Finally, the Hogwarts Express arrived safely at the station without a single hitch.
The rain was pouring down heavily, as if someone were dumping buckets of water straight from the sky. After disembarking, the students scrambled in a chaotic frenzy, desperately searching for anything to shield themselves from the downpour.
Through the thick curtain of rain, Maurise spotted Hagrid's massive silhouette. Standing right beside him was another figure holding a large umbrella, looking out toward the students.
It was Sirius Black.
"First years, follow me!" Hagrid bellowed, his booming voice carrying over the roar of the rain.
At the exact same time, Sirius instantly picked Harry out from the crowd and quickly strode over.
"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. "You came to pick us up?"
Sirius grinned and held his umbrella over Harry's head. "I suppose you could say that, though I only just arrived myself."
He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the bustling crowd of students, and sighed nostalgically. "This sight really takes me back. It always seemed to rain on the first day of term back in my day, too."
"That is just British weather for you," Maurise shrugged from the side.
The raindrops falling toward him seemed to hit an invisible barrier, automatically deflecting and sliding away harmlessly.
Sharp-eyed as ever, Hermione immediately noticed this detail. "What magic is that, Maurise?"
"A Rain-Repelling Charm," Maurise answered casually. "I read about it in a random book. It is not exactly advanced magic."
"You have to teach it to me," Hermione pleaded urgently. Her hair was already thoroughly soaked, plastered to her face and making her look rather miserable.
Maurise promptly pulled a book from his suitcase and handed it over.
Hermione glanced down at the cover.
One Hundred Tips for Witches to Become Beautiful and Elegant.
Her expression turned subtly complicated for a second. Her mouth twitched. "...I cannot believe you actually read this kind of book, Maurise."
Maurise nodded. "The Rain-Repelling Charm is on page twenty-eight. By the way, page forty has a cosmetic alteration spell, just in case you need it."
Hermione stared at his face for a few seconds before asking, "Have you ever altered your own appearance?"
"Oh, definitely not," Maurise replied. He was actually quite satisfied with his own looks.
By now, the rest of the students had already begun making their way toward the Thestral carriages. Only their small group remained standing in place, chatting in the rain.
"Hurry up and let's go!" Ron urged from behind. "Honestly, Hermione, now is not the time for reading."
---
Nearly twenty minutes later, the students and professors finally took their seats inside the Great Hall at Hogwarts.
Maurise sat in his usual spot, across from Cho Chang and her friend Marietta, with Kyle sitting right beside him.
Kyle looked to be in good spirits. After idly playing with a candle on the table for a moment, he suddenly tapped Maurise on the shoulder and lowered his voice to ask, "By the way, Maurise, what exactly does the Explorers organization do?"
Maurise suddenly realized that even though Kyle had agreed to join, he had never actually explained the group's true purpose.
He answered with utter seriousness, "We are dedicated to traveling into outer space."
Kyle blinked, thoroughly convinced he had misheard. "...Outer space?"
"Correct," Maurise confirmed.
Kyle's expression morphed from confusion into pure bewilderment.
"Our current activities, however, mainly consist of eating, drinking, having fun, and successfully graduating from Hogwarts," Maurise added quickly.
Hearing this, Kyle was momentarily speechless. What kind of whiplash was that?
"Sounds decent enough," he said, choosing his words carefully. "So, what do you need me to do?"
"Nothing for the time being." Maurise pulled a small black bead from his pocket and rolled it between his fingers. "We will have a gathering in a little while."
Kyle was just about to press for more details when the doors to the Great Hall swung open. The first years filed in, looking as though they had just been dragged out of the Black Lake.
Professor Flitwick stood up, raised his wand, and cast a rapid Drying Charm over them. It was a highly effective spell; as a wave of warm air washed over the line of first years, their robes and hair instantly became bone dry.
The shivering young wizards looked up, staring at the diminutive professor with a mix of gratitude and wonder. Professor Flitwick offered them a cheerful smile and a wave.
Following that, Professor McGonagall brought out a wooden stool and the Sorting Hat, signaling the start of the Sorting Ceremony.
Maurise had witnessed this scene several times already, yet he still found it incredibly fascinating. The Sorting Hat... how exactly was such a miraculous artifact created?
The Sorting Ceremony concluded as the final student was sorted into Hufflepuff. Dinner immediately followed, and as usual, the culinary skills of the house-elves received exceptionally high praise.
Finally, it was time for the Headmaster's speech. Maurise thought placing this segment at the end of the feast was a brilliantly wise decision. After all, nobody wanted to listen to lengthy announcements before enjoying a good meal.
Dumbledore stood up, and the noisy chatter in the Great Hall gradually subsided.
"Now that we have all thoroughly enjoyed this magnificent feast, I have a few announcements to make."
He started with the usual start-of-term notices: the Forbidden Forest remained strictly off-limits to students, magic was forbidden in the corridors, and Mr. Filch had compiled a new list of banned items.
"Furthermore, Hogwarts will be welcoming two new professors this term. Please join me in welcoming Sirius Black and Alastor Moody. They will be jointly taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts post."
The two men at the staff table stood up simultaneously and nodded to the students.
Everyone was naturally familiar with Sirius; he was the man who had kept Hogwarts in a state of terror just last term, yet now he had magically transformed into their professor. Ah, what a dramatic twist of fate.
Moody also drew a significant amount of attention. His appearance was downright terrifying: his face was heavily scarred, a chunk of his nose was missing, his mouth was slanted, and a magical false eye whizzed madly around in its socket.
A fervent buzz of discussion instantly erupted across the Great Hall.
"This is the first time we will have two professors teaching the same subject," Dumbledore continued. "I trust you will learn a great deal from them."
Maurise caught a glimpse of Snape sitting nearby. The Potions Master's face looked ghastly, as if someone had just force-fed him a slug.
Kyle whispered, "Two Defense Against the Dark Arts professors? How is that going to work? Will they teach together? Or split the different years?"
Maurise shook his head, indicating he didn't know. But he had a strong feeling those two men were not going to get along very well. Also, that man named Moody was incredibly strange. Not only did he exude an aura of extreme tension, but he also kept a firm grip on his wand the entire time, as if anticipating an attack. Was there really something that dangerous lurking inside the Hogwarts Great Hall?
Dumbledore clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"One final announcement. The inter-house Quidditch Cup will be suspended this year... Quiet down, please, I have not finished. Mr. Weasley, kindly remain seated... You as well, the other Mr. Weasley."