The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

The sorting process began. Professor McGonagall unfurled the long parchment, cleared her throat, and her voice echoed in the silent auditorium:

"When I call your name, please come forward, sit on the stool, and put on the Sorting Hat."

……

"Ginny Weasley!"

The little red-haired girl strode forward, and the Sorting Hat barely touched her hair before she screamed, "Gryffindor!"

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted at the Gryffindor table, especially from the Weasley brothers. Percy puffed out his chest and told everyone, "This is my youngest sister." It was as if Ginny's sorting into Gryffindor was entirely due to his usual earnest teachings.

The twins started whistling, so loudly it nearly shook the candles off the ceiling. Even Professor McGonagall glared at them.

Ginny blushed and ran to the long table, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards Harry. He and Ron clapped and smiled at her, Harry even giving her a thumbs-up in encouragement.

Ginny sat down excitedly, quickly took out a pen and a black notebook, and wrote something down as if she wanted to record this beautiful moment.

Hermione, sitting next to her, smiled and peeked over, but Ginny covered the notebook with her hand.

"I hope she knows what she's playing at," Julien muttered to himself.

"What?" Edgar didn't hear clearly.

"It's nothing. I just said I hope Ginny is happy in Gryffindor."

"Colin Creevey!"

"Gryffindor!"

The boy with the camera was so excited he almost dropped it. He ran to the Gryffindor table, and the first thing he did was raise the camera and point it at Harry: "Want another picture, Mr. Potter? I'm a huge fan!"

"Oh no..." Harry buried his face in the cup of pumpkin juice.

Ron laughed gleefully from the side, nearly choking on his beef.

"Luna Lovegood!"

The blonde girl walked forward lightly, as if she were walking on clouds rather than on a marble floor.

The Sorting Hat lingered on her head for a long time, so long that Professor McGonagall frowned and tapped her parchment impatiently with her fingers.

"Hmm...interesting...very interesting..." the Sorting Hat murmured to itself, its voice tinged with confusion.

"Your thoughts are as fleeting as bubbles, and your wisdom is... unique?"

"I saw a lot... a lot that others couldn't see. You have a unique obsession with the truth, but this obsession is quite different from the traditional wisdom of Ravenclaw..."

Luna sat quietly, her large eyes fixed on the ceiling, as if counting how many unknown creatures were there.

"Alright, alright," the Sorting Hat finally sighed, "while your thought process gives me a bit of a headache, your thirst for knowledge certainly fits—Ravenclaw!"

Applause erupted around the long table, its bronze and blue hues interwoven.

Luna took off her heavy hat and glanced in Julien's direction—her gaze was so clear it seemed to see through everything, causing Julien to instinctively sit up straight and almost spill the pumpkin juice in front of him.

"Why is she looking at you?" Edgar asked, puzzled. "Do you two know each other?"

"Maybe she thinks I have a pesky fly on my head." Julien touched his hair, pretending to check for any strange insects.

"What did you say? What... horsefly?"

The branch campus continues.

When the last freshman was assigned to Hufflepuff, Dumbledore stood up and opened his arms.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we begin our dinner, please allow me to introduce a new professor—Giddro Lockhart! Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"

Lockhart rose gracefully, his light blue robe shimmering in the candlelight.

After performing a series of elaborate hand gestures with his right hand—the movements as complex as some ancient dance, or perhaps a warm-up before a peacock spreads its tail—Lockhart revealed his signature white teeth:

"Thank you everyone! I believe this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts course will be very—exciting!"

When he said "exciting," he winked in a certain direction. Julien looked in that direction and saw that it was the Ravenclaw table.

To be precise, it's the direction of their new female prefect, Penelope Crivat.

"He's flirting with Penelope," Kayson whispered. "Merlin, does he think he's a peacock?"

"You can remove the 'I thought'," Julien said eagerly, cutting off a piece of steak. "He's like a peacock, the kind that displays its full plumage."

"I bet his office is full of mirrors and he spends two hours styling his hair every day before leaving the house."

"How did you know?" Edgar asked curiously.

"Because I've seen narcissistic people, but I've never seen anyone this narcissistic."

"That's right, look at his smile, it's professionally trained," Kayson added from the side. "I dare say he practices his 'charming smile' in front of the mirror at least a hundred times every morning."

The dinner officially began, and the food was as plentiful as ever.

The gilded white porcelain plate was piled high with food: roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, honey-glazed ham, and a mountain of magical French fries.

Colin Crevey kept taking pictures while stuffing food into his mouth, with Harry in every single one of the photos, the flashes so bright that Harry could barely open his eyes.

"Harry..." Colin was about to say something when Harry interrupted him.

"Please, Colin, I want to finish my peas first..." Harry said helplessly.

Julien was enjoying the sight when he suddenly felt someone sit down next to him. Turning his head, he saw Luna Lovegood.

She was staring at him with her rather large eyes, holding something that looked like a carrot in her hand, similar to the pendant on her ear.

But Julien suspected it was some kind of magical plant he couldn't recognize. Perhaps the legendary Gordigan?

"You are Schiller Julien Black," Luna said, not in a question, but in a statement.

"Yes." Julien wiped his mouth.

"I can see the magnetic field around you." Luna took a bite of the "carrot," making a crisp "crunch" sound.

"They're bright, like stars. But there's also something black swirling around you, coming from underground."

Julien's fork froze in mid-air. Juice from the steak dripped onto the plate with a soft "plop."

"Something black?"

"Yes, they are waiting, guarding, and... searching." Luna blinked, a detached calm shimmering in her oversized eyes, as if she were merely describing the menu for tonight's dinner.

"Do you know what that is?" Julien asked, his voice unconsciously lowering.

Luna tilted her head, as if trying to describe something that didn't exist. "I don't know, maybe some kind of curved-horned snorkeling beast? They also like to hide underground. But..."

She leaned closer, her voice as soft as a whisper, "You have to be careful..."

"Be careful of what?"

Luna's eyes seemed unfocused, as if piercing through Julien and gazing into some distant place. Her voice became ethereal and eerie, like the chanting of some ancient prophecy:

"It came, quieter than the wind blowing across the grass."

It looks at you with those eyes that never blink.

It touches you like cool raindrops falling on your neck.

When you see its vertical pupils, that will be the last reflection you see on earth.

These words sent a chill down Yu Lian's spine.

"Thanks for reminding me," he said sincerely, though Luna seemed to have forgotten what she had said.

Luna gave Julien a strange look, as if to say, "What are you thanking me for?", then lightly got up and walked to the other end of the long table.

There were several senior Ravenclaw students discussing the latest article in the Daily Prophet.

"If you're interested, you can take a look at The Quibbler; its views are completely different from The Daily Prophet."

"That girl is a bit strange," Kayson commented.

Julien watched Luna's retreating figure. "Perhaps she only saw what we couldn't see."