Professor McGonagall led the group of excited first-years onto the high platform of the Great Hall, lining them up neatly to face the older students.
Adelaide quietly stood in a secluded corner at the end of the line, looking around curiously.
Previously, she had roughly estimated that there were only about 50 new students in her year; looking around the Great Hall, she noticed there were between three and four hundred older students, nearly four hundred in total, meaning the other six grades averaged nearly 70 students per year.
Compared to the older student body, the number of students in her year seemed quite small.
However, considering that her year and the subsequent year of the savior were born exactly during the years when Lord Voldemort's power was at its most rampant and strongest.
During those dark and terrifying days, countless non-pureblood Wizards suffered persecution, and the purebloods who joined the Death Eaters also suffered heavy casualties; those who were lucky enough to survive were likely still haunted by fear, with no time to worry about marriage, let alone raising children.
Therefore, it was only logical that the number of new students in these two years had plummeted due to the massive impact and far-reaching influence of that cruel and ruthless war on the British Wizarding World.
Her gaze fell upon the four long dining tables, where at least a third of the seats at each table were empty—perhaps during Hogwarts' peak, six to eight hundred students would have been studying here at once.
Fewer people is better; the dormitories are more spacious, and finding a job will be easier.
Adelaide celebrated inwardly; out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the red-haired twin brothers grinning and winking at her from the leftmost table—only to be "disciplined" by Charlie sitting next to them a few seconds later.
Hiss!
Before she could even laugh at their misfortune, a sharp pain from her right hand made her gasp—had Cho Chang studied Chinese Kung Fu? How could her grip be so strong!
Adelaide shook her right hand vigorously, but no matter how hard she tried, it was as if her hand had been bewitched, trapped firmly and unable to break free.
After several attempts, she finally gave up in resignation, silently praying that the Sorting Ceremony would begin soon so this awkward and uncomfortable situation could end as quickly as possible.
As if the heavens had heard her deep-seated plea, Professor McGonagall returned with the Sorting Hat and a long roll of parchment, her serious and solemn expression inspiring a sense of awe.
Professor McGonagall gently placed the Sorting Hat on a four-legged stool; as soon as it left her grasp, the hat seemed to come to life, suddenly opening its wide mouth and beginning to sing loudly.
The singing was like the screeching of an owl, sharp and piercing, making it difficult to endure.
Out of basic politeness, Adelaide did not raise her hand to cover her ears—actually, it was because Cho Chang was gripping her right hand so tightly that she couldn't move it at all.
She could only grit her teeth and endure the five minutes of horrific noise, trying her best not to let a pained expression show.
When the Sorting Hat finished its song and bowed deeply to the four long tables, the new students standing at the front all breathed a collective sigh of relief; the nervous atmosphere caused by the older students' staring dissipated significantly with the end of the song.
"When I call your name, please sit on the stool and put on the hat."
Professor McGonagall unrolled the parchment and spoke in her usual cool and majestic voice, "Jason Albert!"
Immediately after, a burly, round little boy stepped out from the crowd, waddled to the four-legged stool, sat down, and carefully put on the Sorting Hat.
Only a few seconds passed before the Sorting Hat shouted, "Slytherin!"
The students at the table with green ties beamed with warm smiles and clapped loudly—it seemed the Albert family, to which this little boy belonged, was very popular among these pureblood families.
The Sorting Ceremony proceeded in an orderly fashion according to alphabetical order, and soon it was Adelaide's turn.
"Adelaide Grindelwald!"
Just as she expected, once her surname was called, the Great Hall instantly erupted like a heavy bomb had been dropped into it.
"What? Did I hear that right? It's actually Grindelwald!"
Someone shouted in disbelief, eyes wide with surprise.
"Merlin's beard, what is she doing here? Shouldn't she have gone to Durmstrang?"
"I heard from my father that her current guardian is Headmaster Dumbledore!"
The Slytherin students began passing around gossip, while most Hufflepuff students curiously asked those around them, "What's everyone so surprised about? Is there something special about the name Grindelwald?"
Faced with this chaotic scene, Adelaide put on a poker face, sat on the stool, and calmly placed the Sorting Hat on her head.
The Sorting Hat muttered incessantly in her mind, as if solving some world-class puzzle: "Very talented, but completely without ambition... a bit of courage, but not much... very kind and personable... difficult! But no matter, after my careful consideration—Ravenclaw!"
As the Sorting Hat's loud and clear shout rang out, the entire hall instantly fell into a dead silence.
Adelaide walked with a light step toward her new house; for her, being sorted into Ravenclaw was undoubtedly the most ideal outcome so far.
After all, this way she could avoid causing Headmaster Dumbledore too much worry, while also not embarrassing Edward and the other remnants of the Acolytes.
Aside from a few jokers shouting, "We have Grindelwald the Second!", most Ravenclaw students reacted quite calmly to Adelaide's arrival—excluding a few older girls who were staring at the newly seated Adelaide with almost fanatical and inquisitive eyes, as if they wanted to dissect her from head to toe.
Adelaide silently noted the faces of those fanatical older girls; she would have to avoid them as much as possible later.
Cho Chang was the fourth to last to be called, and as expected, she also successfully became a member of Ravenclaw House.
She hurried over to Adelaide, who had been waiting for a long time, and sat down right next to her.
The two of them looked at each other, and as if sharing a telepathic connection, they both let out a long sigh of relief simultaneously.
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