The train slowed down, stopping with a screech of steam.
The young wizards pushed and shoved, surging towards the side door, onto a dark and narrow platform.
As soon as he stepped off the train, Ethan felt a chill. The Scottish Highlands in September were already entering autumn, and the night temperature had dropped to single digits.
“Warm-Up!”
Casting a Warm-Up Charm on himself, Ethan finally felt comfortable.
Warm-Up Charm, a practical little spell, lived up to its name, providing warmth. It was probably in the Year Three textbook, right?
“Warm-Up!”
He naturally wouldn't forget Hermione and the others. Ethan cast one on each of them.
“Th-Thank you!”
Casandra whispered her thanks before parting ways with Ethan and the others, heading in a different direction.
Like Draco, she had her own pure-blood friends, or rather, more reliably, her followers.
But today, for the sake of enjoying a compartment alone, she hadn't stayed with them.
Unfortunately, her wish didn't come true. Not only did she not enjoy a private compartment, she ended up listening to hours of chattering in a full compartment, though it wasn't completely bad.
Now that they were off the train, she naturally had to return to the pure-blood camp. She was, after all, the future pride of Slytherin.
“First-year students, first-year students this way. And watch your step.”
A giant over three meters tall, with a broad build and a fat belly, approached with an oil lamp in hand. Despite his seemingly kind face, he still scared many freshmen back a step.
Hagrid, a half-giant.
Ethan was curious how his parents managed it. Pure-blood giants were even taller than Hagrid, at least four meters, while normal human males were about 1.78 meters. His father seemed especially thin.
Little horse pulling a big cart?
Toothpick stirring a big vat?
Tsk tsk tsk!
The older students went towards the other side, while the freshmen followed Hagrid.
The path wasn't easy. It was narrow, steep, and slippery, with nothing but darkness on either side. Only the light from the lantern Hagrid held in his hand guided them forward.
At the end of the path was a pitch-black lake, while on the opposite hillside stood a towering castle. The castle had sharp, pointed spires, and the windows glittered under the starry sky.
Each boat could hold no more than four people. Ethan, Hermione, Neville, and a small witch he didn't recognize were on the same boat.
Hannah Abbott, as she introduced herself. Only then did he learn she was the legendary Iron Hat King.
As they got closer to the ancient castle ahead, Hermione and Neville became more and more anxious.
Hermione was already nervous to the point of sweating in her palms: “I wonder if I can get into Gryffindor!”
Thanks to Dumbledore's influence and the promotion of various wizarding novels and magazines, those unfamiliar with the situation saw Gryffindor as the greatest house.
Hermione was no different.
Except, she had no idea if she could get into Gryffindor.
“My grandmother wants me to get into Gryffindor. My whole family are Gryffindors, but I don't know if I can get in.”
Neville was also quite disheartened. Courage, he didn't seem to have much of that.
If he could get into Hufflepuff, that would be nice, but his grandmother expected him to go to Gryffindor.
“As for me, I want to get into Hufflepuff.”
Hannah Abbott smiled lightly. While her family hadn't told her specifically about the Sorting Ceremony, they did say there was a high chance she would end up in Hufflepuff.
And her reasons for choosing Hufflepuff were simple. First, most of her family were Hufflepuffs. Growing up listening to Hufflepuff stories had already prejudiced her. Second, she was going to take over the family tavern in the future. The Hufflepuff dorms were the closest to the kitchen and had the best relationship with house-elves. She could also learn a few tricks to add a couple of specialty dishes to her future tavern.
“What about you, Ethan?”
They had all stated their goals except for Ethan, so Hermione asked curiously.
Being from the Muggle world, and even more gifted than her, she wanted to hear Ethan's choice.
“Apart from Slytherin, which I can't get into due to my bloodline, the other three houses are all fine. They each have their own characteristics.”
Slytherin generally accepted pure-bloods, and some talented and ambitious half-bloods could also get in, but those who came from a completely Muggle family seemed to have no chance.
The remaining three, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were both good choices. Gryffindor, to be honest, wasn't a place he wanted to go. It was noisy and chaotic. It wasn't as united as Hufflepuff, and the atmosphere wasn't as good.
As for Ravenclaw, it allowed for better learning. They had their own special library.
As everyone knows, Hogwarts' library, after Voldemort, had many books taken away by Dumbledore, making it an incomplete version.
Ravenclaws believed in wisdom and had a greedy desire for knowledge. Their own special library would never let Dumbledore get away with anything.
“That's basically saying nothing.”
Hermione was a little helpless in the face of Ethan's answer.
“For you, Ravenclaw is actually the most suitable. Extraordinary intelligence is the greatest wealth of humankind, this is their motto.”
Ethan tried to see if he could change the plot. To be honest, Hermione going to Gryffindor, before she became friends with Harry and Ron, was normally a target of exclusion.
A group of people who loved pranks, wizard's chess, and Quidditch, everything except studying, suddenly had a good student who loved to lecture. Who would want to play with her?
Especially when this good student doesn't let us copy our homework, that's even more repulsive.
“I thought about Ravenclaw, but I still think Gryffindor is better.”
Hermione remained firm in her opinion. The greatest wizards came from Gryffindor, which naturally made Gryffindor the best.
It was similar to the Muggle world. If a school produced enough celebrities and the fame was big enough, it proved that the school was getting better.
As they chatted, the boat passed the steep cliffs to the west, as well as the ivy-covered drapery, finally stopping at a pier.
After coming ashore, they climbed through a tunnel in the rocks before reaching a spacious, damp meadow in the shadow of the towering castle.
After Hagrid counted the students, he stepped onto a flight of stone steps, raised his massive fist, and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open immediately, and Professor McGonagall, whom they had seen before, slowly emerged.
“I have brought the first-year students, Professor McGonagall!”
Hagrid said earnestly.
“Thank you, Hagrid. I will take it from here.”
Professor McGonagall replied politely, then led the young wizards into the thousand-year-old Hogwarts castle.