In the amazement of nearly twenty
first-years they arrived at the foot of the huge castle. The students climbed
out one by one onto the stone ladder and saw Professor McGonagall standing
there in a rather serious manner. The professor who just led them here
whispered to Professor McGonagall for a while and left them in her charge.

  “Welcome
to Hogwarts. You will enter the room just behind me after a while, and you will
be sorted into one of the School Houses there. Hogwarts has four Houses. They’re
Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin…. Now follow me please. The
new term feast is waiting for you.”

  Virginia
had been absent-minded when Professor McGonagall was talking, and so she
skipped the parts when she was talking about honors and House points. She kept
looking at the door behind Professor McGonagall as though there was something
exciting happening behind the door. Then the door opened, and they walked in
behind Professor McGonagall. It was slightly different from Virginia’s imagination:
the castle was still lit with thousands of candles, but she couldn’t feel any
warmness. She saw the ancient sorting hat sitting on the wooden tool and
frowned a little. She had read in the books that the hat could judge a person
by “looking into his or her heads”, but she didn’t reckon the hat could perform
Legitimancy, and every individual is a complicated being. She couldn’t
understand how the hat could judge a person. From personality, emotion, or
memory? She got slightly worried out of no reason and even forgot to look for
familiar faces on the professor table. She didn’t even care about which House
she will be in. The only worry that occupies his entire mind now is whether the
hat will see something it shouldn’t.

  As
other students’ names are called, Virginia kept her mind busy thinking about
her past. She waited silently for the calling of her name, as though waiting
for the result of a crime investigation.

  “Virginia
Winchester!” Professor McGonagall called her name at last and nodded slightly.

  She
pretended to be calm and sat down on the wooden tool. “Aah! Another student!” A
voice rang in her head, “My little girl, you seem to be brave, but only
relatively…. And you’re not that righteous, and loves not working, so
Hufflepuff won’t be your destination. And…. You seems to be rather shrewd and
clever, so maybe Ravenclaw is most suitable for you… But let me see… Yeah,
maybe… Yeah… Ravenclaw!” The hat shouted its decision out aloud, and Virginia
took it off and went to the Ravenclaw House table under the applause of the
students.

  “Welcome
to Ravenclaw!” A rather familiar voice came from opposite her. She looked up
and saw Ollivia Hill. She is probably her most acquainted student at Hogwarts
now. “Thanks, I’m glad I ended up here as well,” she replied.

  And
then a man in a totally black set of robes stood up from the professor’s tables
and started his speech in his characteristically emotionless voice. The voice
made Virginia chill, “Before the start of the feast, I’d like to introduce two
new professors. On my left hand is Alecto Carrow, your Muggle Studies teacher
this semester!” The woman knodded at the introduction and the applause had been
rather sparse.

  He
continued, “On her left is her brother Amycus, who will take over the Defense
of the Dark Arts post.” Sparse applause rang again and diappeared quickly as
before.

  “And
now, let the feast begin.” There’s no welcoming message, no benediction, no
notices for first-year students, nothing at all. This is Professor Severus
Snape, no, headmaster, no, representative headmaster. That cold voice made
Virginia chill again. She shuddered a little but was quickly attracted to the
large variety of food that appeared out of nowhere in front of her. Such rich
food was enough to make the stomach of a ravenous girl full. Then she scrubbed
her mouth and looked up at the professor’s table.

  She
spotted Professor McGonagall, who sat next to the headmaster, and she began to
notice Professor Snape, who clearly had hooked nose and thin pale face. Virginia
suddenly felt sorry for him but quickly dispelled her sensation. It’s not her
business, she told herself repeatedly.

  Severus
Snape looked up at the Ravenclaw table at the instant Virginia lowered her
head. He felt a student was just staring at him and was surprised to find a
student daring to stare at him in this way, especially in such situation. He
stared at the new students each for a while and looked away.

  Virginia
felt a bit cold. She now wished to be in the dormitory lying on her bed. Ollivia
seemed to have noticed her uneasiness and asked worriedly, “Are you OK? The
feast’s gonna stop really soon.” She smiled.

  Just
as she said, Representative Headmaster Severus Snape led the school to sing the
school song and pronounced the ending of the feast. Then he glanced at the
Gryffindor table and said in a loud voice, “Better not let me catch you
wondering around at night after curfew, anyone!”

  A
fifth-year student led them through the doors and ladders and came up at the
Ravenclaw common room. He pointed at the eagle-shaped loop at the door and
said, “Our Ravenclaw differs from the other Houses in that we don’t need
specific order to open the door. You just need to answer the question raised by
the eagle loop. But be careful, because there’s no standard answer to each
question, so please show your wisdom.” Then he turned around, and the loop
asked, “Could the past be altered?” The fifth-year student thought for a moment
and replied, “Nobody could twice step into the same river.” The door opened.
All new students found themselves in a circular room. Dark blue carpet shows
star-like pattern, which emits a sense of low-profiled luxury. Many books lie
on the high bookshelves and looks ancient. If you look up, you’ll see a high
vault directly above, which, although not as vivid as that in the Great Hall,
is nevertheless beautiful.

  Comfortable
chairs lie on the floor and desks that hold approximately ten people stands in
the room. Virginia stared around at everything.

  “I
think you’re all very tired now. On the stairs the boys’ dormitories are on the
left while the girls’ are on the right. You can find your names written on the
door.”

  Thanks
God really! Virginia could help thinking. She lies on her soft bed and had no
energy left even to take out her luggage. Maybe she could get up early
tomorrow, she thought, and felt asleep almost instantaneously after that.