Hogwarts Castle and Professor McGonagall

Time passed quickly.

Before they knew it, the sky had darkened, and the train was finally about to arrive at Hogwarts Castle.

Ye Ting happily chatted with the three little girls for the entire afternoon and became friends with them. Although he had been single all his life before transmigrating, with neither romantic experience nor many female friends, handling a few little girls was no problem.

Just as they were packing their luggage and preparing to get off at any moment, the sounds of shouting and fighting broke out beyond the compartment door.

Ye Ting listened carefully and made out the voices of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. There was also an especially distinctive arrogant voice. In Ye Ting's opinion, that had to be Draco Malfoy.

In Ye Ting's impression, Draco Malfoy was not truly a bad kid. He had been born into one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood wizarding families, and his parents and relatives were all Death Eaters. Naturally influenced by them, he had developed a selfish personality and a disdain for Muggles.

However, since Ye Ting himself was a Muggle, he was naturally opposed to Malfoy in terms of position. So even though he knew Malfoy's true nature, Ye Ting had no desire to have anything to do with this pure-blood wizard. After all, straightening out a brat was troublesome too.

Besides, Ye Ting's attention was currently focused on two things: studying magic and raising little girls.

He planned to test his speculations and research about the "plot" by influencing and changing the female lead, Hermione. On one hand, he lacked the energy, and focusing on one person was more convenient than focusing on three. On the other hand, compared with boys, he still preferred dealing with adorable girls.

Therefore, for the time being, he did not intend to deliberately have too much contact with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

So he simply listened to the commotion outside as Malfoy and his two lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle, argued with Harry and Ron before coming to blows. The result was no different from the original story: Malfoy was bitten by Scabbers, and the two groups went their separate ways.

Finally, after a long journey, the train whistle sounded, and its speed gradually slowed.

In the darkness, the towering black silhouette of Hogwarts drew closer and closer.

At last, they had arrived at their destination, the magic academy Ye Ting had long anticipated.

The students shoved and jostled one another as they squeezed off the train one after another.

Relying on his superior strength, Ye Ting led the three girls through the crowd, carving out a "bloody path."

The moment they got off, they saw a tiny platform. A rough voice was shouting, "First-years! First-years, over here!"

The owner of the voice specifically called out Harry Potter. Ye Ting knew it was Hagrid, Hogwarts's Keeper of Keys and Grounds.

He hastily said goodbye to the two second-years, Cho Chang and Marietta, then took Hermione by the hand and followed the voice.

Hermione still felt somewhat uncomfortable being led along by a boy like this, but she forced herself to remain calm and followed closely behind him.

Hagrid truly lived up to his giant bloodline. He was far taller than any basketball player, and Ye Ting spotted him from a great distance away.

Under his lead, all the new students stumbled their way down a narrow path.

Before long, the path came to an end, revealing a vast black lake.

On the far side of the lake, atop a high slope, stood a majestic castle. Its spires rose in rows, and its windows glittered beneath the starry sky.

Hagrid busied himself getting the students into boats. Each boat could hold four people. After Ye Ting and Hermione boarded one, Harry and Ron climbed in as well, warmly greeting the two of them.

The flotilla set off. Along the way, silence reigned all around as everyone quietly admired the breathtaking sight of the enormous castle rising into the clouds atop the cliffs, drawing ever closer. Soft exclamations of awe sounded from time to time.

After passing through a curtain of ivy, the boats followed a pitch-black tunnel and seemed to arrive beneath the castle. At last, they reached something like an underground dock, then climbed onto a stretch of gravel and small pebbles.

The new students disembarked one after another and followed Hagrid to a massive oak door.

At last, they had truly arrived before Hogwarts's gates.

Hagrid knocked three times on the oak door, and it immediately opened.

Standing at the entrance was a tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes. Her expression was stern, and she looked like someone not to be trifled with.

"First-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take over from here." Professor McGonagall nodded and led the new students onward.

After passing through the enormous entrance hall, Professor McGonagall brought them to a small empty room at the other end of the hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start-of-term feast is about to begin, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must first be sorted into your respective Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony, because during your time at school, your House will be like your family at Hogwarts. You will attend classes with the other students in your House, stay in your House dormitory, and spend your free time in your House common room."

Afterward, she briefly introduced the four Houses and mentioned a few matters requiring attention. Then she told the new students to wait for a moment before leaving first.