As Professor McGonagall walked in, head held high and chest out, leading a group of new students who looked like little chicks following their mother hen, the entire Great Hall instantly fell silent.
Everyone, professors included, wore serious expressions as they watched the new students.
Before even arriving at Hogwarts, the newcomers had already heard countless terrifying stories about the Sorting Ceremony from their elders or friends. Now, being stared at like this, they grew even more panicked. A few of the little girls looked so frightened they were about to burst into tears.
But what they didn't know was that everyone, including their parents, had deliberately made the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony sound terrifying and difficult.
Scaring the first-years had been an unspoken rule at Hogwarts for hundreds of years. Not a single alumnus would ever break that tradition.
Just then, amid the silence, the Sorting Hat, sitting atop its tall stool at the end of the aisle, suddenly began to sing.
"Long ago, I was still a brand-new hat, back then, Hogwarts had yet to be built, the four noble founders of this grand school, believed they would never part ways..."
"Their shared goal bound them together, their wishes so alike and true, to build the finest magic school in the world, and pass their wisdom down forever..."
When the hat finished, it went still once again.
Applause filled the hall, but mixed among the clapping were many whispers.
"Seems like it went a little off-topic this year, doesn't it?"
Cedric tilted his head and whispered in Link's ear.
This year, he and Link were seated together at the very front of the Hufflepuff table, a position that symbolized status.
Link didn't reply right away. He simply frowned.
The first half of the Sorting Hat's song told the familiar story of how the four great founders created Hogwarts, and how Slytherin eventually left.
Everyone who had ever studied at Hogwarts knew that story by heart, after all, Hogwarts, A History was required reading for every student.
The key, however, was in the second half of the song.
It seemed as if the Sorting Hat was warning the students of Hogwarts not to divide, not to give outside enemies an opening.
Now that was interesting.
From what Link knew, under normal circumstances the Sorting Hat would never say something like that.
So was it Dumbledore who taught it to say that?
If that was true, then it showed that Dumbledore still preferred to use a soft, conciliatory approach toward the issue of Slytherin's potential betrayal.
Link couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
In his eyes, Dumbledore's methods were downright hypocritical.
There was no way Dumbledore didn't know that the Slytherins wouldn't listen to persuasion.
And Link didn't believe for a second that if the Slytherins really did turn to Voldemort, Dumbledore wouldn't strike them down ruthlessly.
When that time came, none of those Slytherins would have a good ending anyway.
So why not do what Link would, hit them hard before they betray you, so they never get the chance?
'Hypocrite.'
Still, Link had to admit, though Dumbledore's methods were rather sly, they certainly sounded noble. With a bit of twisting, it was easy to make them convincing.
Thinking that, Link smoothed out his smile and said to Cedric, "This is probably Dumbledore using the Sorting Hat to send us all a warning. He's noticed the problems with Slytherin, which just proves our plan is correct."
Cedric's face broke into a satisfied smile. He nodded, clearly pleased, just as Link had expected.
Meanwhile, the Sorting Ceremony had begun. One by one, new students donned the hat and were assigned to their Houses.
The serious mood in the Hall quickly melted away.
Older students from each House enthusiastically welcomed their newcomers, leaving the first-years a bit overwhelmed.
Just moments ago they had thought they'd face a series of terrifying trials, and now suddenly they'd found themselves in heaven.
Link and Cedric hurried to their feet, smiling warmly as they guided the new Hufflepuffs to their table, where the other upperclassmen took over entertaining them.
It was exhausting work, after all, Hufflepuff always had the most first-years of all four Houses.
That was directly related to the philosophy of the House's founder.
The great Helga Hufflepuff had firmly believed that it was far too cruel to let children arrive at Hogwarts full of hope, only to send them home disappointed because no House would take them.
So, by her will, Hufflepuff had never turned away any witch or wizard who wished to join.
Eventually, the long line of first-years came to an end.
After assigning the final student, Professor McGonagall picked up the stool and Sorting Hat and strode off. At the same moment, Dumbledore stood up.
"Welcome, our new students," Dumbledore said loudly, spreading his arms wide. "And welcome back, our returning students! There'll be plenty of time for speeches later, but not now. Dig in and enjoy!"
No sooner had he spoken than food appeared out of thin air.
Five long tables instantly filled with mountains of roast beef, pies, vegetables, bread, jam, and jugs of pumpkin juice. The tables groaned under the weight.
To cheers and applause, Dumbledore sat down, sweeping his long beard over his shoulder so it wouldn't get in his food.
All around him, the students had already started eating, after a long day of travel, everyone was starving.
The first-years were especially excited.
It was their first time at such an extraordinary feast, and their first time seeing such an easygoing, genuine headmaster. They were almost too dazed to react.
At this point, the Hufflepuffs exchanged knowing smiles. True to their House's loyal and friendly nature, they didn't mind putting aside their own hunger to help the newcomers, explaining dishes and even serving food, until the first-years' faces turned red with embarrassment.
Of course, they didn't give all the food away.
Pumpkin pies and pumpkin juice, for example, were pushed toward Link, everyone knew those were his favorites.
When the last dessert finally disappeared and everyone was full and chatting lazily, Dumbledore rose to his feet again.
The Hall fell silent at once. Though full and sleepy, the students still turned their eyes toward him.
"Well," said Dumbledore with a smile.
"Now that we're all digesting another splendid feast, I ask for a moment of quiet while I go over the usual start-of-term notices. First-years should know that the Forbidden Forest on the grounds is off-limits to all students. That, I believe, our older students also know quite well."
Laughter rippled through the hall.
Because honestly, unless they were the timid, rule-abiding type, most students past first year had already sneaked into the Forbidden Forest at least once.
Dumbledore didn't seem angry. He waited for the laughter to die down before continuing, "Mr. Filch, our caretaker, and this is his four hundred twenty-sixth request, by the way, has asked me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes. A full list of his rules is posted on his office door."
"Also, we have two changes in our teaching staff this year. I am delighted to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures. I am equally pleased to introduce Professor Umbridge, who will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
A few scattered claps echoed around the hall. Cedric glanced at Link, silently asking whether this "Umbridge" was the so-called "pressure from the Ministry" Link had mentioned.
Link met his gaze, nodded slightly, and said nothing.
On stage, Dumbledore continued, "Trials for the House Quidditch teams will be held..."
But he suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked questioningly to the side.
Everyone followed his gaze, and noticed that Professor Umbridge had stood up without anyone realizing.
"Ahem!" Umbridge cleared her throat. "Thank you, Headmaster, for your kind and warm welcome."
Many people frowned instantly.
Not because of what she said, but because of how she sounded.
Her voice was shrill and high-pitched, like that of a sugary-sweet little girl.
That might have been fine on its own, but coming from an oddly dressed, middle-aged woman, it created a jarring, and rather nauseating, contrast.
Completely unfazed by the stares, Umbridge went on, "Yes, I must say, it is truly wonderful to be back at Hogwarts. Seeing all these lovely little faces looking up at me, it's delightful. I'm eager to get to know you all, and I'm sure we'll become very good friends."
"The Ministry of Magic has always believed that educating young witches and wizards is an extremely important task. Your natural gifts, if not carefully trained and guided, may never reach their full potential. The ancient arts of our magical world must be passed down through the generations, or they will vanish forever."
"Each headmaster of Hogwarts has made their own innovations while managing this great and historic school, and rightly so. For without progress, we stagnate and decay. However, progress merely for the sake of progress should never be encouraged. We must…"
Her speech seemed endless.
Ever since Dumbledore had become headmaster, the students had never suffered through anything so painfully boring.
By the time Umbridge was halfway through, the Hall had turned noisy again, students whispering, chatting, and fidgeting. Staying put was already the most respect they could manage.
Strangely, neither Dumbledore nor the other professors intervened. Even Snape and McGonagall, who usually hated disorder, remained impassive, letting the noise grow louder and louder.
The noisier it got, the more awkward it would be for Umbridge.
Unfortunately for them, she seemed to have plenty of experience handling such situations.
Ignoring the students completely, she kept right on talking.
"...For some changes have proved beneficial, while others, in time, are found to be mistakes. Some old traditions are worth preserving, while others have become outdated and must be discarded. Let us continue forward into an enlightened, efficient, and sensible new era, keeping what must be kept, and banning what must be banned."
At last, she sat down. Dumbledore immediately began clapping, probably the only one who had actually listened to the whole thing.
His applause served as a cue; soon, the hall filled with halfhearted clapping.
The students looked cheerful, not because of her speech, but because her speech being over meant they could finally go to bed.
As for Dumbledore standing again to speak, that didn't worry anyone. They all knew Dumbledore never made his speeches drag on.
"This Umbridge," Cedric leaned close to Link and said with a grin, "isn't one to be underestimated!"
Link nodded. "You noticed too?"
"Of course. That was a declaration of war against Dumbledore, and quite a skilled one, at that. She's clearly very experienced in political maneuvering. We'll have to be careful."
Seeing Cedric's unusually serious face, Link smiled.
"No need to be that nervous. On her own, Umbridge isn't that big a deal. In fact, under the right circumstances, she might even help us."
"Oh?" Cedric asked, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"Don't rush. You'll see soon enough."
As he spoke, the students burst into cheers, Dumbledore's final remarks had ended.
Link didn't explain further. He straightened his collar and said, "I'll take care of guiding the new students this year."
Cedric didn't press him. He simply nodded. "Of course, if you want to."
Not far from them, the newly appointed Hufflepuff prefects, Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott, looked startled.
Traditionally, prefects handled the orientation of new students to gain experience.
They'd taken that rule to heart, so hearing Link volunteer for the job left them rather crestfallen.
But Link caught their expressions easily. Smiling, he shook his head and said, "You two can come along, consider it a learning experience."
The moment he said that, Ernie and Hannah lit up like candles.
Ernie even jumped up and shouted, "Yes, Senior!"
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