While they were talking, Professor Flitwick had already led the new students into the Great Hall.
Cedric looked over the line of new students behind Professor Flitwick, then turned to Albert. "There are far fewer new students this year than usual."
"It can't be helped. Umbridge ruined a lot of Muggle-born wizards. Those who didn't flee in time were thrown into Azkaban, and it wasn't hard to imagine what became of them." Albert spoke of the cruelest things in the calmest tone.
The teachers' table fell into dead silence, because everyone knew that the Muggle-born wizards imprisoned in Azkaban had all died there. It was undoubtedly a heavy subject, one people simply did not want to discuss.
"We have you to thank for preparing in advance and making backup copies of the wizards' birth records. Otherwise, the numbers might have been even lower," Professor Sprout said, steering the conversation away from the grim topic.
Hogwarts was a mess as well. Headmistress McGonagall was not much better off than Kingsley. Her only advantage was probably that she had a few years to slowly sort through the mess.
Their whispers were soon interrupted by the beginning of the Sorting Ceremony. They listened to the Sorting Hat sing another unoriginal new song and watched as the students called by Professor Flitwick stepped forward one by one, placed the Sorting Hat on their heads, and were sent to the long tables of their respective Houses amid its shouts. It gave Albert the strange illusion of returning to those old days.
After learning that he had somehow crossed into the world of Harry Potter, Albert had constantly worked to make himself stronger while secretly plotting to eliminate the big boss, Voldemort, so that he and his family would not be threatened by Dark wizards.
Just