The train slowed down gradually.
Outside the window, nothing was visible anymore, just a solid wall of forest a short distance from the tracks.
The motion became slower and slower until, finally, the train stopped.
Immediately, the sounds of many compartment doors opening echoed through the train.
The students couldn’t wait to get out.
Children’s voices and the stomping of feet could be heard from everywhere.
There was probably a bit of a crush at the exits from the carriages.
I wasn’t in any hurry.
Why bother?
I’d just wait for the main crowd to get out, then I’d get out myself.
The noise started to die down after about three minutes.
Time to go.
I stood up and left the compartment.
I noticed that almost all the children were gone, only a few older students were leaving their compartments.
They had probably learned from bitter experience in previous years, or maybe they were just late getting out.
Who knows?
I left my things in the compartment.
None of the students took them.
Stepping onto the ground by the carriage, I breathed in the cold air, which smelled of damp, wild forest.
An incredible feeling.
Looking around, I noticed a crowd of first-years gathered near the center of the train.
A few more stragglers were joining them.
I headed that way too.
The air was incredible, but not only that.
The mana was as well.
Earlier, I had said that Diagon Alley was saturated with mana.
I was wrong.
The feeling there was like being an epileptic during a seizure.
Why do I say that?
It’s simple.
Here, the concentration of mana was so strong that when I activated my magical vision, I could see better than with my ordinary eyes.
That’s saying something.
Even the sand here was saturated with mana.
Joining the group of first-years, I positioned myself at the back of the crowd.
At the front of the crowd towered an incredibly tall man, about three meters high.
That must be the Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts, Hagrid.
What can I say about him?
He was incredibly tall and hairy.
In the darkness, I couldn’t make out his features.
I doubt I’d be able to see them in daylight either.
After all, hair covered about eighty to ninety percent of his face.
You couldn’t track his facial expressions.
After waiting another ten minutes, we all moved in a crowd behind the giant.
Interestingly, there was no list of students.
It was as if that was the way it was supposed to be.
Maybe Hagrid knew the exact number of incoming students?
We walked in pitch darkness.
Ahead, the occasional flash of a lantern was visible.
The giant’s massive back blocked the light from the lantern.
Because of this, many people tripped over tree roots that were right under their feet.
We didn’t walk for long, about five or seven minutes.
At the end of the path, everyone found themselves at a pier on the shore of a lake so dark that even the light of a lantern couldn’t illuminate the water’s surface.
It felt as if the abyss itself was behind the shore.
In the magical light, the lake looked like an interweaving of magical streams from different planes.
By feel, the mana here came from planes such as water, darkness, life, and death.
I’ll be damned if I know how such a mixture can exist in nature.
But I’d swear those were the planes involved.
After all, everything a wizard sees with magical vision is understood on an intuitive level.
At least, that’s how it is for me.
A whole line of four-seater boats stood at the pier.
They approached the pier one by one according to a scheme known only to them, picked up students, and sailed away.
“Get into the boats, four to a boat,” the forester’s bass voice rang out.
A true giant’s voice, even if he was only half-giant.
“Sit down and hold on tight, or you’ll fall overboard.”
Having said that, he himself got into a boat, setting an example for the children.
The first-years began to take their seats in the boats one by one.
I ended up in a boat with an unfamiliar pair of girls, a brunette and a brunette, and a dark-skinned boy.
Nodding to each other in greeting, we waited for departure.
After about four minutes, when all the children had boarded the boats, Hagrid tapped his boat several times and said, “Let’s go.”
And as if obeying his command, the boats set off.
As we sailed, we watched a beautiful sight.
In the distance, in the light of the moon and stars, a majestic castle appeared.
First, arrow-shaped towers became visible through the crowns of the trees, and then the castle itself.
Hogwarts simply blazed with various lights.
All the windows and embrasures were lit, creating an intricate pattern on its body.
In the magical vision, the picture was even more incredible.
From the depths of the castle, a whole pillar of mana rose, which, at the top of the castle, was sprayed into streams that went to their own, undoubtedly important, needs.
“Duck down, you might hit your heads,” the giant shouted and ducked himself.
Not all the children ducked.
After all, they weren’t tall enough to hit their heads.
But there were those who ducked after him.
It looked interesting.
The mana of the castle washed over those who ducked.
The children’s auras seemed to fill with strength and mana.
I decided to bow to Hogwarts as well.
My companions looked at me strangely, but they also ducked.
After all, no one in the middle of the formation was ducking.
As soon as I bowed to the castle and sailed under the huge branches of the trees, I felt a sea of mana that, having scanned me, filled my aura with mana.
Straightening my back, I smiled.
Hogwarts had approved of me.
I didn’t know what awaited me in the future, but without a doubt, things would be easier for me within the walls of the castle.
***
We arrived at the other bank a couple of minutes later. This story is hosted at g.com.
Getting out of the boat, I offered my hand to the girl sitting opposite me.
The boy who sailed with us did the same.
After helping the girl, I walked toward the other students.
Once he had gathered us all, Hagrid led the crowd toward the castle.
Stopping at a strong wooden gate bound with steel plates, he knocked on it with his powerful fist.
A moment later, the gate opened silently.
A tall, incredibly thin woman in a green robe and glasses came out of the castle.
She could have been hired as a deputy headmistress at any school, just to scare the children.
In fact, she was the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School, Minerva McGonagall.
“Good evening, Professor,” the forester began.
“I, uh, delivered the new ones.”
“First-years, Hagrid,” the deputy headmistress corrected him.
“No problems?”
“Yeah, first-years.
Uh, no.
No problems.”
“Very well, Hagrid.
I’ll take them from here.”
“Uh, yeah.
So, I, uh, can I go?”
“Go, Hagrid, go,” McGonagall said in her dry voice.
“Well, I’m off,” Hagrid replied and walked away into the darkness of the night.
“Follow me,” the professor commanded, and it was a command, and she walked deeper into the castle.
The crowd followed her.
The gates creaked shut behind us.
We found ourselves in a spacious corridor.
Along its sides hung paintings and sconces, and statues and suits of armor stood.
The corridor itself was made of light-colored stone.
In short, everything was tastefully decorated.
We followed the professor for about seven minutes.
Finally, we stopped in front of double doors that probably led to the Great Hall.
“Good evening, children,” the deputy headmistress began her mini-lecture.
“Starting today, you will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
I am the Deputy Headmistress, Professor Minerva McGonagall.
You may address me as Professor McGonagall.”
She paused, waiting for the children to absorb the information, then continued.
“Behind this door,” she pointed her palm toward the door, “is the Great Hall.
There, we will conduct your Sorting.
Based on the results, you will be sorted into one of four Houses.
The names of these Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
Each House has its own common room, where you will live for at least five years.
And I will not tolerate you breaking school rules during these years.” Having said this, she looked over the hushed children with her stern gaze.
“Wait here.
You will be called when preparations are complete.”
Turning around, the professor went into the Great Hall.
We were left alone in a small room in an unfamiliar castle.
Well, that’s service for you.
Then the chaos began.
Each child wanted to prove something to someone or tell someone something.
Some argued, some started crying.
Such a cacophony of sounds, it was just awful.
Only a few children didn’t participate in the commotion.
Suddenly, everything stopped.
All the children fell silent and stared at the silhouettes emerging from the wall.
They were the famous school ghosts.
The ghosts and the children started a conversation, but I didn’t hear them.
I was looking at them with my magical vision.
What can I say about them?
All the ghosts had intact and active auras, which indirectly indicated their sentience.
They also all had an active connection to Hogwarts, which went somewhere under the castle, probably to the source of mana.
The connection itself resembled the same one between me and my wand.
So it turns out that ghosts don’t live off people, as many fanfics say.
They live off the castle.
It gives them life and development.
Could they be part of the so-called security system?
Or are they an appendage of one of the former headmasters?
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
The deputy headmistress was standing at the entrance to the Great Hall.
“Form two lines,” she commanded.
“And follow me.
Get a move on.”
Having said that, she turned around, opened the doors wide, and entered the Great Hall.
We lined up in about fifteen seconds and followed her.
We found ourselves in an incredibly large hall.
Along its entire length were four tables, behind which sat representatives of the four Houses.
I won’t say exactly how many there were, but at first glance, three or four times more than shown in the movie.
Around the perimeter of the hall stood suits of armor.
Above our heads was a projection of the sky above the castle.
An incredible sight, and even more so in magical vision.
I had never seen such an interweaving of runes and threads in my life.
We gradually approached the staff table.
All the seats behind it were occupied, except for the deputy headmistress’s seat to the right of it.
What can I say about the professors?
They were imposing.
No matter what anyone says, each of their auras simply radiated power.
Of course, none of them compared to the one who sat at the head of the table on a golden, bulky throne that towered above the others, as if to say, “I am the king and god of this place.
Please remember and never forget it.”
Albus Dumbledore, Many Names.
His figure was imposing.
At first glance, he resembled Merlin as everyone imagines him.
A kind old man with a long, snow-white beard.
What could be said after a second glance?
Due to his glasses and beard, his facial expressions were very difficult to read, which made it difficult to see the dialogue with him.
His robe was baggy, which made it impossible to tell from his body language what he would do next.
Even the color of his robe involuntarily made you either stare at it or shift your gaze to his face, and from there it was not far to eye contact.
In magical vision, he simply blazed.
His aura was overflowing with power.
I don’t know what you need to do to possess such power.
And the aura was not white.
It was predominantly light tones, but there were also plenty of dark ones.
There are two possibilities: either he is masking it, or he really is what he appears to be.
If the canon is to be believed, it’s probably the first.
We approached the staff table.
I looked around and saw Professor McGonagall placing a four-legged stool in front of the newcomers.
On top of it, she placed a tall, pointed wizard’s hat.
The hat was patched, with frayed brims, and incredibly dirty.
In magical vision, it was clear that the hat was one of the central points of the entire castle’s magical system, but the patches showed holes.
As if parts of the magical channels had been torn out.
Suddenly, the hat twitched.
The seam that served as a mouth split open, and the hat began to sing.
*Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,*
*But don’t judge on what you see,*
*I’ll eat myself if you can find*
*A smarter hat than me.*
As soon as I heard the beginning of the song, I covered my ears.
Forget it.
With that kind of singing, you could take down a dragon.
And here they were singing it to children.
The entire hall burst into applause when the hat finished its song.
It bowed to all four tables and then fell silent again.
“So we just have to put on the hat?” a voice from somewhere said.
“I’ll kill Fred.
He promised something like a fight with a troll.”
So it was just like in the canon.
But I didn’t believe the sixth Weasley.
There’s no way that in all his childhood, none of his five brothers had blabbed about the Sorting method.
From this, I concluded that it was a performance.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward, clutching a long roll of parchment.
This scroll was also part of the castle’s system.
Apparently, the names of all incoming students were written on it.
“When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool,” she said.
“Abbott, Hannah!”
A rosy-cheeked girl with two blonde pigtails came out of the crowd, put on the hat, which immediately fell over her eyes, and sat down.
The hat and the girl exchanged mana.
Apparently, it really did read minds.
A minute passed.
“HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat shouted.
The table on the right applauded welcomingly as Hannah walked toward them.
The badgers’ table was indeed friendly.
“Bones, Susan!”
“HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat shouted again, and Susan quickly joined Hannah.
A stream of students followed.
Everyone gradually found their houses for the next five years.
I stood and patiently waited my turn.
Suddenly, a shout rang out.
“Harry Potter!”
A lanky boy with shaggy hair emerged from the crowd.
He had bicycle glasses on his nose.
His entire bearing expressed uncertainty.
So this was our hero.
He slowly walked to the stool, nodded to the deputy headmistress, and sat down.
The hat was immediately placed on his head.
The exchange of mana between them went on for a long time, at least three or four minutes.
The pressure of mana there was also incredibly high.
Something was wrong with our hero.
“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat finally made its decision.
And at that moment, when the hat was lifted from the hero’s head, I noticed his smile.
Oh, it wasn’t the smile of a child or a hero.
It was a smile that marked the joy of a job well done.
It looked like the castle was in for some fun times, because our hero wasn’t who he seemed.
The stream of students continued.
Another ten minutes or so passed before my turn came.
Finally, the moment arrived.
“Massimo, Kael!”
I stepped out of the crowd and approached the hat, trying my best to look like a nervous child.
Sitting on the stool, the Sorting Hat was placed on my head.
“Good evening, esteemed hat,” I began our conversation.
“And to you, young man,” it answered in a male voice.
“And where shall I put you?
Hufflepuff?”
“No,” I answered categorically.
“I’m not interested in friendship.
All I care about is self-development, learning new things, and exploring this world.”
“Are you sure?
With your problem, you’d be better off in Hufflepuff.
They could liven you up there.”
“You know, you’ve already figured out that my problem is gradually correcting itself.
It won’t be fast, it will take decades, but it will correct itself.
And I don’t want to waste my best years of development for the sake of my problems.”
“Well, I understand you.
So be it.”
“RAVENCLAW!”
I stood up and headed toward my house’s table to their applause.
Well, that was a new turn of events.