#286 - Green-haired girl

After experiencing that brief but lengthy punishment, the young wizards were as exhausted as dead dogs. Although Hader himself hadn't completed the entire punishment, he felt utterly drained, standing dazedly among the crowd. He remained there until his third-year companions helped him back to his seat.

Following the punishment, Anduin announced the end of the monthly meeting. The rewards previously given to the third years were revoked and given to the second-place fourth years instead, with fourth-year group leader Joey taking the individual top-three spot.

However, no one in Slytherin was reveling in victory. Instead, they felt a sense of relief, as if waking from a nightmare. It was finally over; every minute of this monthly meeting had felt like an eternity.

Hader's lesson had taught the young wizards not to take any chances. From the next day onward, all the young wizards acted as if it were their second day at school, living in constant apprehension.

Hader's transformation was the most significant. He went from being a somewhat cunning boy to a study fanatic, pushing himself relentlessly in both his studies and daily life.

From that day forward, he woke up the earliest, maintained the strictest discipline, and studied the latest, as if he were a completely different person.

Meanwhile, the young wizards in the house began to care about their classmates. Everyone supervised each other daily, ensuring no one violated the rules. They woke each other up in the morning, and anyone who made too much noise or moved too much while eating was immediately reminded.

This extended beyond just their own year; even students from different years within the house would help and supervise each other. After all, breaking the rules now meant trouble for everyone, so the entire Slytherin house seemed harmonious and unusually united.

They had no choice but to be united. If they weren't united and friendly, their Head Boy would help them unite. Hadn't they seen what Hader had become? He was practically a paragon of virtue.

In this state of heightened vigilance, their daily routines and studies gradually evolved into habits.

In reality, many of the rules Anduin had set weren't difficult to follow. They boiled down to housekeeping and etiquette. The initial difficulty stemmed from everyone's ingrained laziness and the significant departure from their long-established routines, making it hard to adapt quickly.

However, after Anduin's forceful correction, the young snakes gradually grew accustomed to a disciplined life. Conversely, as this lifestyle slowly became routine, the young snakes almost became addicted to self-discipline.

After all, appearing neat and tidy, marching in orderly lines, easily created a striking contrast with others.

At first, other houses would mock the Slytherins for being pretentious, but after they maintained this standard for a month or two, they genuinely became proper.

Soon, the young wizards from other houses noticed that the gap between them and Slytherin was widening. This wasn't just reflected in their grades but also in their daily lives.

During meals, there was always a group of people who were silent, polite, and well-mannered. While walking, one would often encounter a group of people arranged in an orderly fashion, greeting everyone they met, all impeccably dressed.

This contrast easily made members of other houses feel crude and impolite, like commoners compared to true noble gentlemen, even causing a slight sense of inferiority in some.

Therefore, Slytherin's persistence had, in turn, influenced many students from other houses.

Two months after the start of the term, many professors noticed subtle changes among the students. They paid more attention to dressing appropriately, the noise and clamor during meals decreased, and, more surprisingly, the young wizards seemed to have become more polite.

This even made the caretaker Filch feel uncomfortable. After all, these students were usually mischievous, but their sudden obedience made him feel like something was missing.

The young snakes of Slytherin also felt this change. They were different from others; they were Slytherin, so this disciplined life, in turn, made them feel immensely proud.

However, not everyone was happy with the changes in Slytherin. Filch soon realized that he seemed to be unemployed, having not caught a student breaking the rules in quite some time.

But Anduin didn't have time to worry about Filch's job status; he was currently dealing with a witch.

Outside Hagrid's hut, Anduin was stroking a cat while overseeing the training of the top three from the first two months. He had sent Ib, Bill, and the others to test samples of tactical equipment nearby. Recently, he had made several product improvements for his alchemy business.

Mainly, he had made some low-end versions of the items in order to reduce costs, and now he wanted to test the functional limits and durability of these items. The development of the magic lathe was progressing smoothly, and he expected to have a prototype ready within the year.

If the lathe could be created ahead of schedule, then his alchemy workshop would hopefully open next year, so product testing was imperative.

However, standing next to Anduin was a low-year witch with a head of bright green, fluffy hair, casually sitting on the fence of his hut, swinging her short legs back and forth.

"So what do you want? You seem to be the Head Boy of Slytherin, so why did you suddenly have Charlie call me, a Hufflepuff witch, over here?" The girl asked unceremoniously, looking at the handsome man holding a Kneazle.

"Tonks, why do you have to dye your hair green? It doesn't look good," Anduin said, staring at her green hair, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. "As for why I called you here, I have something I want to ask you to help with, and it will benefit you as well."

This young witch was none other than Tonks, who had made a deep impression on him at the start of the term. Anduin was very interested in her Metamorphmagus abilities to freely change her appearance. Charlie had also joined the training with Bill after entering school, so he had Charlie help him ask Tonks out to see if he could find an opportunity to study her abilities.

"I'll turn into whatever I want, is that any of your business?" Tonks rolled her eyes at Anduin. "I'm not interested in you Slytherins. You guys drove my mother out of her family back then."

"It was the Black family that had a feud with you. You can't hate the entire house just because they came from Slytherin, and I'm good friends with your house's prefect, Marin Macmillan," Anduin said with a smile, trying to persuade her since he needed her help.