The moment the doors opened, they were greeted by a hall paved with beige stonework.

A high brass chandelier emanated a full candle flame, but the chain was nowhere to be seen, only floating under the eaves where the dome could not be seen.

In the center of the hall was an ancient and grand stone staircase.

The handrail of the stone steps was higher than Professor McGonagall's shoulders, and every seven steps there was a stone sculpture of a strange beast.

In the mouths of these statues were balls of light that shimmered with magical light, and when someone walked by, the color of the balls of light would change from gold to red.

When someone walks by, the color of the ball of light will flow between gold and red, copper and blue, black and yellow, and silver and green.

The open splendor of the hall caused many of the new students to freeze dumbfounded the moment the doors opened.

Daphne slowed her pace somewhat hesitantly and exchanged glances with Draco and Pansy.

She couldn't understand why her fellow students had stopped moving.

Draco looked around until she saw Harry with a surprised look on his face.

She immediately surmised that the new students had obviously been attracted to stop by the view of the castle.

As the daughter of a wealthy family, Draco's heart suddenly rose a little bit of self-satisfaction.

Even the famous Harry Potter had obviously never seen such a scene.

Draco muttered silently in her heart, the corners of her mouth rippled with smiles, and she walked forward with elegant steps.

Daphne and Pansy followed quietly, joined by a girl with a double ponytail.

"Hey! I'm going too!" The girl shouted.

"Hannah.... Hannah!" came a nervous girl's voice from the crowd.

Hannah responded energetically, "It's okay oh, I'm Twenty-Eight too!"

Hearing this, the three who had reached the middle of the steps turned back together and looked at Hannah's cheerful smile as she had just stepped onto the stone steps.

"Malfoy, Greengrass, Parkinson, you're famous!" Hannah said.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Abbott, Hannah Abbott."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Draco Malfoy," Draco smiled as she walked down the two steps, gently lifting the hem of her robe and crouching slightly.

Hannah smiled back and followed Professor McGonagall with Draco, Pansy, and Daphne.

Professor McGonagall turned, looked at the freshmen who had fallen behind, and shook his head. "Freshmen, please keep up."

Her stern tone sent a shiver down the spine of the freshmen who remained at the bottom of the steps and nervously took large steps to follow.

It wasn't until the new students were firmly on their feet that Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and

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With a flick of her wand, the ring she wore on her finger, engraved with the Hogwarts crest, transformed into a roll of parchment.

Naturally, there was another round of "Wow!" from the new students. of amazement.

"Welcome to Hogwarts."

"The Start-of-Term Feast will begin shortly, and as you can see, the senior students are already seated inside."

"Before you can enter the Great Hall and be seated, you must pass through the Sorting Ceremony before you can enter your respective houses."

At Professor McGonagall's words, Draco's luminous eyes blossomed and she tiptoed on tiptoe with impatient gusto.

"Miss Malfoy. The Sorting Ceremony is indeed something to look forward to."

"But it is also a very important ceremony, so please be mindful of your manners and be sure to pay attention to my next instructions."

Professor McGonagall continued, her gaze directed towards the four young girls at the head of the group.

Draco, who was named in public, looked a little embarrassed as her snow-white face was colored with a few shades of red.

"During your studies, your respective houses will be like your homes in Hogwarts. You will have classes and meals with students from the same house."

"You will sleep in the dormitories of your houses and spend leisure time in the common room."

Professor McGonagall didn't seem to notice Draco's look and turned to the freshmen, announcing aloud:

"The four colleges are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

"Each academy has its own glorious history and has produced outstanding wizards of both sexes."

"During your studies, every outstanding performance will add points to the academy;"

"Comparatively, every offense will cause the academy to deduct points."

"At the end of the school year, the Academy with the highest number of points will be awarded the honor of House Cup."

"It is my hope that each of you will want to make your Academy proud, no matter what Academy you are assigned to."

Professor McGonagall finished, sweeping his gaze over the freshmen and pausing for a moment before speaking slowly:

"The Sorting Ceremony will be held in front of all the students and faculty of the school."

"I suggest that you all, use your last moments to get yourselves as neatly groomed as possible."

"Especially, those of you who don't know how to put on a cloak, how to tie a bowtie and a knot in your hood-"

Professor McGonagall said while looking at the round-faced boy among the freshmen, who was in the same boat as Harry.

"You have before you four well-groomed exemplars; observe them well."

"You will find that learning from each other as classmates is the key to doing well at Hogwarts."

With her words, the eyes of the freshmen were uncharacteristically focused on the four of them, Draco, Pansy, Daphne, and Hannah.

Draco noticed with amusement that Harry was no exception looking at herself, checking his grooming back and forth against his own.

There was even a futile attempt to smooth the slightly disorganized dark curls on his head.

"So, until we are ready to greet you, please take your time here."

Professor McGonagall finished, glanced at the scroll of paper in his hand, and walked through the Great Hall doors. The moment the doors opened and closed, the noise and glow of the Great Hall filtered through, stirring a few emotions in Draco's mind.

Smiling with Pansy, Daphne, and Hannah, each of the four carried a sense of imperative anticipation and confidence.

"What the hell kind of method did they use to assign us the houses...?" Harry and Ron's conversation came from behind them, causing the freshmen to feel slightly uneasy.

Draco, however, just gave Ron & Harry a cold, squinty glare.

"Please don't allow your ignorance to create unnecessary panic, Weasley," Draco said lightly, her tone slightly dismissive.

Ron was about to open his mouth to retaliate but mumbled at Draco's icy tone.

Apparently, he really didn't know how the Sorting Ceremony worked.

Draco smiled again and turned to Harry.

"As for you, you missed your chance to have someone better show you the Wizarding world, Potter."

"I really don't understand what kind of Wizarding family would keep even something as basic as the Sorting Ceremony from their own children."

Satisfied with the way Harry and Ron showed their displeasure but couldn't talk back, Draco drew out her folding fan and gracefully pushed it gently open in two folds.

"Regret it, Potter!!!"

Just as Draco was about to give Harry the final blow in her triumph, she was so shocked by what suddenly sprang before her eyes that she clutched the arms of Pansy and Daphne beside her.

The folding fan in Draco's hand almost fell to the ground, and she grabbed the handle of the fan in a frenzy.

Listening to Harry and Pansy snickering in unison, Draco frowned.

It wasn't until she saw their frightened faces that she stopped her near seizure.

Several apparitions suddenly burst out of the walls, causing the freshmen to shriek.

The apparitions were discussing something animatedly, and before they had time to listen closely, the figure of Professor McGonagall had stepped out.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin again soon, now form a line and follow me."