"Professor McGonagall, and... Professor Snape."
Hagrid mumbled as he stepped off the boat, still holding Harry and Ron by the back of their collars.
"Ha! Let's see who this is? Harry—Potter—and the boy from the Weasley family!"
Snape's sallow face bore a hint of a hidden, excited smile. He ignored everyone else, directly snatching the pair from Hagrid's grasp, pulling them swiftly toward the castle without a care for the other little wizards present.
"You'll be expelled for this mess—you won't be saved even by Dumbledore, I'm telling you!"
... Oh, he was in a really good mood.
Having often seen the other party's sour expression last month, William nodded; it seemed Snape was indeed one of the antagonists in the book 'Harry Potter'?
After all, what kind-hearted person would smile so wickedly at the news of the protagonist's impending expulsion?
"Hagrid—"
Standing beside Snape, Professor McGonagall didn't turn around. She only spoke to Hagrid once all the little wizards had stepped onto the dock.
"Professor McGonagall, just now Harry and Ron—"
Hagrid looked at the backs of the two who had been taken away by Snape, anxiously trying to explain for them.
"We all saw that car, Hagrid—" Professor McGonagall shook her head, her lips pressed into a tight line," Dumbledore will make a fair judgment, but right now—I need to know what exactly happened just now."
Ten minutes ago, she and Snape were standing on the square in front of the Hogwarts Great Hall, waiting for the 'flying car' mentioned in Percy's letter—originally she was supposed to be alone, but upon learning Harry Potter was in that car, Snape was uncontrollably excited.
Originally the newly arrived Defense Against the Dark Arts class professor also wanted to come over but she persuaded him to stay back.
However, contrary to their expectations, the car did not fly toward the castle but plummeted straight towards the boats filled with little wizards in the Black Lake upon appearing on the horizon.
"..."
Just as McGonagall had summoned a broomstick and flown into the air, the car dropped directly into the lake.
Once she noticed the two had been rescued, McGonagall's heart, which had jumped into her throat, settled back down reluctantly—
"Thanks to Professor Snape, he taught me quite a few charms over the summer—" Noticing Hagrid instinctively cast his gaze his way, William felt a bit helpless but had to offer an explanation.
He didn't want to take center stage.
But nearly having a car-incident while sitting in a boat was already magical enough.
So he opted to first extricate himself, considering he was entering fifth year—even though on the surface, he was a new student only exposed to magic for half a month, if he could proficiently wield so much magic on his own, it was beyond talent.
Luckily, at the time only Luna and Ginny, who were on the boat with him, saw him casting spells—or perhaps the two in the car as well.
At the moment, Luna and Ginny, one was silent, helping groom the feathers of the owl in her arms, while the other was doing the same for someone else's owl, neither intending to say anything.
"—so I used a Cushioning Charm and Levitating Spells to save them." William continued explaining to McGonagall, "But my mana wasn't enough—I couldn't save their luggage or the car they came in."
"It's okay, Mr. Richard, you've done a great job." Professor McGonagall's tight lips relaxed slightly; she seemingly wanted to smile, but her heavy heart made her abandon the idea, "Without you, the situation would have been worse—a lot of people owe you thanks, such as..."
Speaking, she glanced at the red-haired girl behind William, "For example, Mr. Weasley—"
Without waiting for William to respond, Professor McGonagall turned around, raising her right hand. The tip of her wand lit up, "New students, follow me, Hagrid, you've done enough, leave it to me from here."
Hagrid naturally had no objections, and the little wizards followed Professor McGonagall, through a tunnel in the rocky terrain, to a massive oak door.
She pulled the door wide open, and the group entered a spacious hall, bypassing the marble staircase leading upward. They stopped before a set of double doors along the stone-paved floor.
The buzz of chatter beyond the doors filled every ear.
"Welcome to Hogwarts..." Professor McGonagall turned around to introduce Hogwarts and the sorting ceremony to the new students. After a lengthy introduction, she looked at William, "As for... Mr. Richard, your sorting ceremony will be last."
"It's a bit late, we'll start the sorting ceremony immediately—"
As she spoke, Professor McGonagall reached out to push open the doors behind her, and the noise exploded into the hall.
Behind the doors was the Hogwarts Great Hall; William stood at the end of the line, observing the hall that hadn't changed much in decoration over a hundred years—white candles still floated in mid-air, deep gray clouds hung low, and students from four houses were gathered around four long tables, laden with gleaming plates and goblets.
The students were now staring at the new student lineup from the entry hall, with no doubt, William was the most eye-catching among this batch of new students.
Professor McGonagall quickly stepped up the hall's stone steps, standing beside a tattered hat—a shabby hat covered in patches, which first-year little wizards were nervously eyeing. The next moment, the hat suddenly began to sing.
"..."
William's eyebrow twitched—not? After a hundred years, this hat still had new lyrics?
Once the Sorting Hat finished its song, Professor McGonagall moved a step forward with a list in her hand.
"Claude Avery."
A short boy with glasses stepped onto the stage.
"Slytherin!"
Almost the instant the hat touched the boy's head, it loudly shouted out.
...
"Luna Lovegood."
Luna walked out of the line as if sleepwalking.
"... Ravenclaw!"
...
"Ginny Weasley."
The girl tossed her fiery red hair as she went up.
"Gryffindor!"
...
Finally, after the last little wizard took a seat at the Ravenclaw table, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat at last—
"William Richard."
Almost all eyes in the hall turned towards William; after all, a fifth-grade transfer student was extremely rare at Hogwarts—at least not seen for nearly a hundred years.
These gazes included all the professors seated at the staff table. However, Snape was not in the hall; instead, William saw Gilderoy Lockhart whom he had encountered in Diagon Alley sitting next to a short elf professor watching him with a smile.
For some reason, William detected a hint of enthusiasm in his gaze.
Do we know each other?
He also noticed the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, an elderly man who seemed somewhat playful—the way he sneakily popped toffee into his mouth suggested someone might be keeping watch—acknowledging William's gaze, he playfully winked at him.
The first-year little wizards who had just been sorted had already spread word of William's "deeds" on the Black Lake, so as William sat on the four-legged stool, the entire hall fell into a brief silence.
Holding the Sorting Hat, William took a deep breath; sorting was a skill—it determined his path from dormitory to hall to library for the next three years. To avoid getting lost in the castle like before, he had prepared a set of arguments...
But the hat did not ask him a barrage of questions as he had anticipated.
After a prolonged silence, a faint voice tinged with curiosity whispered in his ear:
"...Child, have I met you before?"