"Alright, before everyone goes to bed, let's sing the school song together!" Dumbledore raised his wand and tapped it lightly, and a string of words formed by twisted golden ribbons floated in front of everyone.
The members of the Hogwarts Choir also appeared, including the prefect next to Albert, and the choir members in the front row were holding large toads.
As Dumbledore waved his wand, all the teachers and students began to sing the school song to their own rhythm.
Albert was among them, opening and closing his mouth as if he were singing.
Unfortunately, the song was quite melodramatic, and it was also sad that the professors in the audience all looked a bit stiff, clearly indicating their reluctance.
It's one thing for kids to sing, but for a group of adults to sing this kind of school song is incredibly embarrassing!
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts..." Next to Albert, the mischievous Weasley brothers were singing "Funeral March" to the tune of their own, completely out of sync with the others, drawing stares from the other freshmen around them.
"...We will study hard until we turn to dust." After the song ended, the two were still singing slowly. Albert suddenly had an urge to cover his face and pretend that he did not know them.
After the last notes of the song faded, Dumbledore told everyone to go back and rest.
The entrance banquet finally ended, and everyone rushed forward, instantly causing traffic congestion.
Now, Albert understood why the newcomers were ranked higher.
If they followed students from other grades, they might really get lost. Imagine a Gryffindor student accidentally following the wrong group, ending up in Hufflepuff's common room, only to realize at the last minute that they'd gone the wrong way—that scene would be quite comical.
"Newcomers, follow me." The prefect, who was also the one who had just performed on stage, was leading the Gryffindor newcomers.
He led everyone through the noisy crowd, out of the restaurant, and up the marble stairs, separating them from the freshmen of other colleges.
The newcomer's group walked through the corridors and circled the castle, not up the legendary moving staircase.
There were many portraits hanging in the corridor. The people in the portraits were whispering to each other as the freshmen passed by, and some of the portraits would even greet them.
The prefect leads the new students through the castle, and you'll never guess where the entrance is.
There was a closed wooden door in front of them, but they went through the stone door on the other side instead. Some doors require you to touch the exact spot for them to open, while others are hidden behind curtains or paintings. But the worst part isn't even that, because there's now a daringly trap staircase. It looks like a normal staircase, but at a certain step, you have to step over it, or your foot will sink in.
For newcomers, it's a disaster.
"Are you alright?" Albert reached out and pulled Lee Jordan out.
"Oh no," Lee Jordan said irritably. "I was just startled. I really don't understand why the school is putting so many weird and wonderful things in there."
"I think it's funny, right, George?"
"I think so too."
"These are the defensive structures left over from the past, and now they've become a major feature of Hogwarts," Albert explained. "Hurry up, I don't want to get lost."
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Albert felt his legs were starting to ache when they finally reached the eighth floor. They walked through a long corridor to its end. There hung a portrait of a very wealthy woman; without a doubt, this was the legendary Fat Lady, the gatekeeper of Gryffindor Tower.
"Password?" she asked.
"Nonsense." After the prefect finished speaking, the portrait opened like a door, revealing a circular opening behind it.
He didn't rush in, but turned to the newcomers and said, "You must remember the password. You can only enter the lounge by saying the password to Madam Fat. The current password is just gibberish."
After saying that, the prefect led everyone through the hole in the wall, which led to the Gryffindor common room.
This is an old, round room with many sofas. In one corner of the room, a fireplace is burning brightly, and next to it is a large pile of firewood. Several people are sitting on the sofas chatting. After the newly accepted students entered, they looked over and waved to them.
"You're in luck. Tomorrow is Saturday, which means no classes. This is a rare opportunity. I suggest you familiarize yourselves with the castle these two days. The castle is more complicated than you think. If you don't want to get lost, you'd better figure out where your classrooms are as soon as possible." After the prefect finished speaking, he pointed to two doors. "Girls, go that way. Boys, follow me."
After greeting another female prefect, he led Albert and his group through another door and down a narrow, spiral staircase. Along the way, they encountered many doors, and the prefect showed them the freshmen's rooms, washrooms, and bathrooms.
Of course, the washroom and bathroom are public, but thankfully the bathroom has individual stalls.
As for their individual rooms, they need to find them themselves, and there are special name tags on the doors.
Albert, the twins, and Lee Jordan shared a room; there were only four people in the room.
The room wasn't large, with four beds with curtains, each with its own luggage placed beside it.
Albert easily found his suitcase, covered his mouth while yawning, and pulled out his pajamas to change into.
"Please take care of me in the future," Albert said with a smile, greeting the other three.
"Please give me your guidance." The four looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
"Tomorrow, I'm planning to explore the castle. Are you coming?" Albert took out his camera from his suitcase, stepped back to the door, and took a picture of his bedroom.
"Of course. Remember to wake me up in the morning." The twins looked at each other and said in unison.
"And you?" All three of them turned to look at Lee Jordan.
"Of course, I'll come along." The black guy clearly didn't want to be alone.
"Good night."
Lying in bed, Albert was exhausted but couldn't fall asleep. He always struggled with insomnia when he was in a new place.
The others obviously didn't have the same problem; after eating and drinking their fill, they fell into a deep sleep shortly after lying down in bed.
Albert turned to the side and opened his mission panel, where the exploration progress had reached 3%.
He wondered how many he would gain from visiting the castle tomorrow. He flipped through his skill list again; it was several pages long.
Most of their spells are only at level 1, and a few they haven't even mastered yet.
Looking at those skills that were still at level 0, Albert suddenly had an urge to spend experience to level them up to level 1.
These are all bad habits left over from playing games in the past; I always habitually max out my skills.
Albert took a deep breath and turned off the panel, lest he accidentally use up all the experience he had painstakingly accumulated, which was crucial to his future.
In a hazy state, Albert fell asleep and had a dream in which he saw himself in a past life, holding a book and flipping through it. He remembered that it was the first time he had ever encountered the book Harry Potter.
"Was all of this just a dream?"
No, this is not a dream. He had already confirmed it time and time again the moment he opened his eyes again after his death.
This is not a dream.
He always felt like a fan fiction author, creating yet another Harry Potter fan fiction of his own. Only this time, he couldn't freely depict the fantasies he wanted like a writer.
Ah, being a literary youth is a disease.