The Entrance Hall outside the Great Hall was already packed with students.
The crowd stretched thickly from the notice board all the way to the foot of the stairs. The students at the back could not see anything even with their necks craned, and they shouted anxiously:
"Let us see! What does it say?"
Someone at the very front was reading the contents of the notice board aloud, but the surrounding buzz of discussion made it difficult to hear.
Before Wade even reached the crowd, he heard Dean Thomas of Gryffindor shout, "What did you say? We're not allowed to go to Hogsmeade anymore?"
Someone else yelled at the top of their lungs, "...Everyone quiet down and let the people at the front speak!"
But that shout itself became part of the noise.
Wade and the others reached the back of the crowd and looked at the bobbing heads ahead, reluctant to push their way in.
Ron tried to squeeze through, causing the people in front of him to stagger about. Someone accidentally jabbed him with an elbow, nearly knocking the breath out of him.
He rubbed his chest and stopped helplessly.
Padma folded her arms and suggested, "Why don't we just wait? We'll find out sooner or later. There's no need to rush over something like this."
Wade nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he turned and met the gaze of Colin Creevey, who was holding a camera.
For some reason, the Gryffindor boy froze for a moment before shouting loudly:
"Wade's here!"
Amid the clamor, his voice was unusually clear, like a whistle being blown. Quite a few people in front turned around, instinctively joining in:
"Wade Grey?"
"Grey is here!"
"Harry Potter is here too!"
"Everyone from SSC is here!"
The voices rolled forward like