The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 700 A new beginning

The autumn of this year seemed to have arrived all of a sudden.

The morning of September 1st was as crisp and golden as an apple.

The day for Hogwarts to start school has arrived again. The platform of Platform 9 and 3/4 is crowded with people seeing them off. Smiles are on every student's face, except Ginny Weasley.

Looking at the huge farewell team in front of her, Ginny frowned and sighed.

She said, "Dad, Mom, and you, you don't have to send me off. I'm not a child anymore."

"I know, I know." Mrs. Weasley said perfunctorily, "Our Ginny is a hero who defeated the Death Eaters. But this does not affect us from sending you to school."

On September 1998, 9, as the youngest child of the Weasley family, Ginny still had to go to school, even though she had participated in the Battle of Hogwarts and even though she had fought bravely.

As miserable as Ginny is Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw College.

Sighing again, Ginny looked at her father and said, "Isn't the Minister busy with his work? You don't have to come and see me off."

"Not busy, not at all, dear." Mr. Weasley said with a smile, "Work is not as important as my Ginny. Besides, leave the work to Kingsley, he does it better than me."

Mr. Weasley has decided that after Ginny graduates from Hogwarts, he will resign from the Ministry of Magic and leave the Minister's chair to Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"What about you two?" Ginny looked at her eldest brother and sister-in-law, "Don't you two have to go to Gringotts today?"

After the war, under strong pressure from the Ministry of Magic, Gringotts was returned to the Ministry of Magic, and the goblins were only responsible for daily operations. Bill was the supervisory official sent by the Ministry of Magic to Gringotts.

"It doesn't matter, the goblins would rather not see me!" Bill said. His handsome face still bore the scars left by the werewolf, looking horrible and hideous.

Furong caressed her husband's cheek and said gently, "That's because they are jealous of your handsomeness. Your unparalleled appearance makes them feel inferior."

Except for Bill, the Weasley brothers on the side all had a look of despair on their faces.

Helpless, these two words were written all over Ginny's pretty face.

She then said, "Charlie, doesn't your dragon need you to take care of it? Percy, don't you love your job? Didn't you just get a promotion?"

"I often see fire dragons, but after you go to school, it's not so easy for me to see you, my sister." Charlie said carelessly, "So I took a leave of absence and came back to see you off. Are you touched, my dear sister?"

Not moved, not at all. But before Ginny could say anything, Percy spoke.

Percy said while looking at his watch, "Of course work is important. Everyone is watching my performance and wants to see me embarrass myself. So after I drop you off in the car, I will return to the Ministry immediately."

Bang!

Ginny slapped her forehead hard. She was speechless. She was just going to school. Why did the whole family have to come? Except for Harry and Ron who were attending Auror training and couldn't leave, everyone else came!

Ginny set her sights on the twins.

Before she could speak, Fred spoke first, "You are the only one in your family going to Hogwarts. If I don't take this opportunity to see you off, I don't know when you will come here next time!"

"That's right, my dear sister." George continued, "Don't feel any psychological burden. Just think of us as people who have nothing better to do and are here for a walk."

After her family's repeated "talk therapy", Ginny has given up struggling.

She looked at Ada helplessly and said resignedly, "What about you? Aren't you traveling around the world? Is Platform Nine and Three Quarters your world?"

"Don't be so aggressive!" Ada stretched out her hand to straighten Ginny's long red hair, "Just treat me as if I were just passing by."

Speechless, absolutely speechless! Ginny looked up at the sky in silence. She was just going to school, why did they have to make such a fuss?

The Minister of Magic came to see her off, the prosecutor at Gringotts came to see her off, the Director of the International Office of Magical Law came to see her off, and even the Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot came to see her off. It was such a grand ceremony!

As expected, the little sister is the most beloved one. Ronald Weasley was picked up.

The whistle sounded, and the platform was instantly covered by a large amount of white mist emitted by the red Hogwarts Express. Ginny was saved.

Blurry figures were moving in the mist. Ginny took this opportunity to quickly hug the Weasleys, then quickly jumped onto the red steam locomotive and waved goodbye to everyone.

The train started moving slowly, and everyone couldn't see Ginny on the train at all, but they still followed the train forward, waving their hands and saying goodbye loudly.

The last wisp of steam dissipated in the autumn air, and the train turned a corner, with everyone's hands still raised in the air, waving goodbye.

"It's great to be young!" Fred sighed, and what awaited him was Mrs. Weasley's motherly caress.

Mrs. Weasley said unhappily, "You are so young, and yet you are sighing about how great it is to be young! Your father and I haven't said that yet!"

Hearing this, Mr. Weasley swallowed back the emotion that was about to come out of his mouth, and his face turned red, like fresh pig liver.

Regardless of whether Mr. Weasley is the Minister of Magic or not, his love for Mrs. Weasley has never changed. "The next time we send someone to school, we will have to wait for Bill and Fleur's child!" George also sighed, but he did not receive the caress from his loving mother.

Mrs. Weasley looked at Bill and Fleur, and it seemed that she agreed with what George said.

Fleur was fearless, and even asked Mrs. Weasley with a smile whether she preferred boys or girls, while Bill scratched his face and looked up at the sky, studying the white steam that lingered in the air.

Ada and the twins walked back, chatting and laughing.

"You should be free this weekend?" Fred asked.

"should have."

"Then let's go to Scarborough! I want to drink coffee." George suggested.

Ada looked at the twins, smiled and said, "Okay."

……

As night fell, as the carriages rumbled towards the castle, and as the Great Hall turned into a sea of ​​pointed black hats, the Hogwarts opening dinner began.

Ginny, who was already in seventh grade, did not sit still. Her eyes were roaming around the hall.

The fat Horace Slughorn is still there, and he will continue to teach students Potions; the sallow-faced Severus Snape is also there, and he will teach students Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Sirius Black quit his job because he didn't want to be tied down to the school.

Professor Sprout is still the teacher of Herbology, Professor Flitwick is still the teacher of Charms, Hagrid is still the teacher of Care of Magical Creatures, Trelawney is still the teacher of Divination, Bathsheda Barbling is still the teacher of Ancient Runes, and the ghost Professor Binns, who teaches History of Magic, is also still at his post.

Nothing has changed, yet it seems as if everything has changed.

By the way, I wonder if Professor McGonagall has found a Transfiguration teacher, otherwise the headmaster of Hogwarts will have to continue to substitute teach.

After a while, the door of the auditorium opened and the students immediately quieted down.

A woman led a long line of first-year students to the top of the hall. Ginny's eyes widened in surprise, as did the students beside her.

Mom, what did I see! Ginny thought.

Ginny was so familiar with the person who led the freshmen into the auditorium. Wasn't that Ada?
Ada, who was wearing a blue robe with forget-me-not flowers, also saw Ginny's surprised look and she winked at Ginny secretly.

What's so surprising about this? You've seen more surprising things before!
Ada put a three-legged stool on the ground in front of the freshmen, and put the tattered, dirty, and patched sorting hat on the stool. The freshmen sorting began.

After the Sorting Hat finished its hat concert, the freshmen put on the hats one by one and were assigned to the four major colleges. Their campus life will begin from then on.

There were fewer and fewer freshmen waiting to be divided into different houses. At this moment, Ada, holding the list of freshmen, smiled knowingly.

She read: "Cameo Drizzt!"

The porcelain doll with long flaxen hair sat timidly on the tripod. The nervous little Cameo didn't even notice Ada's encouraging look.

"GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the Sorting Hat.

Cameo took off his hat and trotted to the Gryffindor table amid the applause of the Gryffindor seniors and Ada's gratified gaze.

Just after joining Gryffindor House, little Cameo felt the enthusiasm of her senior sisters. Ginny hugged her and pressed her to the seat next to her.

A bright smile appeared on Ginny's face, but there seemed to be something "evil" behind the smile. Her "evil" hand had already reached out to Cameo's flaxen hair.

The sorting ceremony ended, Professor McGonagall stood up, and the hall became quiet again.

"Before the dinner begins, I would like to announce some personnel changes at the school," said Professor McGonagall. "Professor Horace Slughorn has voluntarily resigned as the Headmaster of Slytherin House. The position will be taken over by Professor Severus Snape."

Slughorn and Snape stood up one after another, but the students' applause was not enthusiastic, especially some old students, who remembered the fear of being dominated by Snape.

"Also, let us welcome Professor Esmeralda Drizzt, who has kindly agreed to fill the Transfiguration slot," said Professor McGonagall.

Amid the students' warm applause, Ada also stood up.

However, the look she gave Professor McGonagall was full of resentment. She wanted to ask Professor McGonagall what "gladly agreed" meant?
Wasn't he brought back by force by you? Wasn't it because little Cameo was also a witch?

"In addition to being the Transfiguration teacher, Professor Drizzt will also be the Head of Gryffindor House," Professor McGonagall continued to announce.

The applause became more intense, especially from the Gryffindor little lions. They clapped, stomped their feet, and whistled. They almost blew off the magical ceiling of the hall!
“The last word is: enjoy your food!”

(End of this chapter)