Chapter 711: The Seat
Chapter 711: The Seat
At half past ten in the morning, Sirius Black took Harry to King's Cross Station in a taxi. Seeing Sirius deftly check the meter and pull out some bills to pay the fare, Harry was quite impressed. "After all, I lived in the Muggle world for a year", Sirius explained as they walked into the station, chatting and carrying their luggage. Harry immediately felt several pairs of eyes watching them from different directions and instinctively gripped his wand in his pocket.
"Someone's tailing us. Are they Aurors?" he whispered.
This time, it was Sirius's turn to be surprised. "You noticed? Oh, not just Aurors, there are also some Muggle guards. They're the first members of the joint task force, although the department doesn't even have a name yet..." he muttered, "How did you spot them?"
"Professor taught us in class", Harry said, feeling a mix of emotions because the knowledge came from Grindelwald.
The station was bustling with people, and they didn't linger long. They quickly passed through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, and the next second, a deep red train came into view. Harry stopped, usually he could board the train directly, but today there was a bearded Auror standing guard.
"Name?" the bearded Auror stopped them, looking down at a thick list.
"Harry Potter", Harry replied, curiously examining the list in the Auror's hand. Since the writing was upside down, it was a bit difficult to read, but he easily noticed that only two-thirds of the names had been checked off.
Harry glanced at the clock: 10:49. This clearly wasn't normal.
The bearded Auror mumbled to himself, "Harry Potter, starts with a P... Oh, my goodness!" He seemed to just realize something and looked up, staring intently at Harry.
"Bryan, the train is about to leave", Sirius reminded the Auror.
The bearded Auror's gaze shifted to Sirius, and his expression relaxed. "Black? That makes sense, Harry Potter is your godson." He checked a box on the list. "You're all set."
"Still a lot of people haven't arrived, right?" Harry took the opportunity to ask.
"Yes, some students went to school through the Floo Network", the bearded Auror said, nodding in the direction they had come from. "New initiative, huh? Some people are still skeptical..."
"Come on, Harry", Sirius said.
Harry followed for a bit, then turned to his godfather. "Why didn't I know about this?"
"Want to go to school through the Floo Network? That's not an option, you're the Head Boy", Sirius smiled at him, then adopted a thoughtful expression. Harry was pretty sure Sirius never expected to say these words one day, "—you need to set an example."
"Like my dad?" Harry said gloomily, pulling out the Head Boy badge from his pocket.
"You can also choose to be like your mom; she did a great job", Sirius grinned. "Actually, James did well too. We always said Lily changed him, but being a student leader played a part too."
This reassured Harry, and he pinned on the badge. Just then, Hermione's voice called out, and Harry turned to see her running up, with Crookshanks trailing behind. She stopped in front of Harry, panting, "Lucky—didn't miss the train."
"Traffic jam?" Harry guessed, unable to think of any other reason why Hermione would almost be late.
"Oh, no", Hermione panted, realizing that Sirius and Harry were both looking at her. Reluctantly, she explained, "I was recognized when I entered the station. Someone asked for my autograph, and thankfully, I didn't bring my parents in..."
"That's ridiculous", Harry muttered.
The train let out a loud whistle.
"The train is about to leave", Sirius urged, pointing in a direction, "Is that Ron? I see him—waving over there, in carriage six."
Harry and Hermione hurried toward carriage six. Harry was carrying a lot of luggage and was quite tired, so he was a bit annoyed to see Hermione only holding Crookshanks. "I put everything in my beaded purse", she explained, taking Hedwig's cage from him.
When they reached the carriage door, Ron helped Harry lift his trunk onto the train and stowed it on the luggage rack in the adjacent carriage. Neville and Ginny were also there. They greeted each other and headed toward the front of the train.
“Somehow, it was really easy to find an empty compartment,” Ron said.
Harry recounted the conversation he had just had, and Ron’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh, that makes sense. I was wondering why no one at home mentioned it—I’m a prefect, after all. Say, Head Boy and Head Girl, can the speech be a bit shorter? I haven’t eaten breakfast yet…”
“No problem,” Harry replied immediately. “I haven’t got a clue what to say anyway.”
According to the letter, prefects from each house were supposed to receive instructions from the male student council president and the female Head Girl separately. However, Harry and Hermione thought it unnecessary to split them up, so they decided to gather all the prefects together.
“...There’s just one thing to note. Four Aurors are stationed at the front and rear of the train. If any emergencies arise, you can contact them. Of course, they’ll likely know about it before we do. The rest is maintaining order and occasionally patrolling the corridors... That’s all.”
After Hermione finished, she looked at Harry, who shook his head to indicate he had nothing to add. Hermione then decisively dismissed everyone.
Back in the compartment, they began discussing their experiences during the last part of the summer. After Bill Weasley and Fleur’s wedding, Hermione had returned home to be with her parents, while Harry chose to stay at the Burrow because the Black Family Manor was mostly empty and rather boring.
“There were a few days when you were gone,” Ron recalled. “Something about an inspection, I think.”
“Yeah,” Harry said slowly. “Two Ministry of Magic officials came by to register households with House-elves—there was a bit of a mishap.”
“What kind of mishap?” Neville asked curiously.
“How exciting was it?” Ron chimed in.
“Very exciting,” Harry said with a straight face. He glared at Ron for a few seconds before recounting the events of that day:
“To prove that Kreacher was in good condition and should stay, Sirius and I racked our brains to convince him to wear something more human-like and presentable...”
“That’s a good sign, showing the Ministry is starting to enforce the laws,” Hermione interjected.
“You sound just like Percy,” Ron said. Hermione looked hurt, and Ginny chuckled. Harry quickly continued his story, having honed his storytelling skills through frequent correspondence with Aberforth Dumbledore. Soon, everyone in the compartment was engrossed:
According to Harry, he, Sirius, and Kreacher had hastily renovated the Black Family Manor, searching every nook and cranny for suspicious magical objects.
“This is why I always tried to distance myself from my family while at school,” Sirius said seriously. Harry knew the Black Family members were all a bit ‘crazy’ and had different ideas from normal people.
“But now I’m in charge of the house!” Sirius said cheerfully, waving his hand. “We want to make a good impression on our guests, so the first thing is to let my ancestors get some rest!”
However, the portraits lining the foyer and hallways didn’t want to sleep. They were the stubborn memories of past Black Family ancestors, passed down before their deaths, making them very difficult to persuade. Harry and Sirius had to resort to some minor tricks.
“Bad master! Bad young master!”
Kreacher jumped around, trying to stop them, but to no avail. A flash of red light from a Stunning Spell, and the long hallway fell silent. Harry and Sirius looked at their handiwork with satisfaction. Apart from a few portraits drooling and having their wigs askew, everything looked perfect.
“So you just did a big emergency cleaning?” Ron asked, somewhat disappointed, back in the compartment.
“Not quite,” Harry said, continuing his story.
When the officials arrived, Sirius welcomed them with a smile and led them to the living room. Harry suddenly felt a shadow of doubt. He felt he had overlooked something and stopped to think about it...
The Black Family members were all very crazy...
A shrill scream echoed through the foyer. Harry took off running, remembering the first time he visited the old house. On one side of the staircase, there was something that left a lasting impression, something he now took for granted and avoided looking at when going up and down the stairs.
A short wizard tumbled down the stairs, his face filled with terror. Harry followed his gaze and, sure enough, saw a row of shriveled House-elf heads stuck to the wall panel. Everyone in the room froze, the smile on Sirius Black's face frozen, giving Harry a moment to recall his godfather's disgusted words from three years ago when he had introduced him to the family tree:
"My dear Aunt Elladora... she started the family tradition of beheading House-elves when they got too old to carry trays..."
The train sped through a field, and Ron eagerly pressed for more details.
"And then? Did they immediately run away and bring back a team of Aurors a few minutes later?"
Harry rolled his eyes.
"No, Sirius and I managed to convince them, really convince them", he emphasized, as if to clarify that no Stunning Spells or similar magic had been used. "Those two registered Kreacher's name before they left. Sirius swore to take down those heads... I'm not sure how to deal with a Permanent Sticking Charm, though. Maybe we'll have to tear down the entire wall."
"That's quite a project."
Laughter echoed through the compartment.
...
Hundreds of kilometers away at Hogwarts, Professor Mcgonagall, wearing her square glasses, bent over an article in Transfiguration Today, occasionally marking errors with her quill.
After finishing one article, she looked up and glanced at Felix and the Sorting Hat. The former was spinning the latter around, making the Sorting Hat dizzy and causing it to protest loudly: "Do something! This person is destroying one of the most important historical artifacts in the school! What do I see? A shameful backroom deal, the Deputy Headmistress bribing the current Headmaster—"
Professor Mcgonagall raised an eyebrow from her seat.
"Poor Sorting Hat, you are, after all, not a real person", Felix smiled, showing his teeth through the hat's split seam. "Even if I did give him the recordings of the Montrose Magpies' last twelve matches, it doesn't count as a bribe. They were just freebies that came with the magic projector... although they're a year late, they're still freebies."
"That's not the point", Professor Mcgonagall glared at Felix. His explanation seemed more like an attempt to cover up, and she pursed her lips. "Felix convinced me that if his magic could become a core part of the school's defense system, student safety would be greatly improved."
"No way!" the Sorting Hat shouted. "That's a privilege reserved for the four founders. Even subsequent Headmasters can only make minor adjustments to the existing system."
"That's why I'm here", Felix said persuasively. "The four founders might not have considered everything. How about you open your mind and let me communicate with them? Who knows, maybe we'll have a great conversation?"
The Sorting Hat fell into an eerie silence.
It had always read students' thoughts, sorting them into different houses based on their traits. This was the first time it had heard someone want to read its own thoughts—oh, the thoughts of the Four Founders who had infused it with life a thousand years ago.
The Sorting Hat asked curiously, "Do you think you can gain the approval of all four of them?"
"I think I can", Felix said earnestly. "If you don't believe me, we can try."
"…But I've heard you've advanced Memory Magic to unprecedented levels?"
"Rumors, all rumors. I still have a lot of room for improvement."
The Sorting Hat fell silent again, this time for longer. Then it began to wriggle, the seam in its brim opening wide. Felix felt a gust of air coming from the seam, as if someone was about to shout. Then the Sorting Hat began to scream—
"Help! Anyone! Minerva Mcgonagall, you're the Headmistress! Dumbledore, look at what you've done!"
In the golden frame on the wall, Dumbledore seemed to be sleeping, but Felix clearly saw him watching them with interest, winking mischievously—once upon a time, Felix had also shown a strong interest in the Sorting Hat in front of Dumbledore.
After all the commotion, the Sorting Hat still refused to agree and threatened to skip the Sorting Ceremony this year. Felix had to reluctantly remove the Sorting Hat from his head.
"You seem eager to speak with the founders, Felix?" Professor Mcgonagall asked sharply. "Is it because you've been under too much pressure lately?"
Felix shrugged, his tone light. "Just can't make up my mind—especially when there are multiple options. Up to this point, I believe we're still on the right path. But precisely because of that, every future decision is even more crucial."
He lounged back, adding, "I can understand why Babaji Arjuna is doing nothing. With six billion Muggles and two million Wizards on the other side of the scale, anyone would feel suffocated—" He paused thoughtfully, "Maybe I should talk to Trelawney. Seeing her mystical demeanor always fills me with confidence about the future."
Professor Mcgonagall's expression was a bit odd. "Don't say that to her face. She hasn't been in the best mood lately."
"What happened?" Felix asked, intrigued. "Oh, I get it, is it about the new professor this year?"
"Exactly, Centaur Firenze", Professor Mcgonagall said. "He accepted Dumbledore's invitation to teach and is officially onboarding this year."
...
In the evening, the scarlet Hogwarts Express, puffing white steam, slowly decelerated as it entered Hogsmeade Station.
Harry and his friends said a quick hello to Hagrid, but they couldn't linger as Hagrid still had to look after the first-year students. They headed toward the carriages, and Hermione fished a piece of parchment from her pocket. "Harry, we should go to the front. One of the Head Boy and Head Girl's duties is to lead the students into the castle..."
They quickened their pace, passing groups of students, and stopped in front of the first carriage. The two of them then stood with a stern look, waiting for the other students to climb into the carriages.
"Almost ready", Hermione said after a while. They entered the carriage, and Harry affectionately patted the bony spine of the thestral, which turned its head to look at him gently before stepping forward.
The wheels clattered as the carriage started moving, followed by the others, forming a long line that cut through the dark night.
Finally, the carriages stopped at the stone steps leading to the castle's oak doors. Hermione immediately jumped out, and Harry followed closely behind. As about half the students got off and gathered around them, Harry and Hermione led the way into the castle.
The Great Hall was brightly lit. When Harry and the others entered, many students were already there, having arrived through the Floo Network. Harry recognized several familiar faces, with sixth and seventh-year students mingling at the long tables, chatting excitedly as if they were catching up on the day's news clippings during the summer.
Harry paused, standing still. "What's wrong?" Hermione whispered, also stopping.
The students behind them got blocked at the entrance, asking what was happening. Meanwhile, the students in the Great Hall, hearing the footsteps and commotion, looked over. Harry's arrival made them realize that the school year had officially started, and they began to get up from their seats, preparing to return to their house tables.
Harry walked straight toward the Hufflepuff table.
Hermione hesitated but followed him, though his direction became increasingly clear—and increasingly wrong. "Harry, you're going the wrong way", Hermione whispered. "You're right", Harry said calmly, though his heart was pounding.
He sat down next to Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Quidditch team's Chaser, whose eyes widened in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.
Hermione finally reacted at the last moment, turning a corner and sitting at the Ravenclaw table.
"Hello, Hermione", a dreamy voice said in her ear.
"Oh, hello, Luna", Hermione replied, glancing nervously behind her. The people behind her seemed confused. "Everyone—everyone, sit wherever you like", she cleared her throat and said. The students, now aware of what was happening, began to find seats, and those who had stood up returned to their chairs, resuming their conversations.
But their faces clearly showed a mix of excitement and fear, tinged with a bit of surprise. In their minds, this was unprecedented.
(End of Chapter)
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