"Damn, you were so cool back in school!"
"Want to try it yourself? Just one time, and I'll make you fly!"
"One time! And then?"
(Approaching)
"Hehehe..."
"What are you doing?! Get me your potion!!!"
...
Tom Riddle's broomless flight was, to ordinary wizards, as awe-inspiring as a mortal seeing someone fly on a sword—absolutely breathtaking.
This wasn't surprising; after all, it was a spell Tom created himself. Besides Severus Snape, no one else in the wizarding world knew it.
Harry Potter stared blankly at the receding black mist in the sky. "Uh… I think Mr. Hagrid just abandoned us. What do we do now?"
Draco Malfoy smacked Harry, annoyed. "Are you thick? Did you even hear what Hagrid said?"
Harry then realized what was happening, looked up, and saw Cassandra Vole and Hermione Granger had already left them behind and were walking away.
Seeing this, Harry and Malfoy quickly ran towards Hagrid.
As for Crabbe and Goyle, they were nowhere to be found.
After the young wizards had gathered around Hagrid, he was about to lead them away when he suddenly stopped.
"Oh! Harry! You're Harry!"
Even in the crowd, Hagrid recognized Harry at a glance.
"Harry Potter! Where?! Where's my thousand Galleons?!"
"He's Harry Potter? The savior who killed hundreds?"
"Wasn't it just a few dozen?"
"..."
Harry was now experiencing the downsides of fame; a large group of people were staring at him with ill intent, pointing and whispering.
Hagrid realized this wasn't the right time, so he pushed through the crowd to Harry's side and whispered a few words before returning to the front of the group. "New students, follow me!"
...
Under the cover of night.
At the gates of Hogwarts Castle, a black mist descended from the sky.
Tom Riddle glanced around with a nostalgic look, then walked towards the door.
Click, creak…
The door slowly opened automatically as Tom arrived.
Behind the door was a spacious hall, filled with chairs and food. The ceiling was decorated with a starry sky, and countless candles floated above.
Albus Dumbledore sat in the head seat, watching Tom's arrival with a joyful expression.
In the faculty seats, the professors' expressions weren't exactly unpleasant, but they certainly weren't pleasant either.
Minerva McGonagall inwardly cursed Dumbledore for being a senile old man. Bringing in the Dark Lord as a teacher—only someone with their head caught in a door would have come up with that idea!
Most importantly, there were students present. If Tom Riddle suddenly attacked, it wouldn't be fair if hundreds of people died in the process.
As for the other professors, Severus Snape's expression was unreadable. Professor Flitwick, like Professor McGonagall, was probably wary of Tom, and Trelawney was already dead drunk…
Tom's gaze lingered on the last faculty seat, where Quirinus Quirrell, a professor dressed in Indian attire, was staring at him with an incredulous look. His head was wrapped tightly in a turban, making him look rather comical.
Quirrell, his head must be a socket now.
Tom could imagine how amusing Quirrell's expression must be.
As he expected, the Voldemort remnant soul had suffered cerebellar atrophy from the shock, though Quirrell was the one who truly suffered.
Tap tap tap…
Tom strode gracefully toward the professors' table.
Hiss hiss hiss…
A dark black serpent emerged from Tom Riddle's robes, coiling around him, crawling from his body to the ground, gradually growing larger, from a small snake to a giant python.
Nagini followed behind Tom, staying until he sat down, then coiled around his feet.
Tom's seat was between Severus Snape and Professor Flitwick.
He smiled at Professor Flitwick in a friendly gesture, as for Snape… no rush, he'd leave him to his own devices for now.
In any case, the two professors' expressions were definitely not pleasant.
"Albus, Hagrid should be bringing the new students over soon; I shall go and greet them."
Professor McGonagall said, standing up, and without waiting for Albus Dumbledore's reply, walked directly toward the castle gate.
...
(Hogwarts Castle background music plays~)
A group of young wizards sat in numerous small boats, drifting on the Black Lake towards the distant castle.
"Wow, that's so cool!"
"What do we do? Are we going to fight trolls later?"
"I think it's a dragon?"
"Stop arguing! How many spells do you even remember?"
"Heh, what's the difference between having the answer in your head and cheating?"
The boats gradually approached the shore. Hagrid disembarked first and shouted, "New students, stay close to me!"
Once all the young wizards had gathered, Hagrid led them up the steps surrounding the castle and towards the castle gate.
Hagrid saw Professor McGonagall waiting at the castle gate from afar. "Professor, they're in your care."
"Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid."
Professor McGonagall nodded to Hagrid, then Hagrid turned and left.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a little while, you'll pass through this door and join your classmates. But before you're seated in the dining hall, you'll need to be assigned to one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."
Upon hearing the name Slytherin, Draco Malfoy gestured to Harry Potter beside him, and the two exchanged a smile.
"While at Hogwarts, your house is your home, and your excellent performance will earn you points."
Hearing this, Cassandra Vole and Hermione Granger's eyes flashed with determination.
"And any misconduct will deduct points from your house."
As she spoke, Professor McGonagall glanced at the striking red hair in the crowd, hoping her house wouldn't be welcoming its third troublemaker.
Looking at Professor McGonagall's undisguised disdain, Ron Weasley tilted his head in confusion. Wait, what do you mean?
"At the end of the year, the house with the highest score will receive the House Cup."
Professor McGonagall finished speaking, turned to face the door, took her wand from her robes, and with a gentle tap, the door opened automatically.
In the banquet hall behind the door, professors and upperclassmen had been waiting for some time.
The new students, led by Professor McGonagall, entered the hall.
Harry looked up curiously at the ceiling and discovered that it was the night sky.
"That roof isn't real; it's enchanted, so it looks like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History, although what's written in that lousy book is probably false…"
Hermione instinctively switched into her know-it-all mode, but then her face suddenly darkened.
Professor McGonagall stopped in front of the faculty table and turned to the new students. "You'll all wait here for a moment."
Harry and the others were the first to look towards the faculty table and quickly spotted Tom Riddle. After all, someone as handsome as Tom would be easily spotted even in a crowd.
Unfortunately, Harry and the others were wasting their time. Tom Riddle completely ignored them, even his own disciple Cassandra Vole.
Tom Riddle was still planning to give a speech later when Albus Dumbledore introduced him to recruit Death Eaters.
---
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