Arrival at Hogwarts

"Whoo... whoo... whoo..."

With the alarm's shrill ringing, Jon woke from his sleep.

It was now 7:10 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, and the sky had already grown almost completely dark. Jon quickly took Hogwarts' Black Robe from his trunk and put it on.

"The train will arrive at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; we will deliver it to the school for you." A voice echoed through the train.

That was good news. He would not have to haul such heavy luggage all the way to the school himself.

The train slowed down, then finally came to a stop.

Jon squeezed toward the exit. The passengers shoved and jostled one another as they poured through the doors onto a tiny, dark platform.

"First-years! First-years, this way!" a booming voice called from ahead.

Jon spotted a conspicuous giant of a man amid the crowd. His face was almost entirely hidden beneath a mass of tangled long hair and a thick, knotted beard, though his beetle-black eyes could still be seen gleaming beneath it.

"I'm Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts!" The bearded giant smiled down over the sea of heads. "Come on, follow me. Any more first-years?"

"Watch your step! All right, first-years, follow me!"

Although most of the first-years followed behind Hagrid, they all kept a certain distance from him because of his enormous build and fierce-looking face.

Jon, however, followed directly behind Hagrid without reservation. He knew perfectly well that although Hagrid looked rather intimidating, he was a genuinely good person through and through.

Beside Jon was a very strange girl. She had messy, waist-length white hair, extremely pale eyebrows, and bulging eyes.

"What a wonderful journey, isn't it?" she said with a look of rapt fascination.

"Yeah!" Jon nodded, though he had no idea what was so wonderful about it.

Following Hagrid, they slipped and stumbled their way down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path.

"Round this bend, and you'll get your first sight of Hogwarts!" Hagrid called back.

At the end of the narrow path, a black lake suddenly spread out before them. Almost everyone gasped in wonder, including Jon, despite having been somewhat prepared for it.

"There—that's Hogwarts!" Hagrid shouted, pointing across the lake.

A majestic castle stood atop the high hillside on the far shore. Spires rose all over it, and windows glittered beneath the starry sky.

"No more than four to a boat!" Hagrid called loudly, pointing at the line of small boats moored along the shore.

Jon climbed into one of the boats. The strange white-haired girl did as well, along with two unfamiliar boys.

"Everyone aboard?" Hagrid shouted. He had a boat to himself. "Then off we go!" The little fleet immediately glided across the mirror-smooth lake.

This was probably some kind of ritual for Hogwarts newcomers, Jon mused as he rowed.

The four Founders of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin had arrived at Hogwarts by boat; that was why every new Hogwarts student had to retrace this route.

The boats carried them through a curtain of ivy draped over the cliffs and into a hidden, open entrance.

They followed a pitch-black tunnel that seemed to lead beneath the castle, eventually arriving at something like an underground dock. Then they climbed onto ground covered with gravel and small pebbles.

By the light of Hagrid's lantern, everyone climbed a flight of stone steps and gathered before a huge oak door.

Hagrid raised a battered pink umbrella and knocked three times on the castle gates.

The doors opened swiftly.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Hagrid smiled and winked at the little wizards behind him before continuing to lead the way.

Ahead of them stood a stone wall surrounded by blazing torches. The ceiling was so high that its top was nearly invisible, while directly before them was a grand marble staircase leading upstairs.

"Jon!" A small hand tugged at the back of Jon's robe.

"What is it?" Hearing that familiar voice, Jon turned around and said calmly, "Miss Greengrass!"

Under the torchlight, Astoria Greengrass's face looked even paler than it had during the day.

At that stiff form of address, her hand seemed to tremble slightly.

Astoria said softly, "Daphne... she really... she absolutely didn't mean to call you a Mudblood. She just..."

"She just let it slip?" There was not a trace of sympathy in Jon's voice. "Perhaps that's what you call us every day at home, and today, in a moment of anger, you accidentally let it slip in front of everyone?"

"No... that's not it..."

Astoria still wanted to explain herself.

But a loud shout from Hagrid ahead interrupted their conversation:

"Professor Snape, what are you doing here?"

A middle-aged man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin emerged from a small room off to the side.

Jon suddenly felt Professor Severus Snape's gaze locking firmly onto him, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

Snape had just come through a door very close to where Jon stood. He might even have heard Jon's conversation with Astoria.

Severus Snape stopped less than a yard away from Jon and said slowly, "I heard from Barrow that an exceedingly precious Whomping Willow appears to have been damaged by something. I was just about to take a look."

"Right!" Hagrid nodded. "I'm taking the first-years to the Sorting Ceremony!"

With that, Hagrid continued onward, and Jon quickly followed with his head lowered.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he felt Snape's gaze fixed on the back of his head until he disappeared from the man's sight.

Hagrid led them into a small, empty room. The young wizards crowded in all at once, packed shoulder to shoulder as they nervously scrutinized everything around them.

Professor Minerva McGonagall, dressed in an emerald-green robe, was waiting for them there.

"The first-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. Leave them to me now."