After dinner, led by the prefects, they walked through a narrow corridor and arrived at the Hogwarts dungeon. The air inside was damp and somewhat chilly. At regular intervals along the stone walls hung exquisite copper-trimmed torches that lit up automatically as people passed.
The Slytherin common room was located in the ancient dungeons. Walking through a labyrinth of stone-walled corridors with numerous branching paths, they stopped before a blank, bare stone wall.
"The password is pure-blood. I hope you will all remember it," said the sixth-year prefect, Trelawney Alex, his gaze sweeping over the new students and lingering briefly on Severus and Camelia. "It changes every two weeks, and the new one will be posted on the bulletin board. Finally, I imagine you wouldn't want to find out the consequences of giving the password to members of other houses, or of tarnishing the honor of Slytherin."
With that, he spoke the password and led the way through the doorway that materialized in the stone wall.
The common room was a long, narrow underground room with rough stone walls, from which green lamps hung by iron chains from the ceiling. It was furnished with deep green and black tufted leather low-backed sofas, dark green carved armchairs, and dark green wooden cabinets. Tapestries along the walls depicted the medieval adventures of Slytherins, and a fire crackled in a grand hearth framed by carved serpents. A huge silver-and-green rug lay in the center of the room. Opposite the entrance stood a majestic staircase, and the room extended beneath the lake, featuring three tall windows on one wall that looked out into the underwater scene, where indistinct aquatic creatures swam slowly past. The entire space was bathed in the eerie, glowing green of the lake bottom.
On the sofa right in the center of the room, a young man with platinum-blond hair sat with his legs crossed elegantly, arms folded across his chest, watching them approach with keen interest. Standing protectively behind him were two tall, hulking bruins, while to his right sat an elegant young blonde woman. The rest of the crowd clustered around them on the flanking sofas.
"Good work, Trelawney," the young man said offhandedly, signaling him to proceed with the next order of business.
"Everyone, go to your dormitories now. The boys' rooms are on the left, and the girls' are on the right. Your nameplates will be on the doors. Tomorrow I will lead you from here to your classrooms, and I hope no one is late," Trelawney Alex announced.
Following the crowd, Camelia walked down the corridor of the girls' dormitory. She stopped in front of a door, looking at her nameplate and her familiar old trunk resting beside the threshold.
Libby strolled leisurely up to the door. "I'm not used to sharing a room with others. I imagine you'd be willing to sleep in that room over there, wouldn't you?" she said with a malicious smirk, pointing slowly toward the far end of the corridor.
Camelia pulled the Wand from her sleeve, lunged forward to grab Libby by the collar, and pressed the tip of the Wand hard against her carotid artery.
"Do you think my Wand could pierce your throat?" Camelia asked coldly, her dark purple eyes fixed on Libby, filled with a dangerous gleam.
Though Camelia was slightly shorter than Libby, it did nothing to lessen the oppressive force as she pinned Libby against the door, glaring down at her.
"I have nothing to lose. What could killing you possibly cost me?" she said calmly, though her eyes held a trace of madness.
With that, she pressed the Wand even harder against Libby's neck. Terrified, Libby tried to shove the Wand away from her throat, only to find it immovable.
Camelia gave a faint smile, shoved Libby aside, bent down to pick up her trunk, pushed the door open, and stepped into the room.
The room was decorated entirely in shades of green and silver. On both the left and right sides stood silver-and-green beds with ornate curtains and intricately carved wooden frames, alongside bookshelves and desks that possessed an antique, historic feel.
Directly opposite the door was a massive floor-to-ceiling window connecting the floor to the ceiling. Green light fixtures glowed quietly from the overhead, and the ghostly green of the lake cast an eerie, emerald hue through the glass pane and into the room.
Ignoring Libby entirely, Camelia went about unpacking her things, washed up, and climbed into bed to sleep peacefully.