Beginning

"Nelson Williams!" Dumbledore shouted from the stage.

Still torn between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, Nelson walked onto the platform under Dumbledore's guidance, sat on the four-legged stool, and placed the battered Sorting Hat on his head.

"Ra—" He was about to speak. He had barely uttered the first syllable when the Sorting Hat had already made its decision.

"Slytherin!"

Applause erupted from a table at the edge. It was the Slytherin table, surrounded by students in Wizard robes with green trim on their collars and cuffs. Silver badges filled with green were pinned to their chests, matching the enormous crest floating above them—a green shield emblazoned with a snake rearing its head and coiling its tail.

Compared to the welcomes from the other three Houses, theirs seemed more reserved and orderly. Nelson was somewhat dazed. His feet carried him toward the Slytherin table, but his heart was full of confusion. He had always considered himself a good person—or at least a clever one—yet he had been assigned to a House that had produced so many infamous evil Wizards. He could not help turning back to see whether the Sorting Hat was still there. He wanted to put it on again and make his own choice... But when he turned around, he saw that Dumbledore had already carried off the hat and stool, leaving the Great Hall. He had been the last student to be sorted.

Nelson turned toward the long table before him. His old friend Tom rose and applauded him with a smile, surrounded by a large group of first-years. His new friend Alphard had already rushed over to hug him, while his sister stood behind Tom, glaring fiercely at her brother's back. When the older students seated at the table saw their final junior approaching, they rose together and applauded in welcome. All of them were smiling. Some faces might not have been handsome or beautiful, and some might not have looked sincere, perhaps even sly, but their welcome at that moment was heartfelt.

Feeling that warmth, Nelson drove the thoughts from his mind and mocked himself. "I call myself morally accomplished, but wasn't that thought just now already judging others through tinted glasses? What right do I have to look down on Slytherin?" Smiling, he hugged the approaching Alphard and patted him on the back before walking to Tom. The two met each other's eyes and shook hands firmly.

"Hello, Williams." A calm female voice cut in.

Nelson looked toward the voice. It belonged to a black-haired girl with a ponytail, who looked sixteen or seventeen. Her skin was pale, her eye sockets deep, and her thin lips were bloodless, giving her an almost harsh appearance. Two Slytherin boys stood behind her.

"Hello." He released Tom's hand and greeted her amicably.

"I am the current Head Girl." She took a badge from one of the boys behind her. "My name is Miranda Goshawk. This is your Slytherin badge. Every Slytherin student must wear it on their chest when in school uniform." She handed the badge to Nelson.

Nelson accepted it and saw that Tom and the first-years beside him each had an identical badge by their plates.

"Thank you."

"Oh, you're welcome." Miranda had turned to leave, but upon hearing that, she turned back. "I hope you enjoy your time in Slytherin."

Then she turned and returned to the head of the table, where she sat down. The chairs on either side of her were somewhat farther away from hers.

"She's a little odd and hard to approach. Everyone's a bit afraid of her." Nelson had just found an empty seat, which Tom had saved for him earlier. There was even a still-warm pie of unknown filling on the plate before him. Tom seemed utterly certain that his friend would end up in the same House. He handed Nelson a glass of corn juice, while Walburga beside them began gossiping. "But she really is outstanding. She ranks first in grades, and she used to be a prefect. She might even become Minister for Magic someday."

"Did she do something? Why be afraid of her?" Tom clinked his Pumpkin Juice against Nelson's and asked disdainfully.

"Not really... People are just afraid of her..." Was it simply because she was difficult to get along with? Nelson looked at Miranda in the distance and wondered. As though sensing someone watching her, Miranda looked up in Nelson's direction. Their gazes met briefly. Nelson raised his glass from afar, and she froze for a moment before lowering her head to continue eating. Nelson noticed that she had put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses. They made her eyes seem less deep-set and softened her features somewhat.

"Creak—" The Great Hall doors opened. Dumbledore set down the Sorting Hat and returned. He walked to the staff table and sat in an empty seat. Nelson watched him and noticed that he was speaking to a cheerful, handsome man beside him, one who was slightly balding and somewhat stout. While talking, the man kept glancing toward the Slytherin table. Their eyes met, and the man nodded at Nelson before resuming his survey of the table.

"Ding—" The old man at the center of the table rang the bell at his side. The hall quickly fell silent, and all the students sat upright, looking at him.

"Welcome!" He braced himself against the table and stood. "A new school year has begun. Welcome to Hogwarts!"

Armando Dippet was the current Headmaster of Hogwarts. He had short silver hair clipped close to his scalp, and his sallow skin was covered in age spots. His hooked nose was high and firm, while his gaze beneath thick black brows was sharp.

"You must admit that being able to study at Hogwarts is your good fortune!" Armando Dippet swept his vulture-like gaze over the Hogwarts students. This old man, who looked as though he had one foot in the grave, carried an air of decisive authority that made him difficult to face directly.

"You are in the safest place in the world, with the finest teachers to impart knowledge to you. You need not risk life and limb like Aurors, fighting the most rampant Dark Wizard leader of the day. Nor do you need to languish in poverty and hunger in some corner of the wizarding world... Hogwarts has given all this to you!"

He coughed twice and continued, "I do not ask that you repay me, your teachers, or Hogwarts in any way. I only ask that during your seven years at Hogwarts, you settle down and learn. Grow up safely within this ivory tower, so that when you can stand on your own, you will be capable of facing the storms beyond the school."

"At present—" He pulled out a sheet of paper and began reading the school rules and other notices. "Given the current circumstances in the wizarding world, and in order to prevent you from suffering harm from Dark Magic, Hogsmeade visits will be open only to fourth-years and above for the next few years. First- and second-years are forbidden from approaching the Forbidden Forest. Those who violate this rule will bear the consequences themselves. Furthermore, magic is forbidden in the corridors..."

The students listened until they were drowsy, but none dared move.

"Nal, I asked around. The man beside Dumbledore is Professor Slughorn, our Head of House. He teaches Potions." Tom glanced at the Headmaster, lowered his head, and whispered to Nelson beside him.

"Professor Slughorn? I thought he'd be a huge fat man..."

"Why? Oh, and Dumbledore teaches Transfiguration. I thought he was really formidable, a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher..."

"...Additionally, the Quidditch pitch will open two weeks after term begins. Teams wishing to reserve the pitch must have their captains fill out an application form, have it signed by their respective Heads of House, and then submit it collectively to the Head Boy and Head Girl..."

The Headmaster's voice drifted over, and the students began to grow restless.

"Finally, I hope you will strictly obey the school rules. The list of prohibited items has been posted outside Mr. Ogg's door... If you violate the rules, once discovered, you will be severely punished."

Armando Dippet noticed that many students' thoughts had already drifted far away. He picked up the bell at his side and rang it again, its crisp chime drawing their souls back.

"Now, let the feast begin." He finished reading the rules and sat down with Dumbledore's support.

The students in the Great Hall erupted in thunderous cheers.

Nelson saw the table before him suddenly become crowded as lavish food appeared on the empty plates. The people around him had already begun wolfing it down. After choosing for quite some time, he placed a plate of sausages and pie before himself.

Before long, the Headmaster seemed somewhat tired. Leaning on his cane, he left the Great Hall. As though someone had flipped a switch, the hall suddenly became lively. The students eagerly conversed, and the teachers chatted among themselves as well. Nelson noticed several furtive silvery-white figures pass through the walls from a corner of the hall and peer at the crowd.

"They're ghosts attached to the castle, a bunch of cowards." Seeing the curious looks in Nelson and Tom's eyes, Walburga explained, "They're not allowed to make contact with students. See that one over there, covered in blood? He used to be one of our seniors."

Looking at all the unfamiliar things in the magical school, Nelson and Tom marveled in amazement, while Alphard had already begun planning which school rule he would break tomorrow.

As the feast drew toward its end, the long tables were covered in a mess of cups and plates. Nelson had learned the full layout of the castle from Walburga, while Tom was surrounded by a group of first- and second-years, becoming the undisputed center of attention at the feast.

"Hello, hello~ Can you hear me?" Dumbledore's booming voice rang out. "I trust everyone has eaten and drunk their fill. Now it is time for the school song."

He took out his Wand and lightly tapped the air above his head. A long golden ribbon floated from the Wand, rising into the starry sky overhead and forming word after word.

"Sing it to whatever tune you like best! Don't worry about anyone else." As Dumbledore spoke, everyone stood and looked at the lyrics above them. Tom looked thoroughly unwilling, as though he planned to muddle through. "Ready, sing!"

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts,

Please teach us knowledge,

Whether we are balding old men

Or children with scraped knees,

Our minds can take in

Some interesting things.

For now our brains are empty, full of air,

Dead flies, and trivial nonsense,

Teach us something of value,

Give back what we have forgotten,

Just do your best, and leave the rest to us,

We will study hard until we turn to dust.

"Nal..."

In the darkness, Tom suddenly called Nelson's name.

"What is it?"

They were lying in their dormitory. After the feast ended, each House's prefect had led the first-years to their respective Common Rooms. They had arrived at a stone wall on one side of the castle, then entered a narrow, low-ceilinged basement where the Black Lake could be seen through the glass. The prefect assigned them their dormitories. Nelson, Tom, and three other first-years—Allen Abbott, Dwight Parkinson, and George Carrow—had been placed in the same room.

"Nothing." Listening to the snores of their other three roommates, Tom fell silent for a moment before answering.