"Over there, quick, look!"
"Where?"
"Next to the tall red-haired guy."
"The one with glasses?"
"Did you see his face? The lightning-shaped scar on his forehead?"
Harry hadn't slept well last night, not just because of the dull pain from his scar, but because he was afraid that everything happening at Hogwarts was just a dream—a dream of the poor little boy locked in the cupboard.
However, as soon as he left the dormitory today, those concerns disappeared, only to be replaced with frustration.
Because there were whispers following him everywhere, no matter where he went. Students from all houses were lining up in long queues, tiptoeing around trying to gather news about him, attempting to catch a glimpse of his face.
They circled back and forth in the same corridor, staring at Harry's face, or more accurately, his scar.
This situation was undoubtedly causing Harry great distress.
After all, Hogwarts was a magical castle, and he was just a first-year student!
There were countless stairs in the castle, and most of them moved. Some even played tricks on you when you were almost late, disappearing just as you were about to step on them, leaving you helplessly stuck.
Moreover, the castle doors had their temper. If you didn't ask them to open politely or say the right password, they wouldn't open for you.
There were also walls disguised as doors, which would only disappear after you had bumped into them, revealing either a real passage or a dead end.
So, remembering where things were in the castle was incredibly difficult because everything was constantly shifting due to magic.
The people in the portraits would visit each other, and many times the frames would stay empty, making it impossible to ask for directions.
Harry could also confirm that the suits of armor placed throughout the castle did indeed move. Sometimes they would suddenly start singing loudly as you passed by, scaring you half to death before proudly standing still. Other times, when no one was around, they'd slack off a little, taking a break.
Harry had even seen, from the clock tower, one suit of armor dismantled by its companion because it was singing too terribly! But later, the armor that had dismantled it put its partner back together. Perhaps it was a way to deepen their bond? Harry thought to himself.
Harry and Ron's first class today was Transfiguration, taught by Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor House.
However, they almost arrived late due to the tricky stairs. Luckily, when they entered the classroom, Professor McGonagall hadn't yet arrived, and the podium was only occupied by a neatly sitting tabby cat.
"Just in time!" Ron's smile was so wide it was visible to anyone, even a blind person. "If we were late, I can't imagine what Professor McGonagall would have looked like."
The tabby cat sitting on the podium seemed to understand him, giving them a disapproving glance before jumping off the podium.
But before it even hit the ground, the tabby cat transformed into Professor McGonagall herself.
Ron stood there with his mouth hanging open. "Wow—this trick is amazing!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Weasley." Ron's praise didn't manage to relax Professor McGonagall's stiff lips. "Maybe if I transformed into something else, it would be more useful. Like turning you or Mr. Potter into a clock, so at least one of you wouldn't be late."
"We got lost," Harry blurted out, unable to avoid Professor McGonagall's stern gaze, so he just told the truth.
"Does that mean you want me to turn into a map?" Professor McGonagall didn't give them a chance to explain further. "Sitting down doesn't require a map, does it?"
Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration skills had already stunned everyone. Every first-year student was eager to learn the craft, hoping to master the skill in one go. But they quickly realized that Transfiguration was a very meticulous subject.
And for first-year students, just turning a matchstick into a needle would be an accomplishment.
So, Harry's first Transfiguration class ended with him making a lot of notes and spending the entire lesson attempting, unsuccessfully, to change the matchstick.
Among all the Gryffindor students, only two managed to make their matchstick change. One was Hermione, whose matchstick successfully turned into a sharp silver needle, earning Gryffindor five points from Professor McGonagall.
The other was Seamus Finnigan, who, without making contact with the matchstick, somehow managed to light it on fire. Harry had no idea how he did that.
The second class for Gryffindor was Herbology, held in the greenhouse at the back of the school, later in the afternoon.
Since it was still early, Harry and Ron decided to take the opportunity to explore the castle and familiarize themselves with the paths they would need to take to their next classes.
Somehow, the whispers that had been following Harry all morning had completely disappeared. Now, "Slytherin" was being mentioned frequently in conversations.
This change made Harry feel both happy and slightly disappointed.
Happy because, at last, there were no prying eyes following him, but disappointed because of Ivy.
He started to miss his witty, powerful friend.
At first, Harry didn't believe any of Ivy's talk about ancient magic, being 144 years old, or once being a Slytherin student.
He had thought these outlandish statements were just jokes Ivy made to entertain everyone. But now that Ivy was really in Slytherin, could those jokes possibly have been true?
It was said that Slytherin was full of students wanting to become dark wizards. Fred and George even mentioned that older Slytherin students would use younger students for dark magic experiments. Harry wondered how Ivy was doing and hoped he was alright.
After lunch, when Harry and Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room through the Fat Lady's portrait, they found it already crowded with people.
Laughter and exclamations filled the room, and in the center of the crowd stood Ron's identical twin brothers—Fred and George.
"...It's true!" Harry wasn't sure which twin said it, but one of them was patting his chest in assurance. "Last night, Fred and I went on a midnight tour and bumped into Snape at the dungeon entrance! He was using the Levitation Charm to lift a bunch of unconscious Slytherin students!"
"No wonder only two Slytherins showed up for this morning's Care of Magical Creatures class. The rest must be in the hospital wing!" a seemingly older Gryffindor student remarked. "So what exactly happened to make so many miss the first day of classes?"
Harry saw Fred and George glance at each other before they spoke in unison, "Definitely a dark magic incident!"