The students all gathered on a small, dark platform.

The light of a lamp flickered above the students' heads:

"First-year students! First-year students are here! Harry! Come over here! How are you? ”

A big man almost as tall as two ordinary people and as wide as five ordinary people stood not far away and shouted loudly—maybe not loudly, but because of his original loudness—shouting.

His face was almost completely obscured by his long unkempt hair and tangled bushy beard, and it was already night, and it was dark, but you could still see his black beetle-like eyes glistening under his hair.

Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hunting Ground Warden, Key Handler.

"Come on, come with me, are there any new first-year students? Watch out for the soles of your feet – all right! First-year students come with me! ”

The freshmen followed Rubeus-Hagrid and stumbled and stumbled as if down a steep, narrow path.

Probably because of nervousness, no one spoke.

"Kids, turn this corner, and you'll soon see Hogwarts for the first time." Rubeus-Hagrid shouted back.

……

"Digging lotus roots—"

Exclamations followed.

At the end of the narrow path, a black lake suddenly unfolded.

On the high hillside on the other side of the lake rises a majestic castle with spires and windows twinkling under the stars.

"Now, get on board! No more than four people per boat! Rubeus-Hagrid exclaimed, pointing to a group of small boats moored to the shore.

Lin Xiaoan and Nanjiayu got into a small boat, and Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom followed.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Lin Xiao'an looked at the hateful look that Draco Malfoy, who was still blue-nosed and swollen, and his followers on the other small boat next to them, and Lin Xiao'an suddenly felt that it was really ...... Cool.

……

"Are you all on board?" Rubeus-Hagrid shouted, himself in a small boat, "that's good...... Go ahead! ”

A group of small boats immediately rowed across the mirror-like lake.

Everyone was silent, staring at the huge castle towering into the sky.

As they approached the cliff on which the castle stood, it seemed to rise above them.

"Keep your head down!"

As the first boats approached the cliff, Rubeus-Hagrid shouted.

Everyone bowed their heads, and the boat carried them through the ivy curtain that covered the front of the cliff to the hidden open entrance.

They followed a pitch-black tunnel that seemed to lead to the castle's underground, eventually reaching what resembled an underground dock, and then climbing up to a ground full of gravel and small pebbles.

Afterwards, in the light of the Rubeus Hagrid lantern, the group climbed a tunnel in the rocks and finally reached a flat, slightly damp meadow in the shadow of the castle.

They climbed a stone staircase and gathered in front of a large oak door.

Then, Rubeus-Hagrid raised a huge fist and knocked three times on the castle gate.

……

The door opened.

A tall black-haired witch in an emerald green robe stood in front of the gate with a serious expression.

"First-year freshman, Professor McGonagall." Rubeus-Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. Leave it to me. Professor McGonagall pulled the door open a little more.

The foyer is large, and the stone walls are surrounded by blazing torches.

The ceiling is so high that you can barely see the top.

The façade is a lavish marble staircase that leads upstairs.

The freshmen followed Professor McGonagall down the marble floor.

Lin Xiaoan heard the buzzing of hundreds of people coming from the door on the right, and the students from other classes in the school must have arrived-

Professor McGonagall, however, led the first-year students to a small, empty room at the other end of the hall.

Everyone rushed in, huddled together side by side, nervously looking around at everything.

……

"Welcome to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall said.

"The opening party is about to begin. However, before you take your seats in the auditorium, first determine which house you are entering into each other.

The Sorting House is an important ritual because during your time at school it is like your home at Hogwarts.

You will attend classes with other students in the college, live in the dormitory of the college, and spend your free time together in the common room of the college.

The names of the four houses were: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

Each house has its own glorious history, and all have produced outstanding wizards.

During your time at Hogwarts, your outstanding performance will earn extra points for your house, while any violation will result in a loss of points for your house.

At the end of the year, the college with the highest score receives the House Cup, which is a high honor.

I hope that no matter which house you are assigned to, you will be able to bring glory to your house.

In a few minutes, the sorting ceremony will be held in front of all the teachers and students of the school.

I suggest that you get in order and be refreshed while you wait.

…… Okay, I'll pick you up when it's ready.

Now, be quiet. ”

……

When Professor McGonagall left the room, almost all of the freshmen breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Xiao'an heard Hermione Granger muttering words and quickly reciting the incantations she had taught herself.

Suddenly, a student screamed, "Ahhh

Twenty or so pearly white translucent ghosts suddenly emerged from the walls.

They glided across the room, talking to each other, not paying much attention to the newcomers.

A chubby friar-looking ghost said, "Forgive, I say, we can give him another chance-"

"My good monk, haven't we given Peeves enough chances? But he gave us all nasty nicknames. You know, he can't even reach the least of a ghost - I mean, what are you doing here?"

A ghost in a bodysuit with a wheeled ruffled collar suddenly discovers a freshman.

No one answered.

"New life!" The fat friar smiled at them and said, "I suppose you're probably going to be tested?"

A few students nodded silently.

"Hopefully you'll get a Hufflepuff!" The monk ghost said, "I used to be in that college. ”

……

"The sorting ceremony is about to begin." Professor McGonagall is back.

The ghosts fluttered, and the fish vanished through the opposite wall.

"Now, line up in a single row." Professor McGonagall said to the first-year students, "Come with me. ”

Lin Xiao'an and the others walked out of the room in a line, walked through the foyer, and entered the auditorium through a double door.

The rest of the year group sat around four long tables, above which thousands of candles fluttered in the air, illuminating the auditorium.

Four tables are lined with glittering gold plates and goblets.

At the top of the auditorium was a long table with the teachers' seats.

Professor McGonagall brought the first-year students to the bottom of the stage and asked them to stand in a row facing all the upperclassmen with their backs to the teacher's seat.

The candlelight flickered, and hundreds of faces staring at them were like pale lanterns.

The ghosts also mingled with the students, shimmering with a hazy silver light.

When I looked up, I saw stars twinkling on the velvety black ceiling.

Hermione Granger whispered, "There's magic here, it looks like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History of the School." ”

Professor McGonagall gently lowered a four-legged stool in front of the first-year freshman, and placed a top wizard's hat on the stool.

The hat was patched, worn out, and dirty.

I'm afraid I haven't washed it for hundreds of years...... Lin Xiaoan thought.