The rain had stopped at some point. The clouds parted, and the last rays of the setting sun slanted in from the west, dyeing the train compartment a warm orange.
The contours of the Scottish Highlands were faintly visible, the dark green mountains undulating in the twilight.
A gentle female voice announced over the train's broadcast system that the train was arriving at the station and asked students to gather their luggage and prepare to disembark.
Regulus closed his notebook and tucked it back into his robes.
The train sped along the tracks, the wheels rhythmically striking the rails with a "clack-clack... clack-clack" sound.
The train arrived at 7:00 PM sharp.
The night sky was densely packed with stars. There was no moon, but the starlight was bright enough to illuminate the surging crowd on the platform and the rising white steam.
Cold, damp air rushed into the carriage, carrying the scent peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, a mix of earth, pine needles, and magic.
"Firs' years! This way!"
A booming voice rang out across the platform. Regulus disembarked with the flow of people.
The platform was crowded. Older students flocked toward the waiting carriages, while the new students gathered around a tall figure holding a lantern.
It was Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds. He looked like a small moving mountain, the orange halo of light illuminating his bushy beard and friendly smile.
"C'mon, now! Follow me! Watch yer step!"
Regulus followed the line of first-years down a steep, narrow path.
The path wound through dense woods. The stones underfoot were slippery, and the surroundings were so dark that one could only see the outline of the robes in front and the occasional flash of the lantern's halo.
They turned a corner.
The woods suddenly parted, and the view opened up.
A vast, pitch-black lake lay before them. The surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the starry sky above.
And on the cliff on the opposite shore stood Hogwarts Castle.
Towers and turrets pierced the night sky like a stone forest. Warm yellow light spilled from the windows, like scattered stars captured within the stone.
The castle glowed faintly under the starlight, ancient, solemn, mysterious, like an old legend waiting to be entered.
The first-years let out a collective gasp. Some whispered in awe; others excitedly grabbed their companions' arms.
Regulus stood by the lake, looking up at the castle.
He had read countless descriptions in books and imagined it countless times in dreams, but the real Hogwarts was grander, more magnificent, and more mysterious than all descriptions and imaginations combined.
It was a dream.
And it was also where the dream began.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid's voice pulled everyone back to reality. He pointed to a row of small boats moored by the lake. They were small, wooden, and had no oars, but would travel automatically.
The new students began to board in groups. Regulus got into a boat with three unfamiliar boys: a red-haired boy with a face full of freckles, probably a Weasley?
The other two were a black-haired boy with a nervous expression and a blonde boy who kept adjusting his collar.
The small boats glided silently toward the center of the lake.
The lake water was pitch-black and bottomless. Things swam beneath the surface, passing as huge, slow shadows. Occasionally, a dorsal fin broke the surface, glinting coldly in the starlight.
"That's the Giant Squid," the red-haired boy whispered, his voice a mix of fear and excitement. "My brother says it doesn't hurt people; it even saves students who fall in."
The boat suddenly rocked, and everyone grabbed the gunwales.
Regulus sat steadily. He looked down at the water, watching the swimming shadows and the starry sky reflected on the surface.
He looked up again at the approaching castle.
Through the brightly lit windows, he could imagine the scene inside.
Four House tables laden with food, older students conversing, professors discussing quietly at the High Table.
And on a wooden stool at the end of the hall, the battered Sorting Hat waited, ready to sing the Hogwarts school song in its raspy voice and tune.
The boats docked.
They climbed a flight of stone steps and arrived before a massive oak door. Hagrid raised his gigantic fist and knocked three times.
The door opened.
Professor McGonagall stood inside. She wore emerald-green robes, her hair pulled back into a strict bun, her expression as serious as if she were about to attend a trial.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," her voice was clear and calm, carrying far in the echoes of the entrance hall. "Before you enter the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony, I have a few points to explain..."
Regulus stood among the first-years, listening to Professor McGonagall explain the House system, the House Cup, and the rules of conduct. His gaze passed through the gap in the open doors, looking inside.
In the Great Hall, thousands of candles floated in mid-air. Four long tables were filled with students, silver utensils reflecting the candlelight, the colors of the robes merging into rivers.
Scarlet and gold, yellow and black, blue and bronze, green and silver.
At the High Table, he saw familiar faces. Dumbledore sat in the center, his blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles gently surveying the noisy young wizards.
Slughorn, with his large belly, was all smiles.
The tiny Flitwick sat on a high chair, chatting with the kindly Sprout beside him.
His gaze swept over the Slytherin table.
Almost everyone there sat with reserve, trying hard to maintain a noble dignity.
At the Gryffindor table, James Potter sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the door.
Sirius sat beside him, not looking at the door, talking to Remus.
Lily Evans sat not far away, excitedly talking to a black-haired girl next to her.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall said. "Follow me."
The new students nervously straightened their robes and formed a line. Regulus stood in the middle, behind a girl who was sniffing and in front of a boy who was trembling ceaselessly.
They walked into the Great Hall.
Hundreds of gazes fell upon them. Whispers rose and fell like a tide. Regulus could feel the scrutiny, curiosity, expectation, and disdain in those gazes.
He walked calmly, looking straight ahead.
Reaching the end of the hall, Professor McGonagall stopped beside a four-legged stool. On the stool sat a tattered, patched, pointed wizard's hat.
It suddenly moved. A rip near the brim opened like a mouth, and then it began to sing.
The song was ancient and raspy, telling the history and traits of the four Houses. Regulus listened, but his thoughts had already drifted away.
He was thinking about what had happened on the train. Thinking about James's shocked face, Remus's awed gaze, and Peter's terrified trembling.
Thinking about Sirius not speaking to him.
Thinking about the starry sky outside the window.
The song ended, and applause filled the hall. Professor McGonagall unrolled a long scroll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."
The first name was called. A girl walked forward trembling. The hat covered her head, and a few seconds later shouted: "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Applause erupted from the yellow and black table.
Name after name, House after House.
Regulus waited.
"Regulus Black!"
The whispering suddenly grew louder. Almost everyone knew the name. Even the Muggle-borns knew his brother had broken the Black family's five-hundred-year tradition last year by going to Gryffindor.
Everyone was watching to see where this Black would go.
Regulus walked forward calmly and sat on the stool.
Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head.
The hat was large; it covered his eyes and blocked out the light.
Then a small voice spoke directly in his mind:
"Hmm... another Black. Clever, very clever... far more mature than your peers... What are you thinking about? Not power, not glory... you are looking somewhere further... very far..."
Regulus kept his mind calm.
"Ravenclaw suits your intellect, and you do not lack courage, but you need to acquire that knowledge... So, better be-"
The hat took a deep breath and shouted aloud: "SLYTHERIN!"
The green and silver table erupted in enthusiastic applause. Rabastan Lestrange led the clapping; Avery and Mulciber also clapped, though their expressions were complex.
Boos came from the Gryffindor table, led by James, but Sirius remained silent.
Regulus stood up and walked to the Slytherin table. He sat down next to Rabastan.
"Welcome," Rabastan said.
"Thank you," Regulus replied.
The surrounding Slytherins shook hands with him one by one.
The sorting continued. Regulus saw other familiar names called and watched other new students walk to their respective Houses.
But he was no longer paying attention to them.
He looked up at the high ceiling of the Great Hall, which was enchanted to reflect the starry sky outside at that very moment.
The Milky Way spanned across it, stars densely packed, infinitely deep and distant.