Chapter 48: School is starting? It's starting!

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it is early September again. It is now the time for various schools to begin their autumn semester. Today, the teachers and students of Hogwarts boarded the Hogwarts Express at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters to return to their school, Hogwarts Castle, where they prepare to continue their studies and lives for a new academic year.

This is the Hogwarts Great Hall. At this moment, the entire school community has gathered here, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere. The chandeliers on the ceiling have been lit, their glow decorating the hall and making it brilliantly bright! Today is a wonderful day for the start of the new term; the teachers and students of each house have already taken their seats at their respective house tables according to their year.

In a forward position in the middle of the Great Hall, a small wooden stool has been placed, upon which sits a somewhat tattered wizard's hat. This object is a hallmark of Hogwarts: the legendary Sorting Hat, which every new student must wear once before entering the school. It is said that it can sort students into different houses based on their talents and qualities, and right now, it is chattering away, singing something.

The song being sung by the hat caused Annie, sitting at the staff table, to curl her lip with a hint of disdain. In her view, wasn't this just a permanent enchantment for thought detection? It was nothing more than peering into students' thoughts and talents to categorize them; perhaps it also had some storage functions and a basic minor intelligence spell? It was just selecting apprentices based on talent—why make such a fuss about it?

Most importantly: the song it sang was terribly unpleasant! That wasn't music at all! It was nothing but noise! Annie disliked it very much! She had been enduring it for a long time, and despite how long it had been singing, it still wasn't finished! It was endless! Annie felt that once her patience reached its limit, she might just cast a permanent Silencing Charm on it to shut that wretched mouth up forever!

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, was standing beside the wooden stool. She was busy arranging a group of slightly smaller-looking students to stand in line one by one. These students were clearly the first-year newcomers to Hogwarts this year. Once the hat finished its song, they would immediately prepare for the Sorting Ceremony, which was a very important event! Therefore, Professor McGonagall was maintaining order while whispering instructions to the little ones.

"Hey! Harry! You must have read the newspaper I sent you, right? That big event that happened in the wizarding world recently—it was huge news!" At the second-year table, taking advantage of the fact that the Sorting Ceremony had not yet officially begun, Ron leaned over and whispered mysteriously into Harry's ear.

Just at the beginning of last month, the Gringotts Wizarding Bank incident, which shocked the wizarding worlds both domestically and abroad, had been a subject of intense public discussion for quite some time! For a long period, it successfully captured the attention of the entire British wizarding community; every wizard was more or less following the matter. According to Ron's father, Mr. Arthur Weasley, even foreign Ministries of Magic had sent official letters attempting to inquire about the truth behind the incident and other specific details.

Thanks to this event, many things that were supposed to happen in the original story had changed significantly. Because Lucius Malfoy had no leisure to brew up any conspiracies against Harry Potter, there was naturally no Dobby—the house-elf who had disowned his master—to cause mischief and chaos. Consequently, Ron and Harry did not end up driving a flying car to school and crashing into the Whomping Willow.

"The newspaper? What newspaper? I haven't seen any. What big event? Did Voldemort resurrect again?" Harry seemed somewhat bewildered. Aside from Voldemort's resurrection, he didn't think anything else noteworthy had happened in the wizarding world. Moreover, the Sorting Hat in the middle was still loudly singing its unpleasant Sorting Hat song, so he couldn't quite hear what Ron was saying.

Just now, he had been watching the first-year students in the middle of the hall with great interest. Last year, Harry had been just like these new students, being watched by older students, waiting nervously and miserably to be sorted. Especially back then, there were even malicious rumors spread among the new students that the Sorting Hat would eat people's brains; Harry's feelings at the time had been incredibly complex.

Now, the tables had turned. He, Harry Potter, was already seated in the second-year section, and he was finally the one watching the new students being sorted. It was quite a novel experience. Thus, he followed the example of the older students who had done to him, staring intently at the new students. When he saw someone looking particularly nervous, he would fix his gaze on them. Once the person felt his stare, they would become even more nervous, and the more nervous they became, the more he would stare. Watching the embarrassed expressions of the new students was extremely entertaining.

"Don't tell me you actually don't know!!!" Discovering that Harry truly seemed unaware, Ron cried out in disbelief. Was there really someone in the wizarding world who didn't know about that? Are you even a wizard? In his shock, he didn't even notice that Harry had just directly mentioned the name of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named right in front of him.

He remembered very clearly that not long ago, he had specifically sent Harry a copy of that day's *Daily Prophet*—the one that had been the best-seller! Of course, he had sent the newspaper only after his entire family had read it. And now, Harry was saying he didn't know? Then where did that newspaper go? Ron had originally intended to keep that copy for his own collection, but after much thought, he had ultimately endured the pain and sent it to him out of the sake of being good friends and comrades. Yet now, Harry was telling him he didn't know?!

Ron's loud voice immediately drew dissatisfaction from the surrounding Gryffindors. Seeing the threatening or warning glares from those around him, he could only offer an embarrassed, apologetic smile before lowering his voice again and leaning into Harry's ear. "Didn't I send you a copy of the *Daily Prophet* a few days ago? Where is it now? Did you not receive it? That shouldn't be right!"

"The *Daily Prophet*? I didn't see any newspapers during the holidays! Oh, Ron, didn't I tell you? Don't ever send anything to my Uncle Vernon's house by owl! He specifically bought a double-barreled shotgun again last year. He doesn't welcome anything from the wizarding world in his house; he might actually shoot down your family's owl!" Harry was stunned. Throughout the entire holiday, he indeed hadn't received anything from the wizarding world.

Even his pet owl, Hedwig, had been kept in her cage the entire holiday without even a chance to stretch her wings! If Ron had really sent a newspaper, it must have been confiscated by Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia. It seemed he had missed many interesting things during this holiday.

"Of course I remember what you said. Don't worry, I actually asked my dad to use one of the Ministry's official owls to send it to you. Even if it really gets shot down by your uncle, it's fine. It's not my family's owl anyway; I wouldn't be heartbroken if it died!" Ron waved his hand, unbothered by the fact that he had encouraged his father to misuse official resources. It was a Ministry owl, right? If it died, it died; it wasn't like Ron had to pay for it!

"Anyway! I almost forgot to ask, what exactly happened? You're being so mysterious about it. Did Voldemort really resurrect?" Harry remembered that before the holidays, Voldemort was still just a ghost. Had he really come back to life in just one short summer? That would make him quite the troublemaker. As expected of the great villain, Voldemort.

"Alright, it seems you really don't know! Whatever you do, don't mention that name in front of me again!" Hearing that unspeakable name, Ron's face turned pale with fear. He shook his head helplessly at Harry, then carefully glanced at the prim and proper Hermione sitting nearby before leaning back into Harry's ear to whisper, "The thing is actually like this...! And then..."

"That's impossible, right? Robbing, robbing Gringotts Wizarding Bank? How could such a thing happen?!" After listening, Harry's eyes widened behind his glasses, his face full of disbelief. This was much more explosive than Voldemort's resurrection! He then quickly turned to Hermione on the other side and asked, "How is that possible?! Hermione! Was what Ron just saying true? Were you actually involved in that Gringotts incident?"

"Hmph!" Hermione gave a cold snort and turned her head away. She had no intention of paying attention to these two whispering beside her!

She naturally knew what they were muttering about; they were definitely talking behind her back again!

Ever since the Gringotts incident, Hermione had become accustomed to the strange looks from people around her and the inquisitive questioning of the gossips. She was actually quite fed up with it.

More importantly, some rumors were becoming increasingly unreliable. Just listen to them! Ron had just made it sound as if she, Hermione, had participated in the bank robbery! In reality, the truth was: the bank's goblins robbed her money, okay? If they wanted to know, wouldn't they just read the newspaper themselves? Why come and ask her?

Hermione had figured it out long ago: the more she said and the more she explained regarding that matter, the more the gossips would want to ask! And in the end, the rumors spread would become even more outrageous! Therefore, she had learned the best way to deal with it: indifference! Ignoring them! As long as she didn't engage or pay them any mind, the gossips would naturally disperse! Her indifference and disregard were her best weapons against those rumors! Let them talk and ask all they want; Hermione simply wouldn't care! Hmph!

Originally, Hermione had been thinking of giving these two companions a little hint about the novel things that would happen at Hogwarts this year. This was first-hand information she had heard in the Headmaster's office just last month; currently, the number of people who knew about this would definitely not exceed two digits!

However, she suddenly changed her mind. She would absolutely not tell these two gossip-loving idiots ahead of time; she would not reveal even a shred of information to them! Who told them to be whispering and making fun of her just now?

There was one thing Ron was right about: Hermione was indeed one of the important participants in the Gringotts incident, as she had witnessed the whole thing. But she loathed anyone asking her any questions about it, especially since she had been terrified at the time! This matter could be considered her "reverse scale"—no one was allowed to touch it! And yet, Harry and Ron had the audacity to discuss it right in front of her; their friendship was on the verge of sinking!

However, every loss comes with a gain. After meeting Annie and being greatly frightened, Hermione had also gained a massive reward that outsiders were unaware of! Because the next day, as the trip to Hogwarts ended—especially after learning that little Annie was temporarily homeless and wandering about—Hermione had strongly insisted on inviting Annie to stay at her house for a month! During that month, Hermione not only learned about Annie's background and that she was not actually from this world, but she also learned a great deal of magical knowledge from her. This knowledge was something the current wizarding world did not possess; it was something money could not buy!

But in truth, after Annie stayed at Hermione's house for a month, the happiest person was neither Hermione nor Annie, but Hermione's irresponsible father: Mr. Granger! Because currently, Mr. Granger was still fretting over the large, overflowing chest he had hidden under his bed, filled with tens of thousands of Galleons—fretting out of pure joy!

These coins had, of course, been given to him by Annie! She called it a meeting gift for staying at their house, so he had no choice but to accept! Consequently, since then, Mr. and Mrs. Granger had been wondering whether it would be more profitable to take them directly to Gringotts to exchange for pounds, or to melt them into gold ingots and exchange them at a Muggle bank. This was a significant question worth investigating, and they had been researching it for a long time without being able to make up their minds.

"Wow! That's so cool! Okay, Ron, can you tell me in more detail?" Seeing that Hermione was ignoring him, Harry had no choice but to turn back awkwardly and continue questioning Ron.

Since Hermione neither denied nor confirmed it, there was an eighty percent chance it was true! It was such a massive, explosive event, and he hadn't known about it immediately; it was truly a pity! Therefore, he wanted to keep pressing for more specific details.

"Alright! It was said that the situation was like this..." Just as Ron was about to continue telling Harry, he realized that the surrounding Gryffindor students had suddenly all stood up and were clapping enthusiastically. His twin brothers, in particular, were whistling loudly and waving their hands in celebration.

It turned out that the Sorting Ceremony had begun while they were talking. Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley, had been successfully sorted into her dream house, Gryffindor, by the Sorting Hat. After all, she was quite infatuated with someone in Gryffindor! It wasn't actually that strange that she was sorted there; after all, the entire Weasley clan seemed to be Gryffindors; it was almost becoming a genetic trait.

"Harry, let's not talk about it for now. I'll give you a copy of that day's newspaper when we get back to the dormitory. I managed to secretly hide a copy when Dad and I went to the Ministry." Since the sorting had begun, Ron didn't want to miss any details. Besides, a sumptuous dinner was about to start, and he didn't want to waste any more time on this topic.

"Alright, you'd better remember!" Since there would be an original copy of the newspaper to read after the feast, Harry decided to stop obsessing over the matter for now. He hurriedly stood up along with the others to clap vigorously for Ron's sister, Ginny.

The Sorting Ceremony continued in an orderly fashion. The four houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw—each received a different number of first-year students. Once the new students had taken their seats, Professor McGonagall finally removed the stool and the Sorting Hat. The opening feast was about to officially begin!

Upon receiving a certain command, the Hogwarts house-elves began casting spells, instantly covering the house tables with a dazzling array of high-quality food! One must know that the opening feast of every term is the most sumptuous of the year! Therefore, Ron from a poor family and Harry, who had been mistreated by his aunt and uncle all summer, the two brothers in misfortune, immediately grabbed their cutlery and began to feast.

It wasn't that the food wasn't usually good, but one had to understand that different types of meat had different prices and textures. Today, they could eat beef, lamb legs, and seafood, whereas normally, having pork chops, potatoes, and bread was quite good! The school's budget was not infinite; it required selfless sponsorship from shareholders. How could they provide free meat and fish every day? This was merely a magic school, not a free lunch restaurant for Ministry officials; what kind of treatment did they expect?

The first day of school certainly had to leave a good impression on the new students, so this day, or during holidays, would definitely be extra sumptuous. This was a matter of Hogwarts' reputation and could not be handled carelessly! As for ordinary days? Ahem, they ate whatever was available; as long as it guaranteed nutrition and kept them from starving, it was fine.

During the feast, some observant students noticed that the staff table seemed a bit different from usual. They discovered that in addition to the Hogwarts professors, there was a very striking blonde little girl at the high table, and she looked quite familiar.

Upon closer inspection, that little girl was none other than the protagonist of the recent Gringotts Wizarding Bank incident—the one rumored to be the most powerful wizard in the history of the wizarding world! It was said that even Dumbledore or Voldemort were no match for her, and this claim even seemed to be well-founded.

According to subsequent analysis in the *Daily Prophet*, this little girl's combat record was terrifying! In less than an hour, she had consecutively defeated twenty to thirty goblin employees, captured or knocked out hundreds of Aurors and Gringotts guards, and finally killed an ancient dragon! Even Voldemort or Dumbledore could not produce such a record, right? Thus, the deduction regarding the little girl's strength arose.

Regarding this point, a significant portion of the Hogwarts students were actually quite unwilling to believe it. In their eyes, how could a little girl of a few years old be more powerful than their most admired and powerful Headmaster Dumbledore? This was clearly impossible; it must have been the newspaper editors making things up to grab attention. It had to be!

"Harry, help me out, pass that lamb leg over here." At the Gryffindor table, Ron was still clutching a large lobster, his eyes fixed on the roasted lamb leg next to Harry.

"Oh, alright! Here you go! Could you also pass me that crab over there?" Harry's eating manners were no better than Ron's! He was also gnawing on a large chicken leg.

"Thanks!"

Beside them, Hermione, who had been whispering something to a female classmate, silently shot the two of them a sidelong glance with the corner of her eye, then inconspicuously and carefully shifted her position to be further away from them. After giving an awkward smile to the classmate she had been talking to, she pretended not to know them and continued to eat the food on her plate with elegance and composure.

Fortunately, bad eating manners did not result in house points being deducted. Hermione felt that if the school rules included a clause about table manners, Harry and Ron would surely have wiped out all of Gryffindor's base points today! Did they not have the concept of embarrassment in their heads?

Surely many people had already noticed them by now? One of them had a lamb leg in one hand and a lobster in the other, while the other had a chicken leg and a crab in both hands! It was just a dinner; couldn't they restrain themselves a little and act with some dignity? It wasn't like anyone was going to fight them for it! Look at the first-year student Ginny sitting opposite them; she probably didn't even want to recognize her brother right now!

(End of Chapter)