Just as he was about to ask the Sorting Hat what it was thinking, Professor McGonagall helped him take off the hat and signaled that he could step down.
Although William really wanted to give the Sorting Hat a couple of kicks, the current occasion was not appropriate.
He could only thank Professor McGonagall and then jog over to the Gryffindor table.
At this time, Hermione and Harry were both happily waving at him.
They were so happy to be sorted into the same house as their good friend.
After William arrived, the few of them stopped watching the rest of the sorting and instead asked curiously: “William, what did the Sorting Hat say?
Why did you take so long?”
“Huh?
Was it long?
I felt like it was only about two minutes.” William replied in confusion.
“What do you mean two minutes?
It was at least five minutes,” Harry said.
“To be precise, it was seven minutes,” Hermione gave the exact time.
Then, the two of them looked at William with eyes full of curiosity, waiting for his answer.
“We just chatted for a bit; the Sorting Hat reminisced about the past with me,” William replied vaguely.
Seeing that William didn’t want to say more, the two didn’t press further and continued to watch the sorting ceremony.
Not long after, Ron also came to the Gryffindor table.
As soon as he sat down, he started talking about when the food would be served, since everyone was already hungry.
Fortunately, the remaining few new students were sorted very quickly, and by the time they were done chatting, the sorting was over.
At this time, Professor McGonagall picked up the Sorting Hat and left, and then it was time for the Principal’s speech.
Dumbledore stood up with a beaming smile and spread his arms toward the students.
“Welcome!
Now I would like to say a few words,” he said.
“Nitwit!
Blubber!
Oddment!
Tweak!
Thank you!”
As his voice fell, the empty plates on the long tables were suddenly filled with a vast amount of food.
Ron, for instance, had a chicken leg in each hand and was eating from both sides.
As for Dumbledore’s words, no one looked into them deeply; after all, those words didn’t stave off hunger.
“George and Fred didn’t lie to me about this; Hogwarts’ food really is delicious,” Ron said with his mouth full.
Harry was also eating with great enjoyment and gave a grunt of agreement.
However, for William, the taste of such food could only be considered average.
So, compared to the wolfing down of the other Gryffindor students, he seemed more like a Slytherin maintaining their elegance.
He had only just improved his Chinese stomach for two months, and now he had to go back to eating British food.
The ingredients were good, and the House-elves’ skills were also good, but the menu really didn’t pique his interest.
After picking out some things to fill his stomach, William took a bit of dessert to savor slowly, during which he also watched a beheading performance by Sir Nicholas.
To be honest, he hadn’t expected a ghost’s body to have such clear internal structures.
While Harry and the others were too disgusted to eat, William was slowly enjoying his dessert while observing the cross-section of the neck with great interest.
In the end, even Sir Nicholas couldn’t withstand William’s gaze and fled in terror.
“It seems everyone is full.” After the dessert was finished, Dumbledore stood up again and said, then he waved his hand, and the food on the plates vanished.
“Before we rest, I have a few words to say.”
“First-year students take note: the forest area on the school grounds is forbidden for any student to enter.
Some of our older students should also remember this.” As he spoke, Dumbledore’s gaze seemed to inadvertently sweep over The Twins, George and Fred.
“Furthermore, the caretaker, Mr.
Filch, has also asked me to remind everyone not to perform magic in the corridors between classes.” He gestured toward a man nearby who was holding a cat and wearing somewhat shabby clothes.
“Finally, I must tell you that anyone who does not wish to suffer an accident and die a painful death, please do not enter the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor.”
William knew that Dumbledore was preparing to fish, and it was the kind where the fish would willingly take the bait.
“Now, before everyone goes to bed, let us sing the school song together!”
As soon as he said this, most of the Professors’ expressions changed; Snape’s expression, for example, became even more frightening.
Finally, accompanied by the finish from the Weasley Twins, another deadly song ended.
“The Gryffindor hat sings poorly, the Gryffindor students sing poorly, and I suppose Gryffindor himself sang poorly too—it’s truly a lineage,” William complained in his heart.
After the school song, the Gryffindor first-years followed Percy out of the Great Hall.
On the way, William saw Harry touching the scar on his forehead and thinking about something.
He leaned over and whispered, “Does the scar still hurt?”
Just now at the dinner table, Harry felt his scar suddenly throb with pain, and then he noticed Snape staring at him.
Combined with what he had heard from others about Snape’s reputation, it led him to conclude that the man was not a good person.
William did take a glance, but then just went back to eating his own food.
After all, he couldn’t afford to offend either Snape or Quirrell.
Plus, since this year’s chess game was set up by Dumbledore, he needed to be even less conspicuous.
All he could do was subtly give Harry the right answers.
Soon, after walking up the ever-changing stairs, they stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady at the end of the corridor.
“This is the entrance to the Gryffindor dormitory.
You need to give the right password to enter.
The password changes every half month and will be written on the notice board in advance.
Also, never tell the password to people from other houses,” Percy said.
As he finished speaking, the woman in the portrait asked, “Password?”
“Caput Draconis,” Percy said, and then the portrait swung open, revealing a hole in the wall.
After everyone passed through one by one, they arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room, a comfortable circular room filled with soft armchairs.
The combination of gold and red gave the place a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
“The girls’ dormitory is on the left, and the boys’ is on the right.
Your names are on the dormitory doors.
Also, your luggage has already been delivered to your rooms.
Get some rest early,” Percy said to everyone before leaving.
After William, Harry, and Ron said goodnight to Hermione, they went to find their own rooms.
“I hope we’re in the same dormitory,” Ron said.
“Me too,” Harry was also looking forward to it.
To be honest, William wasn’t looking forward to it that much.
After all, if they were in the same dormitory, he feared they would drag him along every time they went on a midnight stroll.
It wasn’t that he refused to go on midnight strolls, he just didn’t want to go with the two of them, as most of the time they went out at night, nothing good happened.
When he found his dormitory, his expression became complicated for a moment.
Good news: he wasn’t in the same dormitory.
Bad news: it was right next door to theirs.
Good news: the dormitory wasn’t large, and he was the only one living there.
Two pieces of good news and one piece of bad news—all in all, he should still be happy.
Thinking this, William said goodnight to the two of them and went back to rest…