Everyone knows the story of Harry Potter - the Boy Who Lived. But this isn't his story. Caius Mulciber never wanted to live in his father's shadow - nor in the Dark Lord's. Raised on whispered curses and bloodlines, he enters Hogwarts already marked by his name. Yet as the world divides between light and dark, Caius learns that truth is never as simple as the stories told in the Great Hall. When the Chamber of Secrets opens, when Sirius Black escapes, when the Dark Mark returns - Caius stands in the corridors, watching, choosing, surviving. And as he learns more about the Boy Who Lived and the war brewing beyond the castle walls, he must decide what kind of wizard he truly wants to become. Because sometimes, the darkest house hides the brightest mind. And sometimes, Slytherin loyalty means defying everything you were born to be. "Not all snakes follow the Dark Lord. Some learn to shed their skin."