For the rest of the journey, Jeral watched with amusement as the two boys opposite him carefully avoided his eyes.
If they accidentally made eye contact, they would instantly offer an apologetic smile and sit bolt upright, not daring to move for fear of triggering another sad memory.
After suppressing his laughter for a while, Jeral took the initiative to chat and ease the awkward atmosphere.
How could two kids be a match for Jeral?
Before long, they were chatting away happily.
“Jeral, have you thought about which house you want to go to?” Thomas asked casually, eating a Chocolate Frog.
Jim spoke up first: “I’m definitely going to Hufflepuff.
My whole family is in Hufflepuff.
You have no idea—luckily my family is very low-key and timid.
When You-Know-Who rose to power, the elders in my family decided to move, moving all over the place, changing locations every six months to a year.
Honestly, my strongest childhood memory is my mom packing me into a suitcase, and me eating and sleeping inside it.”
Thomas followed up, “For me, maybe half Hufflepuff and half Gryffindor, or maybe even Ravenclaw.
Too many people in my family intermarried with wizards from other houses, so it’s hard to say.
But fortunately, we’ve never married a wizard from Slytherin, otherwise…” Thomas shuddered, not daring to imagine.
Jeral thought for a moment and said, “I’ll probably be Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff.
My dad was a Ravenclaw, and my mom was a Hufflepuff.
I don’t really have big ambitions or daring courage; I just want to finish school peacefully.
Maybe leaning a bit more toward Hufflepuff.”
Jim and Thomas were quite pleased.
The new friend they had just met might be in the same house as them, giving them the satisfaction of collecting a rare card in a game.
Before long, darkness fell, and Jeral looked out the window.
The glass window reflected his thin, pale cheeks and the smooth black hair hanging down both sides, with a grey forehead band tightly covering the Caged Bird seal on his forehead.
Jeral’s thoughts subconsciously drifted off course.
His current situation was somewhat similar to Professor Severus Snape—both half-bloods, both pale-skinned with black hair, and both bound by a contract magic that involved the soul and threatened their lives.
He wondered if Snape, out of sympathy for their shared fate, would show mercy and help him resolve the jinxed seal.
Jeral let out a quiet chuckle.
Coming back to his senses, he saw Thomas and Jim starting to change into their school robes, so he changed his clothes as well.
When the train arrived at the station, the person greeting the first-years was indeed Hagrid.
Seeing him in real life was even more impactful than in the movies.
Hagrid was probably around 3.5 meters tall—nearly three times Jeral’s height—and almost 1.5 meters wide, burly and heavily built.
But Jeral guessed he was hiding plenty of things under his bulky clothes.
Hagrid approached with heavy footsteps.
Based on his past life experience as Hyuga Taka, Jeral conservatively estimated his weight at 300 kilograms.
Gosh, even a polar bear in an Arctic zoo standing on its hind legs was only about this size.
Rarely did Jeral feel such genuine shock.
Jeral noticed the second-year and older students walking in the other direction.
He knew they were probably going to take the carriages, feeling a bit envious.
He wondered if he could see the Thestrals now, having witnessed so much death in his previous life.
Jeral, Thomas, Jim, and an unfamiliar young witch boarded a boat.
As the boat glided across the Black Lake, Jeral remembered there was a giant squid in the lake.
Curious, he leaned down and activated his Byakugan toward the pitch-black surface.
The surface remained pitch black, but it was dotted with specks of glowing light.
Jeral guessed the stationary ones were aquatic magic plants on the lakebed emitting faint magic, while the ones moving swiftly back and forth were magical creatures on the lake floor, such as Merpeople or Grindylows.
Jeral searched for a long time without seeing the giant squid.
Just as he was about to deactivate his Byakugan in disappointment, a massive patch of bright white light burst into the edge of his vision.
Immediately after, the light mass expanded massively, completely covering Jeral’s entire field of vision.
“Hss!” Jeral’s eyes stung sharply.
He hastily shut off his Byakugan and pulled his head back.
“Jeral, what’s wrong?
Are your eyes hurting?” Thomas noticed something was wrong and asked hurriedly.
Jeral closed his eyes and shook his head.
After the spots of light faded from his retina, he opened his eyes and explained, “It’s nothing, Thomas.
A small fish swam past in the Black Lake, and the lake water splashed into my eyes.”
Only then did Thomas feel reassured.
He turned his head to explain Jeral’s condition to the young witch who had been frightened by his Byakugan.
Seeing the young witch’s expression shift from fear to pity, Jeral felt somewhat speechless.
Soon the boat reached the shore.
Just like in the movies he had watched before, Jeral saw the brightly lit Great Hall and the vast starry sky shimmering overhead.
The atmosphere at the Slytherin table was gloomy.
Quite a few older wizards looked sour, with only a small portion appearing composed, seemingly unaffected by Voldemort’s death.
The Ravenclaw table truly lived up to its reputation as a haven for researchers—students gathered in small groups of two or three, chatting softly.
Seeing parchment and quills in their hands, they were likely discussing academic topics.
The wizards at the Hufflepuff table were all very relaxed.
For them, with Voldemort dead, they were safe and no longer had to live in constant fear.
The liveliest atmosphere was naturally at the Gryffindor table.
After all, the ones who had defeated Voldemort were the Potter family from Gryffindor, and key wizards of the Order of the Phoenix like Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were all from Gryffindor too.
They whistled and applauded, welcoming Jeral and the incoming first-years.
Jeral glanced at the staff table, where many familiar professors sat.
Among the group of curious young wizards craning their necks and looking around, Jeral’s direct gaze toward the staff table stood out.
Even Professor Severus Snape merely shifted his gaze away indifferently.
Jeral realized Professor McGonagall must have informed them in advance.
At the house tables, some students noticed Jeral’s eyes as well, but most paid little mind.
The occasional one or two who wanted to ask were stopped by older students beside them.
Having lived through the darkest times, they knew when to keep quiet and refrain from prying, showing little interest in probing others’ peculiarities.
Professor McGonagall picked up the Sorting Hat and began the sorting ceremony.
Gryffindor had the most students, followed by Ravenclaw, then Hufflepuff.
The house with the fewest students was Slytherin.
Both Thomas and Jim were sorted into Hufflepuff.
The two boys were thrilled, happy that they could remain companions.
When it was Jeral’s turn, he sat on the stool and put on the Sorting Hat.
“Oh…
You don’t have grand ambition, nor do you like manipulating people’s hearts.
A good, kind child.
But you don’t seem to revere reckless courage either.
Let me see…
you wish to study magic, especially Potions, correct?”
“Very well, then—RAVENCLAW!”
Jeral broke into a smile, and applause erupted from the Ravenclaw table.
Just as he was about to take off the Sorting Hat, it whispered softly:
“I must give you a warning: learning Potions requires an ability to endure criticism.”
Jeral couldn’t help but chuckle secretly.
Professor Snape had been here for less than a year, yet even the Sorting Hat understood his character so well.
Wouldn’t these young wizards suffer even more of a meltdown?
Sitting down at the Ravenclaw table, a senior student leaned over.
“Hello, Jeral Prent.
I’m Henry Sinclair, Ravenclaw prefect, fifth year.
Welcome to Ravenclaw.”
“Hello, Prefect Sinclair.
I’m honored to join Ravenclaw,” Jeral replied.
After a few exchanges of greetings, Jeral was naturally accepted by the Ravenclaw upperclassmen.
Soon, the feast began.
A feast of dishes suddenly appeared on the long tables, and the Great Hall instantly burst into lively chatter.
Jeral didn’t look down on the roast chicken legs, baked potatoes, and grilled sausages on the table; he ate with great appetite anyway.
After all, no matter how it was prepared, it tasted far better than military rations.