HP meets at Hogwarts

Chapter 112

When Ann and Hermione got into the carriage, the carriage moved slowly.

"Ann, why can't I see the Thestrals before, but I can see them now?" Harry asked in confusion, keeping his eyes on the silhouette of the Thestrals moving outside the window.

Ann looked at Hermione and motioned for her to explain the problem.

Hermione, who was already eager to try, grinned at An, and put on a serious look to answer the teacher's questions in class, "Thestral is a black winged horse that sometimes attacks birds. It is skinny, but quite a few wizards think It brings bad luck. Because it can only be seen by people who directly witness the death. But in fact, thestrals are a rare magical animal, only distributed in a very small number of places around the world. And thestrals are very smart , and are very useful. Once tamed, they will never leave their masters. Thestrals have an amazing sense of direction. Just tell them where they want to go, and they will take passengers to their destinations, and Thestrals can also fly through the air at incredible speeds...."

Although Hermione's answer solved Harry's confusion, it didn't seem to make Harry's mood better, but worse.

Yes, death can only be seen by those who have directly witnessed it.

Cedric Diggory.

This name jumped out in the hearts of everyone.

The silence did not last long.

"Did you two prefects see that woman named Graplan on the platform?" Ginny asked. "What is she doing here again? Hagrid won't leave, will he?"

"I'm glad he's gone," Luna said. "He's not such a good teacher, is he?"

"No, he's a good teacher!" said Harry, Ron, and Ginny quickly.

Harry looked at Hermione and Ann who couldn't answer immediately.

Hermione cleared her throat and said quickly, "Huh?? Yeah?? He's pretty good."

"My uncle said the Hagrids were nice," Ann added.

"Come on, we Ravenclaws think he's ridiculous," said Luna, carelessly.

"That shows that your sense of humor is in a mess." Ron retorted bluntly, when the wheels creaked under him, and the speed of the carriage slowed down.

Luna didn't seem annoyed by Ron's rudeness, instead she stared at Ron for a moment, as if he was an entertaining TV show.

Hogwarts Castle was not far away from them. The towering towers looked even darker against the dark night sky. Occasionally, a window could be seen shooting a fiery red and dazzling light above their heads.

The carriage clinked to a halt beside the stone steps leading to the oak gate.

Several people got out of the car, walked up the stone steps, and entered the castle.The foyer was red with torchlight, and they crossed the flagstone floor to the right of the two doors that led to the Great Hall, where the opening feast was held.

The Great Hall was filled to the brim with four long college tables, and above it was a dark, starless ceiling, identical to the sky they could see outside through the tall windows.Candles floated above the dining table, illuminating the silver-white ghosts dotted in the auditorium and illuminating the excited faces of the students.They were chatting cheerfully, exchanging news from the summer holidays, shouting hello to friends from other houses, examining each other's new hairstyles and new clothes.

"Goodbye, Ann," said Hermione.

Ann waved to Hermione and the others, and walked towards the Slytherin table.

"Why are you so late? Is your arm better?" asked Fanny before Ann had sat down.

"Well, it's much better. There were too many people when I got off the train, and I didn't come out until they were all gone." Ann said.

On the last day of the summer vacation, Fanny called Ann, and it was Al who answered the call. After Fanny knew that Ann was admitted to the hospital, she planned to go to the hospital to see Ann, but Ann refused.

Ann and Fanny briefly chatted about some unsaid things during the summer vacation, and they also talked about their plan to buy a car during the Christmas vacation.

"Wow, it's cool! Take me to see it and drive out to play!" Fanny said enviously.

"Okay, as long as your family agrees." An said with a smile.

"Hey! You are a prefect now, let me talk to my parents, and they will agree soon!" said Fanny.

"I don't think a small prefect title is so useful?" Ann said.

"That's different. You are a "sensational" prefect in the Ministry of Magic. I heard that Fudge went there that day." Fanny joked.

An smugly smiled.

At this moment the door to the hall opened, and a long line of first-years, who seemed to be in shock, was led into the auditorium by Professor McGonagall.Professor McGonagall was holding a stool in his hand, on which lay an ancient wizard's hat, patched and patched, with a wide slit at the frayed brim.The hum of conversation in the auditorium gradually died down.

First-year students line up at the staff desks, facing students from other grades.Professor McGonagall carefully placed the stool in front of them, then stepped back.

All the teachers and students in the school waited with bated breath.

Then the slit by the brim opened like a mouth, and the Sorting Hat sang loudly:

I was a new hat long ago, before Hogwarts was built, and the four founders of Noble House thought they would never go their separate ways.

They are united by the same goal, and their wishes are so consistent: to build the best magic school in the world, and let their knowledge be passed on and continued. "We will build a school together and teach together!" The four friends had a firm idea, but they never dreamed that one day they would be separated from each other.

There are no friends in this world.Can it be better than Slytherin and Gryffindor?Unless you count another pair of best friends - Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?How can such a good thing go wrong?How could such a friendship be written off?

Alas, I have witnessed this sad story firsthand, so I can recount it here.

Slytherin said: "The students we teach, their blood must be the purest." Ravenclaw said: "The students we teach, their intelligence must be superior." Gryffindor said: "We teach must be valiant and fearless." Hufflepuff said: "I will teach many people and treat them all as equals."

The first time these differences came to light, a small quarrel arose.

Each of the four founders owns an academy and only recruits the teenagers they want.

The wizards of Slytherin priests are pure blood and scheming like himself.

Only the sharpest minds of the younger generation can listen to the teachings of Ravenclaw.Anyone who is daring and adventurous is accepted into the academy by the brave Gryffindor.The rest were accepted by the kind Hufflepuff, who taught them all of her skills.

In this way, the four colleges and their founders maintain a strong and sincere friendship.During those many happy years, teaching at Hogwarts was pleasant and harmonious.

But then slowly a division emerges, exacerbated by our flaws and fears.The four colleges are like four stone pillars, which once firmly supported our school.

Now they turn against each other, disputes continue, and each wants to monopolize the power.There was a time when the school looked like it was dying.

Countless quarrels, countless fights, former good friends turned against each other.Finally, one morning, the aged Slytherin suddenly ran away.Although the strife had been settled by then, he left us discouraged.Only three of the four founders remained. From then on, the situation of the four colleges no longer lived in harmony and united as imagined in the past.

Now that the Sorting Hat is in front of you, you all know how it all started: I sorted you into each house because my responsibilities cannot be changed.But this year I'm going to say a few more days, and I ask you to listen carefully to my new song: Although I am destined to divide you, I fear that it is not right to do so.Although I have to fulfill my duty to divide each year's freshmen into four, I fear that such a division will lead to the collapse I dread.

Oh, know the danger, read the omens, the lessons of history warn us, our Hogwarts is in danger, and enemies outside the school are watching.We must be united internally, otherwise everything will fall apart from within.I have spoken to you bluntly, I have sounded the alarm for you? ?Now let's start sorting.

After the hat finished speaking, it remained motionless again.There was applause from all around, but it was mixed with whispers.

"This is really interesting." Ann looked at the sorting hat and sighed.

"This isn't the first time the Sorting Hat has issued a warning, but it's been a long time since I heard it..." The bloody Baro suddenly appeared from the middle of the long table. He watched Ann say this, and then he surfaced again. up the ceiling.

Professor McGonagall glared at the whispering classmates with stern eyes.The buzzing discussion in the auditorium stopped abruptly, and she frowned and glanced at the four tables. Almost everyone was sitting upright, and no one was talking. Then she looked down at the long piece of parchment in her hand, and shouted Out of the first name.

"Euan Abercrombie."

The last new student was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Professor McGonagall strode off with his hat and stool, when Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome to our new students," said Dumbledore loudly, with his arms outstretched and a broad smile on his lips. "Welcome! Welcome to our old students - welcome back! There's plenty of time for speeches, but no Now. Eat to your heart's content!"

There was appreciative laughter and enthusiastic applause in the auditorium, and Dumbledore sat down upright, throwing his long beard over his shoulders so that they did not block his plate - delicious food suddenly fell from the sky, long The table was suddenly covered with hunks of beef, pies, plates of vegetables, bread, jam, and jugs of pumpkin juice.

An quickly pulled a lot of plates in front of her.

But she could not cut the meat with one hand herself, so she pushed the platters of meat before Fanny.

"Do me a favor, I want to eat meat." Ann said bluntly.

Fanny quickly cut up a plate of meat and pushed it in front of Ann. Ann had just finished eating a small cake. She took a piece of meat with a fork and sent it to her mouth, thanking her indistinctly.

"Actually, I know that someone must really want to do this." Fanny sighed while cutting the second plate of meat.

"Lake ("WHO")?" Ann asked vaguely.

"Miss Granger," said Fanny seriously.

"..." An took a lot of effort to swallow the meat in his mouth, and took another sip of pumpkin juice to suppress his shock, "Are you kidding..."

"You know, I mean it." Fanny pushed the second plate of meat in front of Ann.

"Then you should know my attitude..." An said, picking up a piece of meat.

"I know, but that doesn't prevent me from telling the truth," said Fanny, winking at Ann.

Ann resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Fanny, after all, she still needed Fanny to help her cut the meat.

"Okay, it's up to you, hey, the taste of this cut will be much worse, and the knife will be cut to the left..." An said.

The students were all full, and the sound of the auditorium gradually became noisy. At this time, Dumbledore stood up again.The talking stopped immediately, and everyone turned to the headmaster.

"Okay, now that we're digesting another incredibly rich meal, I ask everyone to be quiet for a while and listen to my usual notes about the new semester." Dumbledore said, "First-year freshmen should know that the hunting grounds Students are not allowed to enter the forbidden forest here—some of our senior classmates should know that by now.”

"Mr. Filch, the administrator, asked me, and he told me that this is the sixth time in the 420th, to remind you all that magic is not allowed in the corridors in class, and many other regulations, which are listed in that long on the list, taped to Mr. Filch's office door."

"This year, we have had two changes in our teaching staff. We are delighted that she welcomes back Professor Graplan, who will teach you Care of Magical Creatures. We are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, head of our Defense Against the Dark Arts class. New teacher."

There was polite, if not very warm, applause in the Great Hall, and Dumbledore continued, "The selection for the House Quidditch team will be—"

He stopped short, and looked at Professor Umbridge questioningly.Since she was not much taller when standing up than when she was sitting, no one could understand why Dumbledore suddenly stopped talking. At this moment, Professor Umbridge cleared his throat: "cough, cough It was only then that everyone realized that she had stood up and was about to give a speech.

Dumbledore only looked surprised for a moment, and then he sat down alertly, looking intently at Professor Umbridge, as if he couldn't wait to hear what she had to say.Other teachers concealed their astonishment less subtly.Professor Sprout's eyebrows were almost tucked into her flowing hair, and Professor McGonagall kept her mouth tightly shut. Never before had a new teacher interrupted Dumbledore.Many students were secretly laughing: this woman obviously didn't understand the rules of Hogwarts.

"Thank you, Headmaster," said Professor Umbridge with a smirk, "for such a warm welcome."

Her voice was high and shrill, breathy, like a little girl's voice.She cleared her throat with a few more coughs, and continued, "Well, I must say, it's great to be back at Hogwarts!" She grinned, showing her sharp teeth, "It's great to see these happy little faces looking up at me!"

"I am eager to get to know you all soon, I am sure we will become very good friends!"

After hearing this, the students exchanged glances with each other.Some had almost undisguised smirks.

And immediately, Umbridge said a lot of very official, boring words.

"The successive Headmasters of Hogwarts have all innovated in their charge of running this historic school, and this is entirely due, because if there is no progress, it will stagnate and decay. At the same time, however, progress for the sake of progress This practice should never be encouraged. Our traditions have been tempered and often do not need bad revisions. To achieve a balance, between the old and the new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation Time?? Because some changes achieve good results, while others, in due time, will be found to be poor decisions. At the same time, some old habits will be retained, which is understandable, and some habits have become obsolete , must be discarded. Let us move forward into a new era of enlightenment, efficiency and reason, insisting on maintaining what should be maintained, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and discarding what we should prohibit.”

She sat down.Dumbledore started to clap, and the other teachers followed suit, but some of them only clapped once or twice before putting their hands down.A few students also applauded together, but most of the students deserted after listening to two or three sentences. At this moment, they didn't realize that the speech was over. Before they started applauding, Dumbledore stood up again.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, your speech was very enlightening." As he said, he bowed to her, "Okay, as I said just now, the Quidditch selection will be held on Friday Let's start. Now, I declare, disband!"

There was a sound of clashing tables, chairs and benches around, but Ann sat still and Fanny stayed with Ann as well.

"Aren't you going to show the way to the first-years?" asked Fanny.

Pointing to the bandaged hand, Ann said, "There are too many people, and there are 4 prefects..."

Ann didn't count Malfoy at all, Fanny obviously understood, she smiled and sat with Ann without moving.

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