Flying car

I don't know what Ginny thought when she saw the point in the sky because she went with the other first-years with Luna. So, I decided not to think about it anymore. With Hermione, Marie, and Neville, who had joined us, we took a carriage to ride again with the Thestrals.

I had to explain it to Hermione because she couldn't see these creatures and just believed they moved magically.

Neville could see the Thestrals because, like me, he had witnessed the death of our uncle.

When we arrived at the door leading to the main hall, I thought we were tapping on a piece of metal, but I wasn't sure because it was still too noisy for me to confirm.

We entered the Great Hall and went to our respective tables.

I took some time to greet people I had a good relationship with before sitting down.

Before the first-years arrived, Professor Snape left after Filch apparently told him something he wasn't happy about, and I could see that Professor McGonagall, who had also heard, was displeased as well.

The first-years came in, looking around as usual and seeming nervous too.

The Sorting Hat was placed on the stool before it started singing. It really must put its heart into it, spending a whole year composing its song.

Then, the Sorting Ceremony began.

"Colin Creevey."

I could see him almost running up to have the Sorting Hat placed on his head. He must be Muggle-born and thrilled to discover magic.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table was, as usual, very loud, mostly because of the Weasley twins.

"Luna Lovegood."

It was Luna's turn to be sorted, and I wondered which house she would end up in, as she is hard to place, and the Sorting Hat apparently had some difficulty too, taking more than a minute before deciding.

"RAVENCLAW!"

I had somewhat expected that, though I was also torn between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

"Ginevra Weasley."

It was finally Ginny's turn to go up. It must be stressful to go last because you see everyone else getting sorted, and you start to have doubts. Ginny was already nervous enough.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The choice was quite quick, which makes sense since she's part of a family that's always been in Gryffindor, though it doesn't mean it's decided in advance. A good example would be the Patil twins in Harry's year, who aren't in the same house, or Sirius Black—a psychopath—who was in Gryffindor, while his family had always been in Slytherin. His grandfather, Phineas Black, was even a headmaster of the school and the only one from Slytherin.

Oops, I think I got lost in my thoughts. Dumbledore gave a brief speech before the meal appeared, and he and Professor McGonagall left for somewhere, probably for the same reason Professor Snape had gone.

The newspaper arrived, which was strange because, with special editions, it usually comes out in the morning.

On the front page, we could see a stolen car that had been found and caused panic among the Muggles.

Who's the idiot who drove it around like that?

Apparently, the car belonged to Arthur Weasley, Ginny's dad. If I remember correctly, he's responsible for all Muggle objects that are magically altered.

This story doesn't make any sense.

Then I remembered the sound of metal and Ginny's fear, and I realized that it must have been the car we saw and heard.

Why would Arthur drive Harry and Ron himself when he could have just informed the school?

We'd have to wait until morning to understand the reason for all of this.

But while I was reading, I took a sip of my drink and accidentally swallowed wrong, coughing as if I were dying.