This is not the time to speak, but the most important thing at the moment is to send the children to the castle first. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Led by Chu Xiaobai and Hagrid, the freshmen came to a huge oak gate.

Hagrid raised his huge fist and knocked on the door three times, and then the door immediately opened, and a tall black-haired wizard in a green robe appeared inside the door.

This is Professor McGonagall.

There weren't many children like Hermione who had known Professor McGonagall in advance, especially the freshmen from magical families, who had barely met Professor McGonagall. Seeing the seriousness and rigidity on her face, a thought popped up in the hearts of these children - this person must be difficult to deal with.

"First-year freshman, Professor McGonagall~." At this point, Hagrid and Chu Xiaobai's task is considered complete.

"Leave it to me, hard work, Hagrid, and Chu."

Hagrid and Chu Xiaobai left early, and went to the hall first through other paths to meet the other faculty and staff. Professor McGonagall turned around and opened the door, leading the first-year students inside.

The door was huge, and the foyer behind the door was large enough to move the Dursleys into the house. It's like Gringotts, with blazing torches all around the stone walls. The ceiling is so high that you can barely see the top. The façade is a lavish marble staircase that leads upstairs.

Following Professor McGonagall, the first-year students continued along the stone floor. On the right-hand side, there was a faint murmur, buzzing like hundreds of people whispering at the same time.

Compared to the other senior freshmen, they have already arrived first.

She thought Professor McGonagall would take her own people with her, but to Hermione and her friends, Professor McGonagall led them to a small, empty room at the other end of the hall.

There were a lot of people, and the space was a little smaller, and the children were huddled together, all nervously gazing at everything around them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall, who had been silent all the way, finally spoke again: "The opening party is about to begin, but before you get to the cafeteria and take your seats, you must first determine which house you are going to. Sorting is an important ritual because during your time at school the house 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 are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own glorious history and has produced some outstanding witches and wizards. During your time at Hogwarts, your outstanding performance will earn extra points for your house, while any misconduct 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 the college. ”

In a few minutes, the sorting ceremony will be held in front of all the teachers and students of the school. I suggest you tidy yourself up while you wait, and preferably look more energetic. ”

With a serious expression and a completely didactic tone, Professor McGonagall further reinforces her impression of being 'old-fashioned' in the minds of first-year students. The children swept by her gaze were as careful as quails - even if the appearance was neat and clean enough, they would still unconsciously start to tidy up for themselves.

"Good. I'll pick you up when I'm ready. Before leaving, Professor McGonagall left another piece of advice: "Please be quiet while you wait." ”

When Professor McGonagall left, many of the children breathed a sigh of relief, including Hermione's three friends.

"How can they assign us exactly which house we are going to?" Curious, but also feeling that the atmosphere was a little tense, Harry whispered a question to Ron.

"I think it's always a test. Fred said it hurt us a lot, but I think he was joking. Ron touched his nose.

Hearing Ron's words, Harry's heart trembled: "Quiz? What quiz? Is it for us to show magic? I don't know how to do magic. ”

"I don't know. Well, I mean, I don't even know what to do. ”

"Neither will I." Neville, who had just entered the circle, also showed a nervous expression.

Among the friends, only Hermione's expression was calm—she had already done some homework at home before she came, and had learned a few inconspicuous little magics, although she was not very proficient, but if it was only used for the entrance test, it would be no problem in comparison. Thinking so, Hermione lowered her head and muttered, practicing the magic spells over and over again.

There were few freshmen who were as prepared as Hermione, and most of the children in the hut were as nervous as Harry. They all focused their eyes on the door, and Professor McGonagall, who could return at any moment, seemed to be regarded by the children as the Great Demon King who was about to bring destruction.

Just when the atmosphere was tense to the extreme, a strange thing happened. Harry jumped to his feet in fright, and behind him, several children were screaming - twenty or so ghosts suddenly sprang out of the wall behind them. These pearly white ghosts, translucent in their bodies, glided through the air above the children's heads.

As they glided across the room, they exchanged ears, and the ghosts seemed to be arguing about something. Of these, the voice of a chubby friar-like ghost was clearest: "Forgive, forget, I mean, we should give him another chance......." ”

"My good monk, haven't we given Peeves enough chances? But what did he do? He gave us all nasty nicknames. You know, he can't even reach the ...... of a minimum ghost. The words of the Fat Friar Apparition aroused objections from another apparition, who was dressed in a straitjacket with a wrinkled collar in a wheel, and looked like a man of the sixteenth or seventeenth century.

As he spoke, the ghost noticed the children under his feet: "I said, what are you doing here?" ”

No one answered, and the room was quiet for several seconds.

looked at the friends around him, and then looked up at the ghosts floating in the air, or Hermione replied boldly: "We are freshmen~!" ”

"Yo, it turned out to be this year's freshmen~, hello guys~!" The chubby monk smiled at Hermione, and although his smile looked a little miserable, it was indeed smiling, "I guess you must be waiting for the test, right?" Boys, I hope you can be sorted into Hufflepuff, where I used to go to school. ”

"But I must go to Gryffindor, or George and Fred, and my mother, will beat me to death......."

"Gryffindor?" Hearing Ron's sloquette to himself, the Fat Friar smiled and beckoned to the other ghost: "Sir, there's a kid here who wants to go to Gryffindor~." ”

"Son, what's your name? I'm Sir Nicholas of Mimcy~. The ghost floated down and stopped in front of Ron, greeting him warmly. But in the next second, one of his movements scared Ron out of his mind - he actually pulled his head like he took off his hat and said hello, and almost ripped his head off his neck.

"Hahahaha~, kids, don't be afraid, he's a pretty headless Nick, and although he likes to scare new students, he's actually a very enthusiastic good guy, uh, I mean, a good ghost."

"yes, I'm not into pranks like Peeves." I was playing a prank just now, and now I actually said this sentence again. Nick, who almost lost his head, immediately left the impression in the children's minds that 'this guy is unreliable'.

"Now move forward." Just then, a shrill voice spoke. At this time, Professor McGonagall's voice, she appeared in the door again: "The sorting ceremony is about to begin. Now, line up in a single line and follow me. ”

The ghosts scurried across the opposite wall and disappeared, and the children followed Professor McGonagall through the door into a large hall.

"Wow~~~." There were a few sporadic exclamations from among the freshmen.

The rest of the academy's seniors were already seated around four long tables, above which thousands of candles fluttered in the air lit up the cafeteria.

Four tables are lined with glittering gold plates and goblets. At the top of the cafeteria is a long table with the teachers' seats.

The candlelight flickered, and the ghosts flickered back and forth among the students, bringing a hazy silver light.

Overhead, the velvety black ceiling was lit by stars.

The magnificence and magical beauty of the hall caused the eyes of many freshmen to widen and their mouths wide, including Harry, who had been living in the world, and Ron, who had lived in a crowded cabin.

"There are spells cast here, and they look like the sky outside, as I read about in Hogwarts, a piece of school history." Compared to the other freshmen, Hermione's reaction was not so great, she not only recalled the relevant materials of this hall, but also made an introduction to Harry and the others around her by the way.

As the children whispered, Professor McGonagall made a new move—she gently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-year students, and then placed a wizard's hat on the stool. The hat was patched, worn out, and dirty, as if it had been rolled over in oil and trampled on the ground with a dusty sole.