Young Wizards got off the train one after another, curiously looking around their surroundings.
The prefects of each house also gathered their respective house members, waiting neatly to be guided.
Only the first-year new students stood in place, at a loss.
Bellatrix also tidied her robes, then stood there leisurely, just like a star in the crowd.
Meanwhile, the Slytherin prefect nearby recognized Bellatrix and was just about to step forward to guide her when—
A middle-aged man walked over slowly, but upon getting closer, it was discovered that his clothes were covered in various claw marks, obviously not something an ordinary creature could make, and in some places, there were even traces of being scorched by flames.
“Good grief, couldn’t they have let someone else do it?” he muttered in complaint.
“I am the Care of Magical Creatures Class Professor, Professor Kettleburn. You will see me in the third year, let’s do self-introductions then.”
Then he took out his wand and cast a ‘Sonorus Charm’: “Alright, children, don’t dawdle here. Students above second year, follow behind me led by the prefects. There are carriages pulled by Thestrals there, get seated and you can set off.”
“First-year children, come to my side and follow me in a moment!”
“We will retrace the path walked by the Four Founders back then.”
Amidst the noise, Bellatrix’s elegant posture and indifferent attitude instantly became the focus, and everyone naturally gathered around her.
After the senior students had all left, Professor Kettleburn led the first-year young Wizards forward.
“Be careful, watch your step. We need to cross this path before we can reach Hogwarts.”
Bellatrix walked right beside Professor Kettleburn, and she clearly heard the Professor whispering softly, “Honestly, with this amount of time, I might as well go check on my cute little foals. It’s all Dumbledore’s fault.”
Very well, it seemed this was also a Professor with his own pursuits.
Passing through the narrow, dark path, the crowd arrived at the lakeside, where small boats floated on the water’s surface.
It was very similar to her memories, but the damp little boats still made Bellatrix feel somewhat repulsed.
Furthermore, on some boats, she even saw some algae.
Could it be that these boats are usually underwater?!
No… impossible.
If they were always underwater, they should have broken down long ago.
She had no choice but to pick the one that looked the cleanest, then sat in it.
“No more than four people per boat. Everyone, don’t worry. There haven’t been any accidents for so many years, and the boats won’t capsize. Rest assured.”
Yet the Professor’s words failed to provide any comfort; there were still people who looked at the bottomless lake before them and trembled uncontrollably.
However, grouping in fours helped to some extent; there were always brave youths willing to show off their daring at a time like this.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix boredly looked into the distance.
At the end of her line of sight, a towering Castle stood on the high slope across the lake.
Compared to this Castle, the ancestral home of the Black Family seemed simply inconspicuous.
The dotted lights lit up in the Castle at this moment resembled brilliant starlight.
After everyone got on board, the small boats started moving automatically, and Bellatrix noticed that in some hidden corners of the boats, there were symbols suddenly lighting up.
Bellatrix couldn’t recognize them, but she had seen some similar ones in her family’s books, so she knew that these boats were magic items, perhaps even alchemy items.
This gave her another understanding of Hogwarts’ deep pockets.
Halfway through the journey, someone’s boat rocked a few times.
Professor Kettleburn wasn’t worried at all, but rather said happily, “Don’t be afraid, this is the cutie in the Black Lake saying hello to you.”
If someone hadn’t seen a huge octopus tentacle swaying beside the boat, everyone might not have known that the Professor’s so-called cutie was this massive octopus.
Bellatrix had long known of this octopus’s existence from her memories of her past life.
It was considered the Patronus of the Black Lake, completely harmless to the people of Hogwarts, but if it were outsiders…
Upon seeing it, some people’s complexions instantly turned exceptionally pale, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Passing through the dark tunnel, they arrived under the Castle.
The boats stopped at the dock, and everyone followed the Professor forward, but this time Bellatrix walked at the very end.
Just as she was about to go upstairs, she seemingly looked back inadvertently.
Only to find that the previous small boats were slowly sinking to the bottom of the water.
She widened her eyes slightly, then quickened her pace to catch up.
Soon, everyone arrived in front of a huge oak door.
The greatest effect of this journey was probably to let the young Wizards calm down their recent emotions.
With someone taking the lead to chat, everyone gradually recovered their composure.
Then, as the gates slowly opened.
A young Witch appeared at the doorway, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
“Welcome to Hogwarts.”
When the first-year students walked into the Great Hall, their expressions became somewhat nervous again.
Inside the huge Great Hall, it was almost filled with senior students.
As for Bellatrix, her attention was attracted by the magical scenery in the hall.
On the silk-like pitch-Black ceiling, specks of starlight twinkled, and thousands of candles floated mid-air, countless candlelight and braziers reflecting off each other.
At this moment, ghosts passed through the bodies of the new students one by one, eliciting gasps of shock from them.
Perhaps by accident or coincidence, not a single ghost appeared near Bellatrix.
Next was the routine sorting ceremony.
Dumbledore personally placed the Sorting Hat on the stool, then took out a long list: “Whosever name is called, put on the Sorting Hat, and it will determine the house most suitable for you.”
Following the order of names, everyone stepped forward one by one for sorting.
It was Bellatrix’s turn.
“Bellatrix Black.”
She walked with elegant strides step by step to the chair, but seeing the shabby hat in front of her, she still felt somewhat repulsed.
Yet she had no choice but to put it on, continuously hinting to herself.
This is an alchemy item, this is an alchemy item with many years of heritage…
This time, she gritted her teeth and placed the hat onto her head.
The moment the hat made contact, a quirky tone sounded in her mind, “Whoa oh whoa oh, another Black. You must be the first Black of this generation, right? Originally I should have directly sent you to Slytherin, but you also have traits for Ravenclaw, what should we do about this?”
Then it seemed to have suddenly discovered something, straightening up quite a bit, “Well, well, I wouldn’t actually sort her into Ravenclaw…”
The Sorting Hat immediately gave its answer in a loud voice.
“Slytherin!!!”
At the Slytherin long table, reserved applause naturally rang out as well.