Chapter 21: Orcs Will Never Be Slaves

Allen looked at Professor Snape with hopeful eyes.

Professor Snape paused, staring at him with the look one reserves for the intellectually disabled, but Allen interpreted it as affectionate encouragement.

Could this be encouragement to shout louder? The professor’s requirements are truly high! Allen continued imagining.

Then just shout it! No one else is here anyway. Allen raised his right hand high and yelled:

“Orcs will never be slaves!”

Professor Snape continued to gaze at Allen with that same “affectionate” look.

Is it still wrong? Right—Grommash Hellscream shouts while holding Bloodthirster. I don’t even have a Bloodthirster!

Allen looked around and quickly spotted his target—a stirring rod.

He grabbed the rod, raised it high, and roared again:

“Orcs will never be slaves!”

Then he fixed his gaze on Professor Snape, thinking: This must work now! Surely he’ll accept the password now!

Professor Snape sighed deeply, took back the potion cup from Allen’s hand, and said wearily: “No one wants to enslave you, ‘orc’! If you don’t want to drink it, then don’t! I’ll inform Dumbledore and Professor McGonagand of your decision—don’t come back to me if your health worsens afterward.”

Snape, unable to maintain his usual slow cadence, spoke rapidly, then turned to leave.

Only then did Allen see the exhaustion in Professor Snape’s eyes.

That exhaustion... didn’t seem fake. And as the professor spoke, he glanced briefly at Allen’s horns—as if assessing whether “orc” was Allen’s self-designation.

Could it be that I’ve been overthinking? Overimagining?

Allen snapped back to reality and rushed after the professor.

“Professor, let me explain—it’s not what you think! I have a mental condition...”

Allen eventually drank the potion Professor Snape offered. Though it tasted like a stinking sock, it felt better than the potions he’d taken at St. Mungo’s—but for some reason, it made him dizzy, his head spinning. He no longer wanted dinner; he just wanted to get back to bed and sleep.

He staggered back to Gryffindor Tower, stood before Fat Lady’s portrait, and couldn’t remember today’s password.

Oh no, my head’s getting foggy! Allen shook his head hard.

“What’s today’s password?” Allen muttered to himself.

“Pigsnout!” came a crisp voice from behind.

Allen turned to see Hermione, holding a book and smiling at him.

“Miss Granger, stop joking—tell me the password.”

“The password is Pigsnout! Pigsnout, sir!” Hermione covered her mouth with her book and giggled.

Allen turned back—the Fat Lady had opened the door. He climbed in with Hermione.

“Thank you, Miss Granger!” Allen said sincerely.

“No need to thank me, Pigsnout!” Hermione replied haughtily, though she seemed slightly annoyed. After a pause, she added, “Aren’t we friends? You could just call me Hermione.”

“Ah! Hermione! We are friends already! You can call me Allen too!” Allen replied eagerly—straight men always struggle to refuse a cute girl’s reasonable request.

“Haha, I’m going to keep calling you Pigsnout! It’s so fun!” Hermione beamed.

“Uh... fine, if it makes you happy,” Allen said with a wry smile.

“Allen, you’re an interesting person, even if your two roommates are annoying,” Hermione said, then ran into the girls’ dormitory.

Leaving Allen bewildered.

Why did she run off?

When Allen returned to his dorm, he found himself alone. He washed up quickly, got into bed, and reached for his wand to put it in the bedside drawer—but hesitated.

After drinking the potion, his thoughts were unusually sparse. If my wand talent changes today, maybe the worst-case scenario won’t happen.

But fewer thoughts means true randomness. Allen hesitated—it was like opening a blind box, except the blind box was his own body.

At that moment, Allen recalled his conversation with Dumbledore that day.

Do it. Ollivander.

Allen made up his mind.

But for safety, I’ll sleep naked tonight. Last time my wand talent changed, it ruined my whole set of pajamas. This time I must be careful—I’m growing fast, and I only have a few suits that fit. I can’t afford new ones. I need to be cautious.

Then Allen stripped off all his clothes, crawled under the covers, and gripped his wand tightly in his right hand.

The moment his head touched the pillow, he fell into deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, someone shook him awake. Grumbling, he pulled the blanket around himself and sat up—it was Harry and Ron, both glowing with excitement, their faces flushed red.

“Allen, wake up! We found a secret!” Ron whispered.

Allen mumbled sleepily: “What? Can’t you tell me tomorrow?”

“No, I have to tell you tonight—you don’t know what we found at school today!” Harry chimed in.

“We arranged a duel with Malfoy?” Ron said.

“Huh? Why did you duel him? And why didn’t you tell me?” Allen instantly woke up.

“Uh... we wanted to get back at him for you, so we didn’t tell you,” Ron added.

Allen wanted to protest, but he saw how disheveled Harry and Ron looked—and felt a sudden warmth.

Since that flying lesson, they’d become close friends. When you go through something with someone—especially something everyone knows about—it’s hard not to grow fond of them. Flying class was exactly that moment.

They’d actually fought Malfoy to defend him? Allen felt touched.

Ron continued excitedly: “Then we didn’t meet Malfoy at the spot—we got caught by Filch—and ended up on the fourth-floor corridor?”

“Fourth-floor corridor? The one Dumbledore explicitly forbade us to enter?” Allen’s heart jumped. “How dare you go in? If you’re caught, you’ll be expelled!”

“Filch chased us into it—we had no choice. But that’s not the point—the point is we saw a three-headed dog.” Ron gestured wildly to show the dog’s size.

“And then?” Allen pressed.

“And then we ran back!” Ron said proudly.

“What’s so exciting about that?” Allen couldn’t understand the mindset of eleven-year-old wizards.

“It’s so cool!” Ron exclaimed.

“We think it’s guarding something—and it might’ve been brought here by Hagrid. We’ve stumbled onto a big secret of Hogwarts,” Harry added eagerly.

Allen had no interest in the dog or the secret. His eyelids drooped, and soon he was asleep again.

Note 1: The password from Chapter 9 of the original first book.