LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 12: Chapter 12
"Students of Gryffindor, please follow me, thank you!"
"The stairs here move, so you need to stay alert at all times."
"If you get lost or are pranked by Peeves, I'm afraid I can't help you."
"Unless, of course, you can summon Bloody Baron, who is Peeves' nemesis."
...
After the banquet, Percy, as a senior, led Harry and the others through the corridors and up the stairs, saying,
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the others were both shocked and excited upon seeing this.
If Percy hadn't been urging them along, they would have liked to stay behind and carefully observe the moving staircases, wondering where they would lead.
"These portraits actually move?"
"Oh, and they can talk too!"
"Ron, she's staring at you with such deep affection."
"No, Harry, she's looking at you. I think she must miss you."
"Do you think she'll step out of the portrait and come to your room?"
"Oh, Harry, your thoughts are just... too daring."
Soon, they arrived at the end of the corridor, where a portrait hung on the wall.
The portrait depicted a very plump woman dressed in pink.
"Password?" the woman in the portrait asked with a smile.
"Dragon dung!" Percy replied.
Immediately, the portrait swung open, revealing the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
It was a cozy, circular room filled with soft armchairs.
"Gather here!"
"Welcome to the Gryffindor common room. The boys' dormitory is upstairs on the left, and the girls' dormitory is upstairs on the right."
"Your luggage has already been taken up. Everyone, get some rest. Tomorrow your studies will officially begin."
Percy smiled at Harry and the others.
Everyone responded and scattered.
There were five people in the dormitory: Harry, Neville, and Ron were in the same room.
Everyone was very tired, and Ron and the others immediately fell asleep once they returned.
Harry, however, didn't sleep. He sat by the window, accompanied by his owl Hedwig, bathed in the moonlight. At that moment, Harry appeared somewhat lonely and desolate.
But Harry was very clear that this was now his home.
If he could, he wouldn't want to return to the Dursleys' house.
---
The Next Day
At a corner of Hogwarts, construction was underway on a massive building, quickly nearing completion.
Callister was using his magic to help build the Department of Elemental Magic.
It resembled the Roman Colosseum, being a tiered lecture hall.
Thanks to Callister's magic, the construction of the classroom was accelerating, and it wouldn't be long before it was completed.
"Sorry, Callister," Dumbledore apologized, "the place where you'll be teaching still needs some time to finish."
"I've arranged for them to speed up the construction of a special classroom just for you."
"If you'd like, I can also arrange for your dormitory to be placed there."
Despite having arranged for Callister's request to be fulfilled, Dumbledore felt bad that the classroom still wasn't ready, so he approached Callister and said this.
Callister smiled upon hearing this. "That sounds like a great idea, Albus. Also, you'll need to build me a garden."
Dumbledore chuckled and replied, "That's no problem at all. For a genius like you, I'll make an exception."
"So, for now, you'll have to make do with staying in the dormitory."
Callister smiled again. These things weren't much of a problem for him.
"Callister, how old are you?" Dumbledore asked as he prepared to leave, but then remembered that he didn't know Callister's age.
Callister looked the same as he had three years ago. It seemed that age didn't affect him much.
"I'm only eighteen. Do you believe it?" Callister didn't directly answer Dumbledore but said this instead.
Dumbledore laughed and replied, "Perhaps I'll believe it."
Callister didn't continue the conversation. Age was something that changed very slowly for him.
In reality, he was already twenty-eight, but he still looked like he was eighteen.
---
Hogwarts Castle was located on a cliff, with nine levels including the basement, and four towers.
Inside Hogwarts, things were a bit odd. Some areas were vast and wide, while others were narrow and cramped, shaking as they moved.
Every Friday, the hallways led to different places. Some stairs would suddenly vanish halfway up, and you'd have to remember where to jump over them.
There were also many doors, but they wouldn't open unless you politely asked or jabbed at the right spot.
These "doors" weren't real doors, but strong walls that looked like doors.
It was hard to keep track of where things were because everything seemed to be constantly moving.
Can you imagine it? The people in the portraits kept visiting each other.
For example, one hour ago, a portrait might have shown a plump woman, and an hour later, she might have turned into an old man reading a book—or perhaps it would be both the plump woman and the old man.
So, it was very easy to get lost. It wasn't surprising that first-year students got lost.
At least, today, Harry and Ron got lost on their way to their first class.
So, they had to run until they finally found their classroom.
Inside the classroom, Hermione, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and the others all turned to look at Harry and Ron.
Hermione, seeing Harry and Ron being late on the first day of school, was helpless. These two were hopeless.
Malfoy looked somewhat smug, then said teasingly, "Do you know what lesson this is? Oh no, you definitely won't guess. That serious-looking witch is already glaring at you."
Feeling the gaze of the others, Harry and Ron awkwardly found their seats.
"Finally made it."
"If we had been any later, her face would've scared us to death. I don't want to be scolded."
"Wow, that cat is so cute!"
"Compared to bats, I definitely prefer cats."
"Maybe we can—"
Ron, a bit out of breath, noticed the cat on the lecturer's desk and said this.
But before he could finish, the cat on the desk leapt down and transformed into Professor McGonagall.
Harry and Ron froze, awkwardly embarrassed, especially Ron.
As Professor McGonagall walked toward them, Ron couldn't help but mutter, "That transformation was so smooth."
Ron was feeling unlucky.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Weasley!" Professor McGonagall said sternly, looking at Ron and Harry.
"Perhaps I should turn one of you into a pocket watch, at least that way one of you would be on time."
"We got lost!" Harry quickly explained.
"Maybe I should turn you both into a map. That way, you won't get lost," McGonagall responded firmly.
Harry and Ron were speechless.
They didn't want to be turned into pocket watches or maps.
---
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