Hogwarts

We finally arrived at the station in Hogsmeade, a village of sorcerers located next to Hogwarts. The Weasley twins parted from me, saying that first-year students were in for a little surprise.

"The first years, over here!"

The voice came from a person so tall that I had to step back to see them completely. I was so small compared to them that I didn't even reach their belly.

"First years, this way, hurry up!"

I dodged some older students and rejoined my class group. We waited another five minutes for everyone to get off the train before we started moving.

Following this giant—it may sound unkind, but I couldn't think of any other way to describe them—we took a path that led down to a dock.

"Maximum 4 per boat."

He took one for himself, which is normal given his size. I shared my boat with three other girls, one of whom had Asian features. I held back a lot not to ask about her origin and, if so, if she could tell me more.

After a while, the view cleared, and we could see an immense castle that overlooks the cliff.

Many of us were impressed by the view, which I grant you is incredible, but because it was night, the castle was less impressive.

Had it been during the sunset, I believe this would be one of the most beautiful landscapes with a sunset in the world.

The trip lasted long enough for me to remember the appearance of the castle and draw it, maybe not in very detailed way, but seeing my drawing, one would know that it is Hogwarts.

After reaching the other shore, the giant made us follow a path composed of different caves before reaching the corridors of the castle.

He took us to a classroom.

"Now another teacher will be in charge of you, wait a little while longer."

He left after saying these words. It was around this time that the other newcomers began to socialize among themselves.

A person entered the room; it was a woman of a certain age with a stern face but who could be very nice. The appearance does not define the person.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The sorting ceremony will begin in a moment. While you are here, your house will be like your family. You will attend classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your dormitory, and spend your free time in your house common room.

The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are here, your achievements will earn points for your house, while any rule-breaking will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honor. So I advise you to behave well and work hard.

The Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly, so please be patient and wait quietly until you are called."

Her explanation was very clear and easy to understand. I'm just a little afraid that competition between houses will create unnecessary conflict.

Some students were beginning to wonder how we would be distributed, and obviously, some were very stressed.

A girl even started to hyperventilate.

I quietly approached her and took her hand to calm her down.

"Breathe, don't stress about it. We are distributed according to our personality, so there is no reason to panic."

My words reassured her a little.

"Thank you. By the way, I'm Katie Bell."

"Evelyn Longbottom."

Some who had panicked also heard my words and calmed down a little.

Shortly after, the teacher who had told us about the house system came back and led us to another place.