The heavy oak doors were pushed open by the half-giant, revealing a prim-looking witch in emerald-green robes with her lips pressed tightly together, looking very stern.
"First-years, Professor McGonagall," said the half-giant.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," said Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall led the first-years into a small chamber where they crowded together, bumping shoulders. Shuxin heard a low buzzing sound coming from the right; that must have been the Great Hall.
Shuxin was reminded of when she used to be a bridesmaid—it was just like this, feeling nervous the moment you heard the sounds from beyond the door.
And on the other side of that door was Dumbledore himself.
"Shuxin, Professor McGonagall is gone, and I've forgotten almost everything. What should I do? I'm so nervous, what if I get expelled?" Susan shook Shuxin's arm, looking even more anxious than when they had first met.
"Don't be afraid. At worst, some house will take us. As long as we aren't expelled, I don't think any house is shameful," Shuxin comforted her.
From Shuxin's perspective, Hufflepuff wasn't bad at all. Slytherin had blood purity requirements, and Gryffindor had Potter, so it would definitely attract too much attention. Ravenclaw demanded high intelligence—it was full of overachievers, and even if she wanted to go there, they might not necessarily want her.
So, Hufflepuff was quite nice.
"Ah!" A scream startled Shuxin out of her reverie.
A commotion broke out in the room. Pearly-white, translucent ghosts drifted right through them, chattering as they passed through the opposite wall and vanished.
"What on earth were those things just now?" Susan stammered, thoroughly frightened.
Before Shuxin could offer any comfort, Professor McGonagall returned. "First-years, form a single file and follow me."
The Great Hall was every bit as magnificent as Shuxin had imagined. Inside sat four long tables filled with other students, every table laden with golden plates and goblets. Above them was the staff table, where Dumbledore and Professor Snape both sat.
From the moment she stepped into the Great Hall, Shuxin glanced around once and then kept her head down until Susan tugged on her hand.
"My name is called, I'm going up."
Shuxin watched as Susan walked to the front, placed a dirty, patched wizard's hat upon her head, and sat down on the stool in front of Professor McGonagall.
Scarcely two seconds later, the hat shouted, "Hufflepuff!"
Susan flashed a smile at Shuxin and trotted over to the Hufflepuff table.
Next, Shuxin heard Terry's name. Just as Ollivander had predicted, Terry was sorted into Ravenclaw and would undoubtedly grow into an outstanding scholar.
"Luna Field," called Professor McGonagall.
Hearing her name called, Shuxin took a deep breath, emptied her mind, and silently told herself not to be afraid—what was meant to come would come sooner or later.
Perhaps this was the very reason she had come here? To let Dumbledore know the direction of future events and nip danger in the bud before it could grow.
Having reassured herself, Shuxin placed the Sorting Hat on her head.
"Hmm?"
Hearing the hat utter a sound, Shuxin tightened up inside, her mind flooding with thoughts of prosperity, democracy, civility, and harmony.
"I can't see your thoughts at all. You are a natural Occlumency master."
"Occlumency? So you actually sort people through their minds?" Shuxin thought back to Professor Snape's elongated scowl, testing the waters with it in her head.
"Yes, clever girl. How about Ravenclaw? That is the wisest place in Hogwarts."
Shuxin quietly thought some bad things about Dumbledore, and when the hat still raised no objections, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"I'd like to go to Hufflepuff, sir. My friend just went there."
"Hufflepuff, eh? That's a fine place, too." With that, the Sorting Hat shouted out the name of Hufflepuff.
Shuxin smiled and hurried over to Susan, sitting down right beside her. Both young girls were beaming.
Ignoring the rest of the sorting ceremony, Shuxin looked up toward the staff table—or rather, toward Dumbledore.
Dumbledore turned his profile toward her and nodded in acknowledgment, startling Shuxin so much that she hurriedly turned back to Susan.
Only after turning away did she realize why she had been scared; she was a natural Occlumency master, she had nothing to fear.
"Look at that girl just now, she actually got into Gryffindor. I always thought she'd go to Ravenclaw," Susan whispered.
Following Susan's gaze, Shuxin saw Hermione skipping over to the Gryffindor table.
Shuxin then looked at the remaining large group of first-years, noticing that the vast majority of them had brown hair, varying only in shade.
Before long, the sorting of the new students finally concluded. Shuxin was so hungry her stomach was practically touching her backbone, but the headmaster had yet to give his speech.
Fortunately, Dumbledore was a reasonable man and kept it brief, saying simply, "Dig in, children."
A multitude of dishes appeared on the tables. Shuxin took a small piece of everything in front of her, intending to sample the flavors first.
The roast potatoes were pretty good; the boiled carrots were acceptable; she didn't care much for the roast beef; the pudding was delicious; the pork cutlet was quite nice; the jelly was also delicious; as for the cake, she'd pass—eating heavy sweets late at night wasn't good for you.
Once everyone was well-fed and watered, Dumbledore said a few more words, they all joined in singing the school song, and it was time to head to the dormitories.
The disastrous performance of the school song reminded Shuxin of her old school days back when they raised the national flag every Monday—now *that* had been a solemn and dignified affair.
Led by the prefects, the first-years stepped onto the marble staircase and began walking downward.
"Are the dormitories even further down?" someone asked.
"Yes, both Hufflepuff and Slytherin are in the basements. When you come out of the Great Hall, you can see two staircases leading down. Slytherin is the one on the left, and we are the one on the right," the prefect explained.
The group followed the prefects until they stood before a wall covered in large wooden barrels.
The two prefects introduced themselves by the wall. The female prefect was named Selena Bailey, a sixth-year, and the male prefect was Andrew Blair, a seventh-year.
"You can come to us if you ever run into any trouble. Now, I'll show you how to enter the common room," Blair said.
"Tap the bottom of this barrel," Blair instructed, taking out his wand and pointing at the second barrel from the left in the second row.
"Helga Hufflepuff." A hole opened up in the bottom of the barrel.
"Remember the rhythm. If you tap the wrong barrel or get the rhythm wrong—" Blair paused.
"It doesn't matter if you tap it wrong; Hufflepuff considers it a gift to everyone," Bailey chimed in.
Blair gave Bailey a surprised look, said nothing further, and led the way by climbing into the common room. "Follow me in."
"Careful not to eat too much, or you won't fit through the hole if you get fat," Shuxin whispered to Susan behind her.
It was soon Shuxin's turn. Going in meant heading down; coming out meant heading up. It wasn't as difficult as she had imagined—it was quite easy, like riding a skateboard. Very magical.
*What if someone tries to go in and out at the same time through a hole this small? You can't pass each other, who backs up?* Shuxin wondered.
The common room was decorated in warm tones with numerous small plants that gave it a homely warmth, and a large portrait of Hufflepuff hung on the wall.
Aside from the first-years, there was no one else in the common room. Bailey spoke to them briefly, introducing several prominent figures who had graduated from Hufflepuff as a form of encouragement to study hard and make progress every day.
The only name Shuxin managed to recognize was Newt Scamander, the author of *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*.
"I've told you all this to let you know not to be troubled by outside gossip. Hufflepuff is just as exceptional; we simply aren't given to loud words or self-defense," Bailey said.
"Lastly, here is something everyone will be happy to hear. Remember the painting filled with fruit we passed on the way here? Tickle the pear in it, and a doorknob will appear."
"Is that a kitchen inside?" asked a boy in surprise. "There's a painting full of fruit on the door of my father's little pantry."
"Yes, though it won't earn you any house points," Bailey continued. "If any of you miss dinner, you can go to the kitchen and ask the house-elves to prepare food for you."
"Can we only ask them for dinner?" It was the same boy again.
Shuxin couldn't help turning to get a look at him. Round-faced and a bit chubby, with an honest disposition, he seemed easy to get along with.
"Sorry, I just get hungry easily." Seeing everyone looking at him, the boy scratched his head sheepishly, blushing.
"Hahaha!" Many people in the common room burst out into laughter, which broke the ice between the strangers.
"Shuxin, look, he's so cute," Susan whispered.
"Mmm, he's just a little kid who hasn't grown up yet," Shuxin whispered back.
"Last of all, I wish you all a wonderful time here at Hogwarts. Your luggage has already been sent up to your rooms. Boys follow Andrew, and girls with me."
There were two staircases in the common room, one on the left and one on the right. The girls' side was on the right, guarded by a warning sign: *Boys forbidden to enter.*
"Shuxin, we're in the same room! How wonderful," Susan said, quickly finding their room.
"It's a four-person room, let's go in."
Pushing open the door, they found the room decorated in the same yellow-and-black color scheme as the common room. The heavy tones gave it a very grounded, comforting feel.
Shuxin found her bed on the left-hand side just as you entered, and Susan's bed was right beside it.
Warm yellow domed bed curtains were paired with black bedposts, and the duvet covers were patterned with large, bold flowers—so tacky it circled back to being stylish. Shuxin liked it quite a lot.
Their other two roommates had already arrived and were busy unpacking their belongings.
Once everything was tidied up, it was time for the young girls' late-night chat session.
The girl occupying the bed diagonal to Shuxin spoke first. "My name is Hannah Abbott, you can all call me Hannah. The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley is my family's place."
Ah, a young pure-blood witch from a fairly influential family.
"My name is Ada Doge, you can call me Ada. My family doesn't own any businesses in Diagon Alley." Ada was a slightly shy girl.
Hearing this, the other three burst out laughing.
"My name is Susan Bones, you can call me Susan. My family doesn't own any businesses in Diagon Alley either, hahaha!"
"My name is Luna Field, you can call me Shuxin. Shuxin is my Hua Guo name."
"Aren't you English?" Susan asked.
"Yes," Shuxin explained. "My father is from Hua Guo, and my mother is English. I only came to England half a year ago because I turned eleven this year, and before term started, I lived at Aunt Mary's place."
"I'll be counting on you all to look after me from now on," Shuxin joked. "When we get the chance, I'll treat you to Hua Guo cuisine."
All three of them patted their chests to promise they would.
Having gotten acquainted with her new friends, Shuxin began writing a letter to Mary.
*Dear Mary,*
*I hope this letter finds you well.*
*I'm already settled into the dormitory, and all three of my roommates are very easy to get along with. The whole room is done in warm tones and feels just like home. We were sorted into Hufflepuff House, and our dorm is right next to the Great Hall. The food in the hall is decent, but it still isn't as good as what you cook, Mary. I'm having a bit of trouble getting used to pumpkin juice; I miss my soy milk.*
*We don't have too many classes, which will give me time to explore this place. Don't worry about me, I'll take good care of myself. Good night.*
*Oh, and there's no need to send Ah Hui back. I only have one class tomorrow, so I'll go find the school owlery myself.*
*With love,*
*Shuxin*
Realizing just as she finished writing that she couldn't let Ah Hui fly around down in the basement, Shuxin quickly added a postscript.
*Dear Mary, I didn't mean to forget—our dorm is on the basement level and has no windows, so Ah Hui won't be able to fly out at night.*
Tucking the note into Ah Hui's feathers, Shuxin settled down to rest.
Having finally put down the worries of the past half-month, Shuxin fell fast asleep with a tranquil mind.