Young witches and wizards were always noisy during feasts, so the argument between Lycos and Malfoy hadn't attracted much attention.
After all, ever since the arrival of those red-haired twins notorious for their pranks, both professors and students had developed a remarkably high threshold for chaos and surprises.
Lycos scanned the length of the Slytherin table. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying him any mind, he quietly picked a seat farther away and sat down.
The dishes on the table were still plentiful. If you tapped a golden plate and spoke the name of a dish, the corresponding food would appear on it.
But Lycos had no appetite whatsoever.
The bandage on his left forearm was only loosely wrapped. It could come undone at any moment, revealing the Dark Mark hidden beneath it—
And with only one hand, there was no way he could tie it securely.
"Incarcerous."
A cool, crisp voice rang out beside him.
Lycos watched in astonishment as the bandage on his arm began moving on its own. In seconds, it tied itself into a neat little bow, firmly securing his forearm.
He looked up in surprise and saw strands of silky, golden hair cascading like streams of sunlight across the table.
Only then did Lycos realize: by pure chance, he'd sat directly across from the blonde girl he'd seen earlier—the one who had effortlessly shut down Malfoy during their spat.
"You don't look well. Do you want me to fetch Madam Pomfrey for you?" the girl asked, slipping her wand back into her robe pocket.
Her voice remained cool and detached. There wasn't the slightest trace of emotional concern in her tone.
"I'm fine. Just need a little rest," Lycos replied, shaking his head and discreetly tucking his arm back into his sleeve.
Then, smoothly shifting the topic away from himself, he offered a polite introduction to redirect her attention.
"Thanks for the help. I'm Lycos Hayden. And you are?"
"Cassandra Vole," the blonde witch replied with a nod, her gaze already drifting elsewhere.
Relieved that she didn't seem intent on prying, Lycos subtly relaxed.
But before he could fully settle down, Cassandra's voice rose again, quiet but crisp:
"If something's wrong, ask a professor for help. Don't pretend you're fine and push through it alone."
Lycos blinked and looked across at her again.
Cassandra's jade-green eyes remained fixed on the tableware before her. There was no curiosity in her gaze, no probing interest in the bandages on his arm. It really did sound like nothing more than a simple reminder.
"Alright," Lycos replied.
Then silence fell between them—long and still—completely out of place amid the noise and chatter of the Great Hall.
In that quiet, Lycos slowly chewed on a piece of cheese, but his thoughts had already begun to drift.
Should he actually consider turning to the professors for help?
What if… he confessed?
What if he walked up to Dumbledore right now, admitted he bore the Dark Mark, revealed everything he knew about Voldemort, and sought protection?
Would that be safer than playing the double agent in secret?
Lycos realized something else—Voldemort hadn't yet regained his strength. Maybe this was the best time to eliminate him for good.
If he could win Dumbledore's trust, and use his foreknowledge to locate and destroy all the Horcruxes quickly, maybe… just maybe, the years of disaster looming over Hogwarts could be avoided entirely.
He glanced at Quirrell, still bumbling and bowing, putting on a show to win over the other professors.
Good acting. Really good.
But Lycos had made up his mind.
...
"Very well, now that everyone's had their fill, I have a few more words before we end the evening—"
As Dumbledore stood again, all the food vanished cleanly from the plates, as if it had never been there. Only a few crumbs at the corners of students' mouths proved they'd just feasted.
"At the start of term, there are a few important rules I must remind you of," Dumbledore announced.
"First-years, please note: the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all students."
"And older students would do well to remember this as well."
Lycos noticed Dumbledore give a brief sideways glance toward the notorious pranksters in Gryffindor.
"Also, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes."
"Tryouts for House Quidditch teams will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested should speak to Madam Hooch."
"And finally…" Dumbledore's tone turned more serious.
"If you do not wish to suffer a most painful and untimely end, do not enter the corridor on the right-hand side of the third floor."
The moment Dumbledore uttered this last warning, Lycos kept his eyes trained on Quirrell—and sure enough, he saw the man's expression shift noticeably.
But Lycos quickly looked away.
He had already decided to report Voldemort to Dumbledore. That third-floor corridor guarding the Philosopher's Stone was no longer his concern.
"Now, before we head off to bed—let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore beamed.
With a flick of his wand, a long golden ribbon unfurled from its tip, floating above the high table like a snake, weaving lines of text into the air.
As expected, most of the professors and older students froze up with forced smiles.
"Everyone may sing to the tune of their choice," Dumbledore added cheerfully.
"Ready? Sing!"
---
After enduring the completely out-of-sync rendition of the Hogwarts school anthem, Lycos joined the other Slytherin first-years and followed a fifth-year prefect to their common room.
Unlike Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, whose common rooms were located in the towers, the common rooms for Hufflepuff and Slytherin were underground.
But Slytherin's was particularly unique—it was located beneath the Black Lake itself. Just reaching the castle dungeons required walking nearly ten minutes down a winding staircase.
Along the way, dim green torches flickered on the rough stone walls, casting eerie shadows. Occasionally, ghosts drifted silently across the corridor like phantoms from a haunted house.
If not for the crowd of students walking together, some of the more timid first-years would probably have burst into tears from fright.
"Remember this—the password for the common room is 'blood.'"
The prefect stopped in front of an arched underground hallway and turned to face a solid stone wall.
As soon as the password was spoken, a lifelike stone serpent slithered up from the base of the wall, making several students jump.
The massive snake reared up, and as its body coiled into an arch, a hidden stone door emerged, framed by the serpent's form frozen in place.
"Follow me. I'll give you a quick tour."
The first-years lined up and followed the prefect through the door into the Slytherin common room.
None of them noticed that a black-haired boy had quietly slipped out of the group after memorizing the password...