novelnext Chapter 625 A Familiar Torment
Chapter 625 A Familiar Torment
Chapter 625 A Familiar Torment
This luncheon was like a history of magic lesson taken on a train.
Throughout the afternoon, Slughorn spent half the time introducing the students' prominent relatives and the other half telling anecdotes about the outstanding wizards he had taught in the past.
Slughorn also emphasized that during their time at Hogwarts, they all joined an organization he called the Slug Club.
Harry felt extremely uncomfortable, but he couldn't find an excuse to leave early.
It wasn't until it was completely dark outside and the lights in the carriages and aisles were on that Slughorn finally indicated that they could leave.
"You'd better change into your school robes quickly, McClargan. You must come over and borrow that book about the Great Tailed Beast when you have time. Ollivander, I once came across a copy of 'The History of the Medieval Wand,' I'm sure you'll find it interesting—"
Oh, and most importantly, Harry, you're welcome to come to my office anytime.
"Thank God, it's finally over." Harry finally breathed a long sigh of relief as he left Box C.
God knows how he got through that afternoon.
"If I had a choice, I definitely wouldn't go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office this year," Harry said.
In his time with Slughorn, he felt a strange, familiar torment.
Oh right, it's Gilderoy Lockhart; the two are really alike in some ways.
However, unlike Gilderoy Lockhart, who was always boasting about himself, Slughorn preferred to boast about the people he knew or the students he had taught.
"Sirlen, are you planning to go to him to borrow that book?" Harry asked. "I bet he won't let you leave easily. He'll definitely grab you and tell you all again how amazing his star pupils are and what achievements they've made."
"What achievement? What are you talking about?"
At that moment, Hermione, who had already changed into her school uniform robes, walked over from the other side of the corridor. She looked at Harry and frowned slightly.
"Why haven't you come back all afternoon? The freshmen are in complete chaos."
"Stop talking about me, Hermione." Harry rubbed his forehead. "I also wanted to leave early instead of staying there listening to Slughorn and the others talk about how great I am."
Seemingly sensing that Harry was in a bad mood, Hermione stopped talking.
"I think I just heard you talking about a book," she said, changing the subject. "What is it? Have I read it?"
"It looks like something—a medieval magic wand?"
"It's 'The History of the Development of the Magic Wand in the Middle Ages'," Siron corrected.
"So you're going to borrow it?" Harry asked. "I suggest you check the library first. Seriously, Hogwarts has everything."
"Ah, I don't need it," Xiren said with a smile.
If it were any other type of wand book, that would be one thing, but the history of wand development—seriously, is there anyone in Britain who knows more about the history of wand development than Ollivander?
In other words, the so-called history of wand development is simply a record of Ollivander's product upgrades and iterations.
He could easily find a lot of related materials at home, so why go to the trouble of borrowing from Slughorn?
Listening to their conversation, Hermione roughly understood what they had been through, but she still had some doubts.
Was the luncheon in Slughorn really that bad?
"I swear, I will never go there a second time."
"You can't say that," Siron shrugged, and said to Harry's incredulous gaze, "At least the pheasant meat that Professor Slughorn provided was quite good."
"Well, I can't argue with that—oh, the train is about to stop."
It had turned completely dark outside the window. The train began to slow down and then came to a complete stop at Hogsmeade Station.
Harry and Hermione, as prefects, went off to maintain order again, while Siron and Ron prepared to wait for them by the carriage.
As soon as they got off the train, they saw a familiar, tall figure walking towards them from behind.
"First-year students, first-year students, come this way!" Hagrid shouted loudly beside the train, holding up his oil lamp that had been used for who knows how many years.
He quickly approached the two men, greeting them with a smile, "Hey, Siren, Ron, how are you?"
"Not bad," Siron said. "But there's something I think I should tell you—the Slytherins have been scaring the new students on the train, and many of them cried their eyes out the whole way. You'd better be careful when you cross the river later."
"What? Those despicable, vile scoundrels who only bring shame to Hogwarts and Dumbledore—"
Hagrid was furious and kept muttering curses under his breath.
"Thank you for telling me all this, Celen. I'll be careful," Hagrid said. "You two should hurry and get on the carriage; the opening banquet is about to begin."
After saying that, Hagrid led a group of unsteady freshmen from the other side to Black Lake.
The two waited a while longer before returning to school in a carriage with Harry and Hermione, who were the last to emerge.
It's worth mentioning that when they were in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, the Order of the Phoenix killed two Death Eaters in front of them, so they can now see Thestrals pulling the chariot.
"It looks really ugly." That was Ron's first reaction upon seeing the Thestral.
To be honest, Thestrals, with their bald, bat-like appearance, are certainly not beautiful, but that doesn't stop them from being one of the most popular magical creatures.
After all, the Thestrals have been the best means of transportation for magic for centuries, and this remains true even now.
Once they leave Hogwarts, it won't be so easy for many people to see Thestrals again.
Soon, the carriage stopped beside the castle.
Whether it was because he heard Ron's impolite remarks or not, Thestral suddenly lifted up as he got out of the carriage.
"Ouch—" Ron slipped and tumbled off the carriage, landing in the bushes beside him.
"Damn it, it must have done it on purpose." Ron got up in a fit of rage, ready to go and cause trouble for Thestrals.
"Never mind, Ron, it's already gone," Harry said, giving Hermione a look, and the two of them half-pushed, half-dragged Ron into the castle.
Putting aside whether Ron could defeat the Thestrals, even if he could, it wouldn't be something to be proud of.
More importantly, the opening banquet was about to begin, and a yellow dot of light could be seen slowly approaching in the distance—that was the oil lamp in Hagrid's hand.
Clearly, the first-year students have already crossed Black Lake by boat and are heading this way.
Professor McGonagall was standing at the entrance of the auditorium, staring at them with a serious expression.
"Hurry up," she urged.
Once Hermione, who was at the back, entered the Great Hall, she immediately closed the doors.