The Hogwarts Express finally began to slow as we approached Hogsmeade Station.
I gathered my belongings and stepped off the train alongside the other first-years.
The moment my feet touched the platform, I heard a booming voice calling through the crowd.
“First years!
First years, this way!” I turned toward the voice and immediately noticed that the man calling us wasn’t Hagrid.
That made sense.
Hagrid wouldn’t be working at Hogwarts for several more years, and considering that I was older than him in this timeline, I wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t here to greet us.
Instead, the person waiting for us was a short, stout wizard with a considerable belly, a shiny bald head, and an enormous silver moustache.
He was dressed in an extravagant velvet jacket that looked far too comfortable to be ordinary teaching attire.
“Gather round, first years!
I’m Professor Horace Slughorn.” Horace Slughorn.
The current Head of Slytherin.
Interesting.
He was currently serving as the professor responsible for guiding us to Hogwarts, although I knew that Dumbledore was the Deputy Headmaster during this period.
Dumbledore himself looked considerably different from the image I remembered from my previous life.
He was still unmistakably Albus Dumbledore, but he hadn’t yet developed the eccentric appearance he would eventually become famous for.
His hair was still a vibrant shade of ginger, and he had a short beard rather than the enormous silver beard of his later years.
His clothes were somewhat unusual, naturally, because this was still Dumbledore, but they weren’t nearly as extravagant as the robes he would eventually wear.
He still possessed that handsome, somewhat scholarly appearance that made him look more like a distinguished professor than the ancient wizard I remembered from history.
“Gather round, first years,” Slughorn repeated.
“You’ll be taking the boats across the lake.
You know the tradition.” I joined the crowd of first-years as Slughorn led us down toward the shore.
Several small boats were waiting beside the water, and students began climbing into them.
I ended up sharing one with Abraxas and Orion, which was perfectly acceptable as far as I was concerned.
I sat comfortably in the boat as it began moving across the lake.
Then Hogwarts appeared.
I stopped talking.
For several seconds, I simply stared.
The castle rose above us in the distance, its enormous towers reaching toward the night sky.
Countless windows glowed warmly against the darkness, while ancient stone walls stretched across the cliffs like something taken directly from a fantasy painting.
I had seen Hogwarts before.
I’d watched the movies.
I’d read the books.
I’d imagined what it would look like.
None of that had prepared me for actually seeing it.
It was breathtaking.
Even the pure-blood students around me seemed awestruck.
Some of them had probably heard stories about Hogwarts their entire lives, yet even they couldn’t hide their reactions.
I felt something surprisingly close to genuine wonder.
“So beautiful…” I quietly muttered the words without realizing it.
Then another thought entered my mind.
I was going to own this place someday.
Technically, I already had an argument for ownership.
Salazar Slytherin had been one of the founders, and through my inheritance as his magical heir, I possessed ancient documents connecting me to his properties and holdings.
But possessing a magical document saying that I had a claim to something and actually being able to exercise that claim were two very different things.
I couldn’t exactly walk into Hogwarts tomorrow, point at a piece of parchment, and announce that everyone had to leave because I owned the castle.
There were ancient enchantments, the other founders’ claims, the Ministry, the Headmaster, the Board of Governors, and countless other complications.
Still…
One day.
I would make that claim real.
Hogwarts was ancient, powerful, and saturated with magic.
I could almost feel it from the boat.
Every stone seemed to contain centuries of history.
Every tower, corridor, classroom, and hidden passage represented knowledge that had survived for generations.
I wanted it.
Not because I wanted to destroy it.
Because I wanted to understand it.
And eventually, I wanted it to belong to me.
The boats continued forward until we reached an underground harbour beneath the castle.
We disembarked, and Slughorn led us through the ancient passageways until we reached a set of enormous oak doors.
Beyond those doors was Hogwarts.
Waiting for us inside the entrance hall was Professor Dumbledore.
He smiled warmly as he looked over the group of first-years.
“Welcome to Hogwarts.” His voice carried effortlessly through the hall.
“In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates.
But before that, you must be sorted into your houses.
They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
While you are here, your house will be like your family.
Your triumphs will earn house points, while breaking the rules will cause your house to lose points.
At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup.” Dumbledore paused.
“The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily.
Please wait quietly until then.” He stepped away.
Excited whispers immediately spread throughout the group.
I barely heard them.
Because my system chimed.
Ding!
[Multiple Quests Detected.] My eyebrows rose.
Three quests?
I immediately opened the interface.
[Quest: Win the House Cup] [Objective: Lead your chosen House to victory.] [Reward: B-Rank Magical Power] I stared at the reward.
B-Rank.
Auror level.
That wasn’t bad at all.
Considering that my current magical power was technically around the C-Rank level, completing this quest would give me a substantial increase.
“Not bad.” I continued reading.
[Quest: Achieve the Highest Academic Scores] [Objective: Achieve the highest score in every subject during your first year.] [Reward: +1 Talent in the corresponding subject for every subject in which you achieve the highest score.] My eyes widened slightly.
Now that was useful.
If I achieved the highest score in Charms, my Charms talent would increase by one.
If I achieved the highest score in Transfiguration, my Transfiguration talent would increase by one.
And the same applied to every other subject.
My already absurd natural talent could potentially become even more ridiculous.
Then I noticed another section.
[Bonus Quest: Academic History] [Objective: Achieve the highest academic score in the history of Hogwarts for each subject.] [Reward: One random spell related to that subject at Proficiency Level 5.] I stared at the description for several seconds.
“So that’s how it works.” The wording was important.
It wasn’t enough for me to simply get the highest score among the current first-year students.
I needed to achieve the highest score in Hogwarts’ recorded history for that particular subject.
If I accomplished that in Charms, for example, I would receive a random Charms spell at Level 5 proficiency.
If I achieved the highest historical score in Transfiguration, I would receive a random Transfiguration spell at Level 5.
And so on.
That was an incredible reward.
Level 5 wasn’t something an eleven-year-old should possess.
Hell, if the system’s ranking was accurate, Level 3 or 4 was already respectable for many adult wizards.
I definitely wanted this.
I opened the final quest.
[Quest: Sorting] [Objective: Be sorted into a Hogwarts House.] [Possible Rewards:] [Gryffindor — Loyalty of Gryffindor’s Sword] [Hufflepuff — Loyalty of the Hogwarts House-Elves] [Ravenclaw — Enhanced Intelligence] [Slytherin — Complete Knowledge of a Random Dark Magic Spell at Proficiency Level 5] I immediately knew which reward I wanted.
Slytherin.
There wasn’t even a contest.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t directly control where the Sorting Hat placed me.
I considered my personality objectively.
Gryffindor?
Unlikely.
I wasn’t particularly brave in the traditional sense.
I was courageous when something aligned with my interests, but I was also highly cautious and paranoid.
If a situation became sufficiently dangerous and there was nothing to gain from remaining there, I had no problem leaving.
Hufflepuff?
I could be hardworking.
I could be loyal.
But my loyalty was selective.
If someone became part of my inner circle, I could become extremely loyal to them.
But I wasn’t going to pretend that I cared equally about every person around me.
That simply wasn’t true.
Ravenclaw?
Now that was actually possible.
I was extraordinarily intelligent.
I loved knowledge.
I possessed an obsessive curiosity about magic and wanted to learn everything I possibly could.
But there was still one overwhelming factor.
Ambition.
I wasn’t merely ambitious.
I had plans to become immortal.
I wanted enormous magical power.
I wanted political influence.
I wanted to reshape magical Britain.
And, eventually, I wanted to become one of the most powerful magical beings who had ever lived.
I had even considered conquering the world.
How could I possibly belong anywhere else?
Slytherin was practically inevitable.
I glanced toward the massive doors leading deeper into the castle.
Beyond them was the Great Hall.
Beyond those doors was the Sorting Ceremony.
But I wasn’t going there yet.
Not quite.
For now, I simply stood among the other first-years, quietly studying the system window while the excitement around me continued building.
The rewards had given me another reason to excel.
Win the House Cup.
Become the best student in every subject.
Break Hogwarts’ historical academic records.
And get sorted into Slytherin.
Four objectives.
Four opportunities to become stronger.
I smiled faintly.
“Looks like my first year is going to be busy.” I closed the system interface and looked toward the enormous oak doors.
Soon, I would walk through them.
Soon, I would meet the Sorting Hat.
And soon, Hogwarts would learn the name Tom Riddle.