Several days had passed since Glenn and Hermione's birthday, and Glenn still found himself in an unusually good mood, though he couldn't quite expin why.

  He felt his retionship with the young girl had grown even closer, stirring unfamiliar feelings within him.

  Was this joy? The emotionally defit Glenn wasn't sure, only guessing that it felt somewhat simir to the effects of an Elixir of Euphoria, yet somehow different.

  Well, it was a good thing anyway.

  The Slytherin snakes seemed to have lost i in b their peculiar housemate tely. Though they would still exge cold smirks with their panions when they saw him, Glenn paid them no mind.

  He didn't care.

  Yet he could sense some plot brewing, causing occasional sharp pains in his head.

  But the iy was low, not even half as strong as when Snape required him to practice dueling.

  As a Slytherin and Snape's star pupil, his Head of House expected him to earn points in css to tribute to winning the House Cup.

  While speaking up in css was out of the question, earning points in Charms, Transfiguration and other subjects was effortless for him, steadily increasing Slytherin's score.

  However, Gryffindor's points were rising even more dramatically. Though many little liurly lost points, they had Hermiohe academic ace.

  She single-handedly offset all of Gryffindor's point losses and then some, answering nearly every question in all her csses.

  Well, except in Potions css.

  But one css couldn't stop Hermione's point-earning rampage.

  Professonagall wiped away tears of joy.

  Finally, her house had found its savior - their ce at the House Cup was saved!

  Gryffindor had climbed to sed pce, just over a hundred points behind Slytherin's iron throne - closer than ever before.

  The seniryffindors wept with joy, having never e so close to their rivals in points.

  Hermiourally became Gryffindor's hero.

  This made certain troublemaking lions look quite sour, but they could only mutter a few bitter words while tinuing to lose points themselves.

  No specifiames mentioned (wink).

  As for academid tut others, Hermione had quite a talent. Her roommates' academic performance visibly improved under her guidance, which caught the attention of ryffindirls.

  Though Hermione's personality wasn't particurly endearing, after enthusiastitrodus from her roommates, those Gryffindor witches who were serious about studying came to her for help and beed greatly. Their perception of Hermione pletely ged.

  "She's such a treasure!" the Gryffindirls squealed.

  Hermione was happy to ahers' questions, seeing it as another way to learn - helping others while reinf her own knowledge was a win-win situation.

  She had unsciously bee the leader among the first-year girls, though she herself wasn't aware of it.

  As Hermione made more and more friends, Glenn observed it all a quietly happy for her.

  It felt like a father watg his daughter grow up.

  Just kidding! Glenn was far from a father figure - his only friends were Hermione and Neville.

  That evening, Glenn and Hermioayed in the library until closing time as usual. After esc Hermioo the Gryffindor on room, Glenn headed back to ge his equipment.

  He approached the Slytherin on room entrah his e, about to speak the password when he sensed something was off.

  Almost all the Slytherins were inside, seemingly waiting for something.

  He frowned slightly at the vague hostility directed at him, but didn't stop.

  "Power," he opehe stone door aered.

  Immediately, all eyes turo him, cold smirks on the snakes' faces.

  Ign them, he walked straight toward the dormitory but was blocked by a rge hand.

  "Well, if it isn't our traitor cssmate. Shouldn't you be spending the night with yryffindor friends? What brings you to grace us Slytherins with your presence?" Marcus Flint, the Slytherin male prefect, blocked Glenn's path with his broad frame, looking down at him with a sneer.

  The surrounding students chuckled maliciously. The Malfoy trio watched from the side - this brilliant idea had been theirs. They couldn't expin what had possessed them to finally decide to teach this Mudblood who lived among them a lesson today.

  "What's the matter?" Glenn asked. The hostility in the room had grown stronger since he entered, making him unfortable.

  "Nothing much, just want to teach you some Slytherin rules. After all, even as a traitor, as long as you haven't transferred houses, you're still one of us Slytherins, even if... you're the lowest of the low, you Mud-blood." He burst into ughter, almost doubling over.

  "Move aside, I'm busy." Glenn's voice turned ice cold. Having these people waste his precious evening training time was extremely ineffit.

  The surrounding snakes seemed surprised that this frail blind Mudblood could be so defiant. Their ughter faltered as they stared at him in disbelief.

  Marcus Flint's ughter abruptly stopped as he slowly straightened up, his expression turning hostile as he poi Glenn's head: "Listen up, kid! We're not iating with you! This is an order! Uand?"

  Glenn remained silent and still, simply listening.

  He decided it was time to settle things with these troublemakers - so this was why they hadn't bothered him tely, they were pnning something big.

  If he hadn't still been in such a good mood from the past few days, he would have already khese arrogant fools out and goo train.

  Seeing Glenn's ck of response, Marcus assumed he had finally realized his situation and snorted coldly before tinuing his monologue.

  "You must know what we Slytherins value most! That's right, noble blood, the purest bloodlines. We revere blood status."

  He paused to clear his throat before tinuing: "You probably don't know what they mean by pure-blood. Well, naturally - with Muggle parents, ynorance is expected. I'll desd to expin it to you, so pay attention!"

  He then proudly expihe meaning of pure-blood and the Sacred Twe, which we'll skip to avoid padding the word t - ied readers look it up themselves.

  But I digress.

  After his long-winded speech, Marcus proudly jabbed his thumb at himself, "And I am the eldest son of the Flint family, one of the pure-blood families!"

  "Besides pure-bloods, there are half-bloods - children born from wizards and Muggles. And you are the lowest of all - born from Muggles, what we call a Mudblood."

  He gestured emphatically, "Though we don't know why a Mudblood like you was sorted into Slytherin, since you're here, you must accept the dominion of our noble blood. From now on, you'll be our collective servant, got it?" Marcus viciously decred Glenn's future role.

  "But! We 't let your ret desertion to those foolish lions slide. So tell me, what should we do with you?" He grinned maliciously, crag his knuckles as those around him also began flexing their muscles.

  His answer came in the form of a walking e.