The towering Hagrid followed at the back of the line, his hair and beard soaked by the rain, and his mole-skin coat was nowhere to be seen.
But he didn't seem to mind the dampness at all, not even feeling cold.
When he caught Harry's eye, Hagrid even made a gesture, mouthing towards a new student in front of him, "This little fellow!"
Oh.
Harry saw the new student Hagrid was pointing at, wearing his mole-skin coat.
That coat was ridiculously large on him, much bigger than his robes.
This kid looked entirely out of place among his other new classmates, who all shivered like quails, while he had the leisure to wave at the Gryffindor table, seemingly a relative of someone.
Harry read his lips—"I fell in the lake."
Truly carefree.
It was no wonder why Hagrid was soaking wet as well and had given his mole-skin coat to this kid.
Professor McGonagall timely stood at the staff table with the Sorting Hat in her hand, placing it on a stool, and the hat began its nonsense song again.
It was evident that each year the Sorting Hat came up with different lyrics, having little else to do holed up in the Headmaster's Office with no chance to get out.
Finding some amusement for itself was imperative, lest the hat become stifled.
After the singing, came the classic Sorting ceremony.
Once the student who fell into the lake was sorted, everyone finally recognized who he was.
He was Colin Creevey's younger brother, Dennis Creevey.
This fellow was indeed naturally sociable; ever since he joined the Gryffindor table, his mouth hadn't stopped, looking entirely like Colin's duplicate.
"He's really lively," Ron lowly complained to Harry, "Let's hope he stays that happy after his first Magic Potion Class."
Harry tried hard to imagine what Snape could possibly do to turn this cheerful and lively Dennis into a reclusive boy.
But he couldn't imagine it no matter what, because Dennis's brother Colin was still that sunny, cheerful big boy, with no sense of boundaries.
Once the Sorting was complete, Professor McGonagall took the hat away.
At the same time, Dumbledore stood up.
"Looks like it's time to eat," Ron eagerly anticipated, "What else is there to say? Bring it on already!"
However, Ron's hopes were destined to be dashed because Dumbledore stood up not to commence the meal.
"Welcome." Dumbledore raised his hands in a standard French salute, "With the start of a new term, we have new students joining us—before we dine, allow me to explain some things to you all."
"In the upcoming months, we will be honored to host a truly spectacular event—an event that has not been held in over a century."
"I am delighted to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts this year."
At this point, Dumbledore paused, seemingly waiting for cheers from the crowd.
Sparse applause broke out among the students, who currently cared more about when they could eat than about some tournament.
Dumbledore was not embarrassed; he continued to introduce to everyone, "The Triwizard Tournament was established over seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition among the three largest magic schools in Europe: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. Each school selects one warrior, and the three warriors compete in three magical tasks."
"The Triwizard Tournament is held every five years, with the three schools taking turns hosting, and it was widely regarded as an excellent means for young wizards of different countries to forge friendships—but later, due to the excessive death toll, the tournament was discontinued."
The students in the Great Hall didn't find anything amiss with the mention of death; they were excitedly whispering to one another, not too interested in those unfortunate souls who died over a hundred years ago.
"Over the centuries, there have been several attempts to revive the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "but none have been successful—however, our Ministry of Magic's International Magical Cooperation Department and Magic Sports Department believe the time is ripe for another attempt. This summer, we have done much work to ensure every warrior will be safe from mortal peril."
"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have already arrived at Hogwarts, now, please join me in welcoming them!"
As Dumbledore finished speaking, the doors of the Great Hall opened once more.
About a dozen or so male and female students came in from outside, appearing around eighteen or nineteen years old, their attire different from Hogwarts'.—They were wearing light blue robes that seemed to be made of exquisite silk, clearly expensive.
When they reached the front of the staff table, they stood to the side.
Then, a tall woman entered from outside.
Tall, in the literal sense, it was the first time Harry had seen such a tall woman—even the doors of the Hogwarts Great Hall seemed like normal-sized doors to her.
Despite her grand build, she was actually beautiful, with a noble and elegant demeanor, her luxurious attire unmistakably reflecting her lady-like status—especially the massive and expensive opals glittering around her neck and fingers.