The Start-of-Term Feast

Unable to see through Ye Ting's thoughts, the Sorting Hat could not make a judgment about him.

It hesitated for quite a while, only surrendering when Professor McGonagall urged it to hurry up.

"Fine, fine. I'll make an exception this once. You can decide your own destination. Which House would Mr. Ye like to join?"

"Ravenclaw," Ye Ting replied.

"Ravenclaw!" the Sorting Hat shouted, then left another sentence in his mind: I will remember you, child.

Most of Ravenclaw's students were girls. Seeing such a handsome boy sorted into Ravenclaw, they let out delighted cheers and enthusiastically welcomed Ye Ting.

Ye Ting sat among the girls and politely dealt with their enthusiasm. Most wanted to get to know him, while the older girls could hardly wait to go on a romantic date with him. He had no choice but to turn them down one by one. During that time, he even heard Hermione and Cho Chang complaining that they had "no shame."

Others asked where he had gotten his cloak. Ye Ting introduced his own design and Madam Malkin's shop, unsurprisingly earning another wave of admiration and praise.

This was his first time facing so many girls at once. Back when he had been in university in his previous life, he would definitely have been so nervous he could not speak. Now, though, he handled it with ease—of course, university girls were far harder to deal with than Hogwarts girls.

The final Sorting that caused a stir was, of course, Harry Potter's.

Everyone wanted to see the Boy Who Lived. When he was sorted into Gryffindor, loud cheers erupted from that table. The Weasley twins shouted, "We've got Potter! We've got Potter!" Even the Gryffindor ghosts welcomed him.

Three people remained. Lisa Turpin became a Ravenclaw first-year.

Ron Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor.

Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin.

Albus Dumbledore rose to his feet. Beaming at the students, he spread his arms as though nothing could make him happier than seeing them all gathered together.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts for the start of a new school year! Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everyone applauded and cheered.

In truth, though, every young wizard was utterly confused by his final words.

"What exactly did that mean?" Hermione frowned beside him.

"Don't worry about it," Cho Chang replied. "Dumbledore is a great wizard, but he's a little mad..."

"He isn't mad," Ye Ting cut in. "If you read those words backward in Latin, they mean, 'May Merlin bless you.'"

"You know Latin too?" Hermione was so astonished that she did not even notice the pumpkin pie in her hand falling to the floor.

"Yes. The day after I decided to come to Hogwarts, I began learning Latin—" Ye Ting answered as he enjoyed a plate of roast lamb in front of him. "I also studied Ancient Celtic and Old Norman. They are historically important languages with mythological significance. I thought I might need them to study magic, and it turns out I was right."

"Ancient Celtic and Old Norman too! I don't even know what those are!" The girls all marveled at his genius and breadth of learning. Hermione in particular, as another top student, was now completely convinced of Ye Ting's superiority.

Before a true monstrous genius, even a top student had to feel ashamed of their own inadequacy.

Next came mealtime. Ye Ting thoroughly enjoyed Hogwarts's cuisine.

Although Britain's infamous dark cuisine was known throughout the world, Britain's wizarding world was completely different from the Muggle world. The delicious dishes dazzled him. Aside from being a little too sweet, nearly every dish earned lavish praise from Ye Ting.

"If I were from Shanghai, I would like them twice as much." That was Ye Ting's final assessment, but even Cho Chang failed to get what he meant.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Dumbledore casually waved his wand, and all the dishes vanished in an instant.

He stood up, and the Great Hall fell silent again.

"Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention while I give out a few notices. First-years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students. And some of our older students would do well to remember that too.

"Also, our caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch, has asked me to remind you all that magic is not allowed in the corridors between classes.

"Quidditch team trials will be held in the second week of this term. Anyone interested in playing for their House team should contact Madam Hooch.

"Finally, I must tell you that anyone who does not wish to meet with an accident and die a painful death should avoid the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor."

The first-years began chattering among themselves, and Hermione curiously asked Cho Chang one question after another. But even Cho Chang was baffled by the final rule. She said it had been added only this term.

Only Ye Ting knew that the greatest accident of this school year would come from that corridor.

But judging by the students' lively discussion, legends like the "Seven Wonders of the School" were popular in both the East and the West.