"Miss Wizard, Miss Wizard, wake up!"
A shrill voice roused Iblis from her slumber. She rubbed her messy hair and half-opened her eyes to look at the source of the sound, where a house-elf was anxiously hopping up and down beside the bed.
"Miss, it's nearly noon! Shouldn't you be going to class?!"
Iblis looked around in bewilderment, then suddenly bounded out of bed. "Oh, oh oh oh, I still have to go to class! Wait... what class am I supposed to be going to again?"
The house-elf grew even more frantic upon hearing this. She had originally come to clean the students' bedrooms, only to find this young witch still tucked away in bed. At this time of day, all the other students were already in class, and she was the only one fast asleep without a care in the world. Looking around, the elf picked up a piece of parchment from the table by the bed next to Iblis—it was the first-year wizards' timetable.
"It's Transfiguration, Miss Wizard! You should be going to the Transfiguration classroom on the second floor!"
Iblis nodded hurriedly, matching the house-elf's anxious expression, and hastily tidied herself up before pulling on her wizard's robes. "Right, right, I need to hurry!"
Then, however, she climbed right back into bed and let out a huge yawn. "I don't even know where the Transfiguration classroom is anyway. Oh well, I'm going to be late either way. What's your name, elf?"
"Wenwen, my name is Wenwen, Miss. But shouldn't you be rushing to class..."
Iblis rolled over and grabbed Wenwen by the hand. "House-elves are much better at magic than humans. Why don't you just send me to the Great Hall? It's almost lunchtime anyway."
Wenwen wanted to refuse, but she nodded instinctively; she simply couldn't bring herself to turn down the pretty girl with the burning gaze standing right in front of her. Timidly, she said, "But you're supposed to be going to class... I'm so sorry, Miss Wizard!"
Iblis felt a sudden flash of dizziness, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing inside the Transfiguration classroom. Professor McGonagall was standing right in front of her with her hands on her hips, while Wenwen was nowhere to be seen.
Iblis let out a dry chuckle, spread her hands, and walked toward Professor McGonagall. "So this is where you were, Professor McGonagall. I've been looking everywhere for you. I've been searching all morning."
A wand pressed against Iblis's forehead, stopping her from coming any closer. "Please wipe the drool off the corner of your mouth first, Miss Grimm."
Iblis laughed awkwardly, and titters broke out among the young wizards around them. Naturally wiping away the trace of saliva at the corner of her mouth, she shook her head with a helpless sigh.
"Ah, Headmaster Dumbledore and I hit it off so well yesterday that we talked all through the night. You know how it is—once people reach a certain age, they always feel a profound sense of loneliness. I even turned down his invitation to share a midnight snack, all so that I could come here today and seek your profound guidance on the mysteries of Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall. I can only blame the capricious turns of fate for ma—mm-mm-mm..."
"That's enough, Miss Grimm. Since you clearly display such an exceptional interest in Transfiguration, I am certain you will be more than willing to come discuss it with me this evening. Because you were nearly late for the entire lesson, Slytherin will lose fifteen points. Now go take your seat..."
Before Professor McGonagall could finish speaking, the bell signaling the end of the class rang out.
"It seems we won't need to make an exception after all, Miss Grimm. See you this evening. I sincerely hope I don't have to witness you being escorted here by a house-elf a second time."
Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and strode out of the classroom. Just as she left, Draco's grumbling voice came from behind Iblis. "Late on the very first day?! Do you have any idea how many points you've cost us compared to the other houses?"
Draco turned his gaze to the girl beside him. "Pansy, why didn't you call her to come to class with you?"
The girl standing next to him folded her arms. Seeing Draco blaming her, she shot a look of utter disdain at Iblis. "I don't even know what time she got back yesterday, and she slept like a log this morning. Besides, why should I babysit a lunatic?"
"A lunatic?" Iblis pointed to herself, looked left and right, and became even more puzzled when she confirmed there was no one else around her. "Are you saying I'm a lunatic?"
"What else?" The girl launched into a spiteful, vicious tirade against Iblis with an arrogant air. "How could someone not be crazy when she's out of her mind and treats Merlin like some kind of god? Even the Sorting Hat said a madwoman like her belongs in Azkaban, yet she still had the nerve to shamelessly squeeze her way into Slytherin. Anyone can see you're seriously ill—even your hair color isn't normal."
Pansy's voice wasn't loud, but quite a few students had already gathered around to watch the spectacle. Among the crowd of Gryffindor students, Harry grabbed Ron's sleeve. "Hey, are they picking on her?"
Ron glanced over at the crowd. "Looks like it... But she's from Slytherin, what does that have to do with us? Let's just stay out of it."
Harry was already preparing to step forward. "So what if she's in Slytherin? Aren't we all wizards? Besides, this isn't right—she didn't do anything to provoke them."
The girl at the center of the crowd didn't show any of the expected distress from being insulted. She looked at Pansy, then glanced at the silent Draco standing nearby, before giving a regretful shake of her head.
"Oh, you foolish child. You understand even less than Merlin, let alone knowing how to pray for his protection."
She gently stroked Pansy's shoulders and said with profound sympathy, "Mm-mm, I know. I know everything. You want to be with him so badly, don't you? You've been childhood sweethearts, so why is that vision of spending your lives together simply never realized? You've gone to such painstaking lengths to dress yourself up, hovering around him constantly—why, why won't he ever spare you a second glance..."
The words struck a deep chord in Pansy's heart. Her eyes grew moist, and the grievances she had harbored for so long suddenly welled up inside her, tears bursting forth like a broken dam. She collapsed to the floor in defeat, her hands clutching frantically at both sides of Iblis's arms like a mortal pleading for a miracle from the gods.
"I... I've tried so hard..."
"Confess to me, child. Weep to me. Release your anger and bitterness upon this world. You deserve this."
Iblis's words fell like the blade of a scythe, severing the last threads of Pansy's reason. She lay sprawling on the floor, wailing hysterically like a roaring beast. Everyone around them scrambled backward to clear a path.
As the chief culprit behind it all, Iblis stroked her long hair, flashed a wicked smile at Pansy, and strolled away down the cleared pathway. "Those with narrow minds are always utterly ridiculous."
Harry stared blankly as the girl walked away at a leisurely pace. What on earth had just happened?
When Harry and Ron arrived at the Great Hall, they spotted the white-haired girl once again. She sat alone at the Slytherin long table, and no one was willing to sit anywhere near her.
"Hey, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up, or all the good food will be taken by the others." Ron pulled Harry along toward the Gryffindor table. Harry cast one more glance at the girl, who was happily enjoying her meal, then nodded and followed Ron away.
"Tell me about the four houses again. Why did you say people from Slytherin are so awful? Except for that obnoxious Malfoy, the others seem all right to me."
After finishing her meal, Iblis rubbed her rounded belly, stretched lazily with a look of pure bliss, and then suddenly remembered something. She called out into the surrounding empty space.
"Wenwen, come out." Seeing no response, Iblis put on an angry expression. "I haven't forgiven you yet for tricking me this morning."
With a soft "pop," Wenwen appeared before Iblis with her head bowed. Large tears welled up in her big eyes, and she grabbed a candlestick from the table, repeatedly bashing herself in the head with it in an attempt to punish herself.
"Wenwen hurt the young wizard! Wenwen doesn't deserve the Miss Wizard's forgiveness! Wenwen must punish herself!"
Iblis watched with a hint of puzzlement, but made no move to stop her, observing the scene with the detached curiosity of a spectator.
"Hehe, what's this? Is this some sort of unique hobby of yours?"
"Wenwen... made a mistake. The wizard is unhappy, so the house-elf must be punished..."
The girl narrowed her eyes, muttering the words "house-elf" under her breath. "Sorry, I wasn't aware you had such peculiar new rules. Please, go ahead. But since I'm feeling happy now, could you stop for a moment and listen to me?"
"The Miss Wizard isn't angry with Wenwen anymore? That's wonderful!"
Iblis nodded. "Could you get me another first-year timetable? The one from this morning wasn't mine."
"Oh, of course, it's my absolute pleasure! Anything to help the young wizard!" Wenwen vanished in an instant, and before long, she reappeared holding a piece of parchment.
Instead of taking the parchment handed to her, Iblis looked closely at Wenwen. "When you help wizards like this now, what do you get in return? Money? Food?"
Wenwen waved her hands frantically, as if committing a grievous sin. "No, how could we? House-elves exist solely to serve wizards. We fulfill all of a wizard's requests unconditionally; we serve all wizards with absolute loyalty."
"What a terrible bargain. Still, it's not my place to interfere." Iblis took the parchment, hesitated for a moment, and then averted her gaze. "Thank you, elf. You've been a big help."
Watching the tearfully grateful Wenwen scurry away, Iblis turned her attention to the schedule. "Herbology, Charms, and Potions... Hmph, piece of cake."