Hogwarts

Hermione had been excitedly talking about the spells in the textbooks the entire time in the Hogwarts carriage. She had plenty of questions to discuss with Ted, along with an excitement she simply could not suppress.

Understandable. If I got to learn magic, I'd be even more excited than she was.

The problem was, she kept asking Harriett, Ron, and Neville—Little Wizards from wizarding families—what spells they had learned at home. Naturally, turning a rat a different color did not count.

Ron: I feel like someone's targeting me!

But clearly, neither Neville nor Ron wanted to discuss that topic. Their faces were filled with the humility and caution unique to poor students.

Jerry was trembling even more.

Harriett, on the other hand, could actually name a few. The Summoning Charm, the Disarming Charm, and so on—things Ted had not touched on yet.

It seemed that under Sirius's instruction, she had learned quite a lot.

Harry had been extremely talented in the original story, and Harriett seemed no worse.

The train swayed leisurely along, nearly rocking everyone to sleep.

They had set out at noon, and even as the sun sank into the west, their destination still seemed impossibly far away.

An express train? This was a fucking sightseeing train! By the time the announcement informed them they had arrived, it was already dark outside.

Harriett and Hermione went out first to give the four boys time to change into their wizard robes. Then they switched.

The train quickly came to a stop, and the six of them lined up and got off.

It was a small, rather shabby station. The night was so dark that they could barely see.

A tremendously tall figure stood in the distance with a lantern, calling out, "All first-years, come over here and follow me!"

He was hard to miss, thanks to his nearly three-meter height and voice like a ringing bell.

"It's Hagrid. Let's go." Harriett clearly knew Hagrid. She led them over in long strides, reaching the front first.

"Oh, Harriett, how are you? And Neville too." Hagrid greeted them "quietly."

After following Hagrid along a narrow path for a while, the view suddenly opened up.

They had reached the lakeshore, where a row of little wooden boats waited for the first-years.

The stones beside Black Lake were covered in moss. Hagrid loudly reminded the newcomers, "Watch your step, everyone. Don't slip."

The moment he finished speaking, two students lost their footing and nearly plunged straight into the lake.

"Four to a boat, no more!"

Harriett and the other three boarded the first boat, while Ted and Hermione got into the second.

Once everyone was aboard, Hagrid shouted, "Off we go!" and the boats began moving in a line.

Each boat had a lamp, but it could only illuminate itself, not much of the surrounding area.

The Black Lake beneath them was like a pitch-black mirror, reflecting the moon and stars overhead without the slightest ripple.

The line of little boats seemed to drift silently through the Milky Way...

The students were so nervous that none of them dared make a sound, complicated emotions stirring in their hearts.

Ted remembered that the enormous Black Lake contained merpeople, though they were rather ugly.

Maybe Fishmen came in different breeds too: yellow ones, white ones, agricultural ones, and so on.

Back in China, they were called jiaoren, and most records described marine varieties.

There was also a giant squid of unknown origin in Black Lake, and squid had no freshwater species.

That meant the lake beside Hogwarts was a saltwater lake in the northern Scottish Highlands.

If Scotland were too far north, there would be nothing left but bare highlands...

So there had to be vast forests, along with castle ruins... Hogwarts was probably somewhere west of Loch Lomond and north of Glasgow.

That also explained how Durmstrang's enormous sailing ship had emerged from the lake during the Triwizard Tournament. Scotland's saltwater lochs were generally huge, long lakes directly connected to the sea rather than inland lakes.

It was hard to imagine Durmstrang's ship passing through those shallow Highland rivers to reach a freshwater lake. It had probably come by sea.

With nothing better to do, Ted let his thoughts wander and began working out Hogwarts's location.

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

"Take a good look. It'll be a memory you'll never forget for the rest of your life," Ted said softly to Hermione.

As they passed the cliff, they caught a hazy glimpse of a castle silhouette in the distance, dotted with lights!

The closer they came, the grander the castle appeared. In the glow of its lights, it was magnificent and majestic.

This was Hogwarts! The best place to raise Dark Lords...

Hermione whispered, "Every class of first-years takes this route. They say it's meant to let us experience the hardships the Hogwarts founders faced when they found the site for the castle."

"Maybe it has another meaning too."

Ted sensed something unusual. A vast Magic Power connected him to the distant castle.

Having new students retrace the path of the Four Founders was probably an ancient Ritual Magic.

By completing the process, it was as though the students signed a contract with the school and became its students.

"Duck your heads!" Hagrid said roughly. His deep, booming voice sounded like an echo from a cave.

The boats approached the cliff face, where a hidden cave lay beneath the steep rock wall. Carrying the students onward, the boats stopped at a dock inside the cavern.

Hagrid raised his lantern high. "Everyone off, off. Stay close to me."

The first-years disembarked and climbed a steep, winding staircase of more than two hundred steps. They arrived at an open plaza surrounded by pillars, with the gates of Hogwarts at the far end.

Hagrid stepped forward and raised a fist the size of a sandbag, pounding on the door. Thump, thump, thump! Judging by the sound, the door was thick enough.

The one who opened it was an ugly bald old man whose receding hairline had reached the top of his head.

If this were the Qing Dynasty a century ago, he would at least have been a beile! "First-years? Leave them to me."

Hagrid gave a snort like a car engine rumbling. "Filch, you'd better be polite to them."

Filch snorted as well, making his disdain clear.

He led the first-years through the gates, muttering as he went, "You'd all better behave yourselves. If I catch any of you making trouble, you'll regret it."

The voice Ted had been waiting for sounded.

Ding~ Mission triggered:

Explore Hogwarts (Red)

This is Hogwarts, the only magical school in Great Britain and one of only three in Europe.

Who knew how many secrets this thousand-year-old school held, waiting for you to explore? What are you waiting for? Discover them, find them, use them!

Woohoo, takeoff~ Objective: Explore Hogwarts.

Progress: 1/100% Reward: 1,000 EXP, +1 skill point, random card.

It must be said: if you don't sneak out at night, it's like you never attended Hogwarts. Did you hear that? Applause!

Filch looked fairly old, but his legs were still strong and he walked quickly.

The Little Wizards were not particularly fit to begin with. First, they had climbed hundreds of twisting steps from the cave beneath the cliff to the main gates. Then Filch had dragged them through a brisk march. Every one of them was panting for breath.

Those with poorer Constitutions were even starting to sweat.

Fortunately, they had arrived. They were brought before another tall wooden door, and Filch left them with a single "Wait here" before walking away without looking back.

The Little Wizards could finally take a break. They began whispering among themselves, discussing what they had just seen.

Then came a series of muffled cries of surprise.

Ted turned to look and saw several milky-white, translucent ghosts pass through the wall.

The first-years immediately became noisy. Some Muggle-born Little Wizards were utterly astonished, and a few even reached out curiously to touch them.

The ghosts were quite friendly and welcomed their arrival.

Ted could not tell which ghost was which.

Then Professor McGonagall pushed open the door and stepped out. Her expression was stern, and after her gaze swept across the crowd, the Little Wizards quieted down.

"Before the start-of-term feast, you must first be assigned to your respective Houses," she said.

"Hogwarts has four Houses. Next, you will be Sorted before the entire school. This is a very important ceremony. I suggest you tidy yourselves up and prepare properly..."

Her gaze lingered on Neville and Ron.

Neville's cloak was slightly crooked, while Ron had a black streak on his nose, probably from their frantic march just now.

The others did not look much better, as though they had fled a famine.

Filch had pulled one over on them on the very first day of school!

Professor McGonagall also spoke about the House Cup and the points system. She seemed to care greatly about honor.

Professor McGonagall returned to the Great Hall, and everyone immediately began discussing things.

Whether Muggle-born or pure-blood, they all looked deeply worried.

As for the Sorting Ceremony, there were all sorts of rumors.

Hermione was so nervous that she had begun reciting textbook knowledge. She was worried there would be an entrance exam during the Sorting Ceremony.

"Don't worry, they won't test you on calculus," Ted teased.

Hermione shot Ted a glare. "Is this really the time...?"

"Please come in," McGonagall said as she returned. She led the students into the Great Hall.

Four long tables stood in the middle of the enormous Great Hall, each surrounded by students of varying ages.

House banners of different colors hung from the surrounding walls: Green Snake, Blue Eagle, Red Lion, and Yellow Badger.

Above them was a transparent ceiling through which they could see the stars simply by looking up.

In a voice so soft it seemed she was afraid of disturbing something, Hermione said, "I read about this in Hogwarts: A Section of School History..."

Ted nodded. That was right—the effect of the Great Hall ceiling was that it looked as though there was no ceiling at all.