Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

After offering his condolences to John, Professor Lupin said he needed to speak with the train conductor before leaving.

The chubby kid in that cubicle was named Titus Crow, a fellow first-year student. Judging from the sound, those screams earlier seemed to have come from this chubby kid.

After Professor Lupin left, he expressed his deepest gratitude to John and got to know him.

The other two girls are sisters. The older sister, Daphne Greengrass, is a third-year student, and the other is her younger sister, Astoria Greengrass, who is a first-year student like John.

After exchanging a few words with the group, John, Neville, and Luna returned to their previous cubicle.

Back in her cubicle, Luna returned John's school uniform to him.

"Thank you for the clothes. I didn't expect you to be such a brave and considerate junior."

Despite what had just happened, Luna maintained her calm smile, showing no sign of panic.

But John didn't feel that distance anymore.

Could it be considered sharing hardships to some extent?

Neville wiped his sweat and grabbed John's arm, still feeling a bit scared.

"John, you weren't seriously injured when you were attacked by the Dementors, were you? I mean, mentally."

"I don't think so. It's just that I keep thinking about the feeling of bumping my toe before, which causes me to have a kind of phantom pain in my toe..."

John moved his foot, somewhat speechless. It didn't hurt at all, but the phantom pain just wouldn't go away.

Is the Dementor's attack method so lacking in style?

Neville was speechless upon hearing John's words, while Luna lowered her head and hid her laughter.

......

Nothing else happened on the journey after that. Not long after the Dementors were driven away, the train started moving again and arrived at Hogwarts Station at around 6 p.m.

There were several people who looked like nurses standing at the station. As soon as the train stopped, they boarded the train and went through the carriages one by one to check on those who had been attacked or frightened by the Dementors.

John was also checked and, finding nothing wrong, left.

Although they couldn't hear what the adults were saying outside, their grim expressions revealed that the Dementor attack was no small matter.

After the inspection was completed, they were able to get off the bus, and Neville and Luna said goodbye to John.

They said goodbye in advance because they knew that the way first-year students entered the school was different from theirs.

After John got off the train, he heard a loud, gruff shout from the front of the train: "All first-year students, come here!"

After being called out several times, the first-year students gathered at the front of the car, in front of the incredibly tall man.

"Hey, John."

As soon as he approached, someone spoke to him. When he turned around, he saw it was Titus, the chubby boy from the train.

They had gotten to know each other a little on the train before, and there was little awkwardness between students, so he and John addressed each other by their first names.

"Let's ride on the same ship later," Titus whispered to John.

"What do you mean by taking a boat?"

"Didn't you know? When new students first enroll at Hogwarts, in order to pay tribute to the four founders, they have to enter Hogwarts by boat, just like they did back then."

Titus began explaining Hogwarts traditions to John, things he hadn't known before, as they weren't mentioned in the books.

According to Titus's introduction, the giant who greeted them, nearly three meters tall, carrying a large lantern and sporting a long beard, was named Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.

Sure enough, not long after listening to Titus's explanation, Hagrid led the first-year students to a lake.

John could see the ancient castle under the moonlight from a great distance across the lake.

This wondrous sight, which could only be created in fantasy in his previous life, now appeared before his eyes like a dream, causing John to stop and gaze at it.

John was brought back to his senses only by Titus's call.

Under Hagrid's arrangement, all the new students boarded a small wooden boat in twos and threes.

Then, guided by magic, the wooden boat carrying this year's new students sailed towards the castle.

John and Titus were on the same ship, and Titus kept talking beside him.

According to his self-introduction, he comes from a pure-blood wizarding family, and his parents have introduced him to many things about the wizarding world since he was a child, so he knows a lot.

For example, what are the reputations of the four colleges?

Gryffindors are a group of troublemakers, while Ravenclaws are a group of nerds or mad scholars.

Hufflepuffs are all good-for-nothings, in the physical sense.

Slytherins were a group of arrogant and conceited people.

After listening to Titus's speech, John was speechless. How come none of the four houses received a good evaluation from him?

"I hope I can go to Hufflepuff, because I'm a complete glutton, a glutton in every sense of the word, hehehe."

After the introduction, Titus even admitted with a silly grin that he was a glutton.

"..."

Admitting one's own incompetence requires more courage than bravado. In some ways, perhaps Titus would also be a good fit for Gryffindor?

As their small boats docked one by one, the first-year students gathered at the boathouse at the foot of the castle cliff, and then climbed the stairs to the magic academy.

Upon arriving at the academy's main gate square, which is connected by a stone bridge, we found that older students would arrive by horse-drawn carriage to enter the school.

At the entrance to the square, a tall female professor wearing a pointed hat and a dark green robe was already waiting for them.

Titus knew who the man was as soon as he saw him and introduced him to John.

This is none other than Professor McGonagall, the Vice-Headmaster of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor, and Transfiguration Professor.

Once all the new students had gathered, Professor McGonagall clapped her hands and began to speak.

"Welcome to Hogwarts."

"You can call me Professor McGonagall; you'll get to know me later."

Professor McGonagall looked around at everyone, gave a brief self-introduction, and then got down to business.

"I will take you to the auditorium for the opening banquet later, but before the banquet begins, I will assign you to colleges."

"Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin."

"While you are at school, the school is your home."

"Good performance can earn you points for your college, while violations will result in point deductions."

"At the end of the year, the college with the highest score will win the College Cup."

After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she looked around and, seeing that everyone was listening attentively, nodded. Then she turned and led the way: "Follow me."

Only then did they truly step into the castle, and as the gates opened, a huge school emblem appeared before them.

The school emblem hangs on the wall, below which is the school motto, which means: "Sleeping dragon, do not disturb."

On either side of the school emblem are duplex staircases leading upwards, and on the second floor is another large door.

Upon entering, you will see four tall hourglasses on the left. Each hourglass has a different design, representing the characteristics of the Gryphon, Badger, Eagle, and Slytherin houses, respectively.

"These are the college's scoring hourglasses. Your performance in your respective colleges, whether you gain or lose points, will be directly reflected in these hourglasses."

Professor McGonagall didn't give much of an introduction, but led the new students forward. After passing through another gate, they finally arrived at the Great Hall.

Four long tables were set up here, filled with students from the four colleges, while countless candles floated on the ceiling of the hall, providing ample light.

The most amazing thing is the ceiling. The school history book also mentions that the ceiling was enchanted so that it could reflect the sky above the castle.

At the far end of the hall were the professors' seats, with a row of tables and an owl lecture.

Under the watchful eyes of the older students, they followed Professor McGonagall to the front of the hall, where a high stool was placed with a pointed hat on it.

Interestingly, the folds on this hat resemble a human face, complete with a mouth and eyes.