After spending the entire night in the Room of Requirement, Victor had made zero progress on the ring problem. It seemed the runic chains were being more temperamental than they had calculated. Returning to the Slytherin common room in the morning, he ran head-on into Snape.
— Moss, — the professor called out in an icy tone. — Evidently, since you got away with it last time, you decided you could continue flouting the rules by bringing alcohol into the school?
Victor stopped and looked at the Dean with a perfectly composed expression.
— I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to, Professor. What alcohol? Give me the name of the culprit, and I promise: they will crawl to you today with the deepest apologies.
Snape spent several more seconds literally incinerating him with his gaze, but in the end, he only sighed and shook his head.
— Consider yourself lucky that Weasley is already serving detention with me, so all the cauldrons are already scrubbed to a shine.
Victor nodded, smiling.
— Glad to hear it. When I see Ron, I'll be sure to thank him.
— And one more thing, — Snape lingered for a moment before leaving. — I've noticed your sister has an undeniable talent for Potions. I hope you will find the time to mentor her. My classroom is always at your disposal.
Having said that, the professor swept away, his robes billowing. Victor watched him go thoughtfully. Getting praise like that from Snape was worth a lot. Apparently, Adele truly had a gift if even a teacher as harsh as him acknowledged it.
Victor entered the Slytherin common room, and a student immediately approached him.
— Victor! Professor Snape was looking for you, — he warned. — He seemed terribly displeased about something.
Victor smirked, looking at him.
— Have you ever seen our Dean pleased about anything?
The boy opened his mouth to answer but froze, genuinely thinking it over. A second later, he frowned.
— Actually... you're right. I can't recall a single time.
— Exactly, — Victor patted him on the shoulder and headed toward the stairs to the dormitories.
Entering his room, he closed the door behind him. Stripping off his clothes as he went, he flopped onto the bed with relish. Но no sooner had he closed his eyes than the door creaked open.
— Victor, are you coming to breakfast? — Daphne marched into the room decisively.
Seeing him, she instantly turned beet-red and spun around.
— Why are you naked?! — she cried out indignantly, staring at the wall.
Victor lazily opened one eye and looked at her back.
— You're reacting like it's the first time you've seen me like this. Though don't answer that; it doesn't matter right now. Give me a couple of minutes, I'll be right out.
Daphne nodded quickly and darted into the corridor, but before closing the door, she couldn't help herself and stole one quick, curious glance back.
After a quick shower and dressing, Victor stepped out. Daphne had been waiting in the common room the whole time, pensively fidgeting with the edge of her robes. Victor approached her, barely stifling another yawn.
— Alright, I'm ready. Let's go.
Daphne nodded and rose from the chair. They left the dungeons, and Victor yawned sweetly again, covering his mouth with his palm.
— This is the first time I've seen you this sleepy, — Daphne remarked, watching him. — Usually you're energized, even if you haven't slept all night.
— It's all Grandma Perenelle's fault, — he grumbled in response. — While I was staying with them, she conditioned me to sleep every night. Before that, I could easily go several days without sleep and feel great.
He yawned once more, tears pricking his eyes.
— I'll have to retrain myself. I don't want to waste precious nights on sleep.
After breakfast, they headed to Charms. The moment Victor crossed the threshold of the classroom, he caught Ron's eye—who was looking at him suspiciously and immediately began whispering to Harry and Hermione.
When everyone had taken their seats, Professor Flitwick cleared his throat:
— Good morning, class! Today we shall cover a new spell—Diffindo. It is indispensable when you need to accurately cut an inanimate object.
While the professor explained how to apply the spell, Victor felt the gazes of the Gryffindor trio on his skin. They kept glancing his way. Victor leaned toward Daphne:
— Darling, do I look strange today? — he whispered.
Daphne gave him a short look and shook her head:
— No, same as usual. Why?
— Then why are those three boring a hole into me? Even my sweet little Hermione... By the way, have you noticed she's been keeping her distance lately?
— It's because of your sister, — Daphne replied flatly.
— What does Adele have to do with it? — he asked, genuinely surprised.
— Hermione said Adele isn't thrilled when she's hanging around you. So she decided to stay away for now to avoid upsetting her. She's worried you and your sister will fight because of her.
Victor broke into a smile.
— Ooh, my Hermione is so thoughtful... But she's worrying over nothing. We're unlikely to fight over such nonsense. More likely, Adele will just strangle her in a quiet corridor, — he chuckled.
Daphne frowned at him.
— And I see that doesn't bother you in the slightest?
Victor only gave a lazy tilt of his head.
— She's a strong girl. I'm sure Hermione can hold her own.
In the evening, Victor was already preparing to go to the Room of Requirement when there was a knock at the door.
— Come in, — he said calmly.
Two Slytherin girls stood in the doorway.
— Victor, there's trouble. A fight is brewing, — one of them gasped.
He followed them silently. A crowd had already gathered in the dungeon corridor.
— Make way, let me have a look, — Victor said quietly, and the crowd instantly parted, clearing a path for him.
Daphne stood in the center of the circle. She was scowling, tightly clutching her sister's hand and blocking the path of a couple of upperclassmen.
— Daph-dear, what's going on here? — Victor asked smoothly. — When I heard you'd gotten into a spat, I came running. I was curious who dared offend my lovely assistant.
— Victor, these "purebloods" have lost their minds. They won't let Astoria go, — she answered angrily.
Victor glanced at Astoria—she was hanging her head, trembling and clinging to her sister. Then his gaze shifted to the boys.
— Victor, this is internal faction business, — a tall boy stated, trying to sound confident. — We ask you not to interfere.
Victor frowned. Was Daphne right? The moment he had become a bit softer, they had stopped fearing him. He began to walk toward them slowly, shaking his head. With every step he took, the air in the corridor grew heavier—he was releasing magical pressure that literally pinned the students to the floor. By the time he was inches away, the boy who had spoken was barely standing. Victor flicked his hand sharply, and the boy collapsed onto all fours.
Victor leaned over him, hands behind his back:
— And what made you think I give a damn? You've apparently started to forget that I don't actually care about all these faction games.
He crouched down and, roughly grabbing the boy by his hair, forced him to look him in the eye.
— Your faction only still exists because I'm too lazy to exterminate you. But don't tempt fate. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll be in a playful mood and, as a joke, I'll send every one of you to the hospital wing for a month.
Suddenly, Victor broke into a wide smile and gave the boy a friendly pat on the shoulder.
— You're dismissed. And tell Draco: I want him in my room before curfew.
He stood up and surveyed the silenced crowd.
— Alright, the show's over. Little demons, disperse.
The pressure vanished. The Slytherins, sighing in relief, began to move away silently, trying not to make a sound. Today, he had reminded them that he earned the title of King not because of the size of his retinue, but because of his overwhelming power.
Victor looked at Daphne, who was hugging a trembling Astoria.
— Well, how was the performance?
— Good, — Daphne nodded, — but you should have taught him a lesson through pain. They understand faster that way.
Victor shook his head.
— I think that was enough for him. I'm trying to restrain myself from unnecessary violence. Come on, you still have to wait for Malfoy in my room.
— Why me? — Daphne took her sister's hand and followed him.
— This all started because of your sister; you deal with it. Besides, you're my protégé—stop hiding behind my back. Learn to show your fangs. I won't always be around. My right hand needs to solve these issues herself, not wait for Daddy to come and save everyone.
Daphne frowned. Usually, she handled administrative matters while Victor—or the mere mention of his name—handled conflicts. Today, that hadn't worked. She felt that as his right hand, she had failed today. Daphne squeezed her sister's palm tighter.
— I'm sorry. I let you down.
Victor turned and saw her dejected face. He stepped up and gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.
— It's nothing. As my grandmother says: we all make mistakes, the main thing is not to repeat them. Next time, don't hesitate to use force. Did you see those guys standing behind you? All of them were clutching their wands. Every one of them was ready to step in at your word.
He turned and continued down the corridor.
— They adore me, of course. But they respect you much more.