Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor.
Ryan also got a better look at the boy destined to make his mark in recent magical history. He had seen him before, outside the Great Hall, but didn't quite get a good look. This time, however, he saw him clearly.
Thin and frail, not very tall, wearing round glasses, he didn't look anything special.
If it weren't for the lightning-shaped scar faintly visible between his hair, Ryan might have wondered if the reports he'd read in newspapers and books were false.
"A little boy like this defeated the so-called Dark Lord?" Ryan couldn't help but doubt the Dark Lord's credibility once again.
After Harry, his friend Ron Weasley, whom Ryan had met in Diagon Alley, was also sorted into Gryffindor. Ron looked pale, as if he were a little agitated. After the last young wizard, Blaise Zabini, was assigned to Slytherin, the Sorting ceremony finally concluded.
Professor McGonagall removed the Sorting Hat and returned to the guest of honor seat, next to Dumbledore. As the Sorting Hat was placed on the table, Ryan even saw it bend its brim again and bow to him. At that moment, Dumbledore stood up from the table again.
Looking down at the lively, bustling young wizards below, the old man's face was filled with a broad, kind smile. It was as if the scene before him was the most delightful thing in the world. He raised his hand, without further ado.
"Welcome, everyone, to Hogwarts to start a new school year. Before the banquet begins, I would like to say a few words—Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!!! Thank you all!"
As the words fell, the old headmistress softly snapped her fingers. The small candles in the dome of the Great Hall vanished, replaced by a vast starry sky. The stars shone brightly, casting sparkling dust onto the plates before the young wizards. Food began to appear on the empty plates. Lamb chops, roast chicken, roast beef, pumpkin, pudding, mint marshmallows...
But Ryan's eyes were drawn to an unassuming dish on the baking tray—fish and chips.
The fish had a golden sheen, like the afterglow of a setting sun. Each chip, like a meticulously crafted work of art, shone a pale amber. It looked beautiful, but it wasn't actually delicious. But Ryan liked it.
He noticed that the fish and chips were topped with a plant. The flowers at the tips of the plants were a vibrant blue-purple, elegant and mysterious. Ryan remembered it—it was sage salvia. Just as he would always remember his first meal at Hogwarts.
It was the evening after Hogwarts Castle was officially dedicated. He sat on the roof of the Hogwarts tower with four teachers, their fish and chips now cold. Gryffindor, already drunk, threatened to duel Slytherin, who was already drawing his wand. Ravenclaw was observing the stars nearby. Ryan, at that moment, had also seen the same blue sage.
"It symbolizes 'family'," Helga Hufflepuff had said to him gently. "We're family, and from now on... this is our home. Fish and chips at home are always garnished with a sprig of blue sage."
Ryan had forgotten a bit of what happened next—it seemed like Gryffindor and Slytherin accidentally broke the tower platform, and Hufflepuff had scolded them for a month. But whatever...
Crack.
The crisp sound of frying fish reached his ears, and the flavor of the fish touched his taste buds, allowing Ryan to clearly sense it again.
He was home.
And just then...
"Wow!" The exclamations of the young wizards reached Ryan's ears, bringing him back to reality. When he looked up, he saw translucent figures emerging from the castle walls. "What's that!?" Ron's exclamation was barely audible.
Turning his head, Ryan saw a ghost dressed in medieval garb poking its head out from under the table, its head piercing the chicken leg in Ron's hand.
"It's ghosts!" The twins explained, laughing as they seemed to enjoy their brother's amusement. "They're the ghosts of Hogwarts—this is 'Nearly Headless Nick'!" they introduced.
"Oh, don't worry, little one... I won't hurt you, and I can't," the ghost also greeted Ron with a smile. And when 'Nearly Headless Nick' explained to Harry and Ron why he was called 'Nearly Headless,' Ryan looked at the ghosts curiously.
"Are there many ghosts at Hogwarts?" he asked the twins. He knew of ghosts—pitiful souls, trapped by obsessions and regrets, unable to move on. They belonged neither to the world of the living nor fully entered the realm of the dead. But Hogwarts a thousand years ago didn't have these things, and the Founders wouldn't have allowed them to remain.
"There are quite a few... but some ghosts don't enjoy crowds and rarely appear, like the Grey Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw, and the Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin." Fred glanced around. "Look, they didn't come to this feast either."
George added, "But if you're lost in the castle, asking the ghosts is much more reliable than asking the portraits—many portraits tend to give false directions, but ghosts are much better!"
Ryan nodded. But just as he was about to say something else...
"Hahaha!" A shrill laugh echoed through the Great Hall.
Then Ryan saw a unique 'ghost' flying into the Great Hall from the main door! He had a huge face and bright, equally large, round black eyes. He wore a comical yet colorful circus costume, appearing cunning and mischievous. He was currently flying past many young wizards, spilling their pumpkin juice in the process—staining many of their robes with a suspicious yellow stain.
Some young wizards reached out to wipe the spillage away, only to find the apparition grinning at their waists. This caused many of the more timid young wizards to let out sharp, explosive cries.
"Peeves!" Only after Professor McGonagall's stern shout did the strange apparition grumble, "Boring," and "You're the worst class of young wizards I've ever seen." As it spoke, it vanished through the Great Hall wall.
"What was that?" Seeing this, Ryan temporarily put aside the ghost and asked with interest.
"It's Peeves, a ghost—but a bit special, a guy who loves to play pranks!" The Weasley twins exchanged glances before speaking in unison. "Almost every new wizard who enters Hogwarts has been pranked by him!" Even the two brothers, who prided themselves on being masters of pranks, were not immune.
"We were too young back then."
"We'll get our revenge sooner or later," the brothers said.
"Ghost?" Ryan clearly had no interest in the twins' grudge with Peeves. He simply took a bite of his fries and muttered under his breath. A ghost that could touch entities and loved playing pranks on new students?
Now, he got interested, for the first time seeing something strange like this.
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Author's note
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