Hogwarts Lion Girl

Professor McGonagall tapped the podium and the hall suddenly fell silent.

The freshmen lined up in a row, looking at everything around them with curiosity and nervousness.

Professor McGonagall conjured up a three-legged stool and gently placed it in front of the line of freshmen.

Then, a worn, patched, pointed wizard's hat appeared in her hands.

The hat was so strange that it even moved, as if winking at the freshmen.

"This is the Sorting Hat," Professor McGonagall explained. "It will place you into the most suitable house based on your characteristics."

The Sorting Hat suddenly began to sing. Its voice was hoarse and low, but it was clearly heard in every corner of the hall.

It praises the great achievements of the four founders of Hogwarts, describes the bravery of Gryffindor, the shrewdness of Slytherin, the wisdom of Ravenclaw and the loyalty of Hufflepuff, and emphasizes that it will place each new student in the house that best suits them.

When the song ended, thunderous applause broke out in the auditorium.

The freshmen put on the sorting hats in order, some were nervous, some were excited.

The Sorting Hat called out the name of the House, and the long tables of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff erupted in cheers in turn, welcoming their newest members.

When the last freshman was assigned to a house by the Sorting Hat, Headmaster Dumbledore smiled kindly and announced in a loud voice: "The banquet begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a rich variety of food suddenly appeared on the originally empty table: roast chicken, roast duck, steak, sausages, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie...all kinds of delicious dishes were so delicious that people were salivating.

"Fortunately, the party was not cancelled," Fred said vaguely while stuffing a chicken drumstick into his mouth. "Peeves ran into the kitchen and made a scene today. He threw pots and pans all over the floor and knocked over the soup pot. The kitchen was full of water and the house-elves were scared to death by him."

"House elves?" Hermione suddenly put down her knife and fork, her face pale and asked, "You mean, there are house elves in Hogwarts?"

"Of course," George looked at Hermione in confusion, "They are responsible for taking care of our daily life and keeping this place in order."

"But, but..." Hermione seemed to want to say something, but she didn't know how to express it. Her face flushed with excitement. "Do they get paid? Do they have holidays? What if they get sick? What if they get injured? Do they have pensions?"

"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Ron looked at Hermione in confusion, "House elves don't need those things."

"No?" Hermione stood up suddenly, her tone excited, "Isn't this slave labor? They have no freedom, no pay, and have to endure our orders. This is so unfair!"

She pushed the plate in front of her away so hard that some of the food spilled out and stained the tablecloth.

Hermione didn't care. She glared at Ron angrily, tears in her eyes.

Hermione's words exploded like a bomb at the Gryffindor table.

Ron stared at Hermione in amazement, the chicken drumstick in his hand slipping onto the plate, splashing a drop of oil onto his robes, but he was completely unaware.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry put down his knife and fork and looked at her worriedly. "I know you are kind, but the matter of house elves..."

"Kind?" Hermione raised her voice and interrupted Harry. "Don't you think this is exploitation? House-elves have served Hogwarts for centuries, but they have not been respected and treated as they should be. They don't even have the right to choose!"

Hermione became more and more excited as she spoke, and the exquisite food seemed to have become a symbol of sin in her eyes.

Ron and Harry looked at each other; they had never thought about this question.

In their view, house-elves always seemed to be happy to serve wizards. They were hardworking, loyal, and even a little timid.

"But... the house-elves seem to enjoy serving us." Ron whispered, but was frightened by Hermione's sharp eyes and immediately shut his mouth.

"That's because they have no choice!" Hermione choked up, "They have been indoctrinated with the idea of ​​serving wizards since childhood. They have no chance to contact the outside world, let alone pursue their own dreams!"

Ron and Harry were silent. For the first time, they realized that the problem of house-elves was far more complicated than they had imagined.

At this moment, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and the hall suddenly became quiet.

"Children, please allow me to take up a moment of your time." Dumbledore's voice was gentle and loud. "This year, we will usher in a special school year. In order to ensure everyone's safety, some prohibited items will be added to the castle..."

Dumbledore began his routine announcement of things to note for the new semester, from prohibited items to restrictions in the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade village, to the news that Quidditch matches were cancelled this year, and finally announced that there would be a large event throughout the school year.

However, these news did not attract Hermione's attention. Her thoughts were still on the issue of house-elves.

Suddenly, the door of the auditorium was slammed open, and a tall and thin figure appeared at the door.

He had messy hair and beard, and only one eye on his sallow face could move normally. The other eye was hidden under a thick black eye mask and was spinning wildly.

"Who is he?" Ron asked in a low voice, his tone full of fear.

"It's Mad-Eye Moody." Harry's voice trembled slightly. "I heard about him from Sirius. He is our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this semester."

Ron scratched his head in confusion. "Is that the powerful Auror? I remember he was a friend of mom and dad...but didn't he say he was in trouble?"

Ginny whispered, "It should have been resolved."

Fred and George looked at each other and said in unison, "He's so cool!"

Fred nudged George with his elbow and asked, "Can you tell how he got that eye?"

George stroked his chin and shook his head, "We need to at least take a closer look, but it must be something very complicated."

Professor Moody strode into the auditorium, his one eye scanning everyone, as if he could see through their souls. His terrifying appearance and powerful aura made the atmosphere in the entire auditorium become oppressive.

Hermione also temporarily forgot about the issue of house-elves. She looked at the new professor anxiously, her heart full of doubts and fear.

Professor Moody limped to the staff box and sat down in the empty seat next to Dumbledore. The chair creaked as if it could not bear the weight of his huge body.

He looked around and the auditorium immediately fell silent, with everyone staring at the new professor nervously.