Adam had thought he could enjoy some private space by himself all the way to Hogwarts.
But just as he started reading about how to control heat with spells, the door was pulled open again. Hermione stood against the doorframe, slightly out of breath, looking at him awkwardly.
"I forgot to introduce myself earlier... I'm Hermione Granger."
"...I'm Adam Reed. Nice to meet you."
After that abrupt introduction, Adam blinked.
"So, did you find the toad?"
"Oh... not yet. I'm still looking."
Hermione slapped her forehead.
She had introduced herself while talking to those two boys, then suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to introduce herself to Adam. That had been terribly rude.
"I'll keep looking for the toad. You keep reading."
With that, Hermione hurried off again.
"Wasn't this the direction she was searching earlier?"
Kero lifted his head.
"Maybe she didn't finish looking... Want some macarons?"
Adam took out their lunch from his shoulder bag.
"Yes—!"
By the time the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, the Hogwarts Express slowly arrived at its destination.
The students did not need to carry their luggage with them. House-elves would deliver it to their dormitories; they only needed to change into their school uniforms on the train.
"First-years! All first-year students, over here!"
The moment Adam stepped off the train, Hagrid's remarkably penetrating voice reached his ears. The half-giant held up a lantern to draw the new students' attention.
After counting them one by one and finally confirming that every first-year had arrived, Hagrid led them on the journey every Hogwarts student had to experience once upon enrollment.
"I heard it's a Hogwarts tradition. We're retracing the route the founders took when they discovered Hogwarts."
One student whispered to the others, immediately drawing a round of startled exclamations from the surrounding first-years.
"Get in the boats over here!"
At the dock by the Black Lake, Hagrid directed the new students into the boats in groups of four.
"Only four people to a boat!"
Hagrid pulled aside a student who had wanted to see what would happen if a fifth person climbed aboard.
Adam followed the crowd forward when a hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed him.
"Ah! So this is where you were. Come on, that makes exactly four of us!"
It was Hermione. Before Adam could say anything, she had dragged him onto a boat, where a red-haired, freckled boy and a boy wearing round glasses smiled at him.
"...Hello."
Adam gave them an awkward yet polite smile.
"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley, and this is Harry Potter!"
"I'm Adam Reed."
"Hey, don't you know who Harry Potter is?"
Seeing Adam's calm expression, Ron looked utterly astonished.
Of course I do. I even know he'll marry your sister someday.
"Sorry, my parents aren't wizards, so... are you some kind of celebrity in the Wizarding World?"
Adam looked apologetically at Harry. Harry hurriedly stopped Ron and Hermione before they could explain.
"No, it's nothing! I only found out I was a wizard not long ago myself."
"Watch your heads!"
Just then, Hagrid's voice carried over from afar. Ron, Harry, and Hermione obediently ducked, but nothing happened.
"I think he was just talking to himself."
Adam pointed at Hagrid. The three turned to look and saw Hagrid lowering his head to avoid vines hanging down from a bridge—but only someone of his height needed to duck.
The three raised their heads, their faces a little red. Fortunately, it was too dark for anyone to see.
Thanks to that awkward moment, none of them spoke again. Adam turned to look at the castle glowing with lights in the distance.
Although he had resisted coming to Hogwarts before, when he truly saw Hogwarts standing on the high ground, Adam still felt a little excited. Figures he had yet to meet but already knew intimately seemed to flash before his eyes.
Sorry, Grandma. I think Hogwarts is the best magic school in the world too.
The boats finally stopped at the dock beside Hogwarts. The new students disembarked one by one and followed Hagrid along a winding path toward Hogwarts Castle.
The castle doors were even larger than Adam had imagined. Hagrid raised a hand as broad as a fan and knocked on them several times. Before long, the doors opened, revealing a figure in deep green robes.
Professor McGonagall, who can turn into a kitty!
Adam, who was actually a secret lover of all things fluffy, kept his expression straight, but inwardly he was already crying out. Beneath his sleeves, his hands began to itch with anticipation.
If he remembered correctly, Professor McGonagall's Animagus form was a tabby cat with markings around its eyes resembling square spectacles!
Professor McGonagall had no idea that one of the first-years before her was entertaining such wildly improper thoughts. She swept her gaze over them to confirm their number, then nodded to Hagrid.
"Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid. I'll take it from here."
After letting Hagrid go ahead, Professor McGonagall led the first-years down another route to the entrance hall outside the Great Hall.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, children. In a moment, you will pass through these doors and have dinner with your fellow students. But before that, you must undergo the Sorting Ceremony, which will determine which House you enter."
As soon as she finished speaking, the students eagerly awaiting their sorting immediately exchanged looks.
Were they about to face dragons, trolls, banshees, vampires... ?
One look at the first-years' expressions told Professor McGonagall what they were thinking. After all, she had gone through the same thing herself.
She gave a slight cough to draw their attention back. Once everyone had quieted down, she continued explaining the arrangements.
Yes, she did not tell the new students the specific procedure of the upcoming Sorting Ceremony.
"The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few minutes. I suggest you tidy yourselves up while you wait. You will be sorted in front of the entire school."
With those final words, Professor McGonagall turned and left.
"It's over, I'm not ready yet!"
One student clutched his head in agony.
"How am I supposed to last three minutes in front of a dragon?"
"What? Aren't we supposed to find a mermaid's treasure in the Black Lake?"
Another student pulled a bottle from his pocket in confusion.
"I even brought Gillyweed on purpose..."
"But my mother said it was..."
"My father said..."
"My brother said..."
"Ah! What's that?!"
At a shriek louder than all the other voices, the first-years turned to see a group of pale ghosts whispering among themselves as they floated through the air, then passed through the wall and vanished.
"Could it be that the Sorting Ceremony is different every year, and this year... we have to deal with ghosts?"
Adam stroked his chin and offered his opinion.
As soon as he spoke, the entrance hall fell silent for several seconds, followed by the sound of everyone swallowing in unison.
It seemed as though the passing ghosts had carried away much of the warmth in the entire entrance hall. Some students turned pale, while others trembled slightly.
"Everything is ready now. Form a single line and follow me."
Professor McGonagall's return seemed to bring warmth back into the entrance hall. She looked somewhat puzzled at the pale-faced first-years, but in the end merely guessed that some parent had gone too far with a joke and frightened the others.
Passing through the doors of the Great Hall and walking down the aisle between the four long tables, Adam swiftly glanced at the dishes on either side.
Roast beef, roast sausages, roast pumpkin, roast potatoes, steak, lamb chops, roast chicken, bread, chips, Cornish pasties, yorkshire pudding...
As the son of a family that owned multiple restaurants, Adam only needed one glance for the name and method of every dish to naturally surface in his mind.
Hmm... At least it looks good. There's nothing like stargazing pie here. The question is how it tastes. Hopefully, the House-elves' cooking won't disappoint him.
Before you continue