"Welcome, new students, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore began, his voice warm and comforting. "Today marks the beginning of your magical journey, a journey filled with knowledge, friendship, and discovery. You have been sorted into your houses, which will become your homes and families during your time here."
He paused, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles, as he scanned the sea of eager faces before him. Then, he continued, "But let me remind you that your house does not define who you are. It is your choices, your actions, and your character that truly matter. Hogwarts values courage, wisdom, loyalty, and ambition, and I encourage each and every one of you to embody these virtues. The house you were sorted in only shows your current ambitions and goals."
Dumbledore's words resonated deeply with the students, their attention unwavering as they absorbed his wisdom. He spoke with a gentle authority that commanded respect, and his words conveyed hope and possibility.
"As you embark on your magical education, remember that Hogwarts is not just a place of learning spells and potions," Dumbledore emphasized. "It is a place where you will form lifelong friendships, discover hidden talents, and unlock the full potential of your magic. Cherish every moment, for these years, will shape you in ways you cannot yet imagine."
He smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling with kindness. "Lastly, I implore you to treat your fellow students respectfully and kindly, regardless of their house. We can create a Hogwarts community fostering unity, understanding, and acceptance. Enjoy your food!"
With that, Dumbledore concluded his speech and the Great Hall erupted into applause.
Even Eric was amazed by Dumbledore's authority when he was talking, his whole existence was showing his powerful magical aura that seemed to be enveloping everything around him.
When the applause dissipated the food appeared on all tables with a single snap from Dumbledore.
All kinds of food appeared on the table from simple salads to a bowl of rice with chicken wings. Everyone could find a food that suited their taste.
Of course, the food that appeared on the Slytherin's table was the least because of the number of students there. While other houses had around 70-80 students with Gryffindor at the top with 92 students, the Slytherin house only had 51 which was pitiful compared to Gryffindor.
It really made sense that Snape favored his students with points so they could win.
There were only 6 students that were sorted into Slytherin this year Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, Frank Stander, and Eric Walker.
Eric really didn't have anything against anyone from Slytherin right now. But Eric already decided that if someone tries to mess with him he will least show some of his strength.
The rest of the dinner was filled with laughs and a really friendly atmosphere. Even the Slytherin table showed smiles from time to time, especially from students in lower grades.
Eric sighed looking at the food on the table that suddenly disappeared amazed with the use of magic.
Eric neither studied magic systematically nor bought some books for magic. Everything he did with magic was based on his basic perception of magic and dark magic. Most of his time went to controlling dark magic from leaking out thus making Eric lack in the areas where magic could be used.
This was one of the reasons why Eric really wanted to go to Hogwarts, he needed to learn everything from scratch.
Everything he knew about normal magic was pieces of knowledge from Slyde and some other wizards' incomplete notes. It was just a mix of knowledge put together to make something work. Although Eric could use magic he couldn't do that effectively or easily.
He could use some more complex spells like confusing charm but that was his limit. Door unlocking and levitation charms were also okay with his knowledge. But improving them or making them more effective could only come with an infinite practice that needed time.
It was really an inefficient way of learning the magic that should be forgotten completely.
That is also why Eric decided to stop using normal magic the way he learned himself and start using it the way he will learn in Hogwarts as he could see the spells other students could easily do with little practice.
This is the decision Eric made after communicating with Slyde for the duration of the dinner.
When the food disappeared all the students slowly focused their attention on Dumbledore again.
Dumbledore slowly stood up taking his time, while he was standing up all students shut their mouths expecting Dumbledore to say something important.
He looked around appreciating the beauty of the great hall. He then finally opened his mouth and with a clear but loud voice that reached everyone there he said.
"Dear students, esteemed colleagues, and distinguished guests.
I am amazed every year at how Hogwarts can become more beautiful and majestic with each passing year collecting more memories and giving knowledge to every each of us.
I, as a headmaster, am happy that I could be part of this all and I would like everyone to sing with me.
Let the music begin, and may it forever remind us of the boundless power that resides within each and every one of us. Let's sing the school's song together."
Eric noticed that while Dumbledore was in the midst of his speech many teachers showed expressions of suffering mumbling something like they were annoyed.
Many older students even put on earplugs expecting something horrible to come.
A few seconds later Eric understood why. The singing of the entire school together was horrible when combined.
Most of the students in the Slytherin house refused to sing. The Ravenclaw house had a similar style of doing things as they were in silence as well. But the other two houses were the opposite.
Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were like they were unaware of how the singing was horrible and continued loudly singing with different speeds and highs. They were cheerful and happy to be singing.
Eric cast a glance at the two houses like they killed his dog. He really regretted that he didn't have anything to cover his ears with.
The torture continued for a few minutes and when it finally stopped many were exhausted.
On the other hand, Griffindor Hufflepuff and Dumbledore had happy expressions as if that was the most honorable thing they did in years.
The whole sorting ceremony slowly ended and the prefects of each house stood up and led everyone into their respective houses as it was already a tradition. Especially making sure freshmen were close to them and that they didn't get lost.
Or at least this is what happened with other houses. In Slytherin, everyone just stood up and left not interested in the traditions.
The freshmen and Eric just followed the way where most of the students went and after a few turns and stairs they reached the place.
An old wine cellar that was hidden right under Hogwarts near the potions classroom.
The walls were made out of bricks like the rest of the school but there was some moss on the walls making it seem a little abandoned.
An older student with a badge on his chest that indicated that he was a prefect said.
"We unlike other inferior houses have two entrances in case of emergencies, use this one more as you can avoid more people. The other entrance will be shown to you when you are in third grade to avoid beans being spilled out.
The current password is 'The blood decides'. If you tell it to anyone outside our house you will get special treatment from everyone."
At the mention of special treatment, some student in second grade shivered as if he experienced it, if you looked at his face you could notice that it was pale as he was probably scared shitless.
'It looks like there is still some bullying around here. Well, that was something I expected, and who told him to reveal the secret? His fault that he is stupid.' Eric thought as he glanced at the student not feeling any sympathy for him.
Everyone slowly made their way inside the house as the bricks started to open up allowing everyone to go through.
The first thing you would notice is the hourglasses that are in the middle of the common room indicating how many points each house has.
There were already some gems that indicated points in some of the hourglasses even though the points were reset when the freshmen were being sorted.
There were already 5 gems inside the green hourglass that Eric guessed indicated a Slytherin house.
'Snape probably started farming points right from the bat so that we could win. Not that I dislike it since it will only make it better for me to be here as I won't get the bad treatment from Snape during potions class. But I pity others.' Eric thought but started laughing at the image of others losing points by messing something up.
There was already a competitive fire inside Eric that made Eric want to win. Something that Eric didn't know was that it wasn't some competitive fire but his Ego that he raised and created through all the fights he won.
Soon after they entered the common room a female prefect guided them towards their dormitories and showed them their rooms.
The dormitories were for 4 people each and as there were 5 male freshmen in Slytherin this year someone will have to be in a dormitory alone.
"Umm, perfect? Could I be alone in a dormitory, please? I don't really like being with other people constantly." Eric quickly showed his intention to the female prefect that he wanted to be alone.
It was important for Eric because he needed some space for himself to practice. And even if he didn't get the dormitory alone he would just make others move out with fear.
"Are you calling us annoying, Walker?" Draco quickly called out to Walker for his behavior. It seems that Draco remembered his name from the sorting ceremony because of the time Eric took to be sorted.
This made Eric startled as he didn't understand why Draco suddenly started protesting.
"You think because you weren't scared in the forest that you are better than us? You are just mud-blood. You shouldn't make any requests. Well, I still hope that you are not in the same dormitory as me because I could get stained with your dirty blood." Draco quickly continued insulting Eric.
Goyle and Crabbe quickly stood right behind Draco as some kind of bodyguards. Nodding and agreeing with everything Draco said.
The other boy that was sorted into Slytherin didn't really do anything except observe the situation. He didn't side with anyone and didn't express his opinions just observed. His name was Frank Stander.
Eric then quickly said without any other thought.
"Are you now feeling inferior because I wasn't scared and you peed yourself in the forest even though you are a pureblood? Are you really that happy that your grandparents married their sisters and brothers to make some stupid heads like yourself? And because of that, you think that I am worse than someone like you? And in the end, you even said that you want the same thing as me so why did you start talking when your opinion wasn't necessary?"
Eric quickly started talking back already accustomed to this kind of shit talk from the Knockturn alley because this often happens in most of the trades you do, and if you lose this kind of mental war, you may be considered as inferior and someone may try taking advantage of you.
It is something you need to learn to be able to survive in Knockturn Alley.
Eric didn't fear anything and unloaded some of the shit-talk back at Draco to make him quiet.
{That was unnecessary.} Slyde telepathically commented on Eric's behavior.
'Habits die old.' Eric responded to Slyde.
Draco stumbled by what Eric said back and was fuming with anger almost unable to breath quickly said. "I will tell my father about this!" and went into the dormitory with his bodyguards.
Frank looked around and then went towards the dormitory Draco went into.
'Although I made some trouble, that is a problem of the future Eric.' Eric stopped thinking about the trouble and went into his room where his suitcase appeared the moment he opened the door and entered the room.
Eric unpacked the things i his suitcase and started reading a book about the mystery of the abyss...