Chapter 35: The First Day at Hogwarts

"Just like that, if you can answer the question of the door knocker, the door to the common room will open. Of course, if you can't answer, there's no need to feel embarrassed. In fact, it's a common occurrence. Often, several or even dozens of Ravenclaw students are left outside the common room, discussing the question of the knocker together. By the way, in nearly a thousand years, no one other than Ravenclaw students has been able to pass through that door."

Upon entering the common room, the prefect introduced the Ravenclaw House's headmaster - Professor Philius Flitwick, the Ravenclaw House ghost - the Grey Lady, and the relationship between Ravenclaw House and the other three houses. Afterwards, dismissal was announced.

Bell was indeed assigned to the same dormitory as four other young wizards.

Overall, the living conditions at Hogwarts were quite good; after all, magic was indeed convenient.

Besides the five beds, the spacious bedroom also had several cabinets, tables, chairs, and other furniture, yet there was still plenty of empty space in the room, not feeling crowded at all.

Listening to the excited chatter of the wizards in the dormitory discussing tonight's House Cup, discussing Harry Potter, Bell had no intention of joining in. After casually responding a few times, he took a shower in the bathroom and then quietly lay down on his bed alone.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

Bell sighed.

Bell's thoughts were very chaotic, with today's encounter on the train, memories with Shanna, and various magical knowledge. He couldn't be bothered to organize his thoughts, just letting his mind wander, lying there dazedly until he unknowingly drifted into slumber.

...

The next morning, Bell woke up as usual at 6 o'clock. After a simple wash, he quietly left the dormitory.

The Ravenclaw common room was located in a tower on the west side of the castle, with the main colors being sky blue and bronze, giving a feeling of freedom and comfort. Around the common room were some bookshelves filled with books, symbolizing Ravenclaws' thirst for knowledge and greed.

Looking out the window of the common room, one could see the Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, and the distant mountains, a beautiful sight.

However, the same scenery could evoke completely different feelings in people with different moods. At this moment, to Bell, the empty grassland, the pitch-black lake and forest, the misty distant mountains, everything seemed so lonely, so desolate.

For the first time in many years, Bell skipped his morning training. He stood alone by the window in the common room, gazing into the distance, his pupils dilated, not thinking about anything at all.

Whether it was an hour or two later, gradually, other young wizards also began to wake up, and the common room became livelier.

Bell was awakened by the sounds made by others. After coming back to his senses, he left the common room and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Breakfast was also sumptuous, but Bell wasn't accustomed to breakfast foods like bread and milk; he always thought sweet foods didn't count as a proper meal, only as desserts. So, he just picked at some sausages and finished breakfast before most people arrived.

The new students this year weren't very lucky; they had to start classes immediately on their first day at Hogwarts, without much time to familiarize themselves with their new life.

After checking his schedule, Bell found that Hogwarts was quite lenient with its requirements for new students, with only four hours of classes on average per day, leaving the rest of the time free. By the way, many of Ravenclaw's classes were taken together with Gryffindor, including Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic.

The first-class today was Transfiguration taught by Professor McGonagall. Although it was still early, Bell, with nothing else to do, decided to go to the Transfiguration classroom now.

On the way to the classroom, Bell observed everything inside the castle, such as the paintings on the walls, the moving suits of armor and statues, the ever-changing staircases, while also contemplating... life.

Bell felt he couldn't continue like this; being despondent wouldn't solve any problems. Rather than continue to feel lost, it would be better to just leave everything behind and go back home to find his sister.

Of course, he wouldn't do that; it was already decided long ago. So, he had to pull himself together, study magic diligently, and strive to become stronger. This brief parting was just for a better reunion later!

Bell took a deep breath, slapped his face hard.

"Decided, starting from now, I'll perk up and stop feeling despondent!"

Straightening his back, trying to make himself look more spirited, he stopped thinking about all the messy stuff and walked forward briskly.

Since there was still over an hour until class, there was no one in the Transfiguration classroom. Bell found a corner seat and took out "Advanced Transfiguration," earnestly reading it.

Unconsciously, when Bell looked up again, he found that the classroom was already full of people. His roommates were chatting in pairs, Hermione was sitting at the front revising what seemed to be knowledge for who knows how many times. A grey tabby cat was lying on the teacher's desk, quietly observing the young wizards in the classroom.

Bell vaguely remembered their Transfiguration professor - Professor McGonagall, who was an Animagus of a tabby cat.

Staring at the tabby cat for a while, Bell couldn't detect any traces of casting spells. Truly worthy of an Animagus, there were indeed admirable aspects.

Soon the bell for class rang, and Harry Potter and his good friend Ron Weasley rushed into the classroom together after the bell rang.

"Thank goodness Professor McGonagall isn't here yet, or we'd be in trouble. That old woman looks like the strict type." Ron gasped to Harry.

As long as they weren't found out, it didn't count as being late, so the two of them weren't late! No problem.

However, before Ron finished speaking, the grey tabby cat on the lectern transformed into Professor McGonagall.