If there's one better way to say what it means to be "distinct" than the seating allocation in class, it's probably the dining table. There may be liberals who sit down next to friends in the other school on a whim, but at mealtime, everyone sits at the long table in their own college.

Thankfully, the uniform robes of Hogwarts had nothing to do with the fact that all the houses were black, otherwise Mr. Headmaster would have had to watch a huge Mauritian flag of students in red, blue, yellow, and green uniforms unfurl in front of him every day at breakfast—not a pleasant picture for the British to be good for the spleen.

Draco Malfoy sat at the Slytherin table with a green flag flying overhead, slicing the steak on his plate with a grim face. He didn't have much appetite, but he felt that the feeling of the knife in the meat was more helpful to improve his current mood, as evidenced by the fact that the poor piece of beef had been cut into a steak tartare, which was commonly known as a ground meat chop, but not a single bit of it was put into his mouth.

Beside him, Crabbe was also listlessly fiddling with the mashed potatoes in front of him, in front of Madam Pomfrey's superb medical skills. The burns caused by the fire glue were cured in the blink of an eye, but perhaps because of the psychological effect, he still felt that his face was numb and whizzing, and he would lose consciousness if he chewed something a little harder, so he could only live on liquid food for the time being.

Compared to the two of them, Goyle's appetite was not actually damaged, but when both friends (whether Malfoy regarded him as a friend or not) were depressed, it was a little out of place to eat on his own. He hesitated for a long time as he looked at the mountains of pies on the plate, but finally did not reach out, but only pulled a nearby glass of pumpkin juice and drank it in small sips.

Lunchtime was one of the most noisy times of the day at Hogwarts, and no one noticed that the three of them had carved a small area of silence in the noise that covered the entire Great Hall, which was just right for Malfoy - not that this house was really like the Gryffindors represented by the Weasley brothers preached everywhere, only liars and selfish villains would come up and laugh at the sight of a student in deep trouble, but because according to Slytherin's teachings, Those who aspire to stand above others should not easily expose their immature side in front of others.

Unfortunately, when you notice that things are not going well for you lately, you should understand that everything that is "just right" is just a temporary illusion. Just as Malfoy stared at the plate of minced meat in front of him, finally determined to take a bite under Goyle's expectant gaze, he was slapped on the back and his fork fell on the plate with a clatter.

"Ah, you're here, it's good. It's hard to find a target in the middle of a crowd of uniformly dressed people, it's like looking for Willy...... You know what to look for Willy, right? It's a Muggle children's book called "Where is Willie", and the aim is to find the guy named Willie in a series of crowded pictures, the author Martin Huntford is still your fellow countryman - and I suddenly see that he looks quite like Mr. Potter, maybe we can play the game of 'Find Potter' together in the castle next weekend? ”

Malfoy closed his eyes in pain. This familiar, tidal wave of attacks made him not even need to look back to know who was eating away at his last peace. As expected, Neil Wan, who ignored Hogwarts tradition and etiquette, squeezed over with a grin and sat down in a gap between him and Goyle.

"I heard that the Americans are planning to make a movie with him as the main character, as well as accompanying cartoons and video games...... Bah! If the people of England still have a sense of national pride, they should condemn this transgression! Come to think of it, they even called Willy 'Waldo,' which sounds like a guy who gets drunk and has a straight tongue curling, which is shameful. ”

Malfoy listened to what he was saying in his left ear and out of his right ear, partly because the content was completely incomprehensible, but more importantly, according to common sense, the best way to deal with this kind of person who likes to ramble on and on is to ignore him. As long as he finds that no one wants to take care of him, it won't be long before he gets bored and leaves.

He made a catastrophic mistake.

"Where's Willie" didn't resonate with the children of wizarding families, which didn't come as a surprise to Neil, whose disdain and neglect of Muggle culture was a long-standing legacy, making each other an ignorant savage in the eyes of the other, and Neil was just habitually seizing every opportunity he could use to incite and casually mention it, without expecting much from it.

He glanced past Malfoy, who seemed to have made up his mind to say nothing, and glanced at Crabbe, who had covered his face with his hand from his appearance, as if he could blend in with the table by doing so.

"Ah, Mr. Crabbe, long time no see!"

Neil graciously reached over and grabbed him by the shoulder. This action was done quickly and naturally, and before Malfoy, who was sitting between the two of them, could react, he suddenly turned into lettuce leaves in a sandwich.

"It's great to see that you're in good health, I've heard about it...... I mean, I witnessed that unfortunate accident in Charms class, and it was terrible, and I'm glad to see you safe. ”

Crabbe still kept his head down and didn't dare to look at him, Neil smiled and glanced back at Goyle this time: "Mr. Goyle? Your name is Goyle, right? ”

Goyle looked dazed, not knowing what to do to look at Malfoy for help, but before the look could be delivered, Neil stretched out his arm and grabbed him too.

"Goyle...... Gore...... What a good name. I've noticed that the British tend to start with a G when naming stupid, rude big guys, like giants and trolls, like Grubb, Gloum, or whatever, because it sounds like a monster's roar. But Goyle, the name is peculiar, it sounds closer to some kind of war cry, it's uplifting. ”

He cleared his throat.

"LET'S SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS, AHEM, AHEM, WELL, GOLLLLLLLLLLL——!!! …… Sorry, I didn't learn much like that. ”

It's a lot like that. Almost half of the people in the auditorium were startled by the sudden sound, and Malfoy, who was forced to suffer this kind of damage at zero distance, showed an expression that life was worse than death. He tried to cover his ears with his hands, but Crabbe and Neil clamped him between left and right, leaving him unable to move either arm.

It was now clear to him that Harry had discovered the truth they had discovered a week earlier: that this guy was just trying to talk, not caring if anyone was listening.

"What the hell do you want to do......

He asked in a hoarse voice.

"Me?" Neil let go of the hand holding Crabbe, and Malfoy, who was almost squashed, was finally relieved, and his arrogance recovered as the oxygen supply to his lungs recovered, and he glared at him viciously, "Well, frankly, I plan to flatter you as soon as possible for the sake of future business success." ”

"You call this flattery!?"

"That's the problem." Neil nodded in agreement, "I did notice that you were acting a little upset, but I didn't understand why—in fact, it's not the first time I've seen something like this happen, is it?" On the day of school, on the shore of the lake, I also cordially invited you to take care of my small business like this, but until today, you have not been there once...... I really want to know what the problem is, Mr. Malfoy, please be sure to tell me. ”

……

……

The roar that mimicked the charge of the beast warband really scared everyone present, but after seeing what happened at the Slytherin table, at least half of them, led by the Gryffindor students, quickly adjusted their minds and began to prepare for the fun.

"Great, did you see the expression of the little master?" Fred whistled and high-fived George in celebration as if they had a part to play in the matter, "I said that the fact that the guy wasn't assigned to Gryffindor is the biggest loss we've suffered in this century!" ”

"Hey, don't say that, what is the division between the houses when everyone is united under the great banner of defeating all the little Slytherin bugs?"

"I don't think Neil will be 'united under that banner' with you." Hermione's cold voice came, like a basin of cold water on the heads of the two, "He doesn't even want to offend Snape. ”

"Maybe it's just because you don't want to hurt the academy and get deducted points?"

"That's not bad, maybe you can learn about this sense of collective pride before you set off fireworks in class next time." She sneered at each other without giving an inch.

The Weasley brothers' notoriety as tricksters is well known in the school, and they have recently become more conscientious after being stimulated by Neil's strong competitor. While the pranks are fun, the resulting deductions aren't as laughable.

"Come on, Hermione, you're being mean to Neil." Ron gulped it all down, and pointed out bitterly, "It's because he gave a brass bookmark with a red string tied to that Penelope that Percy was chasing, and not you—you're jealous." ”

Hermione picked up the Encyclopedia of Charms and gave it to him.