Hagrid's eyes widened, staring intently at the black dragon's figure as it gradually disappeared into the distant horizon, muttering incessantly under his breath:
"This little fellow is truly fascinating... look at those powerful, agile wings and those shimmering scales, it's simply intoxicating! If only I could have a pet like that by my side, how wonderful that would be; I could raise it in the Forbidden Forest..."
As he spoke, an expression of immense envy appeared on his face.
Adelaide, standing nearby, looked at Hagrid with a face full of suspicion. No matter how you looked at it, such a large black dragon couldn't possibly be called a 'little fellow', right?
And to call it cute—it was truly hard to imagine!
Could it be that Hagrid only developed the desire to raise a dragon because he saw this one?
While Adelaide was lost in thought, Hagrid suddenly snapped back to reality and shouted, raising his voice: "Don't panic! The owner of that black dragon just now should be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this year. He reported this to the school beforehand... Alright, hurry up and get on the boats! No more than four people per boat!"
Having said that, Hagrid was the first to board a small boat.
Adelaide turned her head to look around and saw Cho Chang waving at her.
She walked over quickly and sat in the same boat as Cho Chang and two other unfamiliar girls.
Once everyone was safely seated, the dozen or so small boats lined up neatly on the lake and slowly started moving, carving elegant wakes across the mirror-calm surface of the water.
Due to the powerful pressure emitted by the black dragon that had just flown over, the Giant Squid living in the Black Lake seemed to have gone into hiding; Adelaide didn't manage to see those massive creatures the entire way.
However, this didn't affect her interest in enjoying the scenery along the way at all. The small boats moved slowly along the steep stone walls, eventually entering a dark and deep black tunnel located beneath the castle.
Before long, a small underground harbor appeared before everyone's eyes.
They got off the boats and climbed up a slope full of rocks and pebbles. After scrambling for a while, they finally reached the level, damp grass near the castle walls to rest.
Adelaide stood with her hands on her hips, panting heavily as sweat slid down her forehead. She seemed to understand why the school arranged for the first-years to experience such a trek by boat.
The first-year induction ceremony involved going up one by one to put on the Sorting Hat under the gaze of the entire school's staff and students. For introverted children, this was undoubtedly a terrifying nightmare.
Before the official ceremony, having these first-years walk through small paths and climb slopes meant that the extroverted children—who were usually active and liked running around—might not find it too taxing and might even enjoy it. But for introverted shut-ins, this ordeal nearly took half their lives.
By the time they finally finished this arduous journey, they were already huffing and puffing, exhausted, and their brains seemed to have stopped functioning. This way, even when facing the upcoming ceremony, they probably wouldn't have any spare energy to feel shy or nervous.
When everyone had successfully reached the destination, the tall Hagrid led them further along a winding stone staircase—finally, they arrived before a massive oak door.
Hagrid raised his thick, powerful fist and knocked forcefully on the door three times.
Three loud "bang bang bang" sounds rang out, causing the entire doorframe to vibrate; Adelaide, standing to the side, couldn't help but feel worried, truly afraid that Hagrid might just smash the oak door to pieces like that.
The door was immediately opened, and a Witch dressed in emerald green robes appeared at the entrance—it was Minerva McGonagall. When Adelaide used to walk with Dumbledore in Hogsmeade Village, they would often run into this Professor feeding stray cats there, so she was something of an old acquaintance.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips tightly, her face showing a serious and slightly helpless expression.
"Hagrid, I have told you before, there is absolutely no need for you to use so much force to knock on the door."
Hagrid shrugged his shoulders, saying somewhat awkwardly: "Oh, alright Professor McGonagall, I've brought the children."
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them in."
Professor McGonagall opened the heavy door wide, welcoming the first-years outside into the spacious Entrance Hall.
The first-years entered in single file, following Professor McGonagall's footsteps across a floor covered with vibrant colorful banners.
Walking in the group, Adelaide was simply dazzled. She secretly felt annoyed at her parents for not giving her more eyes; two eyes simply weren't enough to take it all in!
Looking up, the ceiling above was an incredible height, easily over ten meters; shifting her gaze to the left, a magnificent marble staircase wound upwards, leading to unknown floors; looking to the right, bursts of noisy sounds came from behind a thick stone wall—without even thinking, she knew that must be the Great Hall.
Professor McGonagall led the group of curious first-years into a small and quiet empty room.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Before the start-of-term banquet begins, the Sorting Ceremony will be held for you."
"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin—these four houses will be your home at Hogwarts. During your time at school, good performance will earn points for your house, while breaking school rules will result in points being deducted. The points will be tallied once at the end of each year, and the house with the highest score will be awarded the house cup. I hope you will all bring honor to your respective houses."
"The ceremony will begin in a few minutes. I suggest you all begin to tidy your appearance to greet the upcoming Sorting Ceremony in your best state."
After finishing her instructions, Professor McGonagall left the room with hurried steps.
For a moment, the room fell into a suffocating silence, where everyone's heartbeat seemed clearly audible.
As time passed minute by minute, aside from a few first-years with poorer stamina who were still panting, everyone else fell into an invisible atmosphere of tension.
While others were guessing what the Sorting Ceremony would test, Adelaide was nervous about what kind of trouble the surname Grindelwald would bring her.
And the black dragon in the prophecy... the Great-Granduncle on the high tower, the black dragon over Hogwarts—these two scenes from the prophecy had both come true. The next one should be those strange vines. She had to find out exactly what species those vines were as soon as possible to be prepared.
A few short minutes felt as agonizing as several long decades—finally, just as everyone was almost nervous to the point of their limbs going weak, Professor McGonagall reappeared at the door.
She led these expectant first-years through a tall and solemn set of double doors, officially stepping into the Great Hall.
---------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 30 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon.
patreon.com/TLScarlet
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!