Chapter 389: Feast
Chapter 389: Feast
As the carriage began to move, Hermione cast her gaze forward, idly watching the creatures she had discovered last year between the empty shafts. They resembled reptiles, with dragon-like heads. Their bodies were completely devoid of flesh, their black fur tightly clinging to their skeletons, every bone clearly visible. Their eyes, lacking pupils, were a lifeless white, staring unblinkingly ahead. Bat-like wings sprouted from the raised points of their shoulder blades.
“I don’t understand why the school uses these terrifying magical creatures to pull the carriages when they could be driven by magic,” Hermione said to Liam, finding the creatures rather frightening and wondering why the school used them to transport students.
“Magic isn’t free, you know. It would significantly increase the cost of the carriages to make them move automatically. It’s not worth it to spend that much for something that’s only used a few times a year,” Liam explained.
“Cost? Well, that doesn’t sound very magical, but it’s quite practical,” Hermione mused, nodding thoughtfully. “And I suppose it’s a good thing I can see them now, at least I’m prepared for it. Unfortunately, more young wizards will likely start seeing them in the future.”
When the Thestrals pulled up to Hogwarts and stopped in front of the castle, Liam and Hermione quickly jumped out of the carriage and entered the Great Hall. The hall was warm, and Liam found Harry, Ron, and Ginny sitting together at the center of the Gryffindor table. They took the empty seats opposite them.
“Liam, I saw some strange creatures in front of the carriage, but Ron and Ginny didn’t see them. Do you know what’s going on?” Harry asked eagerly as soon as Liam sat down, with Ron and Ginny perking up to listen.
“Cedric didn’t die last year,” Liam’s first thought was actually about this. Then he remembered that he had killed Barty Crouch Jr. and Peter in front of Harry, so he had also experienced death. Liam repeated what he had told Hermione earlier.
After explaining to Harry, Liam glanced at the staff table. Hagrid was still away with the Giants, evident by the absence of the oversized chair. Otherwise, everything was as usual with the other professors.
The only new face was Umbridge, a short and plump woman with curly grayish-brown hair, adorned with an ugly pink bow that matched her fluffy pink cardigan over her robes. Honestly, her age didn’t suit such a girlish look.
Dumbledore, wearing a deep purple robe dotted with silver stars and a matching hat, sat on a golden high-backed chair beside her, leaning his head toward Umbridge, who was whispering into his ear.
At that moment, Professor Grubbly-Plank emerged from a small door behind the staff table and took the seat at the far end, which was previously occupied by Hagrid. This meant the first-year students had definitely crossed the lake and arrived at the castle.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the door to the Great Hall opened, and a long line of first-year students, looking somewhat uneasy, entered, led by Professor Mcgonagall. She carried a stool with an old, patched Wizard’s Hat on it, the frayed brim flanked by a wide split.
The murmurs in the Great Hall gradually died down. The first-year students lined up in front of the staff table, facing their older peers. Professor Mcgonagall carefully placed the stool in front of them and stepped back.
Everyone held their breath in anticipation. Then, the split in the hat’s brim opened like a mouth, and the Sorting Hat began its song for the year. “... Oh, know the danger, read the signs, the lessons of history warn us, our Hogwarts faces peril, enemies outside are watching. We must stand united within, or all will fall apart from within...”
The hat fell silent again after its speech. Applause broke out around the Great Hall, but it was interspersed with whispers, as this year's Sorting Hat song was unusual. Typically, it only introduced the origins of the four houses and the reasons for the sorting. This time, however, the Sorting Hat issued a direct warning, something the students had never encountered before.
Fortunately, the ghosts knew what was going on. Nearly Headless Nick informed them that the Sorting Hat would speak out when it felt a moral duty to issue a proper warning to the school, and while such instances were recorded in history, they were not a good omen.
"Dark clouds loom over the city, and I hope fewer people will die this time", Liam thought to himself. At that moment, Professor Mcgonagall called out the names of the first-year students, and everyone's attention quickly shifted. The buzzing chatter in the Great Hall abruptly ceased. Professor Mcgonagall frowned and glanced at the four tables, then looked down at the long parchment in her hand and called out the first name. "Euan Abercrombie."
Slowly, the long line of first-year students grew shorter as each of the four houses welcomed new freshmen. Finally, Rosmerta Zeller was sorted into Hufflepuff. Professor Mcgonagall took the hat and stool and walked away, and Professor Dumbledore stood up to announce the start of the feast.
The feast was as sumptuous as ever. After the meal, Dumbledore began to make some announcements, as he did every year. However, his speech was interrupted by a cough from Umbridge.
It was only then that Liam got a good look at her face. Compared to the movie, the actress chosen for the role had definitely been a more flattering choice. The real Umbridge had a pale, toad-like face and droopy eyelids with bulging eyes, which made her extremely unpleasant to look at.
Her voice was high-pitched and breathy, resembling that of a young girl, which only added to her repulsiveness. Her condescending tone, treating all the students like five-year-olds, further fueled their dislike, but she seemed completely oblivious to it as she recited her speech in a monotonous manner.
"The Ministry of Magic has always believed that educating young wizards is of utmost importance. The valuable gifts you are born with, if not nurtured and developed under careful guidance, may come to nothing. The unique ancient arts of the wizarding world must be passed down from generation to generation, or they will be lost forever—"
Such mindless drivel quickly lost everyone's interest, and the attention of the young wizards began to wane. In contrast to the silence when Dumbledore spoke, the Great Hall now buzzed with chatter.
"—let us move forward into a new era of enlightenment, efficiency, and reason, firmly maintaining what should be maintained, improving what needs improvement, and discarding what should be discarded." After a tedious and boring speech that lasted over ten minutes, it finally came to an end. Dumbledore politely clapped, and the other teachers followed suit, but only a few students joined in, as most had been daydreaming.
"That's the woman who destroyed the Dementors in front of a jury", Harry said to Liam and the others. "By the way, what was she talking about just now? It sounded like a bunch of nonsense to me."
"There's something important hidden in that nonsense", Liam replied. "It seems the lessons we gave the Ministry during the holidays weren't enough. Their goal now is to wage a full-scale war against Dumbledore, and they're even reaching their dirty hands into the school."
Harry and Ron looked puzzled but impressed, but Liam didn't have time to explain further. The sound of chairs scraping against the floor filled the hall, indicating that Dumbledore had dismissed everyone. Everyone was getting up to leave the Great Hall.
"We need to guide the first-year students. See you later", Liam said, standing up with Hermione. "First-year students! Gather here."
Seeing how busy they were, Harry and Ron shrugged and gave up on their curiosity for the moment, heading toward the Gryffindor Tower.
(End of Chapter)
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