After the ghosts, the students and professors of Hogwarts filed into the temple in orderly lines. People spoke to one another in low voices, the sound like a breeze passing over grass, while the cries of the Ravens overhead seemed especially loud.
Only the wizards in blue Ravenclaw robes had no professor leading them. They said nothing, following the other ghosts under the guidance of their new House ghost, Gilderoy Lockhart, and sat together in the seating area prepared specifically for Hogwarts students inside the temple—because Allen had been weakening the conflicts between the Houses, the seats in the temple were not divided by House.
Hufflepuff's Head of House, Professor Pomona Sprout, had never been so neat and clean. Even after the professors had, by rule, changed into ancient-style robes so that her hat no longer had patches, there had truly never been a time when her hem had not been stained with mud.
At the very front of the Slytherin line, Professor Snape had one hand hanging from the sleeve of his robe as though he were holding onto the air. This personal habit he had recently developed made his cloak bulge, making him look even more like an old bat.
Gryffindor's Professor McGonagall was also dressed all in black today. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face deathly pale. This old witch, who had always been known not only for her fairness but also for her strength and courage, had never appeared so fragile before.
Aside from the Heads of House, whether it was Muggle Studies Professor Charity Burbage or Irma Pince, who was in charge of the library, they were also wearing thick black veils that hung down to their knees. She stood beside the school caretaker, Argus Filch, whose entire outfit reflected a wizarding style,