The Death Knell

The rest of the journey was quiet, except for the sound of the train moving and the occasional whistle.

Occasionally, a cart selling food would pass by the door, and the saleswoman would shout about her products, causing the children who had no pocket money to watch helplessly.

Su Ming just chatted with Hermione wordlessly on the way, because she felt a little drowsy afterward, which was a side effect of staying up late last night for target shooting.

Although the Hogwarts Express is called this, I'm afraid it is an 'express' compared to a carriage.

The whole day was spent on the road, and by the time we arrived at the station next to the Black Lake of Hogwarts, the moon was already hanging in the sky, and its silver light shone on everyone.

Hagrid held up a lantern and shouted loudly on the platform for the new students to assemble, while Hermione looked at Su Ming, received permission, and trotted away with her new bag.

Yes, she didn't bring a box, but a small silk bag instead, which Su Ming took out for her to use.

Anyway, she will also cast the illegal traceless stretching spell on her own bag in the future, so why not just give her a bag.

Speaking of which, the space magic in this world doesn't seem to be weak, and there is no obvious cost for casting spells. Then if the traceless stretching spell can be applied to the cabin of the star battleship, the overall combat effectiveness should be improved a lot.

Originally, only one reactor could be placed in a cabin, but in the future, two reactors can be placed. Isn't this a leap forward?

Apparition should also be a type of space magic, but it cannot be applied to other items like enchantment and requires more research.

But the Sorcerer Supreme's understanding of magic is very limited, so this task still has to be done by Hermione in the future. Neither technology nor magic alone is enough. It should be a combination of the two to complement each other.

Su Ming, who was thinking about something, also got out of the car with his hands behind his back. This time, the only other professor who came by train was Quirrell, but the poor guy possessed by Voldemort sneaked away as soon as he got off the car. There is no time to say hello to other professors.

The platform was in a mess, and some freshmen even cried. Su Ming was too lazy to take care of others here, so he walked out of the station and flew directly to the castle on the other side of the lake.

In front of the door of the auditorium, Professor McGonagall was standing there. The witch was wearing a long black dress with no expression on her face.

"The principal is waiting for you in the hall."

As she said this, she opened the door behind her, and Filch, who was not far away, also smiled at Su Ming, with a flattering look on his face.

"Okay, thank you ma'am."

Deathstroke smiled at the vice-principal, and then walked straight through the hallway. The ground was covered with stone slabs, which were polished by magic or shoe soles to be as smooth as a mirror. This was indeed an ancient castle.

The stone walls are surrounded by blazing torches, the ceiling is so high that you can barely see the top, and in front is a luxurious marble staircase that leads directly to the second floor. The stairs on the other sides are very narrow and lead to other basements such as the Hufflepuff common room and kitchen.

Next to the main staircase is a small door, but behind the door is a huge auditorium, which is also used as a cafeteria.

It is magical, wonderful and magnificent. There are four long tables, representing the four colleges respectively. There is another long table on the table at the top of the restaurant, which is the professor's seat. Thousands of candles floated in mid-air in the auditorium, and the roof was enchanted to look like the sky outside.

Of course, now it shows a dark night with dark clouds.

Dumbledore was sitting on the main seat. The other professors were already in place, and of the two vacant chairs, one must belong to Professor McGonagall and the other to himself.

There was no choice of location, either sitting next to Old Deng or sitting next to Snape. Quirrell arrived earlier than him and was sitting at the corner of the table.

As soon as he entered the auditorium, Snape's viper-like gaze fell on Su Ming. Although it only passed for a moment, he could feel that he was very wary.

Lao Deng stood up with a smile: "You are here, so the students are almost here, please take a seat."

"Thanks."

Su Ming wanted to act like a senior intellectual at this time. He thanked Lao Deng very gently and at the same time said hello to the professors with his eyes.

Many people responded with kind eyes. Being a teacher at Hogwarts also meant that these people were good people. To put it simply, they were all Lao Deng's tools.

Dumbledore was very polite to Su Ming. Even if they didn't know what kind of person the newcomer was, they would still be very polite. It's that simple.

Naturally, he would not sit next to Old Deng, so he sat next to Snape. On the other side was Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw. Because he was only 1.06 meters tall, his chair was specially made.

The bald old mage was busy stretching the sleeves of his robe. It looked like he had bought a new robe for the entrance ceremony, but it had shrunk a bit after washing.

"meet again."

Just as Su Ming was looking at the dwarf, an eerie voice whispered in his ear. It was Snape who took the initiative to talk to him.

Su Ming's eyes flashed, and he turned around with a smile: "Yes, Professor Snape, what a coincidence."

"The ceremony is about to begin." Snape looked at the door at the other end of the hall and squeezed out a sentence from the corner of his mouth as if he had not spoken at all.

..................................................

As soon as they finished speaking, McGonagall and Hagrid came in with a large group of people. The children were all intoxicated with the magical scenery, but they did not notice that almost all the professors were staring at a little boy wearing glasses in the crowd. .

He stood out with a red-haired child, the symbol of the Weasley family.

Nowadays, Hagrid is not a professor, he is considered a school employee. He has no share of the professorship. He can only go to the wall and stand with Filch.

As the new students stood in the middle of the hall and the old students returned to their seats in their respective houses, all the students except Hermione were very nervous, especially Harry and Ron, because the red-haired boy's brother told him that the sorting meeting Let the freshmen fight the troll, and he also told Potter this 'inside information'.

Professor McGonagall said a lot of words, such as a welcome speech, but in the end he invited the dirty hat to give him a free style.

This is how the sorting ceremony began. Everyone just sat on the chair, and the chair would show them where to go in just a few breaths.

Ron glared at his twin brother, but the two idiots just laughed in the Gryffindor seat, full of the joy of a successful prank, because their brother was so scared that his face was as pale as a dead man.

"Whoever's name I call will go out and sit on the stool and put on the Sorting Hat, Hannah Abbott!"

Professor McGonagall took out a list scroll and asked the students to line up according to the names on it.

A beautiful little girl with a rosy complexion and two golden braids stumbled out of the queue and put on a hat that just covered her eyes.

She sat down and paused for a moment.

"Hufflepuff!"

Hat yelled, sounding like one of those junk speakers that costs five bucks a pair at the grocery store.

Su Ming watched with interest as the little girl walked towards the long table where the little badgers were. The seniors and senior sisters welcomed her warmly, and she smiled awkwardly.

This is very interesting.

This girl was Neville's future wife. She grew up to be very beautiful. During her seven years in Hufflepuff, she actually did not gain weight. Instead, after she started dating in the seventh grade, she took Neville and became two lightning bolts.

What's even more interesting is that her father died at the hands of Voldemort ten years ago. She will study for a year due to the shock of her mother's death, but after graduation, she spends a lot of money to become the owner of the Leaky Cauldron.

She bought it from little Tom, a shy little girl who was going to become a very feisty girl.

Her background is somewhat mysterious, because her family's ancestral grave is also in Godric's Hollow. Next to the cemetery where her parents are buried is the Potters' cemetery on one side, and on the other side are Ariana Dumbledore and Kandra Deng. Bullido, these two are Lao Deng's sister and mother.

What if ordinary people could be buried with these people? It's impossible to think about it with your toenails.

"Susan Bones!"

After Professor McGonagall's roll call, another girl with some baby fat sat on the stool, and the hat shouted the next second:

"Hufflepuff!"

Professor Wilson looked at the empty plate in front of him and leaned back in his chair to recall again.

Susan is a girl with a loyal family. Her father, Edgar Bones, was one of the founders of the Order of the Phoenix and Lao Deng's right-hand man. However, ten years ago, the whole family died in Voldemort's raid.

Voldemort went to the Potter's house after killing her whole family. At that time, Susan was hidden in the washing machine by her mother and escaped.

This fat girl wearing round glasses, apart from the fact that there are no traces of lightning on her forehead, can be called the female version of Harry Potter and the Girl Who Lived.

Unfortunately, the savior chosen by Lao Deng was not her, and her aunt did not want Lao Deng to use her niece as a hype.

Susan's aunt is Amelia Bones, who is currently the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. It is the largest department in the Ministry of Magic and includes the Department for the Abuse of Magic, the Auror Office, and Wesson. The Governing Body of Gamore and the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Materials.

Under normal circumstances, Amelia will be the next Minister of Magic. After the Minister of Magic retires, it is an unspoken rule that the Director of the Department of Legal Enforcement will take over.

But there are some problems here. If everything follows the trajectory of the original work, then when Voldemort invades the Ministry of Magic in the future, Amelia chooses to lead the Aurors to hold on to their position, and finally sacrifices heroically and dies in the hands of Voldemort.

Fortunately, some things can be changed in the future. Su Ming touched the pattern on the edge of the plate in front of him with satisfaction, and started by teaching Hermione to win over these two little girls as followers.

Of these two girls, one is a little fool whose father died early, her mother is seriously ill, and she feels stupid; the other is a chubby little girl who has no father or mother, is silent and introverted, and is raised by her aunt.

They are all the kind of people who lack self-confidence, and the thing Hermione lacks most is self-confidence.

Coupled with Su Ming's secret manipulation, Hermione now has many things that can attract other girls, such as beautiful clothes, delicious food, inexplicable cosmetics, and a cat.

Ravenclaw's common room is not closed. Any student who answers the brainteasers correctly can enter. There is not even a curfew or a portrait that will complain. It is extremely free.

However, this kind of argument is still too utilitarian for children. Hermione should not be exposed to darkness at such a young age. Friendship should be cultivated from an early age...