At the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy sat beside Leo with barely contained excitement.
"Leo, I knew it. You belong in Slytherin."
Leo looked helpless and ignored him.
He was still wondering how he had ended up in Slytherin at all.
Please, he thought silently, let the bald egg not mess with me.
Pretending to watch another first year try on the Sorting Hat, Leo's gaze flicked toward the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor wearing the purple turban.
Then he noticed something else.
The white-haired old man seated at the centre of the staff table seemed to be smiling at him.
Leo's back went cold.
Illusion.
Definitely an illusion.
He pushed his glasses up and stared blankly at the empty plate in front of him. After a moment, he realized that looking too deliberate was even worse, so he turned back toward Draco.
"Little Draco, what do you think?"
Draco blinked.
"What? You mean Slytherin? It's excellent, of course."
Once he began, Draco talked nonstop. Leo mostly listened, occasionally responding with a word or two while quietly tracking the attention focused on him.
There were three gazes.
One belonged to Albus Dumbledore, which was not surprising. Considering what had happened outside the Great Hall, and how Leo's wandering thoughts had possibly affected the Sorting Hat, the White Lord noticing him was only natural.
The second was Severus Snape. Since Snape had connections with the Malfoy family, his attention might have been on Draco as much as Leo.
The third gaze came from a little girl who had just been Sorted into Slytherin.
Leo turned his head slightly and looked across the table.
She had long brown hair, thin eyebrows, and striking violet eyes. Her face was not stunning, but it had a sharp, distinctive charm.
Her name was… Peregrine.
Carlotta Peregrine.
"Who are you?" Draco asked suddenly, sounding inexplicably jealous. "Why are you staring at Leo like that? Don't you know it's rude?"
Carlotta's brows lifted.
She looked ready to snap back, probably with something about Draco being a noisy blond peacock, but before she could speak, Dumbledore rose from the staff table.
Professor McGonagall had already finished the Sorting and returned to her seat.
"Welcome!" Dumbledore said brightly.
The hall fell silent.
"Welcome to Hogwarts and to a new school year. Before the feast begins, I would like to say a few words."
He raised his goblet.
"Idiot. Crybaby. Trash. Lemon."
Leo froze.
"Thank you, everyone. Please enjoy our beautiful welcome feast."
Dumbledore drank from his goblet, waved his hand, and sat down.
The moment he did, food appeared across all four house tables.
Roast steaks, pork chops, lamb chops, fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, chicken legs, pumpkin pies, crème brûlée, pea shoots, carrots, gravy, ketchup, salad dressing, and piles of sweets filled the table in an instant.
Leo did not care what Dumbledore's four words meant.
They were probably some symbolic joke about the four houses.
The important thing was the food.
Although he had been eating snacks since leaving the train, his body's current condition burned through energy too quickly. Sweets could never replace a proper meal.
So he ate.
Fast.
A chicken leg disappeared into his mouth while a piece of steak landed on his plate. He looked like he was devouring food ravenously, yet somehow his hands, sleeves, and mouth remained perfectly clean.
Even the sauce never touched the corners of his lips.
Every so often, he calmly lifted a glass of grape juice and took a sip.
Beside him, Draco picked up his cutlery, prepared to eat elegantly, then froze at the sight.
"Leo," he said after a long pause, "how do you eat like that and stay clean?"
Leo swallowed several mouthfuls and finally slowed down once he was about seventy percent full.
"Oh, this? Practice."
Ever since his magical outburst and the imbalance between his mental activity and physical body had made him constantly hungry, he had gradually developed this habit. At first, soup and sauce had ended up on his hands, but over time, that stopped happening.
Draco's face remained composed, but inside he became even more certain.
As expected of a hidden ancient family.
Across from them, Carlotta suddenly laughed.
"Blondie, I'll forgive your rudeness earlier."
Then she turned to Leo.
"Nicholas, don't you recognize me?"
Leo blinked.
"I do know you. You're Carlotta Peregrine. Hello, my name is Leo Nicholas. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Peregrine."
"You—"
Carlotta looked furious. She raised one hand holding a chicken leg and used her other hand to pull back her long hair, making it resemble a short, boyish style.
"What about now, Ivy?"
Leo stared at her.
The tomboyish pose, the chicken leg, the sharp expression.
Memory finally clicked.
"Oh. It's you."
When Leo was eight, he had passed the interview for an elite private primary school with outstanding results. That same year, he dropped out and returned to his old private school. Another person had also left that year.
Carlotta Peregrine.
Leo had been isolated because of his mixed background, while Carlotta had been mocked because of her appearance. That was probably why they had briefly become acquainted.
Their responses to being ostracised had been different.
Leo crushed the arrogant children with grades until they were expelled.
Carlotta waited until a Friday afternoon and beat the group soundly before leaving.
Leo had heard about that from a teacher on the day he withdrew.
"So you finally remember," Carlotta said. "I'm from the Peregrine wizarding family. Which wizarding family are you from?"
She immediately continued, "Nicholas? Isn't that supposed to be a vampire family? Why are you a wizard?"
"Stop. Stop."
Leo raised a hand before she could fire more questions at him.
"My family hasn't been magical for three generations. My recent ancestors were ordinary people. I awakened magic by chance."
Carlotta clearly did not believe him.
She lowered her voice and quickly listed what she had seen on the Hogwarts Express, at Hogsmeade, and outside the Great Hall. She was tactful enough not to mention silent casting loudly, but Draco beside him heard every word.
Now both Carlotta and Draco looked at Leo with disbelief.
A Muggle-born child mastering so many things in such a short time?
Impossible.
Leo saw their expressions and simply gave up explaining.
He lowered his head and focused on the food.
Draco said nothing more, but his expression suggested he had uncovered some grand secret.
Carlotta, on the other hand, excitedly began telling Leo various things that had happened to her over the years. Whether Leo was listening seriously or not seemed unimportant.
To her, meeting an old friend in an unfamiliar place was one of life's great joys.
Leo could only respond half-heartedly while continuing to eat.
"Ah! What is that?"
A sharp scream came from a nearby table.
Ghosts suddenly emerged from all directions.
They drifted through walls, rose through the floor, and floated above the tables. They were pale, silvery-white, and semi-transparent, chatting among themselves as they moved through the hall.
A plump ghost dressed like a monk drifted past Leo, muttering, "This shouldn't be. This shouldn't be…"
Then another ghost wearing an elaborate ruff appeared nearby.
"Hello there, little Slytherin!"
The ghost circled Leo with interest.
"My name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. Brave Gryffindor Harry mentioned another Nicholas was here, so I came to see."
"Hello, Sir Nicholas," Leo said politely. "I'm Leo Nicholas."
Carlotta immediately gave him a look.
"See? You're still saying you aren't from a vampire family?"
Leo had no idea how Carlotta connected vampires and ghosts, but before he could respond, Sir Nicholas suddenly stiffened.
"Oh. The Bloody Baron."
Then he fled.
"Leo!"
Draco's terrified voice rang out beside him.
Carlotta, meanwhile, sounded delighted.
"Wow. Cool."
Leo turned.
A ghost hovered in front of Draco. His eyes were empty, his face withered, and his robes were stained with silvery blood.
The Bloody Baron.
The Baron noticed Leo's gaze and turned.
Boy and ghost stared at one another.
Looking at the ghost in front of him, Leo suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long yellow strip of paper.
Then he prepared to throw it and see whether it would have any effect.
....
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