at the bottom of the Black Lake.

The ceiling is transparent; Matthew could occasionally see the waves and school of fish passing by.

The lighting was abysmal down there; the only light source would be the green flame burning in the fireplace.

Miss Gemma led the girls to their bedroom; she then led the boys through another door.

A spacious bedroom, five people could live in there, according to what Matthew sees.

There are five canopy beds with green silk curtains hanging on them and silver embroidery on the bed sheets. Many medieval tapestries could be seen on the walls, and finally, a silver lantern hanging from the top of the ceiling.

Matthew found the bed with his name on it, and his luggage had been sent over.

Above the luggage, Matthew sees a familiar box that he remembers seeing from the Gregorovitch Wand Store; he looks closer and finds the Gregorovitch trademark on it with small letters named "Garrick Ollivander."

"Is this my own magic wand?" Matthew asked himself.

Matthew opened the box carefully and found a brand-new black walnut wand with a wand holster beside it.

When Matthew looked around, he founds out the other four already put their pajamas on and went to bed.

Matthew wasn't sleepy yet by that time, so he took his time unpacking his stuff.

Under all of his belongings, he saw once again the mysterious book that almost made him insane just a few days ago…

"Are you the reason all of these were happening?" Matthew asked the book.

Suddenly, a tap came from the window on his left.

Waves from the bottom of the lake were bashing against the window; Matthew turned his head and saw a giant silhouette outside the window, moving around.

Until Matthew could finally make out the shadow behind the window, a giant eye was staring at him from the other side of the window.

It was a Giant Squid.