The Wheelchair War Goddess Speedruns Hogwarts

The doors opened at once, revealing a tall, stern-looking witch in emerald-green robes. She wore square glasses, and her hair was pulled into a tight bun.

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

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here." Her voice was crisp and efficient.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said, looking at them. "The start-of-term feast will begin shortly, but before you take your seats, you must first be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony..."

While she spoke, Nox suddenly leaped down from Vera's lap and silently slipped through the doors.

"Nox!" Harry gasped quietly, about to chase after it.

Vera gently pressed down on her hand. "It's all right. It knows what to do."

Professor McGonagall continued explaining the traits of the four Houses and the House Cup's scoring system. The new students listened nervously, and several had already begun to tremble.

"What do I do? I don't know anything yet." Hearing Hermione rapidly reciting the spells she had learned beside her, Harry whispered anxiously into Vera's ear.

Seeing how every new student around them looked as though disaster were imminent, Vera could not help curling her lips into a smile. She gently patted Harry's hand in reassurance.

"When your name is called, please come forward, put on the Sorting Hat, and be sorted," Professor McGonagall said at last. "Now, straighten yourselves up. We'll be going in shortly."

She turned and pushed open the doors, leading the new students into the magnificent Great Hall.

Harry could not help drawing in a sharp breath—

Thousands of floating candles illuminated the entire hall. Students filled the benches beside four long tables, while above them stretched a magical ceiling dotted with stars. Behind them, Hermione was excitedly whispering facts about its wonders.

At the front stood the teachers' table, where many professors had already taken their seats.

Quite a few ghosts were scattered among the students as well, glimmering with hazy silver light.

But the most eye-catching thing was an old, pointed hat perched atop a four-legged stool.

As the new students advanced in line, the hat suddenly twisted, splitting open along a wide seam and singing like it had a mouth.

When it finished, thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall. Professor McGonagall stepped forward and unrolled a long parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat, sit on the stool, and await your Sorting," she said. "Hannah Abbott!"

A rosy-cheeked little girl with two golden braids stumbled out of the line and put on the hat.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat declared loudly.

The Hufflepuff table erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Vera waited quietly, noticing that Harry's hand was gripping the edge of her robe so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

"Relax," she said softly. "It's only putting on a hat."

Harry forced a smile. "I know. It's just... I don't know which House I'd meet the requirements for."

"Go where you want to go." Vera gently took her hand and comforted her softly. "Don't forget what I told you on the train."

Harry blinked and reluctantly nodded, though she still did not look much better.

The Sorting continued, with new students being assigned to their respective Houses one after another.

Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. As she ran toward the cheering table, she turned back and made an encouraging gesture at Harry and Vera.

After many more names, Professor McGonagall finally called, "Harry Potter!"

The hall fell silent in an instant, followed by whispers louder than before.

"Potter? The Harry Potter?"

"She really came..."

Harry took a deep breath, turned to glance at Vera, then walked forward and put on the hat.

After a long while, the Sorting Hat finally announced loudly, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table burst into deafening cheers, and the Weasley twins shouted, "We've got Potter!"

Blushing furiously, Harry ran to sit beside Hermione, but she did not forget to turn back and cast Vera a worried look.

Vera gave her a slight nod.

"Vera Black!"

When that name was called, the hall fell into an eerie silence once more. Everyone's gaze focused on the silver-haired girl in the wheelchair.

Vera calmly wheeled herself forward. With Professor McGonagall's help, she put on the Sorting Hat.

Rules Were Made to Be Broken

As the hat covered her vision, a tiny voice sounded in her ear.

"Hmm... very interesting." The Sorting Hat's voice whispered beside Vera's ear. "This deeply hidden ambition and desire for power... classic Slytherin traits. Nearly everyone in the Black family has gone there."

"But wait..." the hat continued. "There's more here... Oh! What is this?"

Vera felt the Sorting Hat tremble lightly in her mind.

"What a rare combination... courage and loyalty, the desire to change your own fate, a flame hidden beneath a calm exterior... Gryffindor has every reason to choose you as well."

The silence in the hall was beginning to feel suffocating. Vera could feel hundreds of eyes fixed on her, and some people had already begun whispering.

"I see the struggle in your heart," the Sorting Hat continued. "Your resistance to family tradition, your pursuit of your own path... You remind me of another Black..."

The whispers in the hall grew louder and louder, and Vera could feel hundreds of eyes staring at her.

"So, what is your choice?" the Sorting Hat suddenly asked.

Vera was slightly taken aback. "I thought you were the one who decided."

"Usually, that is the case," the Sorting Hat admitted. "But your circumstances are special, just like Miss Potter's and Miss Granger's earlier. Tell me, young Black, what do you value most?"

Vera's gaze drifted unconsciously past the brim of the hat and landed on the Gryffindor table.

That adorable savior was sitting there nervously, her green eyes fixed unblinkingly in this direction.

Ever since learning that she had come to this world, Vera had been thinking about what mattered most as a transmigrator.

Prioritizing her survival was certainly important... but given the state she was already in, it seemed that no matter what she did, she would be struggling upward.

Since she had come to a world of magic, she wanted to try.

"I want..." Vera lifted her head, a trace of a smile flashing through her eyes as she looked at Harry. "I want to go somewhere that will let me change my fate."

The Sorting Hat chuckled. "Ah, changing fate... what a Gryffindor answer. But are you truly certain? That would mean breaking the Black family tradition once again."

Vera looked at those distant green eyes and raised her head. "Rules were made to be broken."

"Excellent!" The Sorting Hat suddenly raised its voice and announced to the entire hall, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The whole hall instantly fell completely silent, everyone staring wide-eyed.

It took several seconds before cheers burst from the Gryffindor table. Harry even jumped up to clap, nearly knocking over a goblet on the table.

Vera tilted her head slightly. She could clearly feel the shocked gazes from the Slytherin table, especially Malfoy's incredulous expression.

Professor McGonagall was visibly stunned as well, but she quickly helped Vera remove the hat and said softly, "Welcome to Gryffindor."

Vera wheeled herself toward the Gryffindor table, feeling eyes from every direction upon her all the way.

When she reached the table, Harry had already impatiently made room for her.

"Vera! You're a Gryffindor too!" Harry was so excited that she could barely form coherent words. "We're in the same House! I knew it—"

Hermione leaned over to help arrange her flattened hair. "The Sorting Hat hesitated for so long. What did it say to you?"

Vera gently shook her head. "Just some unimportant things."

Once the Sorting was over, a tall figure rose from the teachers' table. Professor Albus Dumbledore spread his arms, his silvery-white beard gleaming in the candlelight.

"Welcome!" His voice was loud and warm. "Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we enjoy the feast, I have a few words to say—"

Vera's gaze passed over the crowd and settled on the headmaster's wise, sparkling blue eyes.

The greatest wizard of the age was looking kindly at all the students.

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Dumbledore suddenly said, then sat down happily.

The new students looked at one another in confusion, while the older students began applauding as though nothing unusual had happened.

Harry looked at Vera in bewilderment. "Is he... a little mad?"

The corner of Vera's lips lifted slightly. "That's just his style, I suppose."

As Dumbledore sat down, mountains of food suddenly appeared on the long tables: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, sausages, Yorkshire puddings, vegetables of every kind, and gravy... along with peppermint humbugs, for some strange reason.

"That's incredible!" Hermione exclaimed, while Harry eagerly piled food onto her plate.

Vera noticed that Harry's plate was almost entirely meat, with hardly any vegetables.

She gently pushed a bowl of salad toward her. "A balanced diet is important."

Harry smiled sheepishly and obediently added some vegetables to her plate.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, the leftover food vanished in an instant, replaced by all kinds of puddings, ice cream, pies, cakes, and fruit.

Harry's eyes went round. "This is incredible! How did they make all of this appear?"

Watching Harry wolf down apple pie, Vera gently pushed a plate of strawberry pudding toward her. "Slow down. No one's going to take it from you."

Harry slowed down sheepishly, her cheeks puffed out from the food in her mouth. "Sorry, I just... I've never had anything this delicious before."

Hermione asked curiously, "Your relatives don't let you have dessert?"

Harry's smile dimmed for an instant. "Dudley often gets double portions, and I... sometimes I don't even get leftovers."

Vera's gaze fell on Harry's painfully thin wrists, and her eyes darkened.

She changed the subject. "You can have a little of everything... as long as you can eat it."

The feast continued amid laughter and cheerful conversation.

Vera noticed that at the teachers' table, a professor wearing a purple turban—Professor Quirrell—kept sneaking glances at Harry from time to time.

And whenever his gaze swept over them, Nox, perched around Vera's neck, would raise its fur and let out a low growl.

"What's wrong with it?" Noticing Nox's unusual behavior, Harry asked with concern.

Vera gently stroked Nox's back. "Nothing. It may just not be used to so many people."

Everyone at the feast was happily discussing their families. Harry had little to say, so she simply lowered her head and petted the cat with Vera.

Then, in the instant she happened to look up, she saw the large mass of turban wrapped around Quirrell's head.

For some reason, Harry suddenly felt a searing pain in the scar on her forehead.

"Hiss!" Harry covered her forehead with one hand.

Vera sharply noticed something was wrong and turned to look at her. "What is it?"

Harry pressed her fingers tightly against her lightning-shaped scar, her face abruptly turning pale. "My scar... it suddenly hurts a little..."

Vera's pupils contracted sharply. She swiftly looked up toward the teachers' table. Quirrell had already turned away and was stammering something to Snape.

Quirrell... no, Voldemort, hidden at the back of his head, was looking at Harry.

I Just Love a Pincer Attack!

Thanks to her Magic Circuit, Vera clearly sensed a cold, sinister magical fluctuation coming from the teachers' table before it quickly dissipated.

Without drawing attention, she gripped Harry's wrist and quietly positioned her wheelchair between Harry and the teachers' table. Lowering her voice, she said, "Take a deep breath. Relax."

Harry's fingertips were icy cold, and beads of sweat had formed across her forehead.

Vera could feel the restless magic beneath her skin—the trace of Voldemort's curse left when she was an infant, now awakening because of its master's proximity.

"Do you feel better?" Vera asked softly. Her fingertips brushed Harry's scar without leaving a trace, golden patterns from the Magic Circuit flashing beneath her skin.

Harry's breathing gradually steadied, and she rubbed her scar in confusion. "Strange... It stopped hurting all of a sudden."

"Maybe you're just tired." Vera withdrew her hand, her gaze sweeping over the teachers' table. "Get some rest early later."

Harry nodded, gripping her hand tightly without saying anything else.

The feast soon drew to a close. Dumbledore stood again to announce several reminders, particularly stressing the dangers of the Forbidden Forest and the prohibition against entering the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor.

Afterward, the entire school sang the school song in a scattered, ragged fashion. Then the students of each House followed their prefects toward their respective common rooms.

"Gryffindor first-years, follow me!" a red-haired boy shouted. It was Percy Weasley, the Weasley family's third son, with a prefect badge pinned to his chest.

Just as Vera was about to wheel herself away with the others, McGonagall hurried down from the teachers' table. Her black robes billowed behind her, and though her expression was stern, it carried a hint of concern.

"Miss Black, please wait." She stopped Vera. "Before you return to the common room, I need to speak with you privately. The rest of you, please follow your prefect back to the common room."