So I talked with Hermione about all sorts of little things. It turned out that she has a phenomenal memory for text and pictures, and, I think, this is where her problem lies. When I asked for the sake of interest a couple of transfiguration theories from the book, she immediately quoted them to me, and even more – she recited a couple of paragraphs by heart. But when I asked to summarize the thoughts from the text and draw conclusions in a nutshell, it caused severe difficulties for Hermione. She even almost flared up, saying, “Why is it incomprehensible!”

People with absolute memory may well have these problems, and they go away with age and experience. Since they do not have to strain their brains to extract information, to simplify it for better memorization and assimilation, they are poorly able to work with the memorized material. Immediately I remembered, and completely, I used it, threw it aside. The same problem is with those who regularly use a computer in their work, they look for any information on the Internet, use it on the spot, and that’s it. You don’t need to learn, remember, simplify, analyze. And the brain works along the path of least resistance – there is no need to do it, so I will not waste energy on it. ​​

We were almost the only ones who stood at the carriage exit even before the train began to stop. Therefore, they avoided the crush, although the students began to crowd into the corridors rather quickly. The train stopped, the doors opened, and we all gathered in a united crowd onto the dimly lit platform of Hogsmeade. The older students went to their side, shouting a couple of times to the first years to wait for their escort. We waited.

The Hogsmeade platform itself was small. A platform, a couple of old English stone houses, a few lamp posts. The village itself began a little further. Its lights were clearly visible in the thickening darkness of an autumn evening.

“First years! All to me!” The low bass rang out, and we all had the dubious honor of seeing Hagrid. Still the same shaggy-bearded and all in the same brown shabby cloak, I saw him back on Diagon Alley.

“Oh. Hi Harry! How are you?”

Contrary to my thoughts, no one paid attention to Harry. If he had said, “Hi Potter,” then yes, they would have.

“Who is this?” Hermione asked, looking dumbfounded at the half-giant.

“This is Hagrid. Works as a groundskeeper at Hogwarts.”

“How do you know?” the girl turned sharply to me.

“Watching, listening, thinking.”

Hagrid took us down a dark path somewhere down and, after a while, brought us to the pier by the lake. We sat four people in the boat and set off on a short voyage to Hogwarts. By the way, we saw the castle on the shore, but it did not make a special impression on me for some reason. Big, beautiful, the moon that came out in time from behind the clouds added beauty to this view … Heh, I am a child of urbanization and megalopolises. Here is a picture from the Fifth Element when you look down in a flying car. There are many thousands of such machines scurrying along multi-level air corridors. The foundations of super skyscrapers are lost somewhere below, yes. It’s powerful. And this is just the castle.

After the ride across the lake, disembarkation naturally followed, but already on a stone pier almost at the base of an almost sheer cliff, on the top of which Hogwarts stands. Hagrid led us up the stairs until we were in the courtyard of the castle, right in front of the door at which the half-giant knocked loudly. McGonagall opened the door, and the half-giant turned us over to her.

We walked along the dark corridors of the castle. Our footsteps on the stone-laid floor echoed with a booming noise along the spacious and high corridors, the light of torches that sometimes could not disperse the darkness under the ceiling.

The professor took us to a small room, in which, after our arrival, there was not much room left. McGonagall read out a pre-prepared speech that we have to go through the distribution ceremony. We will get into one of the four houses, live together, become a family, peace, friendship, gum, points. She left, leaving us alone with our worries, but promised to return.

Immediately there was a noise from many voices. Many decided to immediately discuss their thoughts with the first person who came to hand and share their impressions. But soon, even more impressions were added because suddenly ghosts floated out of the walls. I was ready for this. Indeed, this was the only thing that didn’t allow me to throw something of blood out of surprise at them. Although it would not have helped. But I felt a response from the sword. He definitely has his own mind, even if he basically wanted to spit on what was happening.

McGonagall returned and, having dispersed the ghosts, led us back. Passing large double doors in what is perhaps the largest corridor, she stopped opposite them and pushed weightlessly with one hand, easily opening them. The hubbub of many voices fell on us, which almost immediately died down as soon as the professor took us into the hall.

The Great Hall of Hogwarts was truly impressive. Well, not the hall itself, but an enchanted ceiling and many flying candles above the tables. At the four tables that stood along the hall, students of different ages were sitting, and at the last, fifth, which stood across at the very end, were the teachers, led by Dumbledore himself.

“This ceiling is so enchanted by the Founders themselves. I read about it in the History of Hogwarts.”

Hermione is so Hermione.

The professor took us to the teacher’s table, brought a stool with an old shabby brown hat, and stepped aside. The hat began to move, its folds folded into a semblance of a face, and she began to sing. My ears almost blew from it. Singing off-key…

After a colossal hat fiasco in the vocal area, McGonagall began calling in the incoming children on the list. It was necessary to go out, sit on a stool and endure a couple of moments finding a dusty artifact on my head. The students came out one by one, so here Hermione came out. She was clearly talking about something with the hat, long and hard…