As the day of going back to school approached, it became much easier.
Malfoy and Pancilio met on platform nine and three-quarters.
Of course, there will be no parental pick-up in the sixth grade.
Well, except for the weird Weasleys, it's always a big family that sends their kids to the train.
"I really don't want to go to class, and I have to take care of those little ghosts who like to violate school rules." Stepping on the train, I found a box. Pansy put her small bag on the long table in front of her, complaining casually.
Malfoy just stared out the window in silence.
This rare moment of tranquility is said to have paid a very high price. The teachers at Hogwarts spent a lot of effort on encrypting the entire railway and the express train itself. It was not Voldemort who came to crack it himself, basically will be confused.
The scenery outside the window is constantly changing, from the pastoral scenery to the winding mountains, from early morning to afternoon, it passes in the blink of an eye.
As the finish line neared, Pansy went to guide the freshmen.
Everything seems so normal.
If it weren't for the sadness written on many students' faces.
The turbulent situation has almost everyone worried.
The first-year students go to the boat as usual, while the senior students go to the carriage pulled by thestrals.
Of course, most people don't know it's thestrals, thinking it's driven by magic.
As thestrals stepped through a pair of imposing cast-iron gates lined with stone pillars bearing winged boars, the students realized that they had entered the middle of the school.
They got off the carriage pulled by thestrals, stepped through the two oak doors that opened one after another, stepped on the stone slabs, walked into the auditorium, and sat down on the seats corresponding to the academy.
There are only a few people sitting at the long tables of each college, and most of the students are still on the way.
Hermione sat alone at the end of the long table.
It is rare for a trio to have only one left.
Ron and Harry should still be in the carriage.
Even Malfoy wouldn't know that Hermione didn't spend the summer at home at all, but practiced hard as an Animagus for a holiday at school.
The ultimate goal, of course, is to monitor him.
If he knew, he would probably show a rather strange expression.
This girl's obsession was indeed beyond his imagination.
The midair of the auditorium was decorated, as usual, with many floating candles, lighting up the plates below.
At the staff's dining table, they saw a new face, a middle-aged man with a walrus-like beard and a round belly, with a kind smile on his face, looking very kind.
Students are gradually seated until the seats are almost full, but there are still some vacant seats for first-year incoming freshmen.
Then came the sorting ceremony, the tattered hat made up a new song, and the respective prefects led the new students to the table.
One last project before dinner starts.
"First of all, the Quidditch match will still be suspended." What Professor McGonagall did not reveal was that this was also Dumbledore's wish.
"In addition, the Quidditch pitch near the Forbidden Forest is also set as a forbidden area. It is strictly forbidden to enter, otherwise it will be dealt with according to school regulations, especially for junior students and freshmen. It is an absolute forbidden area." The odd field is covered, and no matter whether it is a junior or a senior, it is not suitable for entering.
The audience heard the whispering voice of Suo Suo, and was a little disappointed.
"... Administrator Filch asked me to tell everyone that students are absolutely prohibited from carrying any joke merchandise purchased from the Weasley's Wizarding Joke Store this year." Professor McGonagall said seriously.
"Except for self-defense equipment." Then she added.
In the past, the two Weasley brothers present would definitely make faces, or something else.
But now, they've all graduated and are no longer at Hogwarts.
Gryffindor students feel a little uncomfortable.
"Also, this year we are delighted to have a new teacher, Professor Slughorn, who welcomes any sixth form student who has achieved good grades into the enrichment class."
At the end of the staff table, Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight, his belly in his waistcoat casting a large shadow on the table.
"It was a former colleague of mine who agreed to return to his old job as Potions teacher."
"It was also an invitation from Professor Dumbledore during his lifetime."
"Potions class?"
"Potions class?"
"Did I hear wrong?"
The word echoed throughout the auditorium, and everyone wondered if they had heard it wrong.
"What about Snape?" came a whisper from below.
"Get fired? That's really a celebration." Ron said optimistically.
As if to answer their questions, Professor McGonagall quickly explained:
"Professor Snape will be the teacher of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class." Obviously, they failed to get what they wanted, and Professor McGonagall gave a surprising answer.
Her words were like a bomb dropped into a shallow pond.
"Oh my god? He's here to teach?" This was the reaction of most of the students, and the first-year students didn't have much impression of him, but following the crowd didn't seem like a good thing.
Snape stood up slowly, he was still wearing a black robe, with his greasy black hair, and bowed to everyone expressionlessly.
"Why is that? Where's Professor Moody?"
"Your Professor Moody was in the werewolf confrontation, and an accident happened. The wooden leg was bitten, and he needs to replace it with a new one. He is still recuperating now."
"You can see him in the school hospital."
"School hospital? What does school hospital mean?" There was another round of whispering discussions.
"Isn't the best hospital at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries?"
"The current situation is turbulent. St. Mungo's Hospital and Hogwarts have reached an agreement, and all patients are temporarily transferred to Hogwarts."
"The school hospital has been expanded. If you have a chance, you can see it tomorrow."
"In addition, it is forbidden to pretend to be sick." Professor McGonagall specially emphasized, and his hawk-like eyes swept across many boys, vaccinating for the future.
They were a little surprised why Professor McGonagall deliberately emphasized this point.
Many boys understood the inner truth of this sentence the next day.
"Okay, it's about here, you are probably starving, let's start eating."
Food began to pour out of the plates automatically, and many freshmen were stunned. They were thinking about what kind of magic it was, but their appetite quickly took over, and they didn't have so many choices at home.
The new semester at Hogwarts has officially begun.
After the dinner, the prefects first took their first-year students to know their dormitories and said the password. Then after emphasizing some precautions again, even if today's work is officially completed,
In the Gryffindor lounge, the three of them gathered around a wooden table, and Hermione was constantly being asked what they were asking.
"Where have you been this holiday? All the letters we wrote to you were returned by the owl."
Of course Hermione wouldn't tell the truth.
"It's nothing, just stay at home and read books all day, maybe your address is written wrong." Hermione said perfunctorily, of course it was impossible for her to tell them the truth, she stayed in school the whole holiday.
"By the way, we can still go to Potions class." Speaking of grades, Ron was very excited, and he seemed to be looking forward to a new teacher.
He was lucky, he got all the good grades he should get in the owls, and he didn't have to be dismissed as a prefect, so he had to say that time was a good thing.
As for Harry, he also nodded.
Apart from divination, his achievements are also impressive.
Several people were chatting casually.
Their sixth grade career just started slowly.