"What crisis?"
Qiu Zhang spoke up before Ian could.
"Of course, it's the sorting test."
The cold girl glanced at the three of them one by one, "There's a special test at school that determines where each student will ultimately belong."
"My family told me a few days ago that it's a terrifying experience no one wants to remember." The blonde girl had a serious and solemn expression.
"My dad told me it would be an unforgettable memory, surely they won't make us fight dragons?" Qiu Zhang asked, her eyes widening with concern.
Opposite them.
Aurora suddenly looked up.
Her eyes were shining.
It seemed she was eager to give it a try.
"What do you want to do?"
Qiu Zhang seemed startled by Aurora.
"She wants to fight a dragon."
Knowing what the sorting really entailed, Ian noticed Aurora's anticipation and shook his head, whispering to her, "Just think about how precious dragon materials are. The school wouldn't just hand them out as benefits."
Hearing this.
Aurora's eyes immediately dimmed.
"?????"
"?????"
The two girls opposite exchanged glances, simultaneously falling into disbelief. Have today's kids grown so fearless as to confuse a dragon with a joker?
That's a dragon!
"Are you from Muggle families?"
The blonde girl, snapping back to reality, couldn't help but retort.
"Does it make a difference?"
Aurora calmly looked at the blonde girl with her heterochromatic eyes.
"I guess you are."
The blonde girl's voice turned colder, as she glared contemptuously at Ian and Aurora, "Otherwise, you wouldn't spout nonsense about wanting to fight dragons."
What was once a cold girl now spoke with an air of superiority.
"Seems like you're a Slytherin." Aurora wasn't the least bit annoyed.
She simply gave a casual remark.
"Of course, remember my name, Daphne Greengrass, my whole family is in Slytherin, the finest house at Hogwarts."
"In the future, I'll surely achieve things beyond your reach."
The blonde girl noticed Ian taking a small metal box out of his suitcase.
"What are you doing?"
The girl named Daphne frowned at Ian.
"Go on, don't mind me. I want to learn more about the school, after all, I'm just a Muggle-born orphan." Ian sighed as he pressed the machine's button.
"So you're a Mudblood."
Daphne's tone grew even more disdainful.
"People like you could never be sorted into Slytherin; it's only for the pure-blooded and honorable. Maybe Hufflepuff would be kind enough to take you in."
Clearly.
She was a pure-blood supremacist, not uncommon in the wizarding world.
"Um… Greengrass, you shouldn't call our classmates that." Qiu Zhang frowned and advised, though Daphne was clearly dismissive.
"I'm just stating facts. I'm not as hypocritical as you, pretending they're the same as us." Daphne's words grew harsher.
She even moved her wand back a bit, as if not wanting Ian and Aurora to share any of its light. Qiu Zhang's expression turned awkward.
"That's just your view."
Qiu Zhang also felt annoyed by Daphne's remarks.
"Yeah, we're indeed different."
Aurora listened calmly all along; she turned to Ian, who was watching her hand to see if she would reach for her wand.
"Don't worry, I can tolerate this situation."
The German girl sighed helplessly.
She thought her friend might have misunderstood her.
"Then you're better than me."
Ian put the small machine back into the suitcase, and seeing that the light he could borrow from Daphne was being moved away, he had to take out his Elder Wand.
The Black Lake at night was simply too dark.
"What are you going to do?"
Aurora reacted more strongly than Ian; she grabbed his arm holding the wand. Her heterochromatic eyes were unusually filled with a hint of tension.
"Ha, do you want a duel?"
Daphne also focused on Ian's wand, but her gaze was full of disdain. Qiu Zhang saw this and hurried to persuade the two of them to remain calm.
"I'm not the one getting excited, and I'm not interested in children's games like dueling." Ian shook his head speechlessly.
He just wanted to light up the surroundings.
The light from Daphne's wand was as tiny as a sesame seed.
"Fluorescent Flickering!"
As Ian chanted the spell.
Light burst forth.
The bright white light, with crushing majesty, shattered the surrounding tiny light sources, like a rising blazing sun, illuminating most of the lake where the small boats were.
"What's happening over there!?"
"Oh my god! Such a bright Lighting Spell!"
"Merlin above! I haven't even mastered Wingardium Leviosa yet!"
...
Voices rose one after another among the small boats, even the leading Hagrid couldn't help but turn his head, staring in amazement at Ian and their boat.
"Impossible! Just a mere Mudblood!!"
Daphne was dazzled by the sudden light, she raised her hand to shield her eyes while exclaiming in disbelief.
"Nothing is impossible, practice makes perfect." As Ian sat back, he noticed Aurora had turned her head towards the outside of the boat at some point.
The light didn't blind her eyes.
"How can you have such powerful magic power!"
Qiu Zhang, trying hard to adapt to the strong light, was obviously focused differently than common people.
She was more concerned about the intensity of the spell.
"Of course, it's because the Four Founders have just bestowed upon me their blessing." Ian began to speak nonsense seriously again.
"..."
Qiu Zhang was quite speechless.
Sitting beside her, Daphne's expression was unpleasant, yet she didn't dare to provoke with taunting words anymore. She was indeed a pure-blood advocate, but she wasn't foolish enough to lose her mind.
"Just a Mudblood who secretly studied! After school starts, I'll quickly surpass him!" Of course, Daphne's heart was still filled with resentment.
The small incident made the atmosphere on the boat somewhat subtle.
Once they got used to the shining from Ian's magic wand, it wasn't so glaring anymore.
Ian and Qiu Zhang occasionally chatted, but compared to the silent and leisurely Aurora who kept looking at the lake scenery, Daphne felt like every passing day was eternal.
"How come we haven't reached the school yet!"
In her eagerly awaited hopes.
Finally, the small boat reached the other side of the Black Lake.
"Everyone, follow me!"
Hagrid carried the oil lamp and continued leading the way, the stone-paved path winding toward the castle's gate, he led a group of little wizards to step onto the stone steps in front of the castle.
"Just now that Lighting Spell, it was lit up from their boat."
"Is it that handsome boy?"
"I think it's Daphne Greengrass, my dad says she's amazing."
...
Although relieved from the confines of the small boat, Daphne Greengrass's ordeal apparently continued, the surrounding chatter making her just want to turn back home.
"Professor Snape, why are you here?" Hagrid used his red umbrella to knock open the gate, only to find the waiting person inside wasn't the usual Professor McGonagall.
"You think I'm unqualified to welcome new students?" The black-robed man with greasy black hair and a hook nose coldly sneered, his gloomy image made many little wizards dare not continue to whisper.
"Of course not, well then, these first-year little wizards are in your care." Hagrid scratched his head in confusion, turning around, bewildered, as he left the castle.
"If you don't want to pick up your stuff and roll back home right now, then obediently keep your mouth shut and follow me." Snape's gaze lingered on Ian and Aurora's frames for about three seconds.
Soon.
He ruthlessly issued instructions to the group of little wizards.
Perhaps Snape's oppressive bearing was quite frightening, with Snape walking in front, the following little wizards truly didn't dare to speak.
Everyone's emotions were tense and apprehensive.
Even Aurora felt slightly uncomfortable — after all, she was still just a little girl.
Maybe it was only Ian, spoiled by J.K. Rowling, knowing about the Sorting ceremony, who was feeling curious enough to observe the decoration of the legendary ancient castle of Hogwarts.
Everywhere was marked by the traces of time.
One could see countless students who had studied and played here before.
The castle's stone walls were lined with blazing torches, and as they delved deeper into the castle, those torches drove away the cold from the little wizards' bodies.
"Creak~"
With Snape pushing open the hall's large door.
The opulent hall immediately unfolded before the eyes of many little wizards. Thousands of candles floated in mid-air, and the entire hall was as bright as day.
Banners representing the four houses gently swayed in mid-air. The dining plates and goblets on the long tables glimmered in the dazzling firelight.
The place that attracted everyone's attention most was the hall's dome, with a sky sprinkled like velvet and stars dotting it, just like the real sky backdrop over the Black Lake earlier.
"It's beautiful."
Aurora looked up fixatedly at the dome.
"This place has been imbued with advanced magic, so it presents a sync view with the outside sky..." Ian always felt something seemed missing at this time.
"Yes, I saw others reading Hogwarts: A School History." Feeling the atmosphere was right, and comforted, Ian turned his gaze to the high platform at the front. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick... Many professors were seated formally at the table on the platform, welcoming the arrival of new students.
Towards these professors.
Ian was utterly curious.
However.
What intrigued him most was still that plain four-legged stool, with the somewhat ragged, currently unnoticed pointed wizard hat.
Sorting Hat.
Millennia of history.
Witnessed by it.
So many stories... starting from here.