Chapter 12
Even though she had learned that the young man beside her was actually a professor, and despite his very friendly demeanor, Hermione still felt a bit restrained. After hurriedly reminding Harry and Ron to change into their wizard robes, she quickly left the compartment.
Time passed slowly. Just as complete darkness fell outside, the Hogwarts Express came to a stop. Yes — this was Hogsmeade station, the stop right before Hogwarts.
Hogsmeade was a purely wizarding village. According to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry regulations, students were not allowed to visit until their third year.
Even third-years and above needed a signed permission slip from a guardian to go there on designated Saturdays. This time, after the Hogwarts Express stopped here, the first-years would board boats to cross the Black Lake and arrive at Hogwarts Castle.
"Alright, first-years! Follow me! Come on, first-years, this way!" As soon as the train stopped, a booming voice rang out.
As Aisen had expected, that voice belonged to Hagrid — the one responsible for bringing the first-year students to the castle. He carried a large lantern and was busy herding the young witches and wizards who were climbing down from the train.
"Hello there, Harry!" Spotting Harry, Hagrid immediately came over to greet him. Meanwhile, Ron — standing nearby — was gaping in astonishment at Hagrid's sheer size.
"Good evening, Hagrid!" Aisen, who had gotten off toward the back of the group, walked up and greeted him.
"Evenin', Professor Aisen!" Seeing that Aisen had also disembarked, Hagrid looked genuinely pleased.
The first-years would now board small boats to cross the Black Lake toward Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Amid the children's gasps of wonder, Aisen also stepped onto one of the boats.
Though it was already night, under the bright moonlight, one could still clearly see the towering castle standing at the far end of the Black Lake.
The castle was majestic, its spires reaching toward the sky. Every window glowed with reflected light. Far from looking ostentatious, the sight only made the place feel even more mysterious.
The small boats glided slowly forward, carrying the first-years. After passing through a pitch-black tunnel, they finally arrived at a small dock. Crossing a stretch of smooth lawn, Aisen and the first-years reached the grand front doors of Hogwarts Castle.
They climbed flight after flight of stone steps until a tall witch with long hair blocked their path. Dressed in emerald-green robes and wearing a stern expression, she was unmistakably Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began, addressing the group of younglings who had come to a halt. "Once you pass through these doors, you will join others in the Great Hall."
"But before you take your seats, you must first be Sorted into your houses. They are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
"Your good action will earn your house points; any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the school year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup!" After delivering her speech, Professor McGonagall turned to lead the way into the hall.
"Good evening, Professor McGonagall. I hope I'm not late!" From the back of the group, Aisen stepped forward to greet her.
"Oh Professor Turner. I was beginning to think you might miss the feast!" McGonagall nodded at him, though her expression remained as stern as ever.
"I just wanted to experience the Hogwarts Express for myself. I must say, the scenery along the way was absolutely beautiful," Aisen replied with a small shrug.
Once they entered the Great Hall, the scene before them completely transformed. The hall was magnificent. Hundreds of students sat along four long house tables. The ceiling soared incredibly high, enchanted to reflect the night sky as though the stars were right above their heads.
Strangely, even though the only source of light came from floating candles, the hall felt bright and warm, never dim.
Under the gaze of hundreds of students, Aisen casually made his way toward the staff table. Dumbledore had arranged a seat for him right beside Hagrid.
"That's the new professor!"
"He looks so young!"
Aisen's youthful appearance immediately caused a stir among the students. But soon after, when Professor McGonagall led the dozens of first-years into the hall, everyone's attention shifted back to the new arrivals.
The Sorting Ceremony began shortly afterward. As Professor McGonagall called out names, one by one the first-years sat on the stool, had the old, battered, and shiny black Sorting Hat placed on their heads, and were assigned to their houses.
There were no major surprises. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and many others were Sorted into Gryffindor, while others found their own places. For example, Draco Malfoy — along with his little gang of followers — was Sorted into Slytherin, of course.
Aisen actually had quite a vivid impression of young Malfoy.
When the Sorting Hat was brought out, however, Aisen's expression turned serious again. A sudden question had occurred to him 'was the Sorting Hat considered a magical artifact, or a magical creature?'
It clearly possessed thought and awareness, so it couldn't be just an ordinary magical item. Yet at the same time, its "mind" was merely the result of a spell cast by Hogwarts' four founders, and that mind essentially only reflected their collective criteria for choosing students.
'So… would my system's miracle Trait work on the Sorting Hat?'
After thinking it over carefully, Aisen concluded that even if it did work, it wouldn't be worth wasting a Miracle Trait on. The Sorting Hat's abilities were of practically no use to him anyway.
Every time a first-year was Sorted into their house, the corresponding table erupted in cheers as the older students welcomed their new housemate.
Soon the Sorting Ceremony came to an end, and Dumbledore rose to deliver his usual start-of-term speech.
"I would like to announce a few start-of-term notices," Dumbledore began. Though he appeared frail and elderly, no one dared underestimate him — he was currently the greatest white wizard in the entire wizarding world.
"First-years should note that the forest on the school grounds is strictly forbidden to all pupils.
"Secondly, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind everyone that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes.
"And third — I must inform you that the corridor on the right-hand side of the fourth floor is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."
"Oh — and finally, I would like to introduce our new Astronomy professor for this year: Aisen Turner. Everyone, please welcome him!"
Before sitting back down, Dumbledore — as if suddenly remembering — introduced Aisen after delivering his warnings.
Following Dumbledore's words, Aisen stood up, gave a small nod to the hall, and sat back down.
With Dumbledore's cheerful cry of "Let the feast begin!", the four long tables were instantly covered with a dazzling array of dishes and platters piled high with food.
Roast sausages, turkey sandwiches, roast potatoes, and much more. Though it looked as though Dumbledore had magically conjured it all, in truth these were all prepared in advance by the Hogwarts house-elves.
Regardless, the sight of food appearing out of nowhere was undeniably impressive. Looking at the spread before him, Aisen suddenly felt unusually hungry and immediately began to eat heartily.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Dumbledore led the entire school in singing the Hogwarts school song. The quirky part was that everyone could choose whatever tune they liked.
Unable to stand the chaotic mess of different melodies, Aisen silently cast a wandless Muffliato on himself to block out the sound and simply endured it.
When the school song finally ended, the new first-years followed their house prefects back to their dormitories.
Hufflepuff and Slytherin dormitories were both located beneath the castle — one near the kitchens, the other in the dungeons beneath the Black Lake. Gryffindor Tower housed the Gryffindor dorms, accessed through the portrait of the Fat Lady. Ravenclaw Tower held the Ravenclaw common room at its very top.
As for Aisen, he had been assigned quarters in the staff wing. Since his Astronomy classes were only held on Wednesday evenings, his teaching schedule at Hogwarts would be quite relaxed.
For that very reason, before leaving, Aisen made a request to Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and the others, of attending the classes as an observer.
Although Aisen had already mastered quite a number of spells, he still needed to learn some of the more advanced and difficult techniques. Moreover, he had no intention of jumping straight into sixth- and seventh-year classes. Instead, he planned to start from the first year.
'A systematic approach, I feel, would serve my interest.
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