The scenery outside the window began to darken, the train's speed slowly decreased, and finally it stopped at the platform.
"First-years over here, watch your step." A massive figure was maintaining order among the crowd; he would be leading the first-years to the boats.
To replicate the scene of the four great wizards who originally founded Hogwarts arriving at the school, all first-years had to cross the lake in boats in groups of four to reach Hogwarts Castle. As for the students in other years, they would travel back to the castle by carriage.
"Goodbye." Luna waved to Draco to say farewell.
"Hopefully never again," Draco muttered, while also politely waving back to say goodbye, though that was certainly impossible.
Following the flow of the crowd, Draco found a carriage and stepped onto it.
Once the carriage was full of students, it began to move slowly, then gradually accelerated. Even though this was likely the work of magic, some students still clicked their tongues in wonder, starting to discuss the principles behind it and what kind of magic was used.
"If that little girl from just now saw this, she probably wouldn't think that way." Draco thought back to the girl he had just parted ways with; she would definitely be able to see that the Thestrals were pulling the carriage. "Actually, she's quite pitiful." Thinking of this, Draco felt that the "torment" he had endured throughout the trip didn't amount to much.
The students passed through the gates and walked toward the Great Hall; except for the first-years, almost everyone had arrived.
Countless candles hovered in mid-air, illuminating the four long tables surrounded by people, making the golden plates and goblets shine brightly.
The ceiling was filled with sparkling stars; this ceiling was enchanted and could always reflect the sky outside.
Draco listlessly poked at the food in his bowl, looking around out of boredom. He saw Hermione also looking around, with an anxious expression on her face, clearly worried about Harry and Ron because the two of them were late.
"The French people are too hospitable; they can't bear to let their guests leave." Draco thought again of Pansy, who was stuck in France. It was the same situation of being late, yet someone managed to make it a grand spectacle.
The door to the side of the Great Hall opened slowly, and the new students walked in, lined up in a long queue. Most were very nervous, such as Ginny, whom he had met briefly before. Her face was pale, and she kept looking around, as if trying to find something to rely on.
"Your idol and brothers should be getting lectured by Snape right now," Draco thought to himself.
As for Luna, she seemed to be the other extreme. She behaved as if she were in her own home. Although she was also observing the surroundings, Draco could tell that her eyes revealed a glimmer of curiosity. He guessed she was looking for those imaginary creatures again. Their gazes met for a moment, and Luna even took the initiative to wave at him.
Professor McGonagall called the new students up one by one. It must be said that after a year, the Sorting Hat had become even more tattered, with a few more huge patches, and it was almost unrecognizable from its original appearance.
"Colin Creevey," Professor McGonagall called out.
A thin, small boy walked trembling toward the front, slowly putting on the Sorting Hat. It didn't take long before the Sorting Hat shouted, "Gryffindor!" The boy's face turned red with excitement. Unlike his nervousness when he went up, he bounced happily toward the Gryffindor table, but his excited expression quickly dimmed because he didn't see his "idol" present.
"Ginny Weasley."
The little girl moved step by step toward the tattered hat. She was like a prisoner waiting for judgment, tightly pursing her lips. Her small hands trembled as she picked up the hat and put it on, fearing that the hat would call out "Slytherin." But obviously, this was an unnecessary worry.
"I have never seen a Weasley go anywhere else — Gryffindor!" The moment Ginny put on the hat, the Sorting Hat shouted it out. Ginny let out a sigh of relief as if a burden had been lifted.
Afterwards, she walked happily to the Gryffindor table, and her two twin brothers reached out their hands to welcome her.
"I told you your worrying was unnecessary, Ginny," the two brothers said in unison.
Afterwards, several more students went up. The Sorting Hat was efficient and quickly assigned titshouses, but it soon welcomed an unexpected guest.
"Luna Lovegood."
Unlike the nervous students before her, the girl had a faint smile at the corners of her mouth, like a crescent moon. She seemed not to care at all about this ceremony that would determine her life for the next seven years. Before putting on the hat, she even observed it, causing the Sorting Hat to urge her repeatedly.
A few strands of pale blonde hair poked out from the damaged brim of the hat, making her look even more eccentric.
"Hmm, let me think." The Sorting Hat raised one of its corners. I was thinking. The girl in front of it left it somewhat at a loss, because it did not know what she was thinking, or rather, it could not keep up with her train of thought. "Eccentric girl." The Sorting Hat was silent for quite a while before reaching this conclusion. "Perhaps Ravenclaw would suit you." It judged hesitantly; this was the first time in many years.
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." Taking off the hat, Luna repeated this sentence in a chanting tone, then walked toward the Ravenclaw table. Some students stood up to welcome her.
After dealing with the sorting matters for a few more students, the Sorting Ceremony officially ended.
"Muffliato!" Draco modified this spell, changing the target to himself. Some meaningless buzzing sounds were still better than the various twisted versions of the school anthem sung by the Weasley twins. While others were humming in all sorts of strange tones, he lowered his head, thinking about how to spend this year.
"There are two possibilities now. First: the diary was taken by someone outside the school, and then its whereabouts became unknown, so there will always be one Horcrux that cannot be destroyed." Draco shook his head. "Of course, this possibility is very small. The greatest possibility is that it was taken by a student; after all, it was a bookshop." Draco thought again of that ring with abnormally powerful seductive power, which always spontaneously radiated temptation to the people around it.
"Perhaps the materials are different?" Draco thought about how he hadn't felt anything special when he obtained the diary, nor were there any voices calling out in his ear.
"Could it be that I already have mental immunity?" Draco smiled self-deprecatingly.
The reasoning continued. "Then that is the second possibility: a student took it and brought it to school. The final owner could be any student; even students who were not present at the time could have obtained it through other means." Thinking of this, Draco could not help but feel a headache coming on.
The Basilisk was easy to deal with; any professor-level figure should be able to defeat it. For example, if Professor McGonagall animated some of the castle's statues, she could overwhelm it with numbers. This move could root out the problem, but it would also alert the enemy, increasing the difficulty of finding the Horcrux. Moreover, Draco could not simply go and tell them: "Professor, there is a Chamber of Secrets under the girls' lavatory, and there is a Basilisk inside." He would not be able to explain how he knew that in the first place.
"I can only take it one step at a time," Draco thought helplessly. "But there are always more preventive methods." He thought again of that plan of his.
Suddenly, he felt the table in front of him shaking violently. He looked up and saw a face he was all too familiar with staring at him indignantly. It seemed she had called him many times already.
"Welcome back to school," he said with a smile, undoing the spell, and he felt his head start to ache again.
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