The Classic Scene Arrives!

Chu Yao's infusion of spiritual power had been gentle and brief, and had long since dissipated. The optimized route was temporary, and the boat itself had not changed.

Professor McGonagall found nothing unusual, leaving all the words of reprimand she had prepared stuck in her throat. Her expression grew even more severe.

She had no choice but to take a deep breath and force down her anger. In a colder tone than usual, she said to Chu Yao and the others, "Since you've arrived early, follow me. Once everyone else gets here, we'll go in together."

Her stern gaze lingered on Chu Yao in particular for a moment.

There was no evidence, so she couldn't punish her.

But this way of doing things... reckless, outrageous, heedless of established rules...

I'm almost certain this child is definitely a... Gryffindor!

Chu Yao obediently followed Professor McGonagall and waited at the castle's grand entrance with the other young wizards, who were still shaken.

She gazed at the magnificent castle beneath the starry sky, feeling nothing in particular. She even felt a little tempted to try entering through a tower window on her flying sword, to see which one would be most convenient.

Once all the first-years had arrived, they gathered in the magnificent Entrance Hall of Hogwarts Castle.

The Entrance Hall was vast, with blazing torches along the stone walls and a ceiling so high it was almost impossible to see. A lavish Marble Staircase led upstairs.

Professor McGonagall stood before the first-years in emerald-green robes, her expression impeccably composed. Her gaze was as stern and sharp as her character.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Her voice echoed clearly through the Entrance Hall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, you must first be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting Ceremony is very important, because while you are here, your House will be like your home at Hogwarts. You will have classes with the other students in your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend your free time in your House common room."

She introduced the four Houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, and stressed the importance of House Points.

"Good behavior will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose points for your House. At the end of the school year, the House with the most points will win the House Cup, a very great honor."

As Professor McGonagall spoke, Chu Yao stood quietly among the first-years, observing the magical surroundings with great interest.

Moving portraits whispered in their frames, and a few pearly white ghosts occasionally drifted past.

Hmm, the atmosphere is spot on.

Compared to the entrance to our Ten Thousand Swords Sect, it looks... a lot flashier.

The House Cup?

It really sounds more and more like a budget version of a sect tournament?

During the brief wait to enter the Great Hall, a small commotion broke out among the crowd.

A boy with pale blond hair and a pale, pointed face strutted up to Harry and Ron, accompanied by two enormous followers who looked rather dim-witted.

Chu Yao recognized him as Draco Malfoy.

She had no intention of getting involved in the children's first confrontation, and even considerately took a small step aside, leaving them plenty of room to "perform."

Here comes the classic scene! Time to watch!

I'll just eat melon quietly and won't disturb the plot.

Sure enough, Draco and Harry's conversation did not go well. After Harry explicitly rejected his "friendship," things grew awkward for a moment.

A trace of displeasure and arrogance crossed Draco's pale face, but he apparently had no desire to cause trouble right under Professor McGonagall's nose.

His gaze shifted to the Eastern girl nearby, who had black hair, black eyes, and a distinctive bearing.

He had long since learned from his father Lucius's letters that an exchange student from an ancient Eastern sect would be coming this year, and that her talent was said to be astonishing.

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