Chapter 20: Talking Heads

The fleet rowed across the mirror-like lake, taking the young wizards through a curtain of ivy that covered the front of the cliff, through a dark tunnel, and finally to a sort of subway dock.

They all disembarked, and Neville found his lost toad in the process.

Hagrid continued to lead the way with his flashlight, this time reversing the direction he had taken earlier and starting to climb.

Fish didn't bother wasting his energy, he plopped back down on Hagrid's shoulders and comfortably wiggled his little legs.

"Why does he get to ride that big git, and I have to make my own way," Draco Malfoy muttered sadly, even with the help of Goyle and Crabbe, the ride had left the young master in a bit of a pickle.

Sharp-eared Fish heard Malfoy's complaint and turned his head to look at the light blond haired boy, remembering what Minerva had told him, 'Get along with the other young wizards.'

So Fish wiggled his hips and turned around.

He sat back on Hagrid's shoulders, waving his arms at Malfoy, "Hey! Do you want to sit here too?"

Malfoy froze at Fish's sudden words, his pale cheeks flushed as he felt the strange looks coming from all around him.

"No, that's not necessary," Malfoy waved his hand and then lowered his head willingly.

"Are you all right? Malfoy," Crabbe asked, a little concerned, as one of his followers, it was the first time he had seen Malfoy speak nicely to anyone.

Although Crabbe himself had an inexplicable affection for the boy, his limited intellect couldn't make sense of the connection.

"What could be wrong with me?", Malfoy immediately reverted to his old ways as he faced his follower, raising his head proudly and turning his nostrils towards Crabbe.

In fact, Malfoy himself was a little confused, he had intended to taunt the young wizard, but for some reason the words wouldn't come out, and he had somehow politely denied them.

Before Malfoy knew it, however, the new students had arrived at a huge oak door, led by Hagrid.

"Are we all here? Look, you still have your toad, don't you?", Hagrid made one last check of the number of people, and a quick glance at Neville's toad, before raising his huge fist and slamming it three times on the castle door.

The door opened immediately and a tall witch in emerald green robes stood behind it, her black hair pulled back in a high ponytail, her stern look adding to the nervousness of the small group of wizards.

Just then, a voice broke the tension.

"Minerva! I'm hungry, when can we eat?", Fish, sitting on Hagrid's shoulder with a relaxed look on his face, waved his arms excitedly and shouted to Professor McGonagall as soon as he saw her figure.

Professor McGonagall looked at Fish, sitting on Hagrid's shoulder, and immediately her serious expression softened, but her words were still stern, "Get off Hagrid! And call me Professor McGonagall at school."

"Yes, Minerva, no problem, Minerva," Fish replied with a smile as he jumped off Hagrid's shoulder.

Professor McGonagall did not continue her conversation with Fish, but instead nodded to Hagrid, "Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here."

The group of young wizards followed Professor McGonagall through the castle gates, all of them consciously keeping a small distance from her.

Only the restless Fish ran up to Professor McGonagall and reached out to tug at the sleeve of her robes, only to be hit in the head with a slap.

"Get back in line," The corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth twitched slightly and she whispered to Fish.

"Oh...," Fish covered his head with his hands and pouted as he turned back to the group, his small expression of resignation eliciting a chorus of "so cute" and "I really want to hug him" from the young witches.

Even among the boys, Harry could faintly hear similar exclamations.

Professor McGonagall led the first years into a small empty room and briefly mentioned the House Sorting Ceremony and the Four Houses of Hogwarts that would take place later.

"What about dinner?" asked Fish.

Never mind the ceremony, Fish's attention was focused on the food.

"Dinner will be arranged after the ceremony," Professor McGonagall gave Fish a stern look, and answered her question seriously.

Without the temptation of food, it would be foolish to try to keep the boy here in peace.

"When I'm ready, I'll come and get you." Professor McGonagall looked at Fish and gave her a warning look, "Please be quiet while you wait."

With that, Professor McGonagall left the room, and the group of young wizards immediately began talking amongst themselves.

The most talked about, apart from the sorting ceremony, was the apparently very special student, Harry Potter, the famous savior, whose scar was covered by his hair, so only a few knew he was there.

When Professor McGonagall left, Fish ran unseen to the door and peeked through the crack.

"Do you know what's going on with him?", After getting even more nervous talking to Ron about the Sorting Ceremony, Harry thought it would be best to change the subject and lighten the mood.

"I don't know, he's probably Professor McGonagall's son from earlier," Ron shook his head, making a guess that was immediately obvious to everyone.

"Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, Transfiguration teacher, one of the seven animagus of the century, has no children," Hermione Granger, who was still reciting the incantation in a whisper, suddenly interjected, "I read about her in Important Magical Events of the 20th Century."

"It's the nephew or something." Ron's cheek twitched twice, as if he felt a little embarrassed that he had less knowledge than a witch from a Muggle family, and he interrupted impatiently, "That's not the point."

"Can I ask...what is an Animagus?", Harry asked his question before Ron and Hermione got into an argument.

"Animagus is a very, very difficult spell," Hermione seemed especially excited at the mention of it, "a spell that allows a wizard to become whatever animal suits him or her best, it usually takes years of practice to become an Animagus, and in the 20th century, there have only been seven Animagus registered with the Ministry of Magic!"

Hermione's words were full of admiration for Professor McGonagall.

"That would be eight now," Ron disliked Hermione's "good student" attitude, which reminded him of his own brilliant siblings, so he didn't hesitate to interject, "I remember two or three years ago, in The 'Daily Prophet' had a story about the discovery of an Animagus from birth."

And coincidentally, not too far away, Draco Malfoy said the same thing.

"I think I know who he is," Malfoy deigned in his leisurely tone to those around him, "He's a young wizard that Minerva McGonagall adopted a few years ago, a natural-born animagus."