The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

The door immediately opened, and there stood a tall witch in a turquoise robe with a serious expression. She wore square glasses and her hair was tied up in a tight bun.

“First-year student, Professor McGonagall,” Hagrid said.

“Thank you, Hagrid. Leave the freshmen to me.” Her voice was crisp and decisive.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” Professor McGonagall said, looking at them. “The opening banquet is about to begin, but before you take your seats, you will need to choose your houses. The Sorting Ceremony is a very important rite…”

Just as she was speaking, Knox suddenly jumped off Vera's lap and slipped silently through the door.

"Knox!" Harley exclaimed softly, wanting to chase after him.

Vera gently pressed her hand down: "It's okay, it knows what to do."

Professor McGonagall continued to explain the characteristics of the four houses and the scoring system for the House Cup. The freshmen listened nervously, and some of them had already started to tremble.

"What should I do? I don't know anything yet." Harley whispered nervously in Vera's ear as Hermione rapidly recited the spells she had learned.

Seeing the fear and unease among the new students around her, Vera couldn't help but smile and gently pat her hand to comfort her.

"Students whose names are called in a moment, please come forward to put on your Sorting Hats for the Sorting Ceremony," Professor McGonagall said finally. "Now, please tidy yourselves up; we'll be going in shortly."

She turned and pushed open the door, leading the new students into the magnificent auditorium.

Harley couldn't help but gasp—

Thousands of floating candles illuminated the entire Great Hall, and students sat around four long tables. Above the tables was a magical ceiling adorned with stars, and Hermione was excitedly whispering explanations of its wonders in the background.

At the very front was a long table for teachers, where many professors were already seated.

There were also many ghosts mixed among the students, shimmering with a hazy silver light.

But the most eye-catching item was a worn-out pointed hat placed on a four-legged stool.

Just as the freshmen were marching in formation, the hat suddenly twisted and split open, singing like a mouth.

After it finished singing, the whole audience erupted in applause. Professor McGonagall stepped forward and unrolled a long scroll of parchment.

“Whoever I call now, put on your hat, sit on the stool, and await Sorting,” she said. “Hannah Abbott!”

A little girl with rosy cheeks and two golden braids stumbled out of the line and put on a hat.

“Hufflepuff!” the hat announced loudly.

The Hufflepuff table erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Vera waited quietly, noticing that Harley's hands were gripping the edge of her robe tightly, her knuckles turning white.

“Relax,” she said softly. “It’s just a hat.”

Harley managed a weak smile: "I know, but... I don't know which house's requirements I would meet."

“Go where you want to go,” Vera gently took her hand and whispered comfortingly, “Don’t forget what I said on the train.”

Harry blinked and nodded reluctantly, but his expression still didn't look good.

The college assignment ceremony continued, with each new student being assigned to their respective college.

Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. As she ran toward the cheering long table, she turned back and gave Harry and Vera a thumbs-up.

After many more people passed by, Professor McGonagall finally announced, "Harley Potter!"

The auditorium fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder whispers than before.

"Potter, is it that Harley Potter?"

"She really came..."

Harley took a deep breath, glanced at Vera, and walked over to put on the hat.

After a long while, the Sorting Hat loudly announced, "Gryffindor!"

A deafening roar erupted from the Gryffindor table as the Weasley twins shouted, "We have Potter!"

Harley blushed and sat down next to Hermione, glancing back at Vera with concern.

Vera nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Vera Black!"

When the name was uttered, the auditorium fell into an eerie silence once more, and all eyes were fixed on the silver-haired girl in the wheelchair.

Vera calmly pushed her wheelchair forward and, with Professor McGonagall's help, put on the Sorting Cap.

Chapter Nineteen: Rules are meant to be broken.

As the hat obscured her vision, a soft voice whispered in her ear:

“Hmm… very interesting.” The Sorting Hat’s voice whispered in Vera’s ear, “This hidden ambition and thirst for power… typical Slytherin traits, almost everyone in the Black family has them.”

“But wait…” the hat continued, “there’s more here… Oh! What’s this?”

Vera felt the Sorting Hat tremble slightly in her mind.

"What a rare combination... courage and loyalty, the ideal of changing one's own destiny, the fire hidden beneath a calm exterior... Gryffindor has every reason to choose you."

The silence in the auditorium began to grow suffocating. Vera could feel hundreds of eyes staring at her, and some people had already started whispering.

“I see the struggle within you,” the Sorting Hat continued, “the resistance to family tradition, the pursuit of your own path…this reminds me of another Blake…”

The whispers in the auditorium grew louder and louder, and Vera could feel hundreds of eyes staring at her.

"So, what is your choice?" the Sorting Hat suddenly asked.

Vera was slightly taken aback: "I thought it was up to you to decide."

“That’s usually how it is,” the Sorting Hat acknowledged, “but your case is also special, like Miss Potter and Miss Granger before you. Tell me, young Black, what do you value most?”

Vera's gaze unconsciously drifted past the brim of her hat and landed on the Gryffindor table.

The adorable savior sat there nervously, his green eyes fixed intently on them.

Ever since she learned that she had come to this world, Vera had been thinking about what was most important for a transmigrator.

Preserving her life is indeed a priority... but she's already in this state, so it seems that whatever she does is just a struggle to move upwards.

Now that she'd come to a world of magic, she wanted to give it a try.

“I want to…” Vera raised her head, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes as she looked at Harley, “I want to go somewhere that can change my destiny.”

The Sorting Hat chuckled. "Ah, change your destiny...what a Gryffindor answer. But are you really sure? That would mean breaking with Black's tradition once again."

Vera looked at the pair of green eyes in the distance and raised her head: "Traditions are meant to be broken."

"Very good!" The Sorting Hat suddenly raised its voice and announced loudly throughout the Great Hall, "Gryffindor!"

The entire auditorium fell silent instantly, and everyone stared wide-eyed.

The cheers at the Gryffindor table erupted a few seconds late, with Harry even jumping up to clap, nearly knocking over the goblets on the table.

Vera tilted her head slightly, clearly feeling the shocked gazes directed at her from the Slytherin table, especially Malfoy's incredulous expression.

Professor McGonagall was visibly taken aback, but she quickly helped Vera remove her hat and said softly, "Welcome to Gryffindor."

Vera pushed her wheelchair toward the Gryffindor table, feeling the gazes from all directions along the way.

When she arrived at the long table, Harley had already eagerly moved aside to make room for her.

“Vera! You’re a Gryffindor too!” Harry exclaimed excitedly, almost incoherently. “We’re from the same house! I knew it—”

Hermione leaned over to help her tidy up her flattened hair: "The Sorting Hat hesitated for so long, what did it say to you?"

Vera shook her head slightly: "Just some trivial matters."

When the Sorting Ceremony was over, a tall figure stood up from the faculty seats. Professor Albus Dumbledore spread his arms, his long, silvery-white beard gleaming in the candlelight.

“Welcome!” His voice was loud and warm. “Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we enjoy our meal, I have a few words to say—”

Vera's gaze swept across the crowd and landed on the principal's intelligent blue eyes.

The greatest wizard of our time is looking down on all the students with a kind expression.

“Idiot! Crybaby! Trash! Twist!” Dumbledore said suddenly, then sat down cheerfully.

The freshmen looked at each other in bewilderment, while the upperclassmen, unfazed, began to applaud.

Harley looked at Vera, puzzled: "Is he... a little crazy?"

Vera smiled slightly: "That's just his style."

As Dumbledore took his seat, a mountain of food suddenly appeared on the long table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, sausages, Yorkshire pudding, various vegetables and gravy... and for some strange reason, there were also peppermint hard candies.

"This is amazing!" Hermione exclaimed, while Harley couldn't wait to pile food onto her plate.

Vera noticed that Halle's plate was almost entirely filled with meat, with hardly any vegetables.

She gently pushed a bowl of salad towards her: "A balanced diet is very important."

Harley smiled sheepishly and obediently added some vegetables to her plate.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the leftovers on the table vanished instantly, replaced by various puddings, ice creams, pies, cakes, and fruits.

Harley's eyes widened: "This is amazing! How did they all appear?"

Vera watched Harry wolf down the apple pie and gently pushed a plate of strawberry pudding towards her: "Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Harley slowed down, embarrassed, her cheeks puffed out from her mouth full of food: "Sorry, I've just... never eaten anything this delicious before."

Hermione asked curiously, "Don't your relatives give you dessert?"

Harley's smile dimmed for a moment: "Dullie often gets double, while I... sometimes don't even get leftovers."

Vera's gaze fell on Harley's thin, bony wrist, and her eyes darkened.

She changed the subject, saying, "You can eat a little of everything... as long as you can eat it."

The banquet continued amidst laughter and cheerful conversation.

Vera noticed that Professor Quirrell, who was wearing a purple headscarf, was glancing at Harley every now and then from the faculty table.

Every time his gaze swept over her, the hair on Knox's neck would stand on end, and he would make a low growl.

"What's wrong with it?" Harley noticed Knox's unusual behavior and asked with concern.

Vera gently stroked Knox's back: "It's okay, he's probably just not used to so many people."

Everyone at the banquet was happily discussing their families. Harley had nothing to say, so she simply lowered her head and petted the cat with Vera.

Just as she inadvertently looked up, she saw the large scarf on Quirrell's head.

For some reason, Harley suddenly felt a burning pain in the scar on her forehead.

"Hiss!" Ha covered his forehead with one hand.

Vera keenly noticed her unusual behavior and turned her head to look at her: "What's wrong?"

Harley pressed her fingers tightly against the lightning bolt-shaped scar, her face suddenly turning deathly pale: "My scar...it suddenly hurts a little..."

Vera's pupils contracted sharply, and she quickly looked up at the teachers' table. Quirrell had already turned his head and was stammering something to Snape.

Quirrell… no, it was Voldemort hiding behind his head who was watching Harley.

Chapter Twenty: I love the two-sided attack!

Thanks to her magic circuits, Vera clearly sensed a chilling magical fluctuation coming from the direction of the teachers' seats, which then quickly dissipated.

She subtly grasped Harley's wrist, simultaneously placing the wheelchair between Harley and the teachers' table, and whispered, "Take a deep breath and relax."

Harley's fingertips were icy cold, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Vera could feel the restless magic beneath her skin—the mark of a curse left by Voldemort in his infancy, now awakened by his presence.

"Are you feeling better?" Vera asked softly, her fingertips lightly tracing Harley's scar, the golden lines of the magic circuit flashing beneath her skin.

Harley's breathing gradually calmed down, and she rubbed her scar in confusion: "Strange...it suddenly doesn't hurt anymore."

"She's probably too tired." Vera withdrew her hand, her gaze sweeping over the teachers' table. "She should get some rest later."

Harley nodded, holding her hand tightly, and said nothing more.

The dinner party was drawing to a close, and Dumbledore rose again to announce some important points, emphasizing in particular the dangers of the Forbidden Forest and the prohibition of entering the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor.

Afterwards, the entire school sang the school song in a scattered manner, and the students from each college followed their respective class leaders and walked towards their respective colleges.

"Gryffindor freshmen, follow me!" a red-haired boy shouted—it was Percy Weasley, the third son of the Weasley family, wearing a prefect badge on his chest.

Just as Vera was about to push her wheelchair to follow them away, she saw McGonagall hurriedly walk down from the teachers' table, her black robes fluttering behind her, her expression serious yet showing some concern.

“Miss Black, please wait a moment.” She called to Vera, “I need to speak with you alone before we return to the common room. The rest of you, please follow the prefect back to the common room.”