When the murmur of the young wizards' discussions finally subsided, Dumbledore made his next announcement.
"And now, before we all head off to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore declared loudly, his eyes twinkling. The smiles on the faces of the other teachers seemed to stiffen ever so slightly, a collective, almost imperceptible bracing for what was to come.
With a flick of his wand, a long, golden ribbon unfurled from its tip, soaring high above the staff table. It twisted and coiled through the air like a silken serpent, forming lines of shimmering text. Felix could make out the lyrics to the Hogwarts school song.
"Everyone pick their favourite tune!" Dumbledore instructed, his voice full of cheer. "And… go!"
And so, the entire student body and staff burst into song.
The resulting sound was, to put it mildly, cacophonous. It was a bewildering, enthusiastic, and entirely uncoordinated assault on the eardrums. Himari, who had been peacefully napping in Felix's backpack, was jolted awake by the discordant chorus, letting out a series of distressed "meows" and pressing her paws over her ears.
The song staggered to a ragged, uneven finish. Only the Weasley twins, Fred and George, continued to sing, their voices carrying the slow, mournful tune of a funeral march. Dumbledore, with great solemnity, conducted the last few bars for them with his wand. When they finally concluded, his applause was the loudest and most enthusiastic in the hall.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping a tear from his eye with a flourish. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The first-years, a mixture of excitement and exhaustion, began to follow their respective house prefects out of the Great Hall, their footsteps echoing in the vast space as they navigated the labyrinthine corridors.
Felix recognized the Ravenclaw female prefect. Her name was Penelope Clearwater. She had long, flowing brown curls, and her beautiful features conveyed an air of elegance and intellect. To Felix, her mature charm far surpassed that of Hermione and Cho, who were still, in his eyes, very much little girls.
Felix found himself quite interested in Penelope, a character who had been a minor figure in the original books but frequently featured more prominently in fanfiction. He made a mental note to observe her more closely.
She, along with a male prefect, led the new "eaglets" up to a tower on the west side of the castle – Ravenclaw Tower. They stopped at the very top, before a plain, unadorned expanse of ancient, smooth wood, set with an eagle-shaped bronze door knocker.
"Unlike the other houses," Penelope explained, her voice clear and melodious, "Ravenclaw's common room doesn't have a password. To enter, you must answer a riddle posed by the knocker and have your answer accepted." She tapped the knocker once. The eagle's beak immediately opened, but instead of a bird's cry, a gentle, musical voice spoke a single sentence:
"What will you break, even if you name it?"
"Well then, would anyone like to try?" Penelope asked, her gaze sweeping expectantly over the new students. Her eyes lingered on Felix for a moment longer than the others. His striking appearance alone set him apart from all the other first-years, including the girls. So, even though Penelope valued intellect above all, she couldn't help but have a highly favorable initial impression of him.
Meeting the female prefect's expectant gaze, Felix stepped forward without hesitation.
"Silence," he answered, his voice calm and confident.
"Well spoken," the eagle knocker intoned with approval, and the door swung silently open.
Isn't that just a simple brain teaser? Felix thought, a little underwhelmed. The riddle for this door is far too easy to crack.
In truth, however, due to a lack of corresponding foundational education, most young witches and wizards lacked strong logical reasoning skills. Thus, for the clever Ravenclaws, riddles often proved more secure than simple passwords.
Penelope nodded at Felix with clear appreciation, her favorable impression of him increasing significantly—it was evident he possessed not only captivating looks but also a sharp intellect. She then addressed the assembled first-years: "Congratulations! I am Prefect Penelope Clearwater, and I am delighted to welcome you to Ravenclaw House. Our emblem is the eagle, which soars where others cannot climb; our colours are blue and bronze..."
What followed was a lengthy and eloquent introduction to Ravenclaw, covering its glorious achievements, its defining characteristics, and a rather pointed (though still polite) assessment of the other houses. Finally, she mentioned Ravenclaw's ghost, the Grey Lady—Rowena Ravenclaw's own daughter—who, she explained, would sometimes offer guidance to Ravenclaw students.
The Ravenclaw common room was a vast, circular chamber with graceful arched windows that offered breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. The walls were hung with blue and bronze silk tapestries. The ceiling was a domed vault, painted with a celestial map of twinkling stars, a pattern mirrored on the deep blue carpet below. The room was furnished with comfortable tables, chairs, and well-stocked bookshelves. In an alcove opposite the door stood a tall, white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. A door beside the statue led up to the dormitories.
The two prefects then led the boys and girls to their respective sleeping quarters.
The dormitories were designed for four students, each containing four-poster beds hung with deep blue flannel curtains.
Felix opened his trunk and quickly arranged his belongings, then gently placed Himari on his bedside table.
Himari, full of nocturnal energy, seemed thrilled by the new surroundings and began to roll excitedly on the velvet bedspread, her tail twitching.
His three roommates were Anthony Goldstein, a fair-haired boy; Terry Boot, who had brown hair; and Michael Corner, with dark hair. All were supporting characters with names and roles in the original books.
They, along with Felix, and Kevin Entwhistle and Stephen Cornfoot from another dormitory, made up the entirety of the six male first-year Ravenclaws for that year. They couldn't even fill two full dormitories.
In fact, Ravenclaw had always tended to have more female students. In terms of male numbers, this year's intake was actually considered well above average compared to previous years.
After a brief exchange of greetings with his new roommates, everyone changed into their pyjamas and collapsed into bed. The journey to the school had indeed been exhausting.