Gemma Farley raised her chin proudly at this point. "I think your answers are obvious. Remember, Slytherin is the best house, and we have only one goal—victory. Because we care only about the reputation and glory of Slytherin!"
The young wizards were all stirred with excitement.
"Alright, you should go to sleep now. Your luggage has been taken to your dormitories. Follow the stairs up; the boys' dormitory is on the left, and the girls' dormitory is on the right." Gemma Farley pointed to the stairs behind her, then turned back. "Tomorrow, you will face your very first class at Hogwarts! I hope none of you are late and cause our house to lose points!"
"Understood, Senior Farley. Everything for the glory of Slytherin!"
Allie chanted the slogan along with the others in the crowd.
After nodding to Theodore and Draco, Allie followed the other girls toward the right-hand staircase. They walked up the stairs to the second floor, entering the girls' dormitory area. The interior of the dormitory was simple and comfortable, with green and silver bedding on each bed. Like the common room, there was a smaller floor-to-ceiling window offering a view of creatures swimming past the bottom of the lake at any time.
It was a spacious two-person room. The luggage had been placed near the corresponding beds, and Galleon was already asleep inside his box.
The girl sharing the room with her was Pansy Parkinson, whose name Professor McGonagall had called earlier. She was currently sitting on her bed, stroking her pet cat.
Allie found her own bed, unpacked her luggage, and then climbed up to rest.
"I can't believe you chose a toad for a pet. It looks absolutely disgusting." Pansy looked at Allie's toad with disdain.
Allie put some food for Galleon into the box. "In my eyes, Galleon is just as cute as your cat... Sleep well, Parkinson."
Lying in bed, Allie's excitement still had not faded. She was full of anticipation for tomorrow's classes while secretly resolving to study hard and bring honor to her house.
Pansy wanted to say more, but seeing that Allie had already lain down, she decided to go to sleep as well, secretly vowing in her heart that she would definitely wake up earlier than Allie Evans tomorrow.
Gradually, fatigue overtook her, and she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
When Allie woke up, she checked the time and saw it was still early. She woke up a half-asleep Pansy.
"Parkinson, get up. Today is the first day, don't be late." With that, Allie went to wash up.
Pansy got up with a feeling of annoyed embarrassment, but by the time she finished dressing slowly, Allie was already gone.
Meanwhile, Allie was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast. She had intentionally gone to the hall closer to Gryffindor, hoping to run into her brother here.
They had only reunited yesterday and hadn't even had a proper talk yet! She wondered when Dumbledore would explain the reason they had been separated.
"Hey! Allie, you're up so early." Hermione said as she gently patted Allie's shoulder. The gesture startled Allie, who was lost in her thoughts. She turned her head and saw Hermione standing behind her with a smile on her face.
Allie looked behind Hermione, but she didn't see Harry or Ron. "Good morning, Hermione! Have you seen my brother or Ron?"
"Haven't seen them. I got up early today to preview the Transfiguration lesson." Hermione spread out her notes. "Want to go to class together? I can share my notes with you."
"Sure!" Most people had already come to the Great Hall for breakfast, so she probably wouldn't be able to wait for her brother anymore...
Allie and Hermione walked toward the classroom together, discussing what Transfiguration might cover along the way. When they reached the classroom, they found that the other students had already taken their seats one by one, and Professor McGonagall was writing something at the podium.
"Looks like we got here just in time," Hermione whispered to Allie.
Draco, Pansy, and Theodore were already in their seats.
Pansy, sitting next to Draco, rolled her eyes at Allie as if asking how she could possibly hang out with someone from Gryffindor.
Professor McGonagall noticed them, nodded, and signaled for them to find a seat. Allie and Hermione chose a row near the middle and sat down.
The seating wasn't assigned; it just so happened that today's Transfiguration class was shared by Gryffindor and Slytherin, those two "arch-rivals."
This made the boundary between the two sides very distinct.
Before the class officially began, the young wizards huddled together and whispered with their desk neighbors.
Allie looked behind her, but still saw no sign of her brother or Ron.
"They probably overslept..." Hermione whispered, then lowered her head to prepare her notes for the upcoming class.
*Clang, ring—*
The magical clock rang the class bell on its own, and Professor McGonagall transformed on the spot into a tabby cat sitting on the podium.
*Bang—*
The classroom door was thrown open, and Harry and Ron walked in. Ron muttered rather cheerfully that they had made it to the classroom just before the teacher arrived.
They completely ignored Hermione and Allie frantically blinking at them until Professor McGonagall changed back into human form and threatened to turn them into a pocket watch or a map.
The Slytherins burst into unmasked laughter at that.
"I trust you two gentlemen don't need a map to find your own seats. Now, let's begin the lesson..."
The first Transfiguration lesson did not involve learning spells.
Professor McGonagall began by explaining the history, purpose, and basic techniques of Transfiguration. She also mentioned Animagi—a magical ability to transform into an animal form at will.
"An Animagus is a very rare and powerful skill, but it also requires strict training and control. Of course, becoming an Animagus is no easy task; it takes a vast amount of time and effort to master. However, once successful, you will possess a unique and interesting ability that can be useful in all sorts of situations."
Professor McGonagall told stories of several famous Animagi, making the students forget the minor episode at the beginning and listen with rapt attention.
As soon as class ended, after Professor McGonagall left...
Allie eagerly turned to Harry and Ron. "So you couldn't even find the Great Hall, and didn't even have time for breakfast?"
Harry looked somewhat sheepish; on the very first day, he had failed to set a good example for his younger sister, and had even provided a negative one.
Ron was much more nonchalant. "Do you know how many corridors there are? They all look the same to me. Maybe I really do need a map."
Allie and Hermione exchanged a helpless glance.
"Hermione, can you take them to the Potions classroom first? I'll go to a nearby hall and get them something to eat," Allie asked.
There were quite a few classes today; besides Potions, there was also History of Magic.
As wizards knew, classes lasted a long time, and there was no guarantee the boys could hold out without food until then.
Hermione agreed that if the boys were left to wander on their own, the professor for the next Potions class would definitely dock points from Gryffindor.