A sumptuous dinner

Chapter 18 A sumptuous dinner

The moment Ian put down the Sorting Hat, the ceremony for the day came to a complete end.

……

At this moment, Headmaster Dumbledore also stood up. Like all headmasters, he always had to give a speech at the last moment, but fortunately, he always only said a little bit.

"Welcome everyone! Welcome to Hogwarts for the start of a new school year. Before the banquet begins, I'd like to say a few words: Idiot! Crybaby! Trash! Squeak! Thank you all!"

After saying just those few words, Dumbledore sat down again.

……

"You look a little crazy, don't you? My name is Robert Siad, I'm in fifth grade," said a Ravenclaw student sitting next to Ian with a smile.

"Ian Titus, transfer student, third year."

Ian always reciprocated kindness and friendliness in kind. Because the banquet had begun, he only exchanged a few words with the fifth-grade student before ending the conversation.

Interestingly, during their conversation, Ian noticed that the girls within a five-meter radius of him were all silent, elegant, and quiet like ladies, except that their slightly perked-up ears somewhat disrupted the atmosphere.

Looking at the dazzling array of food that suddenly appeared on the plate in front of me: roast beef, fried lamb chops, pork chops, roast chicken, sausages, French fries, boiled potatoes, baked potato chips, Yorkshire flakes, pea shoots, carrots, gravy, ketchup, all kinds of bread, and even mint hard candy.

Ian simply picked out some food that was close to him, a few pieces of roast beef, some bread and ketchup, and began to slowly enjoy his dinner.

……

Compared to the noisy, hearty feasting of the Gryffindors next door, Ravenclaw was much quieter, but quiet didn't mean slow. He discovered that the CD-ROM speed at his house's long table even slightly surpassed that of Gryffindor.

Because once the plate is empty, food is immediately replenished in the next second, so it's not easy to notice unless you look closely.

In the first half of the banquet, not many people spoke; everyone focused on the delicious food in front of them. After about half an hour, everyone had filled their stomachs.

The remaining food simply vanished from the plates, even though many plates had only been slightly disturbed. It seemed the young wizards never considered where the food came from or where it went.

But Ian was quite interested in all of this. The countdown that kept flashing through his mind seemed to be constantly reminding him that there was still an apocalypse waiting for him, where even the problem of food and clothing had not been solved.

……

The camera pans around, and the plates are now spotless. A few breaths later, desserts arrive: ice cream in various flavors and unique shapes, apple tarts, strawberry syrup cakes, chocolate muffins, berry donuts, jelly pudding, rice pudding…

Once the desserts arrived, everyone started chatting. Aside from the freshmen who were a bit reserved and quiet, most of the upperclassmen, having not seen each other for the entire holiday, seemed to have transformed into village informants, eager to share countless exclusive scoops.

However, this had nothing to do with Ian. At this moment, he was truly like a raven soaring through the sky, hiding in the heavens and looking down upon all living beings on earth.

The owl he had longed for as a child, and the dream of entering Hogwarts, had all come true. He stood silently, like a true spectator, watching the familiar yet strange scenes unfold before him.

This was a real problem for the girls around him who were trying to extract information. Looking at Ian, who remained silent and exuded an ethereal aura, they could only shrug and wave at him, even though they repeatedly gestured to him.

Time slipped by quietly, until the last dessert on the table disappeared. Professor Dumbledore stood up again, and without any command, everyone fell silent to listen to him.

"Before everyone gets sleepy, let me reiterate a few points, especially for first-year students. The forbidden forest behind the school is off-limits to all students."

Secondly, our castle keeper, Mr. Filch, also asked me to remind everyone not to cast spells in the hallways during breaks. There are also 23 new magical tricks that are prohibited from being brought into the school this year. You can check the details in Mr. Filch's office.

The Quidditch Renewal will begin in the second week of this term. Students in their second year or above who wish to join the House team should contact Mrs. Hodge to register.

Finally, I must tell everyone that if you don't want to encounter an accident or suffer a painful death, please do not enter the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor.

After Dumbledore finished giving his instructions, he winked at everyone and said loudly:

"Before everyone goes back to their dorms, let's sing the school song together."

Upon hearing this, the other professors visibly stiffened. If there was anything Hogwarts couldn't match compared to other schools, it was its school song; of course, its student stipends also couldn't compare to Beauxbatons.

Newt Scamander, a bright Hogwarts dropout, was once teased by a pair of sisters from Ephamony during the school song.

The singing began amidst various strange tunes:

Hogwarts, Hogwarts...

Please teach us some knowledge, even if we are bald old people.

He was still a young man with a scar on his knee.

Our heads need to be filled with some interesting things.

Because it's empty inside now, filled with air.

Dead flies and trivial matters,

So please teach us something worth learning.

To rediscover our long-forgotten memories.

You just need to do your best, and we'll take care of the rest.

We will study hard until we turn to dust.

The lyrics are still needed, but the key is the accompaniment. Our great Professor Dumbledore chose "Funeral March" this year...

Whether they were seasoned upperclassmen or bewildered freshmen, everyone clearly didn't care much for the school song, singing it haphazardly and perfunctorily. Only the Weasley twins sang the entire song.

Professor Dumbledore thoughtfully guided the two throughout, emphasizing that as long as they weren't embarrassed, the one who would be embarrassed would definitely be someone else...

After the song ended, Professor Dumbledore announced the end of the opening banquet, and the class leaders stood up and led the students back to their dormitories to rest.

Unlike the red-haired prefect of Gryffindor, who hurriedly began gathering the new students.

In contrast, Ravenclaw seemed rather leisurely. The male prefect, who had just finished giving a presentation to the freshmen, simply gathered them together.

After counting the number of students to ensure that no student was left behind, they calmly led the students back to their dormitories.

Ian followed the main group slowly out of the restaurant and walked for about fifteen minutes before finally arriving at a tower in the castle.

Facing me was a spiral staircase, extremely steep. After passing through this dizzying spiral staircase, I arrived at a wooden door without a handle. The bare wooden door had neither a handle nor a keyhole, only a bronze eagle-shaped door knocker.

The male prefect leading the group extended his left hand and gently knocked on the door. The eagle's beak on the bronze door knocker immediately opened, and a gentle, soothing voice came out: "Where has all the time disappeared to?"

The prefect didn't answer immediately, but instead turned to the new students, giving them a bright smile:

"Getting into the Ravenclaw common room is simple. We never use passwords or anything like that. You just need to answer one question on the door knocker. If you answer correctly, even if you're not a Ravenclaw student, you can enter our common room."

"That's why Ravenclaw is better at thinking than the other three houses," said Penelope Shimizu, the newly appointed prefectural headwoman this year.

The clear voice added, "Who would like to try answering this question?"

While speaking, he secretly glanced at Ian without leaving a trace.

Ian ignored this, not because he didn't know the answer, but because he didn't want to draw attention to it. He just wanted to quietly learn magic and enjoy this hard-won life.

"Where is the time that has disappeared?" This obviously open-ended question is similar to the Zen koan of the past, and in fact, there are countless answers.

The simplest and smartest answer is—'The time that disappears is in time.'

But it's clear that the new students, fresh out of Ravenclaw, are more eager to use this opportunity to prove their intelligence.

"In our memories!"

This is the answer from a first-grade girl who has a bit of baby fat.

"Correct answer!"

A soft, soothing voice rang out again from the bronze door knocker, and the door opened in response, as if welcoming all the new students assigned to Ravenclaw.

New book! Please add to your favorites and recommend! Thank you so much, dear readers!

Thank you for your support, thank you, thank you, thank you.

(End of this chapter)