A broken Hogwarts

The sorting ceremony began, but except for the freshmen who were nervously waiting for sorting, everyone seemed a little absent-minded, and the atmosphere was more silent and depressing than at this time in previous years.

The little wizards sitting at the four long tables had not yet recovered from the double shock of the train attack and the dementor search. They were drenched by the cold rain and were hungry. I have no interest in even chatting with my companions.

The faces of the professors at the teachers' table also became more solemn and solemn. They whispered to each other in low voices, and occasionally cast worried glances in the direction of Harry.

The principal, who always looked energetic, was sitting dignifiedly on a high-backed chair. His silver-white hair and beard were shining under the light of thousands of candles hanging above the table. His eyes were half-opened under his half-moon glasses. With his eyes closed, there was no expression on his face, as if he was witnessing the sorting ceremony in front of him very seriously, but also as if he was wandering away.

Owen sat upright next to the long table, silently observing the changes at the teacher's desk, but all kinds of delicacies were swirling in his mind. Although he had eaten a chocolate frog on the train before, it only made him feel hungrier.

The gray-white Sorting Hat twisted on the stool, with a wide gap cracked on it, and loudly sang this year's new song:

"Don't look at me as just a hat,

Clean and ordinary,

As smooth as a new hat.

I have witnessed countless historical changes,

As old as Hogwarts.

The Big Four gave me ideas,

I will select the talents for them.

If you have extraordinary courage..."

The Sorting Hat's strange singing continued, and Blaise, who was sitting opposite Owen, couldn't help but speak: "Is there something wrong with this hat?"

He looked at the pointed wizard hat with curiosity, and his sluggish spirit suddenly became cheered up: "Look, it was originally dirty, and the oil stains on it were shiny. But now it has become The off-white color has not only become cleaner, but also seems to have faded..."

"Isn't this normal? They finally remembered that they should wash this hat." Draco said in a long voice, raising his chin slightly, "It's a shame they took a thousand years to think of this." It’s something.”

"I don't know which smart guy did it. Hogwarts really should give him an award." He said sarcastically.

"It should be the principal who did it." Daphne glanced at Dumbledore, who was squinting his eyes in the teacher's chair, and whispered, "The sorting hat is usually kept by Mr. Dumbledore, isn't it?"

"Come on, he hasn't thought of cleaning the Sorting Hat for decades." Draco curled his lips, "However, if a person is old and confused, he can indeed do some strange things..."

"Draco!" Harry interrupted Draco, not wanting to hear any more disrespectful words from him.

Draco snorted, leaning back on the chair with his shoulders carelessly, raising his face high. Crabbe and Goyle sat on both sides of him. They were as tall as two strong and brave bodyguards. If you ignore the movements of them secretly stuffing snacks into their mouths.

Owen rested his chin on his hand, listening to the Sorting Hat's new song with great interest. In his singing, this guy clearly expressed his strong dissatisfaction with being cleansed, as well as a helpless sense of lying down, full of helplessness and compromise with the cruel reality and evil forces...

"Tsk, Mr. Grindelwald did a great job!" Owen thought.

"...I have never looked past it,

Just hold me firmly on your head,

I can tell which college you belong to,

Because I am a magic hat of wisdom! "

After singing the last few lines, the Sorting Hat twisted and bowed to the four tables one by one, and the audience burst into applause.

Professor McGonagall began to sort the freshmen by name one by one. The students sitting at the long table gathered together and whispered about the changes in the sorting hat.

Astoria was sorted into Slytherin as expected. She trotted over to Daphne and sat down next to Daphne. She puffed her lips slightly and glared at Draco, and then looked at Owen and Owen. Harry wrinkled his nose. She really thought she was going to fight a fire dragon before, which made her uneasy for a long time.

Draco raised his eyebrows at her proudly, and Harry coughed slightly and turned his head away in embarrassment. Owen waited boredly for dinner, fighting back and forth with Melete over the beef jerky that was the cat's snack.

After the sorting was over, the principal stood up from his seat, smiled and nodded to everyone: "I am very happy to see that everyone is sitting here safely. Maybe you are all anxious after experiencing a nightmare attack. Enjoy a nice meal, but before that, I have something to say to you.”

The whispers in the auditorium fell silent, and everyone was looking at the white-haired old man on the teacher's bench.

The principal crossed his fingers in front of his abdomen and said slowly: "In the previous attack, there were five attackers. I think you should first pay tribute to Professor Black, the train driver and the sales witch who desperately tried to stop the attacker. With gratitude.”

There was a burst of applause in the auditorium, and the students clapped. Dumbledore paused for a moment, nodded to Sirius, who was also sitting on the teacher's bench, and waited until the applause subsided before continuing.

"During this process, our boy student union president led several prefects to help stop the attacker. The girl student union president organized the remaining prefects to calm people's emotions and stabilize the situation in the carriage... They did a good job .”

Beside the Gryffindor table, Percy Weasley puffed out his chest proudly, raised his chin in an arrogant manner, and his cheeks became as red as his hair.

The principal slowly glanced at the people in the auditorium, looking at the various performances of the students with no expression on his face.

"But, I'm very disappointed." His words changed, and his eyes suddenly became sharp, causing the expressions on the students' faces to freeze slightly.

"There were only five attackers, but there were hundreds of people on the train! Even if you don't count this year's freshmen, junior students, and injured people, tell me, how many of you were able to pick up a wand at that time? How many of these people were in nearby carriages and could clearly see the fighting going on outside?"

"With so many wizards, even if you are hiding in the carriage and each of you only recites a defensive spell, you can protect the carriage and the people in it from harm! Even if each of you recites only one attack spell, you can easily Just five enemies were completely overwhelmed! And what did you do?" He asked softly.

He suddenly raised his voice: "Hiding in the solid iron shell, shivering feebly like a Muggle, busy screaming, crying, pushing the people around him, passively waiting for the adults rescue, or wait for the attackers to break in and kill you."

There was silence in the auditorium. The young wizards opened their lips slightly, and the senior students looked at him shyly and disapprovingly.

Professor McGonagall frowned and turned to glare at Dumbledore, his expression full of surprise and disapproval.

But Dumbledore ignored her and continued: "Yes, you can find countless excuses to explain your behavior. This is the first time you have experienced such a dangerous situation, and you panicked for a while; it was too dark. , the wind and rain were so strong that you didn’t see clearly what was going on outside; the prefects asked you to stay calm and not to cause trouble..."

"Yes, I know and understand it." The serious look on the principal's face softened, and his tone became gentler, "So this time, I don't mean to condemn anyone. Even if your response is not excellent, Even if your attitude is not proactive, it is human nature and I should not hold you to adult standards..."

This time, many senior students lowered their heads with red faces.

Owen blinked his eyes, thinking that this guy was very good at messing with people's mentality. But Mr. Principal, your character is ruined. You really can’t even act anymore, right?

I really can't imagine what Grindelwald will do to the students of Hogwarts... Well, I'm kind of looking forward to it.

The principal's substantial eyes swept over the young faces, and then said: "But what we have to admit is that the wizarding world has never been so safe in places you can't see. No one dares Make sure that a similar situation will not happen to you again."

"I just hope that after you have experienced this, the next time you encounter a crisis, you can remember your identity as a wizard and make a response worthy of your identity as a wizard."

"Remember, you are not helpless lambs! You should raise your magic wand to your enemies and use the knowledge you have learned here to defend, attack or escape, instead of acting like a weakling. Like a powerless lamb, begging for help from others, or begging the butcher to put down his butcher knife!”

The principal's powerful words echoed faintly in the auditorium where the needle could be heard. After a long time, sparse applause rang out, which soon became as loud as thunder.

The applause lasted for a while. The principal raised his hand to suppress it, cleared his throat and continued: "Then, this train attack incident is over for now. I will not allow such a thing to happen in Hogwarts. But. , and I don’t want you to take it lightly because of this, and you shouldn’t place all your hopes on others.”    “Next, I want to say a few important things.” He said, “First of all, our school has welcomed some Azkas. Class Dementors. They are sent by the Ministry of Magic to perform official duties and will be stationed at every entrance of the school to ensure that no suspicious persons enter Hogwarts."

"I hereby solemnly remind you that no one is allowed to leave the school without permission. Don't think that you can hide from the dementors. No tricks, tricks or disguises can fool them. I don't want to see anyone hurt by them, or It was a conflict with them."

The principal finished speaking calmly and looked around the auditorium calmly. No one moved or made a sound.

He suddenly smiled and raised his right hand gracefully to gesture to his left side: "Next, we would like to welcome two new teachers to our lineup."

"Professor Black, he will fill the gap in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. He will teach you real duels between wizards, and how to deal with sudden accidents and crises."

Sirius sat next to Professor McGonagall, smiling and nodding at everyone. Everyone applauded except Professor Snape.

Harry was a little stunned to see Professor Snape sitting there with a gloomy and dark face, his withered face slightly twitching, staring at Sirius from a distance with what could be said to be hateful eyes.

"Does Sirius have any grudge against Professor Snape?" Harry whispered in confusion.

"It looks like a deep hatred." Draco said slowly, "It can't be because the Dean failed to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor as he wished."

"Then the question is, Harry." Owen asked seriously, "If Sirius and Professor Snape have a conflict, who will you help?"

Facing Owen's amused look, Harry twitched the corner of his mouth. He couldn't help but imagine the scene. On one side was his godfather, who cared for him in every possible way, and on the other side was the dean, who had high hopes for him. It seemed that neither could hurt the other's feelings...

He paused and said expressionlessly: "What does the matter between them adults have to do with me? I chose to ask Professor McGonagall."

"Hey - how heartless, Harry." Owen shook his head and sighed, trying hard to hold back his laughter.

Harry gave him a confused look and continued listening to Dumbledore.

"...As for our second new teacher," the principal's words came slowly, "your Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Kettleburn, retired at the end of last semester, and Professor Rubeus Hagrid is willing to accept the teaching position. .”

Hagrid sat at the edge of the teacher's chair, looking down at his big hands, with a big smile hidden behind his unkempt black beard, and his face turned red.

Harry looked at Hagrid in surprise and joy, and clapped his hands vigorously.

"Oh, no!" Draco groaned, "That idiot...that Hagrid will probably let his little cuties twist our heads off! Think about it, a textbook that bites people... …”

"I should have thought earlier that maybe only Hagrid would find a book like that interesting." After Daphne finished applauding, she covered her forehead.

"I think it's not bad." Blaise raised his left eyebrow, "How about we make a bet, who will be the first to have his finger bitten off?"

"Don't say that, Blaise." Harry quickly explained for Hagrid, "Hagrid will pay attention to restraint when teaching students."

"Uh, I guess so..." he said uncertainly. Thinking of what Hagrid had done in the past, he suddenly felt unsure.

Owen didn't comment on this, because the long table was already full of food and drinks. He took a large portion of fried lamb chops and a glass of lemon juice, and stuffed the food into his mouth gracefully and quickly.

After a delicious feast, the satiated little wizards yawned and walked slowly to their respective common rooms.

Sirius came to Harry, looked at him with concern and said, "Harry, how are you feeling? I don't know, those dementors..."

"I'm fine, Sirius." Harry said quickly. He didn't want to mention the fact that he passed out in front of the dementors.

"Okay. If you feel uncomfortable in any way, be sure to tell me." Sirius nodded uneasily, and then said to Owen and the others, "Please pay attention to Harry's situation..."

Harry was a little embarrassed, so he changed the subject and said, "Sirius, are you not hurt?"

Sirius smiled, his eyes shining in the light of the candle: "Of course not, those people can't deal with me yet."

He then looked at Owen thoughtfully: "But at that time, someone hid in the dark and helped me, setting a black flame on Peter Pettigrew." He remembered that Harry said to him, Owen raised A phoenix that spits black flames.

Owen nodded with a smile and said in a light voice: "I asked Nyx to go over to see the situation and help me out. However, Nyx told me when he came back that your situation was not very good at that time, Sirius."

"Ahem..." Sirius coughed for a while, interrupting him. Facing Harry's worried eyes, he said helplessly: "One against two is a bit reluctant, but I know how to protect myself. Peter Pettigrew didn't have much energy at that time, and I wouldn't lose against Bellatrix. "

Seeing Harry's increasingly reproachful look, he couldn't bear it anymore. He turned to Owen and said, "I have to thank you for your help. Speaking of which, you have helped me several times."

He thought for a while and said: "I heard from Harry that you like to study magic. I have a lot of interesting books in my house in Grimmauld Place. Would you like to take the time to check it out?" He didn't want to repay the favor with this. , I just want to do something for the other party and show my support.

Owen's eyes lit up and he looked at him expectantly: "Is it really possible?"

"Of course." Sirius said nonchalantly. Apparently he didn't care at all about handing over the precious collection of books that had been passed down through generations of the Black family to someone else, and he hated everything about that home.

"Thank you very much." Owen smiled.

He was really interested in it. Although the Shafiq family also has a large collection of books, it is not his turn to make the final decision in the family. With two huge parents weighing down on him, many books that they thought Owen should not be exposed to at this age were well hidden and out of reach...

Well, I hope Sirius doesn't have this habit.

Owen thought wildly, and then asked curiously: "Do you know the origins of the other three attackers?"

Speaking of this, Sirius' expression became serious again: "We finally caught two of them, and they were both under the Imperius Curse of Bellatrix."

"But those people are not innocent. They are all dark wizards and their hands are not clean. They have been taken away by dementors." He added.

Seeing Harry's heavy expression, Sirius comforted him: "You don't have to feel guilty, Harry. This matter has nothing to do with you. It's the fault of those attackers. You don't need to blame yourself for this."

Harry shook his head and said, "I just want to catch them as soon as possible."

"Ah, who wouldn't want to?" Sirius said, "But before that, you have to protect yourself first."

After saying a few words, they said goodbye to Sirius, returned to their respective dormitories, and threw themselves on the warm and soft four-poster bed. (End of chapter)