49: Pure-Blood Glory

"What crisis?"

Cho Chang spoke before Ian could.

"Of course, the Sorting test."

The aloof girl's gaze swept over the three of them one by one. "There's a special trial at the school that determines where every student will ultimately belong."

"My family told me about it a few days ago. It's a terrifying experience no one wants to remember." The blonde girl looked utterly serious.

"My dad told me it would be an unforgettable memory for the rest of my life. They're not going to make us fight dragons, are they?" Cho Chang's eyes widened with worry.

Across from them.

Aurora suddenly raised her head.

Her eyes lit up slightly.

She looked eager to try.

"What are you thinking of doing?"

Cho Chang seemed startled by Aurora.

"She wants to fight a dragon."

Ian, who knew exactly what the Sorting was about, could see the anticipation in Aurora's eyes as well. He shook his head and lowered his voice. "Think about it. Dragon materials are incredibly valuable. The school wouldn't be willing to hand them out as benefits."

At that.

Aurora's gaze immediately dimmed.

"?????"

"?????"

The two girls sitting opposite each other exchanged a glance, both falling into a state of disbelief. Were kids their age really so bold that they couldn't tell who was stronger anymore?

That was a dragon!

"Were you born into Muggle families?"

After coming to her senses, the blonde girl could not help blurting out the jab.

"What difference does that make?"

Aurora looked calmly at the blonde girl with her mismatched eyes.

"I'm guessing you were."

The blonde girl's voice grew much colder. She looked Ian and Aurora over with contempt. "Otherwise, you wouldn't say something as absurd as wanting to fight a dragon."

The girl who had merely seemed aloof before was now speaking with unmistakable condescension.

"Looks like you'll be a Slytherin." Aurora did not get angry in the slightest.

She merely offered the comment casually.

"Of course. Remember my name—Daphne Greengrass. My entire family has been in Slytherin. It's the finest House in all of Hogwarts."

"One day, I'll achieve things you could never hope to reach."

The blonde girl saw Ian pull a small metal box from his suitcase.

"What are you doing?"

Daphne frowned at Ian.

"Please, keep going. Don't mind me at all. I want to learn more about the school too, seeing as I'm only a Muggle-born orphan." Ian sighed as he pressed the button on the device.

"So you're a Mudblood."

Daphne's voice became even more contemptuous.

"People like you will never be sorted into Slytherin. Only glorious pure-bloods gather there. Perhaps only Hufflepuff would be kind enough to take you in."

Clearly.

She was one of the pure-blood supremacists that were not uncommon in the Wizarding World.

"Uh... Greengrass, you shouldn't call our classmates that." Cho Chang frowned as she tried to persuade her, but Daphne clearly could not care less.

"I'm simply stating the facts. I'm not as hypocritical as you, pretending they're the same kind as us." Daphne's words grew harsher and harsher.

She even drew the wand she was holding farther back, as though she did not want Ian or Aurora touching even a trace of its light. Cho Chang's expression became awkward as well.

"That's only your opinion."

Cho Chang was angered by Daphne's remarks too.

"Yes, we really aren't the same kind."

Aurora had been listening calmly the entire time. She turned to Ian, who was staring at her hands to see whether she had reached for her wand.

"You needn't worry. I am not incapable of tolerating such a situation."

The German Girl sighed helplessly.

She felt that her friend might have misunderstood her quite a bit.

"Then you're better than me."

Ian put the little device back into his suitcase. Seeing that Daphne had moved away the Light Source he had been leeching off, he could only pull out his Elder Wand.

The Black Lake was far too dark at night.

"What are you going to do?"

Aurora reacted even more strongly than Ian did. She grabbed the arm holding his wand. Her mismatched eyes carried a rare hint of nervousness.

"Hah, do you want to duel?"

Daphne stared at the wand in Ian's hand as well, but her eyes were full of disdain. Seeing this, Cho Chang hurriedly began urging the two of them to stay calm.

"I'm not the one getting carried away, and I'm not interested in childish make-believe duels either." Ian shook his head helplessly.

He only wanted to light up the area around them.

The glow from Daphne's wand was barely bigger than a sesame seed.

"Lumos!"

As Ian spoke the incantation.

Light erupted.

A brilliant white radiance swept through the scattered pinpricks of light around them with overwhelming force. Like a blazing sun rising into the sky, it illuminated more than half the lake surrounding their boat.

"What's going on over there!?"

"My God! What a bright Lumos Charm!"

"Merlin's beard! I haven't even learned Wingardium Leviosa yet!"

Voices rose one after another from the various boats. Even Hagrid, who was leading the way, could not help turning around to stare at Ian's boat in utter astonishment.

"How is that possible! A mere Mudblood!!"

Daphne's eyes were dazzled by the sudden burst of light. She raised a hand in front of them while crying out in disbelief.

"Nothing's impossible. If you're bad at it, practice more." As Ian sat back down, he noticed that Aurora had somehow already turned her head toward the outside of the boat.

The light had not reached her eyes.

"How do you have such powerful magic!"

Cho Chang, struggling to adjust to the intense light, was surprised by something rather different from most people.

She was more concerned about the spell's power.

"Obviously, because the Four Founders just bestowed their blessing upon me."

Ian started talking nonsense with a straight face again.

"..."

Cho Chang was speechless.

Daphne, seated beside her, looked awful, yet she did not dare make any more provocative remarks. She might have been a pure-blood supremacist, but she was not an idiot who lost her mind whenever she got worked up.

He's just a Mudblood who secretly studied magic! Once school starts, I'll surpass him soon enough! Even so, Daphne's heart remained full of resentment.

The little incident left the atmosphere on the boat somewhat strange.

Once they had adjusted to the glow from Ian's wand, though, it no longer felt so blinding.

Ian and Cho Chang spoke from time to time, but while Aurora remained quietly at ease, watching the sights in the lake, Daphne felt like days were years.

"Why haven't we reached the school yet!"

As she waited for it so eagerly.

The boat finally arrived on the opposite shore of the Black Lake.

"Everyone, follow me!"

Hagrid carried his Oil Lamp and continued leading the way. A gravel path wound toward the Ancient Castle's gates, and he led the Young Wizards up the stone Steps before the castle.

"That Lumos Charm just now came from their boat."

"Was it that handsome boy?"

"I think it was Daphne Greengrass. My dad said she's amazing."

Although she had escaped the confines of the boat, Daphne Greengrass's torment was clearly far from over. The discussions around her made her want to turn around and go home.

"Professor Snape, why are you here?" Hagrid knocked open the doors with his red umbrella, only to find that the person waiting inside was not the usual Professor McGonagall.

"Do you think I'm unqualified to welcome the new students?" The black-robed man with greasy black hair and a hooked nose let out a cold laugh. His gloomy appearance frightened many of the Young Wizards into stopping their whispers.

"Of course not. Then these first-year Young Wizards are in your hands." Hagrid scratched his head in confusion, then left the castle with a puzzled expression, looking back every few steps.

"If you don't want to carry your things home and get out right now, shut your mouths and follow behind me." Snape's gaze lingered on Ian and Aurora for roughly three seconds.

Then.

He coolly issued his orders to the Young Wizards.

Perhaps Snape's oppressive presence was simply too frightening. As Snape walked ahead, No One among the Young Wizards following behind him dared to speak.

Everyone felt nervous and uneasy.

Even Aurora seemed slightly uncomfortable—after all, she was still only a little girl.

Perhaps only Ian, who had been spoiled by J.K. Rowling and knew what the Sorting ceremony truly was, had the mood to curiously examine the decorations of Hogwarts's legendary Ancient Castle.

Everywhere was filled with the Traces of time.

It was easy to see that countless students had once studied and played here.

Torches blazed everywhere along the castle's Stone Wall. As they went deeper into the castle, the warmth from those torches drove the chill from the Young Wizards' bodies.

"Creak—"

As Snape pushed open the Great Hall's doors.

The magnificent hall was revealed before the many Young Wizards. Thousands upon thousands of candles floated in midair, making the entire hall as bright as day.

The banners representing the four Houses fluttered faintly overhead. The plates and goblets on the long tables gleamed beneath the brilliant firelight.

What drew everyone's attention most was the hall's ceiling. The black velvet-like ceiling was dotted with stars, just like the remarkably realistic sky above the Black Lake earlier.

"It's beautiful."

Aurora kept staring up at the ceiling.

"Extremely advanced magic was cast here, so it displays the sky outside in real time..." Ian felt as though something was missing at this moment.

"Yes, I read Hogwarts: A History." There it was. Satisfied now that things felt right, Ian turned his gaze toward the raised platform at the front. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick... many professors sat solemnly at the table on the platform, welcoming the new students.

Ian was curious about every one of those professors.

However.

What he was most curious about was the plain four-legged stool, and the pointed wizard's hat atop it that looked somewhat worn and tattered, unnoticed by most people.

The Sorting Hat.

A thousand years of history.

Witnessed by it.

And so many stories... began here.

Thanks for the tips! Thanks for the monthly votes!! Three-thousand-word update!