“Tell me she wasn’t serious, Ivy!”
Ron Weasley looked deeply troubled.
On some level, Hermione Granger’s confidence had genuinely convinced him.
“I haven’t even opened a single textbook!”
Hearing that immediately made Harry Potter feel much better.
After returning from Diagon Alley, Harry had at least skimmed through his books a little.
Sure, he barely remembered anything.
But he was probably still ahead of Ron.
“Don’t worry,” Harry comforted him.
“I barely read mine either.
Though Hermione’s right—we should probably change into our robes.”
“So…” Draco Malfoy hesitated awkwardly.
“Was Rabbit Teeth—uh, Granger—actually right, Ivy?
About the Sorting involving some kind of exam?”
“Mmm…” Ivy Doom shrugged lightly.
“I should say that reading more books never hurts.”
“Damn it…” Draco frowned immediately.
“I should’ve studied harder at home.”
He clearly interpreted Ivy’s answer as indirect advice.
“Not sure if there’s still time now, but we should head back, Crabbe, Goyle.”
Then he added seriously:
“Thanks, Ivy.”
After Draco’s trio finally left the compartment, Harry and Ron hurriedly started digging through their luggage.
Textbooks and school robes flew everywhere.
Once they finished struggling into their uniforms, silence gradually settled over the compartment.
The only remaining sounds were the quiet murmurs of two boys desperately cramming.
Ron was reading A History of Magic.
Harry was attempting Magical Drafts and Potions.
Unfortunately, the whispered studying lasted only a short while before the sounds became slower…
rougher…
Then stopped entirely.
Ron had fallen asleep.
“We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes.
Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately.”
The announcement echoed throughout the train.
Both Ron and Harry jolted awake instantly.
“Oh no—I fell asleep!” Ron groaned miserably.
“We’re finished!”
“Me too…” Harry admitted.
The thought of whatever terrifying Sorting test awaited them made his stomach churn violently.
Still, he forced himself to comfort Ron.
at least this guarantees we’ll end up in the same House.”
The statement sounded oddly pessimistic.
But somehow, shared suffering always felt easier to endure.
Color slowly returned to Ron’s pale face.
The two boys scrambled to gather their books from the floor and stuffed them recklessly back into their trunks before peering outside the compartment.
The corridors were already packed with students.
The train hadn’t even stopped yet, but both first-years and returning students alike were clearly desperate to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The train slowly rolled into the station.
Students poured onto the platform in a chaotic wave.
The cold night air immediately woke the sleepy young wizards much more effectively than studying ever had.
Standing beneath the dark sky, Ivy quietly inhaled a deep breath.
Familiar air filled his lungs.
“We meet again, Hogwarts.”
A lantern suddenly swung overhead, casting warm yellow light across Rubeus Hagrid’s massive beard.
“Firs’-years!
Firs’-years over here!
Harry!
Over here—yeh alright?”
The young students immediately gathered around Hagrid’s enormous figure.
After quickly checking the numbers, Hagrid led them down a narrow path.
Then suddenly—
A vast black lake opened before them.
Black Lake.
This was the same route the four Hogwarts founders themselves had once traveled.
On the mountainside beyond the lake stood the enormous castle of Hogwarts.
Tower after tower stretched toward the sky.
Warm lights glowed through countless windows, their reflections shimmering across the lake like a second field of stars.
“No more than four ter a boat!” Hagrid shouted while pointing toward the small wooden boats waiting by the shore.
The students quickly began grouping together.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville climbed into one boat together.
Meanwhile, Ivy was immediately invited aboard by Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Hagrid stood alone in his own boat.
Once everyone had boarded, he guided the fleet forward.
Ivy lazily dragged his fingertips through the dark water as the boats drifted across the lake.
A strange feeling of comfort and relaxation quietly filled him.
“I never traveled this route before,” he remarked casually.
“Last time I enrolled at Hogwarts, I arrived by flying carriage.
We were attacked by a dragon halfway there.”
Draco glanced at him twice.
He clearly wanted to ask about the dragon.
But at the moment, protecting his precious “exam knowledge” seemed more important.
“Heads down!”
Hagrid’s booming voice echoed across the lake.
Except Ivy.
After all, only a half-giant like Hagrid actually needed to lower his head here.
No eleven-year-old wizard was two and a half meters tall.
The little boats carried them beneath curtains of hanging vines before finally arriving at a moss-covered dock.
Ivy knew this place well.
The Hogwarts boathouse.
Normally almost nobody came here because reaching it required climbing slippery stone steps.
Though ironically, that isolation made it a perfect location for secret student dates.
Once everyone climbed ashore, Hagrid discovered Trevor sitting inside one of the boats.
Neville immediately shouted “Thank Merlin!” while lifting the toad proudly overhead.
It was Trevor’s first proper appearance before the entire group.
The students climbed the stone staircase and entered a long rectangular corridor.
At the far end stood the enormous hall where Hogwarts held every Sorting Ceremony and Opening Feast.
Massive oak doors blocked the entrance.
Hagrid raised his absurdly huge fist and knocked.
Or rather—
From Ivy’s perspective, he practically punched the doors.
They swung open immediately.
A stern-looking witch stepped outside.
Minerva McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall led the first-years into the Entrance Hall and briefly explained the four Houses along with the hourglasses used to track House Points for the House Cup competition.
“In a few moments,” she announced, “the Sorting Ceremony will begin before the entire school.
I suggest you all use this time to compose yourselves and present a proper appearance.”
Her eyes paused briefly on Neville’s cloak, which was somehow fastened beneath one ear, and then on Ron’s dirty nose.
Finally—
Her gaze stopped on Ivy’s glowing green robes.
Ivy noticed immediately.
Without a word, he raised his wand and lightly tapped his shoulder.
The magnificent relic robes vanished instantly, transforming into ordinary black school robes identical to everyone else’s.
A flicker of surprise passed through McGonagall’s eyes before disappearing just as quickly.
“Very good,” she said calmly.
“When everything is ready, I shall return for you.
Until then—please remain quiet.”
The students fell silent.
Everyone looked nervous.
Hermione quietly muttered facts to herself that would almost certainly be useless during the Sorting.
Beside her, Neville listened desperately, trying to memorize even one or two sentences.
Ivy also noticed Draco subtly edging closer to Hermione.
Although he deliberately kept his back turned toward her, his raised ears made it painfully obvious he was secretly listening too.
(End of Chapter)