The First Day of School, Then I Died

"Whenever I call your name, come over here, put on the hat, and await your House assignment." The tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes called out names with a solemn expression. "Hannah Abbott!"

The Iron Hat King stumbled out of the first-years' queue and put on the hat. It covered her eyes, instantly making the scene comical.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.

"Susan Bones."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Terry Boot."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Lavender Brown."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Justin Finch-Fletchley."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Hermione Granger."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

As the Sorting Hat shouted from its stool, the voice of a boy whose distinctly Eastern features stood out sharply from everyone around him overlapped almost perfectly with the hat's.

Harry Potter noticed this unusual fellow and asked curiously in a low voice, "Brother, how did you know Hermione would be sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Obviously because she's brave," the Eastern boy answered as if it were only natural.

Harry Potter nodded thoughtfully, then extended a hand and introduced himself. "My name is Harry Potter... You may have heard of my name. It's quite famous in the wizarding world... May I ask what your name is?"

"Third Zhang. You can also call me by my nickname—Siri." The Eastern boy politely shook Harry Potter's hand.

This Eastern boy was named Zhang San, a publicly funded exchange student sent to Hogwarts by Mount Longhu.

Born in the 1980s, Zhang San had the standard orphaned beginning of a Qidian male protagonist. At the age of four, he had been sent to Mount Longhu, where he became fellow disciple to the current Celestial Master. After being granted the surname Zhang by his sect, he was named "Zhang San" because he had been the third among his peers to enter the sect.

This year, 1991, was the first year his eldest martial brother had overseen the affairs of the mansion. To raise the Celestial Masters' Mansion's prestige in the world's cultivation community, his eldest martial brother had dispatched his third direct disciple—Zhang San—to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the oldest magical school in the Western wizarding world, for exchange studies.

Last Saturday, his eldest martial brother had said nothing and simply tossed him a letter. The seal was a blob of purple wax stamped with a capital "H," surrounded by a lion, snake, eagle, and badger.

The moment Zhang San saw it, he had nearly jumped out of his skin—wasn't this a Hogwarts acceptance letter? He had thought he had transmigrated into an urban superpower world. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected this to be the magical world of Harry Potter.

Under the guidance of the relevant authorities, Zhang San had swiftly obtained all the necessary documents, then flown to London, England, the very next day.

Even during the Sorting Ceremony, Zhang San was still bewildered. These familiar yet unfamiliar people before him seemed as real as if they had stepped out of a movie: bespectacled Harry Potter, the buck-toothed know-it-all Miss Hermione, red-haired and freckled Ron Weasley...

This wasn't a dream, was it?

At last, as Professor McGonagall reached the bottom of the list, Zhang San finally heard his own name—Third Zhang.

"A gentleman from the mysterious East?" The filthy Sorting Hat was especially curious about Zhang San. "Let's see where I should put you..."

"Intelligent, studious, yet not lacking in courage. I know where you belong." The Sorting Hat shouted loudly to itself.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Applause and cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table. The Weasley twins slapped the table and yelled, "We've got an exchange student! We've got an exchange student!"

Zhang San had every reason to suspect that the applause was so enthusiastic because the feast could begin once the Sorting Ceremony ended. Everyone had been on the train for so long—they had to be starving already.

After finding an empty seat at the Gryffindor table, Zhang San furtively swept his gaze toward the guests' table on the raised platform.

The white-bearded old man seated in the center was Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. The man with a face like everyone owed him money was Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin. He had already gotten a good look at Professor McGonagall earlier. That furry giant was Hagrid... So tall!

Suddenly, Zhang San focused on the man whose head was wrapped up like an Indian—Professor Quirrell. He was the one who had brought Voldemort into Hogwarts, and the first installment's villainous BOSS.

Just as Headmaster Dumbledore rose with a broad smile and spread his arms to begin his speech, Zhang San sprang from his seat.

Half the hall's gazes were fixed on Dumbledore, while the other half turned toward Zhang San.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, Quirinus Quirrell is Voldemort's servant! Voldemort is hiding inside that man's turban!" Zhang San shouted sternly.

The entire hall was stunned. Voldemort's name was widely used in the wizarding world to frighten children, and he was the childhood nightmare of countless young wizards.

The Great Hall immediately descended into chaos. Dumbledore's smile froze. Just as he was about to draw the Elder Wand and cast a spell, Professor Quirrell beat him to it, pulling out a maple wand and flicking it at Zhang San as he cast the famous, infamous Unforgivable Curse:

"Avada Kedavra!"

Quirrell now hated this damned little wizard to the core. Being exposed before everyone, in front of so many powerful people—the consequences were obvious.

He was finished!

Completely finished!

Fury rose in Quirrell's heart, and evil sprang to his mind. He might not dare attack Dumbledore, but was he really afraid of dealing with some little wizard whose feathers had barely grown in?

Zhang San was sent flying in an instant. After spinning three and a half times through the air, he crashed to the floor like a battered sack. As the green light faded, Zhang San's pupils dimmed as well.

Dumbledore's pupils contracted slightly. This time, he was truly numb. An exchange student from the Celestial Masters' Mansion had just died at Hogwarts' opening feast. This place, hailed as the safest in the wizarding world, had made a colossal mess on the very first day of welcoming new students.

Diplomacy was no trivial matter, and Zhang San's identity was sensitive. There were many, many stories behind his exchange studies. The bridge for friendly exchanges between the Eastern cultivation world and the Western wizarding world had only just been built, yet Quirinus Quirrell's Killing Curse had destroyed it in an instant.

"Expelliarmus!" Red light flashed from Dumbledore's wand, sending the already spent Quirrell flying.

A dense cloud of black mist gushed out from beneath Quirrell's turban, forming a vicious face in the sky as it let out a feral roar at Dumbledore.

"I will return, Dumbledore."

"The day I return will be the day I rule Hogwarts!"

Then the black mist shot out of the Great Hall, smashed through the heavy oak doors, and soared into the sky, leaving behind only chaos throughout the hall and Zhang San's corpse, his eyes still open in death.

Snape pressed his wand against Quirrell's throat while Dumbledore stepped down from the platform to examine Zhang San's condition.

Whatever the reason, it was an indisputable fact that Zhang San had died on Hogwarts grounds, at the hands of a Hogwarts professor. This time, Hogwarts would have to pay dearly to appease the Celestial Masters' Mansion's wrath.

Just as Dumbledore walked toward Zhang San, a translucent figure floated out of Zhang San's body. Zhang San looked back at the body he had used for eleven years, his face full of complicated emotions, and could only helplessly accept the reality that he was dead.

It was the first day of school, and then I died—what a sad story.