Due to some delays, the process of this year's opening banquet seems to be more concise than usual.

They chatted together, and after only five minutes of chatting, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rozier, left her seat. A moment later, she led the long line of first-year students to the top of the auditorium.

If Matthew and the others were soaked before, then compared to these first-year freshmen, it was nothing at all......

Look at them as if they were not on a ferry, but swimming from the lake!

One by one, they all became soup chickens.

They stood in a row along the staff's desks, stopped, and many were shivering, perhaps because they were cold and nervous.

Professor Rozier placed a three-legged stool on the ground in front of the freshmen, and placed a tattered, dirty, patched wizard's hat on top of the stool.

The eyes of the entire auditorium were suddenly focused on the wizard's hat. For a moment, there was silence.

Then a crack near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth, and it suddenly began to sing:

"Welcome to Hogwarts,

I hope you don't regret coming here,

You may spend seven years of romance in this castle,

Or maybe it's just a waste of time here,

......”

......

The lyrics are generally the same as a year ago, still asking everyone to have a sense of crisis, and calling for unity and harmony among the students of the four colleges.

When the singing ended, the auditorium burst into applause.

Professor Rozier, on the other hand, unfolded a large roll of parchment.

"When I call someone's name, they go over and sit on the stool and put on the hat," she said to the first-year students, "and when the hat announces the house, go and sit at the table in each house." ”

"Sean Avery. ”

A tall boy with a freckled face stumbled out of the crowd and put on his hat.

"Slytherin!" shouted the Sorting Hat.

Sean Avery took off his hat and hurried to the Slytherin table. The Slytherin students began to applaud, and Matthew gave a symbolic applause.

"Theresa Baker. ”

"Ravenclaw!"

"Melinda Bobin. ”

"Ravenclaw!"

"Colin Creevey. ”

"Gryffindor!"

......

"Astoria Greengrass. ”

"Slytherin!"

Astoria appears to be Daphne Greengrass's sister, and she sits between her sister and Agnes Lestrange, chatting happily.

......

The sorting ceremony continued, and the new students, both men and women, walked to the three-legged stool one by one with varying degrees of fear on their faces. The line was slowly dwindling, and Professor Rozier had read the name on the list with the L switch:

"Luna Lovegood. ”

A strange girl, with a fluttering temperament, walked up to Professor Rozier. Her pale skin, silver eyes, and dark golden-brown hair stood out in the crowd.

"Ravenclaw!"

And Steven Lucas became a new Hufflepuff freshman.

......

Applause after applause rang out in the auditorium, and there were fewer and fewer students left.

"Elaine Shafiq. ”

Matthew heard a somewhat familiar surname, the same as the manager of the Blotted Bookstore, which also seemed to be the surname of a pure-blood wizarding family.

"Slytherin!"

......

With the last two students, Ginny Weasley going to Gryffindor and Madeleine Yaxley coming to Slytherin, the sorting ceremony was declared over.

Professor Rozier picked up the Sorting Hat and small stool and took them away.

Crabbe hurriedly grabbed his knife and fork, and then stared at the empty plate in front of him—

Professor Grindelwald stood up, his lines more concise than they had been a year ago:

"Let's eat!"

On the golden plate, all kinds of delicious food suddenly appeared, and they seemed to fall from the sky.

Chunks of beef, pies, plates of vegetables, bread, jam, mashed potatoes and a jug of pumpkin juice......

And Crabbe, who couldn't wait for a long time, began to stuff a lot of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

......

The banquet was still as lively as ever.

The rain was still pounding heavily on the windows, but the sun on the ceiling was gone.

A burst of lightning suddenly lit up the golden plate, and the remaining feast on the plate vanished, filling it with pudding again in the blink of an eye.

Matthew picked up a piece of syrup fruit tart, it tasted pretty good, and he liked it.

As the pudding was swept away, the golden plates and goblets were all gone.

Everyone was lying on the chairs, touching the swollen little belly.

And then Professor Gellert Grindelwald stood up again:

"Now, I think you've had your fill of food and drink, and I'm going to announce a few caveats—"

"First of all, for new students, from the moment you step into Hogwarts, the castle will be your home and will accompany you as you grow...... Hogwarts will be your strongest shield anytime and anywhere!"

"Of course, Hogwarts discipline is also a must. Professor Kettleburn has asked me to remind you once again that the Forbidden Forest on campus is closed to all students at their own risk, and that Mr. Pringer, the caretaker, would like me to tell you that this year there are several more items that are forbidden to be used in the castle, namely......"

After a brief introduction to the school rules, Professor Grindelwald turned his gaze to the side:

"Besides, may I introduce our new Transfiguration teacher this semester—"

"Professor Severus Snape!"

On the train, the wizard who had traveled most of the distance with them quickly stood up and nodded at each of the four long tables.

Thunderous applause rang out, and everyone eagerly welcomed the new Hogwarts teacher.

......

Matthew Wakefield froze a little dumbfounded.

He was one of the few students who did not applaud.

Are you kidding!

Severus Snape?

You tell me, that man is Snape?

Matthew shook his head incredulously, he just wanted to take a sip of pumpkin juice to cool down now.

How could it be Snape......

Unless Matthew Wakefield is blind!

Oily, black hair, bat-like clothing, hollow eyes, and the iconic hooked nose...... He hadn't seen any of Snape's signature traits in the wizard on the train.

Is this its own problem?

Or is it a problem with this world?

Or is it the Severus Snape problem?

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