Chapter 49: The Glory of Pure Blood

"What crisis?"

Cho Chang spoke before Ian.

"The Sorting Test, of course."

The aloof girl's gaze swept over the three of them one by one. "There is a special trial at the school that decides the ultimate destination of every student."

"My family told me a few days ago that this is a terrifying experience no one ever wants to remember," the golden-haired girl said with a completely serious and solemn expression.

"My dad told me the same thing—that it would be a memory I'll never forget. They surely aren't going to make us fight a dragon, are they?" Cho Chang's eyes widened with worry.

Opposite them.

Aurora suddenly raised her head.

Her eyes gleamed slightly.

She looked eager to try.

"What are you planning to do?"

Cho Chang looked as though she had been startled by Aurora.

"She wants to fight a dragon."

Ian, who actually knew what the Sorting was really about, could also see the anticipation in Aurora's heart at this moment. He shook his head and lowered his voice to Aurora. "Just think about it, how precious are the materials covering a dragon's body? The school would never be willing to hand those out as a福利 to everyone."

Hearing this.

Aurora's eyes instantly dimmed.

"??????"

"??????"

The two girls sitting opposite each other exchanged glances, simultaneously falling into a state of utter disbelief. Have peers today gotten so brazen that they don't even know their own limits?

That was a dragon!

"Are you born to Muggle families?"

After recovering her wits, the blonde girl couldn't help but blurt out a retort.

"Is there a difference?"

Aurora looked calmly at the blonde girl with her heterochromatic eyes.

"I'm guessing you are."

The blonde girl's voice was also much colder now. She looked at Ian and Aurora with a disdainful gaze. "Otherwise, you certainly wouldn't speak such nonsense about wanting to fight a dragon."

The girl who had merely been aloof a moment before now spoke with a condescending attitude.

"It seems you'll be a Slytherin." Aurora showed no sign of anger.

She merely made a nonchalant comment.

"Naturally. Remember my name: Daphne Greengrass. My entire family are Slytherins, and this is the most outstanding house in all of Hogwarts."

"I am destined to achieve greatness in the future that you could never hope to attain."

The blonde girl noticed Ian fishing a small metal box out of his luggage.

"What are you doing?"

The girl named Daphne frowned as she watched Ian.

"Go ahead, pay no attention to me. I'd like to learn a bit more about the school anyway, seeing as I'm just a Muggle-born orphan." Ian sighed as he pressed a button on the device.

"So he's just a Mudblood."

Daphne's voice grew even more disdainful.

"People like you will never be sorted into Slytherin. This place gathers only the glorious purebloods. Perhaps only Hufflepuff would be kind enough to take you in."

Clearly.

She was a pure-blood supremacist, a common enough sight in the wizarding world.

"Um... Greengrass, you shouldn't call our classmates that." Cho Chang frowned and tried to persuade her from the side, but Daphne obviously sneered at the notion.

"I am merely stating facts. I am not as hypocritical as you lot, thinking they are of the same kind as us." Daphne's words grew increasingly harsh.

She even pulled her raised wand back toward herself, as if she didn't want Ian and Aurora to rub off on her in the slightest. Cho Chang's expression now turned awkward as well.

"That is merely your own perspective."

Cho Chang also felt annoyed by Daphne's remarks.

"Well, we truly aren't the same kind."

Aurora had been listening calmly all along. She turned her head to look at Ian, while Ian was currently staring at her hand, trying to see if she was reaching for her wand.

"You need not worry, I am not incapable of tolerating such a situation."

The Germanic girl sighed helplessly.

She felt that her friend perhaps had many misunderstandings about her.

"Then you are stronger than me."

Ian put the tiny machine back into his suitcase, and watching the source of light he had been relying on being blocked away by Daphne, he had no choice but to draw his own hawthorn wand.

The Black Lake at night was truly pitch black.

"What are you planning to do?"

Aurora's reaction was even stronger than Ian's. She grabbed Ian's arm which held the wand. Her heterochromatic eyes were filled with an unusual hint of tension.

"Hah, are you looking for a duel?"

Daphne also stared at the wand in Ian's hand, though her expression was filled with contempt. Seeing this, Cho Chang hurriedly began urging both of them to stay calm.

"I'm not the one high on my own ego, and besides, I have no interest in children's play-acting duels." Ian shook his head speechlessly.

He simply wanted to illuminate the surroundings.

The meager light emanating from Daphne's wand was about as small as a sesame seed.

"Lumos!"

Along with Ian's incantation.

Light burst forth.

A brilliant white light crushed and shattered the surrounding pinpricks of light with overwhelming force, rising like a brilliant sun and illuminating the greater part of the lake around the small boats.

"What's going on over there!?"

"Good heavens! What a bright lighting charm!"

"Merlin above! I haven't even learned the Levitation Charm yet!"

...

Voices rose in succession from the various boats, and even Hagrid, who was leading the way, couldn't help turning his head, looking back in absolute astonishment at the boat carrying Ian and them.

"How is this possible! Just a mere Mudblood!!"

Daphne was blinded by the sudden burst of light. While raising a hand to shield her eyes, she let out an exclamation of disbelief.

"Nothing is impossible; if you're bad, just practice more." When Ian sat back down, he noticed that Aurora had turned her head toward the outside of the boat at some point.

The glare had not hurt her eyes.

"How could you possess such formidable magic!"

Cho Chang, who was struggling to adapt to the intense light, found her source of surprise somewhat different from ordinary people.

She was much more focused on the power of the spell.

"Naturally because the Four Founders just bestowed their baptism upon me."

Ian began spouting solemn nonsense once more.

"..."

Cho Chang was utterly speechless.

Daphne, sitting beside her, wore an ugly expression, yet she didn't dare to utter another provocative word. True, she was a pure-blood supremacist, but she wasn't a fool who would lose her head completely when pushed.

"Just a Mudblood who secretly studied ahead! Once school starts, I'll surpass him in no time!" Naturally, Daphne's heart remained filled with resentment.

This little episode made the atmosphere in the boat somewhat delicate.

Once they adapted to the dazzling light shining from Ian's wand, it no longer felt particularly glaring.

Ian and Cho Chang exchanged a few words from time to time, but compared to Aurora, who sat in calm leisure simply watching the scenery on the lake, Daphne felt like each second was a year.

"Why haven't we reached the school yet!"

Amidst her eager anticipation.

The small boat finally arrived at the opposite shore of the Black Lake.

"Everyone follow me!"

Hagrid held up his lantern and continued to lead the way ahead. A gravel path wound toward the castle doors, and he led the group of young wizards up the stone steps in front of the castle.

"That lighting charm from earlier came from their boat."

"Is it that handsome boy?"

"I think it was Daphne Greengrass. My father said she's exceptionally powerful."

...

Although liberated from the confines of the small boat, Daphne Greengrass's torment was clearly far from over. The surrounding murmurs made her want to turn right around and go home.

"Professor Snape, why are you here?" Hagrid knocked on the door with his pink umbrella, only to find that the person waiting inside wasn't Professor McGonagall as usual.

"Do you feel I lack the qualifications to welcome new students?" The black-robed man with greasy dark hair and a hooked nose sneered. His gloomy aura deterred many of the young wizards from whispering amongst themselves any further.

"Of course not. Well then, I'll leave these first-years in your capable hands." Hagrid scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, turning and leaving the castle with a full reluctance, looking back every few steps in confusion.

"If you don't wish to pack your things and crawl back home right this instant, you will all shut your traps and follow behind me." Snape's gaze lingered on Ian and Aurora for about three seconds.

Then.

He coldly issued orders to the crowd of young wizards.

Perhaps the oppressive aura emanating from Snape was truly somewhat frightening; with Snape walking in front, the young wizards following behind were virtually too terrified to utter a single word.

Everyone's emotions were tense and apprehensive.

Even Aurora seemed slightly unnatural—after all, she was still just a young girl.

Perhaps only Ian, who had been spoiled by J.K. Rowling's spoilers and knew what the Sorting Ceremony actually entailed, had the mood to curiously examine the interior of Hogwarts' legendary ancient castle.

Traces of time were written everywhere.

One could also perceive the countless students who had studied and played here in the past.

Torres of blazing torches lined the castle's stone walls, and as they ventured deeper into the castle, the warmth emitted by those torches dispelled the chill clinging to the young wizards.

"Creeak~"

As Snape pushed open the doors of the Great Hall.

The magnificent Great Hall instantly unfolded before the eyes of the many young wizards. Thousands of floating candles hung suspended in mid-air, illuminating the entire hall as brightly as day.

Banners representing the four houses fluttered gently in the air. The plates and goblets set upon the long tables shimmered under the brilliant candlelight.

What drew everyone's attention the most, however, was the ceiling of the hall. The velvety black ceiling was dotted with countless stars, mirroring the truly realistic canvas of the night sky they had seen over the Black Lake earlier.

"It's beautiful."

Aurora stared up at the vaulted ceiling without blinking.

"This place has been enchanted with extremely advanced magic, which is why it synchronizes with the sky outside..." Ian always felt as though something was missing at a moment like this.

"Yes, I've read about it in *Hogwarts: A History* read by others." Ah, the right flavor. Satisfied, Ian turned his gaze toward the raised platform at the very front. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick... numerous professors sat upright at the head table, welcoming the arrival of the new students.

Toward all these professors.

Ian felt overflowing curiosity.

However.

What he was most curious about was that unassuming four-legged stool, upon which sat a battered, pointy wizard's hat that currently drew very little notice.

The Sorting Hat.

A millennium of history.

Witnessed by it.

And how many stories... began right from here.