After the meal, Dumbledore led everyone in singing the school song, then reminded all the students once again that they were not allowed to go anywhere near the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor. Only then did he announce the end of the feast.
Under the guidance of their prefects, the new students all set off for their respective House dormitories.
Hermione took the opportunity to sneak over to Altair's side and whisper that they should have breakfast together the next morning. Then, with a huff, she ran off again.
Altair followed the Slytherin students downward the whole way, until at last they arrived at the entrance to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons.
Along the way, Prefect Gemma Farley kept introducing Slytherin to them. First she explained the serpent emblem, then she denied a number of rumors, such as Slytherins all being reserve Dark wizards, Slytherins all liking to study the Dark Arts, and Slytherin only accepting pure-bloods.
According to her, all of that was nothing but jealousy and slander from the other Houses.
Of course, she did not deny that Slytherin tended to favor the descendants of notable wizarding families. But in truth, while Slytherin did admit quite a few pure-bloods, there were also plenty of half-bloods and Muggle-borns among them.
Once they entered the common room, the prefect assigned the first-years to their dormitories.
Boys and girls were separated. Altair's roommates turned out to be Malfoy and his two lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle, which he found rather interesting.
After finishing the room assignments, Gemma specifically reminded the first-years to help one another, to put Slytherin's honor above all else, and then went on for quite a while before finally allowing everyone to go rest.
Altair was the first to enter the dormitory, and he immediately chose the best bed.
Malfoy, a step too late, let out a snort. He shot Crabbe and Goyle a look, and the three of them came over together, staring at Altair with obvious ill intent.
With a proud expression, Malfoy looked down at him and said, "Shelby, is it? Listen carefully. From now on, everything in this dormitory answers to me. You country bumpkin said you'd never heard of the Malfoy family, didn't you? Believe me, you'll learn soon enough."
"Sorry, but I already know what Malfoy means. That Death Eater family, right? I heard your father was one of the leading Death Eaters. I'm curious why he wasn't sent to Azkaban."
Altair looked at Malfoy with amusement, then glanced at Crabbe and Goyle standing beside him and asked with genuine curiosity, "What, then? Are the three of you planning to start a junior Death Eater club at Hogwarts?"
"What did you say?!"
Malfoy was trembling with rage.
He turned to his two large, heavyset followers and barked, "Hit him! Let this Mudblood who grew up in the Muggle world see what a real wizarding family is capable of!"
Crabbe and Goyle obediently charged forward. Malfoy himself took a step back, pulled out his wand, and stood there preparing to cast.
"Heh."
Altair let out a cold laugh. He did not bother wasting words. He simply drew his own wand and pointed it at the three of them.
"Dementor's Kiss."
This was a skill Altair had unlocked by accident.
The core of his wand was a Dementor's nerve, and through the Necromancer spell Soul Drain, he could draw on a Dementor's power and create a form of magic similar to the Dementor's Kiss.
As a pale, icy light flashed from Altair's wand, a massive Dementor appeared inside the dormitory.
Frost began to spread slowly through the room.
The Dementor drifted up before Malfoy and the other two, baring its hideous mouthparts as it began to feed on their emotions.
Altair watched as the color drained from all three of their faces. Then he withdrew the spell.
Thud.
All three collapsed to the floor together, shivering violently. The expressions on their faces were extremely strange, their eyes vacant, as though they were dead, yet somehow still alive.
Put simply, they looked half-witted.
"So now you know what Shelby means, don't you? Since we're roommates, I'll give you a piece of life advice. Never provoke a Shelby."
"And one more thing. I do not ever want to hear the word Mudblood again."
Altair looked down at Malfoy, who was lying there white-faced, and gave a contemptuous laugh before taking off his clothes and climbing into bed.
...
The next morning, Malfoy and the other two slowly opened their eyes.
After the Dementor had vanished the night before, they had not even had the strength to get up. In the end, they had fallen asleep right there on the floor in a daze. Even after a full night had passed, their legs still felt weak and shaky.
"Malfoy, remember what I said. From now on, I'm the one in charge of this dormitory."
"Of course, as long as you don't provoke me, I generally won't bother with you."
Altair was already dressed. He tucked his wand at his waist and prepared to head out for breakfast.
Malfoy trembled all over. He opened his mouth, but did not dare say a word.
He would never forget what he had felt last night for the rest of his life.
It had been as if he would never be capable of happiness again, as if he had been swallowed by endless darkness and freezing cold. He could not think, could not struggle, could only feel hope draining away from him little by little.
Watching Altair leave, Crabbe suddenly sucked in a huge breath like a drowning man finally breaking the surface. Only then did he manage to say in a trembling voice, "I think that was a Dementor!"
Malfoy's body jerked. He shot Crabbe a furious glare and said harshly, "No. No first-year can control a Dementor!"
Goyle swallowed hard, then looked nervously at the other two and suggested, "Maybe it was some terrible Dark magic. I think we should tell a teacher."
"Tell a teacher? You want me to humiliate myself?" Malfoy clenched his fists. "I don't believe there was any Dementor. And how could a Muggle-born first-year know Dark magic?"
But as soon as he remembered what he had felt the night before, he still could not stop the cold spreading through his whole body.
Could it really have been a Dementor?
Malfoy felt as though he was going mad. He decided that when Christmas came, he would go home and tell his father. Before then, it would be better not to provoke that dangerous lunatic.
"For now, stay away from him," Malfoy ordered his two lackeys.
Then he checked the time and let out a snort.
"Get dressed first, then we're going to breakfast. And not a word of this to anyone. If I find out otherwise, they'll regret it."