Chapter 34: I Heard Tall Guys Are Popular Among Girls (Edited)

Bell looked at the hat in front of him, which seemed like something not even a vagabond would be willing to wear, and gritted his teeth as he placed it on his head. At the same time, he activated the Occlumency technique in his mind.

As soon as Bell's hair touched the Sorting Hat, it loudly exclaimed:

"Ravenclaw!"

Feeling relieved, Bell placed the Sorting Hat back on the chair and headed to the Ravenclaw table.

He shook hands with some older students and then sat in his place, calmly waiting for dinner to begin. It's worth mentioning that Hermione still joined Gryffindor; it seems that Bell's verbal skills were still not up to par.

Bell felt quite powerless about it. After all, his younger sister was so obedient that she always believed her older brother was right, so he never had the chance to practice his verbal skills.

...

After the Sorting Ceremony, Director Dumbledore stood up and, after casting a Sonorus Charm on himself, began to speak.

"Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts! Before we dive into the feast, I'd like to say a few words. Those words are: Nincompoops! Whiners! Trinkets! Pinch!"

"Thank you, everyone!"

After Dumbledore delivered his words, the feast finally began.

Bell had been hungry for a long time. He began using magic to help his body digest and absorb food many years ago, promoting the evolution of his body.

Today, this behavior had become a natural reflex and no longer required conscious effort.

Although he had already had a hearty lunch, he even ate much more than Hermione and Neville combined, he now felt a ravenous hunger.

The dinner was quite plentiful; he wasn't sure if it was because of the opening ceremony or if it was like this every day.

The table was filled with delights like steak, fried chicken, french fries, and more. The taste was decent but far from the Chinese cuisine that Lym, Bell's house-elf, used to prepare.

However, being in England and being able to enjoy meals that tasted good was reason enough to be thankful for house-elves.

The atmosphere at the table was cheerful. Although not as boisterous as the Gryffindor table, everyone was enjoying their food while chatting happily.

Bell once again realized that he had made the right decision by joining Ravenclaw. He disliked noisy environments, and if he were in Gryffindor, he would probably already be considering flipping the table due to his fellow lions' excitement about the arrival of "The Chosen One," Harry Potter.

The atmosphere in Ravenclaw was within Bell's tolerance limits.

Watching Bell devour his food at a much faster pace than others, the little wizards around him were amazed.

"Hi, I'm Michael Corner, but you can call me Michael. You really can eat," exclaimed a little wizard sitting next to Bell.

After swallowing his bite, Bell also introduced himself politely. "Hi, I'm Bell Minethil. Call me Bell. We're at the age where we're growing, so we have to eat a lot to grow tall."

Michael looked at Bell, who was clearly half a head taller than him.

"So, is that the secret to growing so tall?"

"Of course," affirmed Bell. "By the way, let me tell you a secret: tall guys are usually more popular among girls."

"!?"

The little wizards around them immediately mimicked Bell and started eating voraciously.

Soon, the main dinner ended, and the table was filled with desserts.

There was a wide variety of ice creams, puddings, cakes, and more. Clearly, the desserts in England were well-made. Bell wondered, why can't they devote some of their enthusiasm for desserts to the main course? It's amazing.

Finally, the first-year Ravenclaw students, who had free time to socialize, were introducing themselves to each other. This year, in Ravenclaw, there were a total of 8 new students, 5 boys and 3 girls. Therefore, it was not surprising that the other four boys were Bell's roommates.

"It's a pity, isn't it? Why do you think Harry Potter wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw? After all, a wizard who can defeat You-Know-Who must be very scholarly, even if he's a bit young," sighed Morag MacDougal, clearly disappointed not to be in the same house as Harry. However, since she was now sitting at the Ravenclaw table, no one would say something like, "Why didn't I get into Gryffindor?"

"Maybe it has something to do with Professor Dumbledore being from Gryffindor," Bell casually responded.

"What does that have to do with Professor Dumbledore?" Lisa Turpin asked curiously.

"It's just an impression I have. When I was on the train, I heard some new students say they wanted to join Gryffindor because Professor Dumbledore is from there."

Bell couldn't say that Dumbledore was secretly manipulating the sorting process, and he also didn't know if Dumbledore had given instructions to the Sorting Hat before the sorting ceremony.

The other new students nodded in agreement when they heard Bell's words, suggesting that some of them also had similar thoughts, besides Hermione.

After dinner, Professor Dumbledore stood up and said, "Now that everyone has eaten and drunk enough, let me remind you of a few things. Firstly, it is forbidden to enter the Forbidden Forest; secondly, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind you not to do magic in the hallways between classes; thirdly, tryouts for the Quidditch team will be held in the second week; lastly, those who wish to avoid an unfortunate fate and a painful death, I urge you to stay away from the third-floor corridor on the right side."

"Now, to conclude our dinner, let's all sing the school anthem together!"

Dumbledore waved his wand, and golden streamers shot out from the wand tip, floating in the air and forming the letters of the school anthem.

Bell stood up along with the others and, looking at the letters in the air, began to sing: "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, give us your wisdom...

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts.

...

We'll strive to learn until we become manure."

Perhaps it was due to cultural differences, but Bell found the lyrics somewhat strange. Moreover, each person was singing on their own, and the various tones mixed together, creating a deafening noise that surpassed even the Sorting Hat's clamor. Looking at Dumbledore's tears of emotion, Bell really didn't know how to comment on it.

After singing the school anthem, students from each house were led by their prefects back to the common rooms of their respective houses. At the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room, the prefect explained to the new students how to enter.

"To access the Ravenclaw common room, you must answer the knocker's question. Just touch the ring gently like this."

"To enter the Ravenclaw common room, you must respond to the doorbell. Touch the doorbell like this."

The prefect said while gently touching the ring in the middle of the common room door.

The eagle opened its mouth.

"In the forest, there is a snake, but it never bites people. Why?"