As the Sorting Hat announced its decision, Charlie pulled it off his head.
He ran his right hand through his hair and carefully set the hat down on the small wooden stool.
"I think that sounds brilliant. I'll send you a present for Christmas. And I hope to hear an even better composition from you next year."
"Really? What a kindhearted young wizard. You're the first child to ever think of getting this old hat a Christmas present. I shall look forward to it," the Sorting Hat said, sounding genuinely surprised.
The tight line of Professor McGonagall's lips finally softened. She looked at Charlie, a brief flicker of warmth in her eyes.
"Off to your House table, Mr. Wonka. You've held up the line quite long enough."
"Right away, Professor." Charlie nodded. With a small hook of his finger, Alice trotted obediently at his heels as he made his way to the Ravenclaw table.
He took a seat on the right side of the table, ending up directly back-to-back with Hermione and Neville over at Gryffindor.
The moment he sat down, Hermione turned around.
"It's a shame, Charlie. I really wish we were in the same House."
"If we were in the same House, I'd hope you'd still find it a shame we weren't in the same dormitory," Charlie shot back with an easy smile.
"In your dreams." Hermione pulled a face at him.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Charlie added lightly. "We're at the same school, learning the exact same magic, eating the exact same food. As long as we want to, we'll end up making the exact same friends."
"Alright, you've convinced me. Fair point," Hermione nodded.
"He's right, there's no need to worry," a clear, bird-like voice chimed in next to Charlie.
He turned to see a girl with a rich, dark complexion, deep-set eyes, and fluttery eyelashes. She had quite striking, delicate features.
"Exactly. Even if we're in different Houses, it's really no big deal," another girl's voice echoed—this one coming from right beside Neville.
Charlie's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.
Wait a minute...
"You two... are twins?!" The answer was staring him right in the face.
The beautiful girls—clearly of Indian descent—were a pair of sisters who had just been sorted into different Houses.
"Spot on," the girl at the Gryffindor table nodded. "I'm Parvati Patil. I'm the older sister."
The girl sitting next to Charlie extended a hand. "And I'm Padma Patil."
"Charlie Wonka. A pleasure," he said, shaking her hand.
Meanwhile, the Sorting Ceremony wrapped up with Ron Weasley and Blaise Zabini.
Ron's placement was obvious, and Blaise was claimed by Slytherin, bringing the event to a close.
Professor McGonagall rolled up her parchment and picked up the Sorting Hat.
Charlie glanced over just in time to see the hat, now tucked under McGonagall's arm, give him a discrete wink.
At the high table, Professor Dumbledore easily commanded the Great Hall's attention.
He got to his feet. He was incredibly tall—aside from Hagrid, there was likely no one in the room quite as imposing.
"Hard to believe he's an old man. He's built like a tank," Charlie muttered.
"True. And it's even harder to believe he's a hundred and ten years old," a boy sitting across from Charlie at the Ravenclaw table whispered.
Charlie raised an eyebrow, leaning in.
"It's true," the boy nodded, cementing the fact. "But it's not actually that rare. Hitting a hundred in the wizarding world is fairly standard. My great-grandfather is almost a hundred and he still loves playing Quidditch. My grandfather has to yell at him all the time to stop. Whenever he does, my great-granddad just snaps, 'What does a seventy-year-old kid like you know? You have to stay active to stay healthy.'"
Charlie laughed. "Looks like studying magic comes with a built-in life extension."
"Exactly."
Up at the staff table, Dumbledore gave a soft clearing of his throat.
"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words."
He took a deep breath, looking for all the world like he was about to deliver a profound, sweeping speech. And then—
"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
With that, he sat right back down under the astonished gaze of the entire hall.
Clap! Clap!
Charlie immediately started applauding. Catching his lead, a wave of cheers and applause rippled through the rest of the hall.
"Huh?" Padma clapped along, but looked utterly lost as she turned to Charlie. "Why are we clapping? I mean... was that a brilliant speech or something?"
As she asked, the rest of the Ravenclaws turned to look at him too.
Being the fiercely curious little eagles they were, they naturally assumed Charlie—who had reacted first—must have deciphered Dumbledore's hidden meaning.
They waited eagerly for his profound explanation.
"It was an absolutely brilliant speech," Charlie nodded, his expression dead serious.
"The best part about it is—"
Suddenly, mountains of exquisite food materialized on the tables. Roast chicken, lamb chops, fried fish, pumpkin pasties, sausages, and rich, savory gravies.
Under the expectant gaze of his housemates, Charlie calmly speared a piece of lamb with his fork.
"—The best part is that we can finally eat!"
"Bloody hell!"
"You just love keeping people in suspense, don't you?"
"Good man. I like your perspective. Let's eat, mates—stop trying to overthink it."
The Ravenclaws shot him a mix of exasperated and amused looks before grabbing their forks and diving into the feast.
"Can I see your little rabbit?" a girl sitting diagonally from Charlie asked curiously.
"Oh, maybe once we're in the common room? Probably best she stays off the dinner table."
"She? Alright then. You clearly care a lot about your pet."
"She's my best mate," Charlie corrected smoothly.
If he was eating alone, he wouldn't mind Alice hopping around his plate. But a public dining table was a different story.
Of course, little rabbits possessed an unnatural, magnetic pull on girls. Within the blink of an eye, Padma had swooped Alice up into her lap.
She didn't mind the mess in the slightest, happily letting Alice nibble on a lettuce leaf right off her robes.
The feast was ridiculously lavish. For Charlie, it was undeniably the best meal of his entire life. He piled his plate high with rich meats and capped it all off with a ridiculous amount of dessert.
The dinner lasted the better part of an hour, though to Charlie, it felt like it vanished in an instant. When Dumbledore finally stood up, the tables were wiped completely spotless, as if the food had never been there at all.
With the feast over, the Headmaster's actual speech began. Dumbledore rattled off a list of school rules and well-wishes, then directed the entire hall in a chaotic rendition of the school song.
Once the agonizingly off-beat anthem finally ended, the prefects corralled the first-years and led them up flight after flight of stairs, finally arriving at Ravenclaw Tower.
Winding up a tight spiral staircase, they stopped in front of an ancient, unadorned door.
It had no handle and no keyhole. Its only feature was a bronze knocker shaped like an eagle.
"This is the entrance to Ravenclaw," the female prefect announced. "You've probably heard rumors about passwords, hidden spells, or secret trials that other Houses use. But here in Ravenclaw—the house of knowledge and curiosity—there is only one key to entry. And that is a question. As long as you can answer the bronze knocker's riddle, you may enter the common room. There are no other requirements."
She turned and gently rapped the knocker against the wood.
Immediately, the bronze eagle opened its beak and spoke in a soft, musical voice.
"What travels through time without a spell or a wand?"
"Ooh, a tricky one right off the bat. Anyone want to give it a go?" The prefect stepped aside, looking back at the first-years.
The older students hanging back weren't in any rush either. They stood there with fond, expectant smiles, clearly enjoying the traditional hazing ritual.
"Hiss..." One boy scrunched his face in thought. "I can't remember the name. I know the Ministry of Magic has a specific magical artifact for this... but I think you have to submit a mountain of paperwork just to use it."
"Wait, something like that actually exists?" another first-year asked in awe. Time travel sounded impossibly rare.
"Yeah, it definitely exists. But not many people know about it because it's strictly controlled and rarely used nowadays." The boy racked his brain. He was clearly from a magical family and had heard rumors of Time-Turners, but the name completely escaped him.
"Drawing a blank? Shall I step in?" The prefect offered a sympathetic smile.
Charlie hid a yawn and stepped forward.
"I know of something. It doesn't even require magic. Honestly, I'm dying to use it right now to fast-forward to tomorrow morning. My answer is: my pillow and my blanket."
?
A brief silence hung in the air. Then, someone snorted, and the quiet shattered into laughter.
The bronze eagle spoke again, a clear note of amusement in its melodic voice.
"A very clever answer. Next time, I shall add the prerequisite 'magical object'."
Click. The heavy wooden door swung open.
"It's an undeniable truth," Charlie said, turning to the prefect. "No one's invented a magical sleep-inducing pillow yet. That's a completely untapped market. Massive potential."
The prefect covered her mouth, giggling. "I love your answer. But I hate to break it to you—Sleeping Draughts already dominate that market."
Still smiling, she gestured for them to follow her and led the group into the Ravenclaw common room.
Inside, they found a vast, airy, circular room lined with graceful arched windows.
Silky curtains of blue, white, and bronze draped elegantly along the walls.
Looking out the windows, the sprawling nighttime grounds below gave the entire room an ethereal, suspended-in-the-sky feeling.
Stepping inside felt like walking into a perfectly quiet, deeply comforting sanctuary.
A massive midnight-blue carpet covered the floor, and the alcoves were crammed with wooden desks and towering bookcases, practically overflowing with ancient tomes.
"As you can see, this place is often called Hogwarts' second library," the prefect smiled.
"So, to all of you—acknowledged by the Sorting Hat as the curious, the seekers of knowledge, and the wonderfully eccentric..."
"Welcome. Welcome to Ravenclaw!"