Hogwarts: I Obtained the Paternal System

He hurriedly grabbed Hagrid's clothes to steady himself.

"All right, I just wanted to see my brother so badly. Thank you for your help."

Darren nodded.

Of course, he knew Harry had already gone far ahead. He was only doing this to earn some Paternal Points from the giant.

"You're welcome, little one!"

Hagrid's mouth, buried beneath his great beard, broke into a wide grin.

He thought the little fellow before him was wonderful—definitely Gryffindor material!

"Go on, then!"

"First-years, watch your step!"

Hagrid shouted over his shoulder.

He led everyone along a muddy path.

Quite a few people slipped and fell because of it.

Darren cleverly walked beside Hagrid, who occasionally gave him a hand, and he arrived safely at the edge of the Black Lake.

Before them lay a dark lake.

Across the lake, the castle stood atop cliffs that soared into the clouds.

From afar, stars seemed to glitter within the castle.

"Come on, don't dawdle! Get in the boats! No more than four people to a boat!"

Hagrid called loudly.

All the students clambered awkwardly into the little boats.

Darren had originally planned to just follow someone aboard.

But before he could do anything, he felt someone pushing him forward, and he ended up getting directly into an empty boat.

Only after boarding did Darren look over in confusion.

It was a very cute little girl.

She had golden hair and green eyes like his. There was a mole beneath one of her eyes, and her expression was exceedingly aloof.

When she noticed Darren looking at her, she silently turned away.

Wasn't this the girl from the prefects' compartment earlier?

Looking at those distinctive features, Darren strongly suspected she was Slytherin's Cassandra, Cassandra Vole!

Didn't the system say he had fifty favorability with Cassandra? Why did it feel completely useless?

And he was wearing the Loli Bane title, which gave all girls under sixteen an additional thirty favorability toward him. Logically, that should have put her favorability at eighty.

Yet she ignored him the moment they met.

Was the system messing with him?

Darren scratched his head.

Still, he did not take the initiative to speak to her. Instead, he excitedly looked at the scenery around them.

Beyond the ivy-covered cliffs was a hidden, broad entrance.

The boats glided over the still water, passed through a pitch-black tunnel, and arrived beneath the castle.

They then rowed to a dock-like place, where the boats came to rest on a shore covered with pebbles and gravel.

"Off the boats!"

Hagrid called out.

After making sure all the boats were empty, he even found Neville's toad.

Then they followed Hagrid's footsteps up a narrow path along the rocky slope.

At last, after crossing a damp grassy lawn, they arrived before a great oak door.

Hagrid stepped forward and knocked three times.

Darren watched the wooden door open, and Professor McGonagall emerged solemnly.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here!"

She nodded at Hagrid, then led the new students toward the Great Hall.

The place was enormous.

The ceiling seemed to stretch endlessly overhead.

Countless torches burned upon the stone walls, lighting the hall brightly.

Even though Darren had been here before, he was still awestruck once again.

"This place has been enchanted. It looks just like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

Darren heard someone say this behind him.

It was probably Hermione.

She really was a top student.

He could not help but praise her.

"Tch!"

Just as Darren was sincerely admiring Hermione's diligence, an extremely disdainful scoff came from beside him.

He turned around.

Cassandra stood behind him with her arms folded, her face as cold as ever. If Darren had not had such sharp hearing, he would not have been sure the sound had come from her.

He hesitated, somewhat tempted to unleash the radiance of his paternal virtue and correct her moral outlook.

But after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea. After all, he had no proof that she had made the sound.

Besides, Cassandra's voice had been very quiet. The others probably had not heard it at all.

This was not a good opportunity to show himself off.

Forget it. There would be plenty of chances for him to shine.

Harry Potter

"Line up! The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin!"

A shrill voice called out.

The new students instinctively lined up.

Darren obediently stood behind a black-haired boy.

"I wonder how they're going to sort us?"

Someone in front of Darren asked fearfully.

Darren looked around. Everyone wore uneasy expressions. It seemed none of the parents had told their children how the sorting worked.

Even Cassandra's usually aloof face carried a trace of fear now.

Apparently, scaring children was a tradition in the Wizarding World.

He chuckled inwardly, his mischievous streak thoroughly awakened.

So, standing among the crowd, he said hesitantly, "I heard Madam Pomfrey say that we have to fight a troll."

"What?"

"Oh, no!"

"What's a troll?"

"Am I going to die?"

"..."

The new students were stunned by Darren's words.

To fit his persona, Darren put on a pale expression as well.

He even bit his lower lip hard enough to leave teeth marks.

He looked utterly pitiful.

No one thought he had said it just to scare them. They all believed he genuinely thought that was what would happen.

They trembled in fright, and some children even began to cry.

Their miserable appearance amused quite a few people.

Even Professor McGonagall was nearly made to laugh by the sight of them.

"All right, quiet down. The sorting begins now!"