Chapter 363: Warning From the Sorting Hat

I thought the rain would stop when we arrived at Hogwarts, but when the train stopped, the rain got heavier.

The little wizards stood at the door of the car, hesitantly looking at the heavy rain outside. Thunder rumbled in the air, and no one wanted to get into the cold rain.

At Hagrid's urging, they still shrank their heads like quails and got into the carriage in a miserable state.

Then they clung to the door of the carriage and looked at the first-year wizards who had been soaked by the heavy rain with sympathy.

"Oh, I can't imagine crossing the lake in such weather."

Hermione was shivering with cold, her hair stuck to her face, and water kept dripping from the ends of her hair.

Not only him, but several people in the car were like this. When they finally handled everything with magic, the carriage had entered the gate of Hogwarts.

Everyone began to look forward to the warm auditorium and hot pumpkin juice. As for the big event that they had been passionately speculating about before, it had long been thrown aside.

The hall was still as magnificent as ever, and it was specially decorated for the new students' banquet.

Hundreds of candles floated above the tables, illuminating the golden plates and goblets.

The four long college tables were already filled with chattering students.

There was a fifth table at the top of the hall, and the faculty sat on one side of the table, facing their students.

There were a lot of empty seats for faculty members at the moment. Hagrid was still outside leading the first-year students across the Black Lake, and Professor McGonagall was in the entrance hall preparing to sort them.

Zhang Xiao stared at the empty seats, one of which was the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but he didn't know who it was this year.

Could it be Barty Crouch Jr. pretending to be Mad-Eye Moody?

There was a possibility, but Zhang Xiao thought it was unlikely. Barty Jr. pretended to be Moody in order to get close to Harry, and made a move to send Harry Potter to Voldemort under heavy protection.

Let Voldemort complete his resurrection, but now Voldemort has been resurrected and made such a huge fuss last semester.

So Voldemort had no reason to let his most loyal men risk entering Hogwarts.

The original book was becoming less and less useful to him, Zhang Xiao sighed, fortunately, the Horcruxes had been mastered, leaving only the one in Harry's body and Nagini.

The hall began to buzz with conversations, and the little wizards finally recovered from their frozen state and began to chat with their classmates who had not seen each other for a long time.

Of course, most of the topics were about the Quidditch World Cup that had just ended.

Malfoy opened his hands and was telling his experience in the Minister's Box in his usual tone, which attracted the envy of other Slytherin students.

However, after Malfoy's eyes swept around the long table, his face immediately became gloomy.

"Zhang--" He leaned over and whispered.

"Huh? What's wrong, Draco?" Zhang Xiao was listening to the exciting part. Apart from anything else, Xiao Ma still has the ability to tell stories.

"I just checked, the number of people wearing the Blue Luan Society badge has decreased again."

As the executive vice president of the Blue Luan Society, the actual person in charge of the main work, the secretary, Malfoy is dedicated to this society that carries his dreams.

Zhang Xiao glanced at it, and it was indeed as Malfoy said, the Blue Luan Society members, which accounted for 70% at the highest, decreased a lot during the Azkaban prison break in the third year, and maintained at about 50%.

But at this moment, a rough glance showed that there were only about 30%.

As for why this is the case. The answer is obvious. Voldemort has returned again and made such a big fuss. No one is afraid of the dead villain.

It's different for the villain who can't die. When the Dark Mark appears in the sky again, how can those who once surrendered to him not be terrified?

To be honest, Zhang Xiao was already surprised that he could still maintain 30%. He thought it would be good to have about 20%.

"How can they do this?" Malfoy said angrily in a low voice, his eyes narrowed, with a chill.

Uh, Zhang Xiao was a little speechless. In fact, their choice was similar to your family's before, sitting on the fence and watching the wind.

They took off the badge of the Qingluan Society, but they also stayed away from the extreme pure blood, forming the largest erratic fence-sitter group.

The entire Slytherin magically became a 334 pattern, with less than 100 students in the academy.

It can only be said that the temple is small and the wind is strong. With such a small number of people, it is still like the Three Kingdoms. If I were the Minister of Magic, the first thing I would need to consider is how to encourage childbirth.

First, increase the population. No one says anything.

"Draco, don't worry, the seeds have been planted. At least now the blatant bullying of newcomers and non-pure bloods has disappeared, right?"

Zhang Xiao comforted Malfoy. Now the problem of Slytherin is not in the academy, but in Voldemort.

Just as Dumbledore is a banner of the righteous path, Voldemort is also the last hope of those extreme pure bloods.

Why do they support Voldemort? Isn't it because the decline of pure blood makes them desperate?

Malfoy nodded, took out the little notebook with black cover and began to write and draw.

"What are you doing?"

"Write it down! Although I can't do anything now, I decided to write them down in the notebook. Families that wait and see are never trustworthy!"

Zhang Xiao:.

At this moment, the door of the auditorium opened, and everyone immediately quieted down.

Professor McGonagall led a long row of first-year students to the top of the auditorium.

If the little wizards were soaked and soaked before, then these first-year students didn't seem to be taking the ferry.

But he swam from the lake.

They stood in a row along the staff table and stopped, facing everyone, all trembling with cold and nervousness - except the youngest boy.

He wore a moleskin coat so big that it felt like a tent over the little boy's head.

As soon as he came in, the boy shouted happily to Gryffindor:

"I fell into the lake - a tentacle helped me up."

The auditorium was quiet for a moment, and then burst into loud laughter. Another boy who looked very similar to him stood up excitedly:

"That's cool! Dennis—" He raised his camera and the flash went off.

Professor McGonagall immediately straightened her face. She lowered her head slightly and stared at Colin Creevey with her oppressive eyes.

"If you don't want to be deducted before school officially starts, I suggest you put your camera away and sit still in your seat.

What do you say, Mr. Creevey? "

The two Creeves shrank their necks at the same time and returned to their positions obediently.

Professor McGonagall then placed a three-legged stool on the ground in front of the new students, and placed a tattered, dirty, and patched wizard's hat on the stool.

The first-year students stared at it blankly. Others looked at it too. For a moment, there was silence in the auditorium.

Zhang Xiao also sat upright, intending to listen to the Sorting Hat's song carefully. He always suspected that the old hat knew something, and every song he sang had a certain metaphor.

Under the gaze of all the teachers and students in the school, a crack near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth, and sang hoarsely:

That was more than a thousand years ago,

I have just been woven into shape,

There are four famous wizards,

Their names survive to this day:

Brave Gryffindor, from the barren swamp,

Beautiful Ravenclaw, from the peaceful riverside,

Merciful Hufflepuff, from the open valley,

The shrewd Slytherin comes from that quagmire.

They share a dream and a wish,

At the same time, I had a bold plan,

To cultivate young wizards into talents,

This is how Hogwarts School was founded.

These four great wizards

Everyone builds his own academy,

in the students they teach

They have different ideas about the talents they value.

Gryffindor believes that the bravest people

should receive the highest reward;

Ravenclaw believes that those with the smartest minds

Always the most promising;

Hufflepuff feels that the most diligent and hardworking

Only those who are most qualified to enter the academy;

And power-hungry Slytherin

I like those ambitious teenagers the most.

Thousands of years have passed, and the shadow is spreading.

Wizards from the four colleges,

Come together quickly,

Gryffindor stood in front of everyone,

The true wisdom of Ravenclaw appears,

Hufflepuff will always accompany you forward,

Slytherin's talent has not faded.

The four great wizards during their lifetimes

Okay, put me on your head,

I've never looked past it,

I want to take a look inside your head,

Find out which college you belong to!

After the Sorting Hat finished singing, there was warm applause in the auditorium, and similarly, discussions immediately started around the table.

"What does the Sorting Hat's song mean this time?"

"As if to unite us?"

"Unity? Why?"

"I don't know, you can ask Hat."

Zhang Xiao thought more deeply. He became more and more certain that the hat should know something, but it said nothing.

As a creature with wisdom, the Sorting Hat is unique. What kind of thing can maintain wisdom for more than a thousand years?

monster! When it comes to China, Gao Luo is also a hater.

There were no surprises in the sorting this time. It only took a moment for the sorting to be completed. The little wizard who had just been sorted into Slytherin sat on his seat with confusion and novelty.

In fact, most of the time, the internal atmosphere of Slytherin is okay, provided that you are not the target of those extreme pure-bloods, and you are not close to them.

"It's time." Malfoy wanted to grab the knife and fork, but saw that Crabbe and Goyle opposite had the knife and fork in their mouths, swallowing hard and staring at the gold-plated plate in front of them.

He immediately retracted his hand.

"I will not be like those two stupid pigs. I don't know what benefits the Dark Lord has given them and follow him wholeheartedly."

Malfoy tapped the cup with the knuckle of his index finger, making a tinkling sound, and then taunted:

"Perhaps you gave them a big bag of feed because you felt sorry for them?"

Zhang Xiao smacked his lips. The pony was still the same pony, and he was still so sharp when he should have a bad mouth, but the target was no longer 'Scarhead Potter'.

Just then, Dumbledore stood up. He looked at all his classmates with a smile and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"I only have two words to say to you." Dumbledore's rich voice echoed in the auditorium, "Eat!"

The plates in front of them were immediately filled with food. It must be said that after experiencing Zhang Xiao's education, the elves' cooking skills have improved even more.

They have a great understanding of seasonings and cooking techniques. Even with potatoes, a food that is deeply hated by people, they have successfully made creative foods such as spike potatoes and whirlwind potatoes.

The heavy rain was still pounding heavily on the high, dark windows, but the atmosphere in the auditorium became more and more lively, and the little wizards, who had been hungry for a long time, enjoyed the feast to their heart's content.

Another burst of thunder exploded, rattling the glass windows, and a bolt of lightning flashed across the hazy ceiling, illuminating the golden plate. The remaining first food on the plate disappeared, and in the blink of an eye it was filled with desserts. .

Malfoy took a piece of syrup pie and bit into it, squinting his eyes in enjoyment. Zhang Xiao really liked fruit pie. The elf used a lot of ingredients and had a strong fruity flavor.

Finally, when the desserts had been cleared away and the last crumbs disappeared from the plate, which was once again sparkling clean, Albus Dumbledore stood up again.

The buzzing voices in the hall suddenly stopped, and only the pounding of the strong wind and heavy rain could be heard.

The little wizards looked at the principal eagerly, wanting to hear what interesting welcome speech the principal would say this year.

The little wizards who had vaguely received some news clenched their fists excitedly, wanting to hear what big event was going to happen.

"Okay!" Dumbledore looked at everyone with a smile and said, "Now that we have eaten and drank enough, I must ask everyone's attention again. I want to make a few announcements."

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, wanted me to tell you that this year, there are a few more items banned in the castle. They are screaming balls, toothed flying saucers and combo boomerangs. The whole list includes about four hundred Thirty-seven items can be seen in Mr. Filch’s office, and those who are interested can check it out.”

Dumbledore paused, obviously puzzled by the length of the list, but he still respected Filch's position.

He continued: "As before, I would like to remind everyone that students are not allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest on the other side of the venue, and in Hogsmeade, students below the third grade are not allowed to visit."

"I would also like to inform you with great regret that the Academy Cup Quidditch Tournament will not be held this year."

What? Quidditch is gone?

Malfoy's eyes were wide open, and he didn't even notice that the syrup dripping from the pie in his hand was dripping on his clothes.

There was an even louder cry from the Gryffindor side, and they knew it was Ron, Harry and the Weasley twins who were responsible.

At this moment, there was a deafening thunder, and the door of the auditorium slammed open.

Zhang Xiao suddenly turned his head and looked at the door, his eyes becoming focused and sharp.

Mad-Eye - Moody!

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