Sorting Ceremony

The other students immediately began chattering away, voicing their own theories.

Some said there was a water monster in the lake, others claimed the Black Lake was haunted by restless souls, while some said Malfoy and the others simply could not swim and had made up the monster story to hide their embarrassment.

Professor McGonagall clearly disliked the chaotic clamor and immediately cut them off. "Quiet!"

Once the normally stern Professor McGonagall lost her temper, she was incredibly intimidating. Nearly all the new students fell silent at the same time.

Professor McGonagall gave a light cough and asked, "Where is Hagrid?"

Harry, standing among the crowd, replied loudly, "He took that boy to the infirmary!"

"The infirmary..." A deep furrow appeared between Professor McGonagall's brows. After a moment of thought, she said, "I must go there and see how that student is doing. Wait here until I return."

Once Professor McGonagall had left, the new students became noisy again, all of them sharing rumors they had heard about the Sorting Ceremony.

Ron was the first to speak. He declared with complete confidence, "I have five brothers studying at Hogwarts. They told me that the Sorting Ceremony is extremely strict. If you fail to meet the requirements, you might even be thrown out of school tonight!"

Someone in the crowd immediately cried out, "But haven't we already enrolled? How can we still be expelled? Wouldn't everything we bought from those lists have been for nothing? That was a huge amount of money!"

Having exaggerated too much, Ron awkwardly rubbed his nose. "I heard it from Fred and George. They always like to prank me, so they might have been lying."

At that moment, another student said, "I don't think they were lying to you. I heard the Sorting Ceremony involves fighting a troll, and they sort you based on the outcome. Quite a few new students have died because of it in previous years!"

More gasps rose from the crowd. "No wonder people always say Hogwarts has a certain death quota. Students die every year!"

Some girls who were already timid began huddling in the corners, trembling as they listened to the discussion.

Hermione impatiently interrupted the boys' wild speculation and said reasonably, "How could a wizard's Sorting Ceremony be that barbaric? We're wizards, not warriors! How could they have us deal with creatures like trolls the moment school starts?"

"Real wizards rely on their brains and knowledge! So I think the Sorting Ceremony is actually an exam, and they assign us to houses based on our scores!"

"Otherwise, why would the school have reminded us a month in advance to buy textbooks? Wasn't it so we could prepare for the exam early?"

Many new students nodded in agreement after hearing Hermione's explanation. It sounded far more reliable than fighting a troll.

But quite a few others looked miserable and sighed heavily. They had never read any textbooks, and some of them did not even know what books they had bought.

"It's over, it's over! I'm definitely going to get zero!"

"My books are still on the train. Can I go back and get them?"

"Too late. All that luggage has already been sent to the dormitories!"

Listening to the groans coming from every direction, Chu Yang shook his head helplessly. These little brats really know how to scare themselves. Even if they were beaten to death, they would never guess that all they had to do was put the Sorting Hat on their heads to complete the Sorting Ceremony.

Ron nervously tugged at Harry's sleeve and asked, "Have you read any of those textbooks?"

Harry shook his head. "My aunt and uncle didn't want me to attend Hogwarts. They did everything they could to stop me from getting that Hogwarts acceptance letter. It wasn't until a few days ago, with Hagrid's help, that I got the chance to come to school. Do you think I've read them?"

"Then it's fine. In that case, we'll definitely be sorted into the same house." Ron instantly relaxed and even had the mood to wiggle his eyebrows at Harry.

"You really have a great attitude." Harry laughed at Ron, then turned to Chu Yang and said enviously, "Chu Yang will definitely get the highest score."

"That's for sure. Chu Yang's brain is on a whole different level. I think only that girl can keep up with him." Ron smacked his lips, fully agreeing with Harry.

Hermione seemed to share their unspoken understanding. She looked seriously at Chu Yang and said, both unwilling to concede and somewhat resigned, "You'll probably come first in this exam, but only this once. I guarantee that in every exam after this, my scores will be higher than yours!"

Although Chu Yang knew Hermione had guessed wrong about the Sorting Ceremony, he still felt a headache coming on, because he could not back down on this matter.

Hogwarts' favoritism toward geniuses was very obvious.

Outstanding learning ability and the prestige of being first in his year could help Chu Yang gain certain small privileges, such as reading books in the library that ordinary students were not allowed to read.

Moreover, the professors and teachers at the school were more willing to give gifted students extra instruction. All of this would allow Chu Yang to learn a great deal of knowledge.

While the new students were letting their imaginations run wild, Professor McGonagall hurried to the infirmary and happened to see Madam Pomfrey treating Malfoy while Hagrid stood anxiously nearby.

"Hagrid!" Professor McGonagall called softly after entering the room.

"Oh! Professor McGonagall!" Hagrid jumped in fright. He was too guilty to meet her eyes, since strictly speaking, this counted as a mistake on the job.

"Madam Pomfrey, how is this child?" Professor McGonagall slowly walked over to the head nurse and asked worriedly, "Does he need to be transferred to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?"

"Professor McGonagall, don't worry. It isn't that serious." Madam Pomfrey smiled. "This new student only drank some dirty water and caught a cold from the chill. He'll be fine after resting for two or three days."

Professor McGonagall let out a long breath, finally relieved. She then turned to Hagrid and asked, "Before I came here, I heard those children telling some rather absurd stories. Can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Hagrid scratched his head. "When I turned around, he had already fallen into the lake. I didn't see how he got in, but there really was something in the lake at the time!"

Professor McGonagall said with certainty, "We all know there are magical creatures in the Black Lake, but certainly not in that area. The designated protected zone was part of a pact Hogwarts made with them long ago. They would not dare attack students right under Dumbledore's nose!"

"More than that, I suspect someone used magic. Casting offensive magic on a fellow student is extremely serious misconduct."

Hagrid immediately shook his head. "Professor McGonagall, I was nearby at the time and didn't sense any fluctuations in Magic Power. Besides, those students left their wands on the train. You don't think any of them are powerful enough to cast magic without a wand, do you?"

"Hagrid, not everyone follows the rules and regulations." Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and said gravely, "Once the Sorting Ceremony is over, I will check each of them for concealed wands."