Sorting

Once everyone was seated, Kyle closed the carriage door, and the carriage began to sway and bump along, albeit slowly, quickly falling far behind the other carriages.

Kyle noticed that the Thestral pulling the carriage turned its head in confusion, looking at the carriage behind it. Its head, which resembled Dragon, seemed to be covered with question marks.

Kyle was able to see this Fantastic Beasts ever since Quirrell turned to ashes in front of him.

The Thestral carefully examined the carriage, and only after confirming that it was no different from before did it snort and continue walking forward.

Inside the carriage, Kyle had already briefly recounted what had happened to Kanna and the others, including what Lupin had said to him.

"No wonder..." Cedric stroked his chin and said, "Professor Lupin not only didn't stop you from selling those things, but he also helped you maintain order."

It seems he also knows that Dementor will be stationed at the school from now on.

If badges really do have this effect, then it would indeed be a good thing for most students.

"Wait, what did you just say?" George suddenly interrupted him, "Dementor ...going to school?"

His voice was somewhat shrill.

"Yes, didn't Percy tell you before?" Cedric nodded. "He mentioned it in the Prefect's box."

The professor asked us to reassure the students as much as possible, especially the first-year students, and to find ways to help them overcome their fear.

"Are we going to have class with Dementor next?" Ginny's face grew paler and paler.

She still vividly remembers the bone-chilling cold that the Dementor brought when they entered the box.

If they were in a classroom, they probably wouldn't even be able to pick up a quill pen, let alone listen to the professor's lecture.

"Of course not." Cedric quickly waved his hand and explained, "They will only guard each entrance to the school, they won't enter the castle."

The others were then relieved.

Qiu glared at him, annoyed. "Remember to get to the point first next time."

Fred and George chimed in, criticizing Cedric.

They were just about to turn around and go home, since a castle with Dementor was destined to be utterly boring, and staying there would be a waste of time.

Seeing that everyone else looked indignant, Cedric realized that there was something wrong with his statement just now, and quickly lowered his head to admit his mistake.

It seemed to be to confirm his words.

As the carriage swayed and rattled toward the school gate, they saw two more hooded, sinister-looking Dementor, one on each side, standing guard at the entrance.

As we passed them, a chill suddenly ran through the carriage.

This feeling only gradually dissipated as the carriage passed through the middle of the gate and sped up the ramp leading to the castle.

A few minutes later, the carriage finally came to a stop.

Kyle was the last to get out of the carriage, restoring the interior to its original state. He then took out a bag of Murtlap jerky and fed it to the Thestral, who was pulling the carriage and panting heavily.

Consider this his overtime pay.

Pulling eight people at once is a big job for Thestral.

They were the last group; everyone else had already entered the castle. Hagrid's tall figure could still be vaguely seen on the path not far away.

"The new students are arriving," Kyle said. "Let's go in quickly."

The group stepped onto the stone steps and quickened their pace towards the castle.

Professor Sprout stood at the door and closed the castle gates after they entered.

"Remember to hurry next time," she said casually. "Hurry to the Great Hall, the opening banquet is about to start."

To the right, the Great Hall door was open, and above the enchanted ceiling was a dark, overcast sky, which looked somewhat oppressive.

It seems that, except for the first year, the weather was always bad during the opening banquet every time after that.

The group parted ways at the entrance of the Great Hall and headed to their respective college's long tables.

Soon, the new students arrived and entered the Great Hall under the guidance of Professor Sprout.

As before, the Sorting Hat was placed on the triangular stool by Professor Flitwick, and then he began to sing the song he had spent a year writing.

This time he chose the style of country music, and paired it with those strange lyrics, it turned out surprisingly well.

It's just that not many people were listening.

The Dementor became the hottest topic, with almost everyone discussing what happened on the train.

"Kyle, is it true?"

When the Sorting Hat finished its song and the sorting began, Mikel leaned in and asked curiously, "They all say you chased away the Dementor in the car and saved Harry Potter in the process."

"Drive away the Dementor? Who told you that?"

"Susan Bones."

Mikel said, "She said she saw you use your wand to force the Dementor against the car window, and then go to Potter's compartment after Harry Potter passed out, and then he woke up."

Kyle remembered that Susan Bones was also Hufflepuff, in the same year as Harry and the others. She was a girl who loved to join in the fun and had an exceptional ability to gather information.

If you ask her questions related to exams, she might not know the answer, or might not even know anything at all. But if you ask her who argued with whom, or who was punished by the professor with detention for making a mistake... she knows it all, and could talk for two hours without repeating herself.

Kyle estimated that when he tried to drive away the Dementor, she was probably in a nearby box and happened to see it.

"No, that's not true." He shook his head and explained, "The Dementor left the train after completing their mission, and Harry was saved by the newly appointed Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It has nothing to do with me."

"I see."

Mikel looked somewhat disappointed. "What a pity. If you had driven away the Dementor and saved Harry Potter, you might have received another Order of Merlin."

"If only that were true," Kyle said with a smile. "Besides, earning the Order of Merlin isn't so easy."

"At least fifty points," Mikel said.

Kyle shrugged; he didn't think so.

The Dementor ' search of Black on the train was an order from the Ministry of Magic. If he were driven away, forget about getting extra credit... he'd be lucky if he didn't get into trouble with the Ministry of Magic.

Hufflepuff!

Just then, the sound of the Sorting Hat came from all around.

The first freshman was assigned to Hufflepuff.

Kyle and the others clapped, and Mikel stood up to warmly welcome the slightly shy freshman.

Perhaps the Sorting Hat knew about what happened on the train and wanted the students to enjoy a sumptuous dinner as soon as possible, because this year's Sorting went exceptionally smoothly and was over in less than half an hour.

On average, each person only took about twenty seconds, which is quite efficient.

After the last student was sorted into Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick took the Sorting Hat and the triangular stool and left the Great Hall from the side.

Then Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome!"

He smiled at the entire class, the candlelight Winky on his beard. "Welcome back to Hogwarts! I have a few things to tell you, one of which is very important, so I think it's best to say it while you're still sober..."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "Our school has recently received several Dementor. They have been sent by the Ministry of Ministry of Magic on official business, as you probably already know, because they searched the Hogwarts Express."

I must make it clear that while they are present, no one may leave the school without permission, and no tricks, schemes, or disguises will fool the Dementor ..."

When Dumbledore spoke on the stage, the Great Hall was eerily quiet. Many people thought of the two Dementor they had encountered while passing by the school gates.

According to Dumbledore, they would all be there until Black was captured.

Some people suddenly became nervous when they thought about their experience on the train.

"Let's change to a more pleasant topic."

After discussing the Dementor, Dumbledore's expression softened, and he smiled again, saying, "First, Professor Lupin readily agreed to fill the vacancy in Defense Against the Dark Arts..."

"And there's Rubeus Hagrid, who will be replacing Professor Kettleburn, who retired last semester, as your new teacher for the Care of Magical Creatures..."

Because of the Dementor, everyone was worried, and they only clapped their hands perfunctorily at the two new professors introduced by Dumbledore.

For most students, neither of these courses is particularly important, especially Defense Against the Dark Arts... It's all the same whether the professor is there or not, and it doesn't matter who comes to class or read the lectures.

Fortunately, the applause from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor was quite enthusiastic, which prevented the scene from becoming too quiet.

"Hagrid always wanted to be a professor..." Cedric clapped his hands excitedly, "He did it!"

"Yes," Kyle said with a smile.

He looked toward the High Table, where Hagrid was wiping his eyes with a tablecloth.