Harry Potter: The Dark ages

"Where did you go, Sirius?" James whispered. "Did you sneak out for an adventure again?"

"Cut it out, James. My cousin called me to their compartment to chat." Sirius's tone carried a hint of disgust. "It's the same old boring set of questions..."

James patted his brother's back in comfort.

"Hold tight, we're about to set off!" The giant's voice echoed across the lake. After seeing the students board their boats, the giant nodded reassuringly.

"Step on the raised wooden board at the bow, and the boat will move automatically!" The giant amplified his voice again, thundering in the students' ears like a spring storm.

Al was the closest. She extended her long leg and stepped on it, and the boat shot away from the shore like an arrow released from a bowstring.

Several teams of small boats successively left the shore and headed towards the Castle.

After passing several cliffs, they glided out through a narrow passage and landed on a rocky ground.

The Castle was still above them. Led by the giant, they climbed up a passable path, and after three minutes, finally reached an open space.

The Castle was right before their eyes.

The giant walked to the tall oak door, extended his cauldron-sized fist, and knocked three times.

The door creaked open, revealing a tall, slender Witch with Black hair in an emerald green robe standing at the doorway, her expression serious.

"First-year students, Professor McGonagall," the giant said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. Now, follow me." So, the giant, over two meters tall, was named Hagrid. Gary followed the group into the Castle.

The young Wizards were all visiting Hogwarts for the first time and were excitedly observing the Castle. Torches blazed around the stone walls.

The ceiling was about ten meters high from the ground. There was also a grand marble staircase leading upstairs.

They followed Professor McGonagall into a small room, where Professor McGonagall had them stand in order.

"First, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term feast will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you must first be sorted into your houses.

The Sorting Ceremony is very important. It will determine your roommates for the next seven years, who you attend classes with, where you dine at the long tables, and in which common room you write your essays."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has a glorious history. Your actions will earn or lose points for your house. At the end of the term, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, a highly valued collective honor."

"I will return for you when the Great Hall is ready," Professor McGonagall said. "Please remain quiet while you wait."

Her sharp eyes glared at James and Sirius, who were fooling around in the back row, and then she left the room.

Shortly after Professor McGonagall left, about twenty ghosts suddenly darted out from the wall behind the first-year students.

They appeared translucent and milky white, gliding silently through the entire room.

They acted as if no one else was present, paying no attention to the new students.

A plump, friar-like ghost floated towards the door of the room, apologizing, "I'm sorry if we startled you, but this is our annual welcoming performance."

The other ghosts seemed about to respond, but Professor McGonagall had already returned. The line of ghosts quickly fell silent and passed through the wall in an orderly fashion.

"You will form a single line and follow me," Professor McGonagall said concisely, never wasting words.

They filed out and entered the Great Hall. Students from other years were already seated at their tables, and countless candles floated in mid-air, providing illumination.

Each house occupied a long table, set with gleaming plates and goblets.

Another long table on the Great Hall's dais was reserved for the Professors.

Professor McGonagall led Gary and the others to the front of the dais and had them line up facing the students below.

Under the candlelight, hundreds of faces watching them looked like pale lanterns.

Ghosts were also mingled among the students, shimmering with faint specks of white light.

The Great Hall's ceiling was extraordinary; brilliant starlight twinkled on the dark ceiling.

"Who designed the concept for this ceiling?" Gary craned his neck. In the face of such profound magic, he felt incredibly small.

"I read in 'Hogwarts, A History' that the ceiling shows the exact weather outside," Al whispered.

Just then, Professor McGonagall gently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-year students. Gary quickly averted his gaze. Professor McGonagall then placed a pointed Wizard's hat on the stool. The hat was patched, well-worn, and looked tattered.

Everyone in the Great Hall was staring at the hat, including Gary.

The Sorting Hat, also mentioned in 'Hogwarts, A History,' was the item used to determine the house for new students.

The Great Hall was silent. A wide rip, like a mouth, opened on the brim of the hat, and then it began to sing: You may think I'm not pretty, but never judge a book by its cover... because I am a thinking magical hat! (I know you'll skip this part, so I won't write it out.)

When the hat finished singing, the entire hall erupted in thunderous applause. The magical hat bowed to each of the four tables one by one, then fell silent. "

At this moment, Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool." She read out the first name, "Kona Evans!"

A round-faced girl with light brown hair tied in a ponytail hurried out of the line, picked up the magical hat, put it on her head, and then sat on the stool. "Ravenclaw!" the hat's brim split open, and it shouted loudly.

A group of students wearing blue and Black badges on their robes, seated at the middle long table, applauded and cheered.

"Sirius Black!"

Sirius walked with firm, steady steps to the stool and placed the hat on his head.

Silence.

The magical hat lay motionless on Sirius's head, like an ordinary, tattered hat.

Gary felt nervous for Sirius, and the students below began to whisper. The magical hat had been on Sirius's head for five minutes.

"Gryffindor!" the magical hat said lazily, its voice somewhat listless.

The students' passion below seemed to ignite instantly. The Black family, a Pure-blood lineage that had belonged to Slytherin for generations, seemed to have produced an anomaly.

Sirius, his face full of excitement, walked towards the Gryffindor long table. The leading older students, after a few seconds of stunned, quickly came forward to greet him.

Gary frowned. He noticed a refined, blonde girl at the head of the Slytherin long table staring intently at Sirius with an unfriendly expression. That was his cousin, sixth-year Narcissa Black.

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