School's Open? School's Open!

Time flew by, and before long it was early September again, the season for schools to begin their autumn term. The students and staff of Hogwarts had all boarded the Hogwarts Express at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters today, returning to their school, Hogwarts Castle, ready to continue their studies and lives for another semester.

Here in the Hogwarts Great Hall, the entire school had gathered, bustling with lively noise. The chandeliers on the ceiling were lit, their glow brightening the hall. Today was a fine day for the start of the new term, and students from each house had already taken their seats at their respective house tables, sorted by year.

At the front center of the hall stood a small wooden stool, upon which rested a rather shabby-looking wizard's hat. This was a Hogwarts tradition: the Sorting Hat, which every new student must wear before entering the school. It was said to sort students into different houses based on their talents and qualities, and at that moment, it was warbling out a song in a garbled voice.

The hat's singing made Annie, seated at the staff table, curl her lip in disdain. In her view, wasn't this just a permanent enchantment for mind-reading? It was nothing more than peeking into students' thoughts and aptitudes to categorize them, perhaps with some storage functions and a basic lesser intelligence spell? Choosing talents and picking apprentices—why make such a big deal out of it?

The worst part was: its song was hideous! That wasn't music at all! It was noise! Annie hated it! She'd endured it for ages, and it had been singing for so long without finishing! It just wouldn't stop! Annie felt that once her patience reached its limit, she might just cast a permanent Silencing Charm on it—shut that ragged mouth of its forever!

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, stood beside the wooden stool, busily organizing a group of younger-looking students into a neat line. These were clearly this year's first-year Hogwarts newcomers. Once the hat finished its song, they would proceed with the Sorting Ceremony one by one—a very important event! So McGonagall was quietly giving them instructions while maintaining order.

"Hey, Harry! You saw the newspaper I sent you, right? That big thing that happened in our wizarding world recently—what a huge story!" At the second-year table, before the Sorting Ceremony had officially begun, Ron leaned over and whispered mysteriously into Harry's ear.

Just last month, the Gringotts Wizarding Bank incident had shaken the wizarding world both at home and abroad, spreading like wildfire for quite a while! For a long time, it had captured the attention of the entire British wizarding community, with every witch and wizard paying it some heed. According to Ron's dad, Arthur Weasley, even foreign Ministries of Magic had sent official inquiries, trying to get the full story and other specifics.

Thanks to this event, many things that should have happened in the original timeline had changed. Lucius Malfoy had little leisure to plot schemes against Harry Potter, and naturally, there was no renegade house-elf Dobby to stir up trouble. Ron and Harry hadn't ended up flying a car to school and crashing into the Whomping Willow either.

"Newspaper? What newspaper? I didn't see any. What big thing? Has Voldemort come back to life?" Harry looked confused. Aside from Voldemort's resurrection, he couldn't think of any major event worth noting in the wizarding world. Plus, the Sorting Hat in the middle was still loudly singing its awful song, making it hard to hear Ron clearly.

He'd been quite entertained watching the first-years in the center of the hall. Last year, he'd been just like those new students, nervous and miserable, waiting to be sorted while older students stared. Especially when someone maliciously spread a rumor that the Sorting Hat ate people's brains—Harry's feelings back then had been indescribably complicated.

But now, the tables had turned. Harry Potter was sitting in the second-year seats, watching the new students get sorted instead. It was a novel experience. So, mimicking what the older students had done to him, he stared hard at the newcomers, picking out the nervous ones and locking his gaze on them. When they felt his eyes, they grew even more tense, and the more tense they got, the more he stared. Watching their flustered expressions was great fun.

"Don't tell me you actually don't know!" Ron exclaimed in disbelief when he realized Harry seemed genuinely unaware. How could anyone in the wizarding world not know about that? Were you even a wizard? In his shock, he didn't even notice that Harry had just said the Dark Lord's name right in front of him.

He clearly remembered sending Harry a copy of that day's Daily Prophet not long ago—the one that sold like hotcakes! Of course, he'd sent it after his whole family had read it. And now Harry said he didn't know? So where had that newspaper gone? Ron had originally wanted to keep it as a souvenir, but after much thought, he'd reluctantly sent it to Harry out of friendship. And now Harry was telling him he didn't know?!

Ron's loud voice immediately drew annoyed looks from the surrounding Gryffindors. Facing their threatening or warning glares, he awkwardly smiled in apology, then lowered his voice again and leaned close to Harry's ear. "Didn't I send you a Daily Prophet a while back? Where is it now? You didn't get it? That can't be right!"

"Daily Prophet? I didn't see any newspaper over the holidays! Oh, Ron, didn't I tell you? Don't send anything by owl to my Uncle Vernon's house! He bought another double-barreled shotgun last year—he doesn't welcome anything from the wizarding world into his home. He might actually shoot your owl down!" Harry blinked. He really hadn't received anything from the wizarding world all holiday.

Even his pet owl, Hedwig, had been locked in her cage the whole break, without a chance to fly free! If Ron had really sent a newspaper, it must have been confiscated by Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia. It seemed he'd missed out on a lot of interesting things this holiday.

"Of course I remember what you said. Don't worry, I had my dad send it using the Ministry of Magic's official owl. Even if your uncle shoots it down, no big deal—it's not mine, so I won't feel bad if it dies!" Ron waved his hand, unconcerned about having his dad misuse Ministry resources. It was the Ministry's owl, right? If it died, so be it—Ron wouldn't have to pay for it!

"Oh, right! I almost forgot to ask—what big thing happened? You're being all secretive about it. Is Voldemort really back?" Harry remembered that before the holidays, Voldemort was just a ghost. Could he have come back to life in just one summer? That guy sure knew how to stir things up! A true villain, that Voldemort.

"Alright, looks like you really don't know... And please, don't say that name in front of me again!" Hearing the forbidden name, Ron's face paled in fear. He shook his head helplessly at Harry, then glanced cautiously at Hermione, who was sitting stiffly nearby, before leaning in again. "Here's what happened... and then..."

"That can't be right? Robbed, robbed Gringotts Wizarding Bank? How is that possible?!" After hearing the story, Harry's eyes widened behind his glasses, his face full of disbelief. This was even more explosive than Voldemort's return! He quickly turned to Hermione on his other side. "How is this possible?! Hermione! Is what Ron just said true? Were you really involved in that Gringotts thing?"

"Hmph!" Hermione snorted and turned her head away, completely ignoring the two whispering beside her.

She knew exactly what they'd been muttering about—probably badmouthing her again!

Ever since the Gringotts incident, Hermione had grown used to the strange looks and prying questions from those around her. She was already fed up with it.

Worse still, some rumors were getting more and more ridiculous. Listen to them now! Ron was already saying she'd participated in robbing the bank! The truth was, the goblins had robbed her money, hadn't they? If they wanted to know, why didn't they just read the newspaper? Why did they have to ask her?

Hermione had long figured out that the more she said or explained about that incident, the more questions the busybodies would ask. And the more it spread, the more absurd it became! So she'd learned the best way to handle it: coldness and indifference! As long as she didn't respond or acknowledge them, the gossips would naturally back off! Her coldness and disregard were the best weapons against those rumors! Say what you want, ask what you want—she just wouldn't engage! Hmph!

She'd actually been planning to give her two friends a little preview of some exciting new things happening at Hogwarts this year—firsthand news she'd heard in the headmaster's office last month, known to fewer than a dozen people.

But now, she'd changed her mind. She absolutely wouldn't tell those two gossipy jerks anything in advance! Not a single hint! Not after they'd been whispering and making up stories about her!

Ron was right about one thing: Hermione had been a key participant in the Gringotts incident. She'd witnessed the whole thing from start to finish. But she hated anyone asking her about it—she'd been terrified! That incident had become a sore spot, and no one was allowed to touch it. And Harry and Ron had the nerve to discuss it right in front of her! Their friendship boat was about to capsize!

Still, every loss had its gain. After meeting Annie and getting a huge scare, Hermione had also gained something enormous that no one else knew about. The next day, when the Hogwarts trip ended and she learned little Annie had nowhere to go, Hermione had insisted on inviting her to stay at her house for a month! During that month, Hermione not only learned about Annie's background—that she wasn't from this world—but also picked up a lot of magical knowledge from her. This knowledge was something the current wizarding world didn't have, priceless and unattainable for any amount of money.

But actually, after Annie stayed at Hermione's for a month, the happiest person wasn't Hermione or Annie—it was Hermione's irresponsible father, Mr. Granger! Because Mr. Granger was still fretting over the huge box hidden under his bed, stuffed with tens of thousands of Galleons—a happy kind of worry!

Those gold coins were, of course, a gift from Annie! She'd called it a housewarming present for staying with them, and he couldn't refuse! So ever since, Mr. and Mrs. Granger had been debating: was it better to exchange them for pounds at Gringotts, or melt them into gold bars and trade them at a Muggle bank? It was a big question worth studying, and they'd been at it for ages without making up their minds.

"Wow! That's awesome! Alright, Ron, can you tell me more details?" Seeing Hermione ignore him, Harry awkwardly turned back to Ron.

Since Hermione neither denied nor confirmed it, it was probably true! Such a huge, explosive story, and he hadn't known about it first—what a shame! So he wanted to keep asking, to get the finer points.

"Sure! The story goes that..." Ron was about to continue when he noticed the surrounding Gryffindors suddenly stand up and applaud enthusiastically. His twin brothers, in particular, were whistling loudly and waving their hands in cheers.

The Sorting Ceremony had started while they were talking. Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, had been sorted into her dream house, Gryffindor, just as she'd hoped—she was utterly smitten with someone there. It wasn't too surprising, really; the whole Weasley family seemed to be Gryffindors, almost like a genetic trait.

"Harry, let's drop it for now. I'll give you a copy of that day's paper when we get back to the dormitory. I managed to sneak one away when Dad and I went to the Ministry." Since the Sorting had begun, Ron didn't want to miss any details. Besides, the feast was about to start, and he didn't want to waste more time on this topic.

"Alright, don't forget!" Since he could read the original paper after the feast, Harry decided to let it go for now. He quickly stood up and clapped hard for Ron's sister, Ginny.

The Sorting Ceremony continued smoothly. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw each received their share of first-years. As the new students took their seats, Professor McGonagall removed the stool and the Sorting Hat, signaling that the start-of-term feast was about to begin!

At some command, the Hogwarts house-elves cast their magic, instantly covering the house tables with a dazzling array of fine food! The start-of-term feast was always the most lavish meal of the year! So Ron, from a poor family, and Harry, who'd been mistreated by his aunt and uncle all summer, these two kindred spirits immediately grabbed their knives and forks and dug in with gusto.

It wasn't that the usual meals were bad, but you had to understand that different meats had different prices and qualities. Today, they could have beef, lamb legs, and seafood, while on ordinary days, pork chops, potatoes, and bread were good enough! The school's budget wasn't unlimited—it relied on generous donations from benefactors. You couldn't expect lavish spreads every day for free! This was just a magic school, not a free lunchroom for Ministry officials. What kind of treatment did you expect?

The first day of term had to make a good impression on the new students, so it—or holidays—would naturally be more extravagant. It was a matter of Hogwarts' reputation, not to be taken lightly! As for ordinary days? Ahem, you ate what was available. As long as it was nutritious and kept you alive, that was fine.

During the feasting, some observant students noticed something different about the staff table today. Not only were the Hogwarts professors there, but also a strikingly conspicuous little girl with blonde hair, who looked oddly familiar?

On closer inspection, that little girl was none other than the protagonist of the recent Gringotts incident—reportedly the most powerful wizard in magical history! It was said that even Dumbledore or the Dark Lord were no match for her, and this claim seemed well-supported.

According to later analysis in the Daily Prophet, this little girl's combat record was terrifying! In under an hour, she'd taken down twenty to thirty goblin employees, captured or knocked out over a hundred Aurors and Gringotts guards, and even killed an ancient dragon! Neither the Dark Lord nor Dumbledore could boast such a feat, right? Hence the conclusion about her power.

Many Hogwarts students were reluctant to believe it. In their eyes, how could a little girl a few years old be stronger than their most revered and powerful headmaster, Dumbledore? That was clearly impossible—just the editors of the newspaper making things up for attention, surely!

"Harry, pass me that lamb leg next to you, will you?" At the Gryffindor table, Ron was still holding a large lobster, his eyes fixed on the roasted lamb leg beside Harry.

"Oh, sure! Here you go! Can you grab me that crab over there?" Harry's table manners were no better than Ron's! He was gnawing on a big chicken leg himself.

"Thanks!"

Nearby, Hermione, who had been quietly chatting with a female classmate, shot them a sidelong glance from the corner of her eye. Then she subtly shifted her seat to put more distance between them. After an awkward smile at her conversation partner, she pretended not to know them and continued eating her own meal with elegant, unhurried poise.

Luckily, bad table manners didn't cost house points. Hermione thought that if the school rules included a clause about eating etiquette, Harry and Ron would have drained Gryffindor's points dry today! Didn't the word "embarrassment" exist in their heads?

By now, plenty of people must have noticed them, right? One was holding a lamb leg in one hand and a lobster in the other, while the other had a chicken leg and a crab in both hands! It was just dinner—couldn't they show a little restraint and act dignified? No one was going to steal their food! Look at the first-year Ginny sitting across from them—she probably didn't want to acknowledge her brother right now, did she?