The Hogwarts opening ceremony held no surprises for Kai Adler.
Professor McGonagall called out the names of the new first-years one by one. Each child would either nervously shuffle or stride confidently to the front of the hall, where a small, rickety stool awaited. McGonagall would place a tattered, ancient hat on their head—and under the watchful eyes of hundreds of students and faculty, it would begin to mutter, then shout:
"Gryffindor!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Azkaban!"
The last one didn't actually happen, of course. That was just the snide little joke Kai kept to himself. The image of the Sorting Hat bellowing out "Azkaban!" in front of the entire school nearly made him laugh aloud.
But what Kai hadn't expected was that throughout the entire ceremony, Professor McGonagall truly let him stay seated at the Gryffindor table—as if his sorting was already decided.
Hermione, sitting beside him, was visibly confused. The ever-formal, by-the-book Professor McGonagall being this relaxed? That was rare.
She leaned closer and whispered, "Is it because your guardian is the Headmaster?"
Kai propped his chin on one hand, watching the ceremony with half-lidded boredom. "Is that really the kind of man you imagine Dumbledore to be? Should I prepare an essay as punishment? 'My Headmaster Father'?"
"Who knows," she murmured, mimicking his posture and resting her chin on her hand. "All I know is, I've seen more of Professor Dumbledore in the past few days than I did the entire last year."
"Maybe the old man's been lonely his whole life," Kai mused, "and now, after finally gaining such an outstanding young protégé, he can't help but want to see me more often…"
"Have some shame!" Hermione slapped him lightly on the back.
"Anyway," she added, more seriously now, "Harry and Ron still haven't shown up. Do you think something happened to them?"
Kai raised an eyebrow and gave her a sideways glance. "You only just now remembered your two best friends?"
Her cheeks flushed red. She realized that being around Kai really did cause her to forget things—especially things like time and other people.
"They'll be fine," Kai said, twirling a lock of her hair idly between his fingers until she smacked his hand away. "They're probably already at the school, just… delayed. Late arrival, nothing more."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I just am."
His confidence, though utterly baseless from her perspective, was strangely reassuring.
Of course, it wasn't baseless at all. Kai had seen the Weasleys' flying car zip past the train while he was onboard and had even given it a subtle magical nudge in the right direction. Still, he did worry a little—Was that landing a bit too fast? Did they hit something?
When Ginny finally arrived and plopped down excitedly beside Hermione after high-fiving her brothers Fred and George, the Sorting Ceremony was nearing its end.
Kai couldn't help but smirk as he watched the Weasley twins remain unfazed by Ron's absence. It seemed like the boy was usually up to enough mischief that even vanishing didn't raise many alarms.
By the end of the ceremony, Kai was still sitting comfortably at the Gryffindor table.
Professor McGonagall hadn't so much as mentioned him. It was as if she'd forgotten he existed… or deliberately chosen to bypass the formalities.
The Gryffindors were puzzled. They exchanged looks across the table.
Who is he? Is he actually one of us?
Did someone really get sorted without the Sorting Hat? Is that even allowed?
There didn't seem to be any precedent for a student joining a house without the ceremony.
Then, just as the feast began, Headmaster Dumbledore rose to officially close the Sorting Ceremony and abruptly left the hall, with McGonagall close behind.
Kai elbowed Hermione lightly and nodded toward the retreating figures. "See? Bet they're going to deal with Harry's situation."
Hermione frowned. "How do you always know these things?"
"You said it yourself: the Headmaster cares a lot about Harry. Who else could make him walk out in the middle of the Opening Feast?"
"Really?"
Kai smirked. "Does it matter if it's true? Just eat."
Finally, the part of the feast he actually looked forward to began.
As dozens of silver dishes filled with roast chicken, pork chops, steak, tarts, puddings, and a baffling array of English sweets appeared on the table, Kai's expression brightened for the first time all evening.
All right. Maybe this place isn't so bad after all.
Having spent a past life trapped in the joyless grind of exam prep and rigid schooling, this kind of start to a school year—no tests, no lectures, no droning speeches, just food—was almost paradise.
Next to him, Hermione rolled her eyes.
"All you think about is food."
Still, she poured herself a cup of black tea and took a deep sip.
It wasn't as good as the tea Kai brewed himself… but it would do.
After the feast, the Gryffindor second-years were led by Percy Weasley through the castle's winding staircases and shifting hallways. Kai kept glancing at the moving portraits that lined the walls. The figures within eyed the new students curiously.
Top-hatted gentlemen bowed politely. Old peasant women in aprons smiled and waved. In one painting, a group of armored knights wrestled playfully with sword-wielding brigands from a neighboring frame.
Just then, Kai caught the sound of whispering women in another portrait nearby.
"Did you hear?" one asked excitedly, "Harry Potter's going to be expelled!"
"Really? The Harry Potter?"
"Yes! Flew a car to school in broad daylight! Muggles saw it—then he crashed it straight into the Whomping Willow!"
"I heard the Weasley boy broke a leg!"
"Tsk, Madam Pomfrey's Skele-Gro is foul stuff…"
Kai coughed softly. Okay… maybe I did push that car a little too hard.
Hermione and Ginny overheard the conversation too.
Hermione folded her arms. "Those two idiots. Why didn't they just ask Mrs. Weasley for help?"
Kai shrugged. "Well, at least now you know they're alive. Just a broken leg."
In the Wizarding world, a broken bone was hardly a crisis. Both girls visibly relaxed.
"They won't really be expelled, will they?" Ginny asked.
"Hard to say," Kai said calmly, "but it's out of our hands."
Hermione looked up at him. "Can't you talk to Dumbledore? I mean… he is your guardian."
Kai gave her a very long look.
Realizing how awkward her request sounded, Hermione gave a sheepish smile. "Right. That's not really fair to ask."
"Those two will just have to plead their own case," Kai said with a shrug.
When they finally reached the Gryffindor common room and passed through the portrait of the Fat Lady using the password, Kai was surprised to discover something else:
There were only ten second-year Gryffindor students.
With him, that made eleven.
What kind of enrollment rate is this? he thought. And this is supposed to be the best magical school in Britain?
No wonder wizards kept to the shadows. If this was the rate of magical births, the entire population would collapse in a few generations.
And still, he thought with some disdain, families like the Malfoys cling to their pure-blood superiority. At this rate, they'll go extinct through inbreeding.
Kai lay on the four-poster bed in the dormitory, staring up at the canopy as the others unpacked.
For the first time, he began to seriously consider what kind of world he'd truly stepped into—and what future, if any, the wizarding world had left.