Chapter 11: Entrance Ceremony

Adam thought he would be able to enjoy the privacy of being alone all the way to Hogwarts.

Who knew that when he started to see how to use magic to control the fire, the door was opened again, and Hermione leaned against the door frame panting, looking at him awkwardly:

"I just forgot to introduce myself...my name is Hermione Granger."

"...My name is Adam Reed, nice to meet you."

After introducing himself abruptly, Adam blinked:

"So, the toad was found?"

"Oh... not yet, I'm still looking."

Hermione slapped her forehead.

She just introduced herself while chatting with the two boys, and suddenly remembered that she forgot to introduce herself to Adam, which was so rude.

"I'm going to go find the toad. You can continue reading."

Without saying a word, Hermione hurriedly left again.

"Isn't this the same direction she was looking for just now?"

Xiao Ke raised his head.

"Maybe I haven't finished looking yet... Do you want to eat macarons?"

Adam took their lunch out of his satchel.

"want--!"

When the sun was completely swallowed by the horizon, the Hogwarts Express slowly arrived at its destination.

Students do not need to carry their luggage with them. House elves will help them deliver it to their dormitories. They only need to change into their school uniforms in the car.

"Freshmen! All first-years, come to me!"

As soon as they got off the train, Hagrid's penetrating voice reached Adam's ears. The half-giant held up his lantern to attract the attention of the new students around him.

After counting the number of students one by one, and finally confirming that all the new students were present, Hagrid led the new students on the admission journey that every new student at Hogwarts must experience.

"I heard that this is a Hogwarts tradition. We will re-walk how the founders discovered Hogwarts."

A new student whispered to the people around him, which immediately caused other freshmen to exclaim.

"Get on the boat this way!"

On the pier by the Black Lake, Hagrid greeted the new students to board the boat in groups of four to cross the river.

"A boat can carry four people!"

Hagrid pulled away a freshman who was about to try out what would happen with a fifth person.

Adam walked forward with the crowd, and suddenly a hand stretched out from the side and pulled him.

"Ah! You are here, come on, there are just four of us!"

It turned out to be Hermione. Before Adam could say anything, he was pulled onto the boat. On the boat, there was a boy with red hair and freckles and a boy with round glasses smiling at him.

"...Hello."

Adam smiled awkwardly but politely.

"Hello, my name is Ron Weasley and this is Harry Potter!"

"My name is Adam Reed."

"Hey, don't you know Harry Potter?"

Ron was very surprised to see Adam's calm expression.

Of course I do. I also know that he will marry your sister in the future.

"Sorry, my parents are not wizards, so...are you a celebrity in the wizarding world?"

Adam looked at Harry apologetically, and Harry quickly grabbed Ron and Hermione who were about to explain:

"No, it's nothing! I just found out that I am a wizard not long ago."

"Look down!"

At this moment, Hagrid's voice came from far away. Ron, Harry and Hermione all bowed their heads obediently, but nothing happened.

"I think he was just talking to himself."

Adam pointed at Hagrid, and the three of them turned to look over and saw Hagrid lowering his head to avoid the vines hanging down from the bridge - but that was because of his height.

The three people who raised their heads blushed a little, but fortunately it was dark and they couldn't see clearly.

Thanks to this moment of embarrassment, none of the three spoke again, and Adam turned his head to look at the illuminated castle in the distance.

Although he had been reluctant to come to Hogwarts before, Adam still felt a little excited when he really saw the Hogwarts standing on the high ground, as figures that he had not yet seen but were already very familiar with seemed to flash before his eyes.

Sorry, Grandma, I also think Hogwarts is the best wizarding school in the world.

The boat finally stopped at the pier next to Hogwarts. The freshmen got off the boat one by one and followed Hagrid through the winding path to Hogwarts Castle.

The gates of the castle were bigger than Adam imagined. Hagrid raised his hand as big as a cattail leaf and patted the door a few times. Soon the door was opened, revealing a figure wearing a dark green robe.

Professor McGonagall who turns into a cat!

Adam, who is actually a plush man, remained calm, but he couldn't help but scream in surprise, and at the same time, the hands under his sleeves began to move.

If he remembered correctly, Professor McGonagall's Animagus was a tabby cat with square eye-frame patterns around its eyes!

Professor McGonagall didn't know that one of the freshmen in front of her was fantasizing about something treacherous. She glanced at the number of freshmen and nodded to Hagrid:

"Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid. Leave the rest to me."

Letting Hagrid pass first, Professor McGonagall took the freshmen through another path to the foyer in front of the auditorium.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, children. You will walk through this door later and enjoy dinner with your classmates. But before that, you must first go through the sorting ceremony and decide which house you will enter. Academy.”

After the words fell, the students who were looking forward to the branch immediately looked at each other.

Are you going to face a dragon/troll/banshee/vampire next?

Seeing the eyes of the freshmen, Professor McGonagall knew what they were thinking. After all, she had gone through the same thing.

After coughing a little harder, Professor McGonagall attracted the attention of the freshmen again. After everyone calmed down, she continued to read the instructions.

Yes, she did not tell the freshmen the specific procedures of the next sorting ceremony.

"The sorting ceremony will begin in a few minutes. I suggest you take care of yourself while waiting. You will be sorted in front of the whole school."

After leaving this sentence, Professor McGonagall turned and left.

"It's over, I'm not ready yet!"

A freshman covered his head in pain,

"How on earth am I supposed to hold out for three minutes in front of a giant dragon?"

"What? Isn't it to find the treasure of the mermaid in the Black Lake?"

Another freshman took out a bottle from his pocket in a daze:

"I also brought some chinweed on purpose..."

"But my mother said..."

"My father..."

"My brother..."

"Ah! What is that?!"

With an exclamation that overwhelmed other voices, the freshmen turned their heads and looked. A group of pale ghosts flew through the air, whispering to each other, and then disappeared through the wall.

"Is the sorting ceremony different every year, and this year... it's to deal with ghosts?"

Adam touched his chin and expressed his opinion.

After the voice fell, the hallway was quiet for a few seconds, and then the sound of swallowing saliva was heard.

The whole hall seemed to have taken away a lot of heat because of the ghosts passing by. Some freshmen turned pale, and some freshmen trembled slightly.

"Everything is ready now. Line up in a single file and follow me."

Professor McGonagall's return has re-injected a wave of heat into the entrance hall. She looked at the freshmen with some doubts, and finally guessed that one of the freshmen's parents might have joked too much and scared the others.

Through the door of the auditorium and along the aisle between the four long tables, Adam quickly looked at the dishes on both sides.

Roast beef, grilled sausages, grilled pumpkin, grilled potatoes, steak, lamb chops, grilled chicken, bread, French fries, Cornish pasties, Yorkshire puddings...

Adam, who has many restaurants at home, glanced at them, and the names and methods of each dish naturally emerged in his mind.

Well...at least it looks good, there is no dish like looking up at the stars, but I don't know how it tastes. I hope the cooking skills of the house elves will not disappoint him.