"Welcome, welcome to Hogwarts, welcome to the new school year." In the silence, Dumbledore said only this. "Before we begin the feast, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
He sat back down.
Everyone began applauding and cheering, and Li Mu gave a token clap as well. But inwardly, he was utterly speechless. Sometimes, he genuinely could not understand Dumbledore's thought process. And apparently, he was not the only one who found it strange.
Across the table, he heard Hannah Abbott clapping as she asked a round-faced little girl beside her, "What is he talking about? Is that some kind of spell?"
The round-faced girl was also a first-year from their intake—her name seemed to be Susan—and she wore the same puzzled expression as she shook her head.
At the same time, he heard a first-year boy named Justin Finch-Fletchley quietly ask an older student beside him, "Diggory, is he insane?"
Hearing the name "Diggory," Li Mu paid closer attention. After all, in Hogwarts: A History, Cedric Diggory was the only Hufflepuff student who had left much of an impression on him. He looked toward the voice and recognized him almost immediately.
This was the person. In Hogwarts: A History, he had represented Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament and had been recognized by the Goblet of Fire as the school's most outstanding student—Harry Potter's selection did not count, since he had been manipulated into cheating his way in.
He was tall and slender, handsome, and neatly dressed. His short hair, streaked with gold and brown, was smooth and impeccably groomed. On the right side of his chest was a badge marking him as a prefect.
Cedric was probably only two years above their class, wasn't he? That meant he had become a prefect in his third year?... Li Mu narrowed his eyes. He could not clearly recall the selection rules for prefects and the student council president at Hogwarts, but he remembered that prefects were generally at least fifth-years. That only further proved how exceptional Cedric was.
"No, Dumbledore is a genius." Cedric smiled as he answered Justin in a gentle tone. "He's the greatest wizard in the world! Though, sometimes he really is a little strange..."
It seemed Dumbledore looked about the same in every prefect's eyes. Li Mu's eyelid twitched. He remembered Percy Weasley having given Dumbledore a similar assessment.
Cedric's voice was soon drowned out by the growing commotion, because exquisite dishes had appeared out of thin air on every long table, followed by all manner of delicious food.
Most of the students immediately turned their attention to the feast. Even the Fat Friar sat upright, staring at the lavish dishes despite being unable to eat as a ghost. Everyone dug in, and the clinking of knives and forks against plates rang out like a pleasant melody.
Li Mu's mouth was stuffed with food as well, leaving him able only to listen in silence rather than join the other students' conversations. His long-term training had always required more energy than an ordinary person's, and after the journey here, he had been starving.
But just as he was about to stuff several more desserts into his mouth, he suddenly felt someone staring directly at him. An odd sensation swept through his entire body. He immediately looked up and scanned his surroundings.
It was not anyone from Hufflepuff... At the Gryffindor table, Hermione and Percy were engaged in an animated conversation, apparently discussing schoolwork, while everyone else was still bent over their food. For no particular reason, he glanced toward the Ravenclaw table several times, but still found nothing.
Li Mu shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. Only then did the strange sensation gradually fade.
When every bit of food had vanished from the plates and the long tables had returned to their original tidy state, Dumbledore cleared his throat, and the Great Hall fell silent once more.
"Now, I would like to remind everyone of a few points. First, students are forbidden from entering the forest on the school grounds!" Dumbledore said. "Second, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind everyone not to use magic in the corridors between classes!"
The greatest White Wizard seemed to possess an extraordinary talent. He barely needed to make any effort; with just a casual opening and closing of his mouth, his voice boomed like a great bell and thunderclap, buzzing in every ear throughout the hall. Once the reminders came from his mouth, it was difficult for the students not to remember them.
Li Mu listened attentively as well.
"Third, Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of this term. Those who wish to sign up should contact Madam Hooch. Fourth, anyone who does not wish to die a painful death should stay out of the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor!... Finally, before everyone goes to bed, let us sing the school song together!"
Sure enough, even the announcements were much the same as in Hogwarts: A History... Seeing the other teachers on the dais suddenly stiffen, Li Mu relaxed a little.
It seemed Hogwarts: A History would not abruptly change course just because he had arrived. Events would probably unfold much like they had in the novels and films—apart from that other foreign student, the little girl named Hinata.
Li Mu could not help sweeping his gaze toward the Ravenclaw table again. By then, everyone had begun standing to sing. He saw Hinata's face was calm, and her mouth moved as well, but she was clearly only making meaningless sounds along with everyone else.
Even Li Mu, who had carefully read books such as Hogwarts: A History, could not remember the lyrics to the Hogwarts school song, much less the other newly enrolled first-years. Most of the first-years were like Hinata, merely moving their mouths to go through the motions.
The older students were not much better. The song apparently had no fixed tune, so all sorts of melodies came from the students' mouths, converging into a bizarre cacophony.
"Oh, God... this song really is..." As the song went on, Ernie Macmillan could no longer resist covering his ears. Amid the singing, he leaned over and whispered to Li Mu. Neither of them knew the Hogwarts school song, so neither had opened their mouths.
Then Macmillan noticed where Li Mu had been looking. "Why do you keep staring over there... Tsk, you probably thought you'd be sorted into Ravenclaw before, didn't you? I've heard that Hogwarts has had some students of East Asian descent over the years, and almost all of them were sorted into Ravenclaw... Especially those of Chinese descent. Their brains really do seem to work better than those of native-born Europeans."
"Mm, I suppose..." Li Mu listened to the lengthy speech and gave a few perfunctory responses. Macmillan was not wrong; Ravenclaw currently had an older Chinese student named Cho Chang.
Right, if the scope extended beyond China to all of East Asia... Hinata seemed to be a name from Japan.
Li Mu was not entirely sure. In this world, he had spent the previous ten years cultivating in the remote mountains and forests. Before crossing over, he had not been particularly interested in Japan either. Even so, he vaguely remembered something.
"Once," there had been a hugely popular Japanese anime, and one of its popular characters seemed to be named Hinata.
Alright, another important character had appeared. Since this was fanfiction—a fanfiction world that had already been written countless times—there should be some fresh differences.
Hinata, in my outline, is a key character who will avoid taking too much spotlight from the original characters while also driving changes in the story.
I promise that the story will always be rooted in the magical world of Harry Potter, but it will not be limited to it. It will only become more and more exciting.
(End of Chapter)
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