Chapter 32: "Everyone Here is Useless"

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Single Chap today cuz exams.

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"George, long time no see!"

Just as George arrived on the first floor, he heard someone call out from above. Turning around, he saw Harry, Hermione, and Ron coming down the marble staircase.

"Good morning, Harry, Hermione... and you must be?"

"Hi, I'm Ron. Harry told me you helped him escape from Knockturn Alley. That was amazing!"

Ron's tone was filled with excitement.

After all, it was the infamous Knockturn Alley—his twin brothers dreamed of exploring that place.

"Not as amazing as you and Harry. Flying a magic car from London to school, making it into the Daily Prophet, and crashing into the Whomping Willow."

Hermione chimed in from the side, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Ron's face immediately stiffened. "Alright, can you stop lecturing us? It wasn't like we wanted any of that to happen."

He couldn't help but think that Hermione was sometimes like a miniature version of Professor McGonagall, always trying to give them life lessons. Yet, there were times when she was even braver than they were.

Harry stepped forward, avoiding the tension between Ron and Hermione, and asked George: "We didn't get to see the Sorting Ceremony yesterday. Which house did you get sorted into?"

"Slytherin," George replied, pulling out the Slytherin badge he had received the previous day, still unpinned to his robe.

Harry's face fell, clearly disappointed. "It would've been great if you were sorted into Gryffindor."

Harry still had some prejudice against Slytherin, especially with people like Malfoy there, not to mention Snape, the house's head, whom he particularly disliked.

George just smiled. "Any house is fine with me. As long as I get to study at Hogwarts, I'm satisfied."

"Good morning, George!"

At that moment, another voice came from above. This time it was Ginny, Colin, and Luna coming down the marble staircase.

"You all know each other?" Harry and Ron looked surprised when they saw Ginny greeting George.

"We shared a compartment on the train yesterday. George really looked out for us," Ginny replied softly, her voice suddenly becoming much quieter, and her movements more ladylike in Harry's presence.

"Thanks for looking after Ginny," Ron said, now changing his attitude toward George after hearing this. He had initially been put off by the fact that George was sorted into Slytherin, but now his opinion improved.

Truth be told, Ron harbored deeper prejudices against Slytherin than even Harry did. Before coming to Hogwarts, he had believed that all dark wizards came from Slytherin.

"Um... could I ask a favor? Could you take a photo of me and Harry Potter?" Colin asked Ron, handing him a camera while looking at Harry with wide, eager eyes. "I'm Colin, by the way. I'd like to send a picture to my dad to show him I met you. He's a milkman, and, well, no one in my family besides me..."

Ron sighed as he took the camera. He understood; when he first met Harry, he hadn't been much different from Colin.

After taking the photo, the group chatted as they made their way into the Great Hall.

By now, many of the younger students were already having breakfast. The four long house tables were piled high with a variety of foods prepared by the house-elves—pumpkin porridge, pickled herring, bread, eggs, and meats.

Students from different houses usually didn't sit together for breakfast, so George headed to the Slytherin table, Luna went to the Ravenclaw table, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Colin joined the Gryffindor table.

Just as George sat down, someone addressed him from across the Slytherin table. "You're a first-year, right? You seem to know Harry Potter?"

As soon as George sat down, Draco Malfoy, flanked by his usual cronies Crabbe and Goyle, took a seat directly across from him.

Because of Pansy's teasing the day before, Malfoy had taken notice of George. Now, seeing George happily chatting with his least favorite person, Harry Potter, had put him in a foul mood.

"We're... friends, I suppose," George responded casually, as he helped himself to a bowl of pumpkin porridge and a serving of fresh meat.

George was well aware that befriending Harry would inevitably draw Malfoy's ire. In fact, even if he hadn't become friends with Harry, Malfoy would find a reason to dislike him eventually. After all, George had every intention of becoming the top student at Hogwarts and even joining the Quidditch team, both of which would overshadow Malfoy.

But George wasn't worried. Little Malfoy wasn't nearly as threatening as his father, and certainly no threat to him.

"Friends? Slytherin and Gryffindor are enemies. We'll never be friends. You'd better stay away from them, or I'll teach you how to be a proper Slytherin," Malfoy warned, his voice laced with disdain.

George merely glanced at him, replying coolly, "Who I choose to be friends with is none of your concern. You'd do better to focus on yourself."

He then added, his tone raising deliberately for others to hear:

"I hear that last year's top student was a Gryffindor—Miss Hermione Granger, to be precise. Not to mention, Slytherin lost the House Cup after holding it for six years straight. Honestly, you're all a bunch of useless failures."

His final words were loud enough that even students at other tables turned their heads in surprise.

"You—you dare call me useless? You're just a half-blood! What gives you the right to call me useless?" Malfoy was fuming, slamming his hand on the table so hard that the piles of bread toppled.

George calmly put down his spoon, looked up, and met Malfoy's gaze. "From what I've heard, our house head is also a half-blood. Are you implying that you look down on Professor Snape as well?"

"N-no, of course not! The Head of House is nothing like you!" Malfoy stammered, his tone losing confidence.

Blood purity was a sensitive issue in Slytherin, and though purebloods often viewed half-bloods with disdain, it wasn't something they could openly express—especially not with many prominent half-blood students in the house, and certainly not when their Head of House himself was a half-blood.

Draco had let his temper get the better of him.

"A first-year with such arrogance! Slytherin values strength, not just empty words," came a voice from the second-year section. It was Pansy Parkinson, who had risen and approached.

Though Pansy had teased Malfoy the day before, she was still on his side. The Malfoy family was highly regarded among pureblood circles, and Pansy had long considered the possibility of marrying Draco to elevate her family's status. Seeing Malfoy humiliated, she naturally felt the need to step in.

"The young lady is right. In Slytherin, excellence is measured by strength, not by words," George replied, standing up. Then, with a loud, confident voice that left many of the younger students stunned, he continued:

"Which is exactly why I'm not singling out Malfoy—I'm calling all of you out. Every single one of you second-years is useless!"

The hall grew quiet as George's words echoed. Even the older students looked over, curious.

"If you weren't all failures, then how could Gryffindor have taken the House Cup from us after six consecutive years of victory? Let me make myself clear: as long as I'm here, I will be the best, and the House Cup will once again belong to Slytherin."

George's voice rang with authority as he addressed the entire Slytherin table.

"But I won't be like you. I won't treat other houses as enemies over healthy competition. Competition is competition, but friendship is friendship—whether it's with Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff."

With unwavering resolve, he added, "I'll make friends where I see fit, and I'll win with honor and skill. That's what it means to be a true Slytherin."

(End of Chapter)