1 Part 1

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After the bell rang to announce that school was over, Harry was one of the first to leave the school. Separated from the bulk of the children, Potter hurried towards the park adjacent to the school. The boy wanted to avoid at all costs a collision with his cousin's friends, who together with Dudley kept all the students of the junior school in fear. But it was Harry who paid special attention to these bullies. Their favourite pastime was called "The Hunt for Harry". If the boy managed to escape, he could be considered to have won, but it didn't always happen that way. More often than not, Potter would be caught up and beaten badly, plus his aunt and uncle would give the orphan a good beating. Petunia and Vernon liked to beat their nephew very much, as they hated all "abnormals"-that's what those shallow Muggles called all wizards.

Turning off the main path of the park, Harry sped up his run and was soon deep into the thicket. Stopping to catch his breath, the boy was surprised to find that the area was unfamiliar to him. Trying not to panic, Harry walked forward at his own risk, and after a few minutes he came to a clearing. It was raining heavily. He spotted an old stone cottage, apparently long abandoned, and decided to wait out the inclement weather there. Once inside and closing the door behind him, Harry walked down the long corridor and into the living room, looking around. Suddenly the boy's attention was drawn to a strange-looking, thick notebook with the title 'The Collection'.

It had a strange energy to it, which acted on the boy's subconscious. Unable to resist his temptation, Harry walked closer to the table where the notebook was lying. Taking it in his hands, the boy began to leaf through it, but so far he found nothing but blank pages.

- Apparently it's empty," Harry said to himself, and was about to put the notebook back, when suddenly the pages turned back to the beginning and a few rays flew out of the first page to form a screen, on which an inscription appeared:

- First character selection available. Touch the screen with your palm.

As soon as the boy did so, a long line of strange-looking crystals of different colours began to flicker on the screen. Harry watched mesmerised as these images flashed by at a rapid pace. But after a few moments everything stopped and a crystal of a rich dark blue colour appeared in front of him.

- Congratulations you have won a 6 star space crystal. The chance to win a character belonging to the class of space is 100% - read under the crystal, the boy. Then the text changed.

- Touch the crystal to open it.

Doing as he was told, Harry witnessed the crystal shatter into several pieces and as soon as the glow disappeared, a tall girl in a dark green costume with a strange horned crown appeared in front of the boy. The image then disappeared for a few moments so that Harry could read the text of the character characterisation.

- Congratulations! You have received a 6 star Hela. Click below to open the character trait.

Doing as commanded, Harry began to read the text carefully:

" Hela.

Character Class - Space.

Number of stars - 6

Tags - Asgard, Attack, Female, Goddess of Death.

Biography (briefly) - A Goddess hailing from an ancient and sinister era of the universe, Hela possesses unique powers unlike anything in the Nine Worlds. Possessing the ability to unleash an unlimited number of dissecting blows upon her opponents, Hela seeks revenge against those who imprisoned her many aeons ago. She is preparing a brutal new era for Asgard and the entire universe.

 Basic parameters and abilities

Health: 50,000

Attack: 100,000

Maximum Strength Index

Without crown ability - 5000

With crown ability (unlocks at level 100) - 200000.

Basic abilities: Resistance to physical damage, rage, armour piercing.

Passive Ability - Spirits of the Dead

Hela controls the spirits of the dead, thus fuelling the power of her rage boosts, which last until her supply of spirits runs out.

Each active rage enhancement depletes souls over time, but each blow of summoned swords strengthens them.

If souls run out, rage enhancements also expire, {1} at a time.

Reinforcement - Fortitude

After losing more than 8% of her base health in a single hit, Hela gains an enhancement granting +666.67 resistance to physical damage that lasts until she is hit by a heavy attack.

This attack does not stack in a series; instead, if it triggers multiple times, the effect is increased by +666.67.

Reinforcement - Heavy Attacks

When charging a heavy attack, Hela permanently gains a rage enhancement that grants 596.5 to the attack.

Special Attack 1: Rage of the Dead - Hela strikes at the heart of her opponent.

100% chance to activate a rage boost that grants +596.5 to attack.

Special Attack 2: Soul Destroyer - Twin blades followed by an axe strike of incredible power.

The attack causes the enemy to pierce armour, reducing it by 857.14 for each active fury, the weakening lasts 10s.

Special Attack 3: Hand of Glory - Summoning a whirlwind of blades, Hela unleashes a downpour of blades at her opponent.

The attack deals additional physical damage up to 7% of the target's lost health, depending on the number of rage boosts on Hela. Maximum damage at: 5

Crown Ability: Goddess of Death - Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death, is nearly invulnerable, and she can gain power from fallen comrades.

Goddess of Death - Passive Ability

At the start of combat, each champion on Hela's team that is knocked out gives her +25 spirits.

The first time Hela is knocked out each combat, she gains an indestructibility enhancement that lasts for 5s.

Synergy Bonuses (unavailable):

Loki or Thor (Ragnarok) - Immortal Souls - Unique Synergy

Hela: Nullification effects against Hela trigger at a 35% reduced chance.

Loki: If a curse is active, Loki's health is always considered higher than the opponent's health.

Thor (Ragnarok): Gains +100% to the chance of a perfect block when auto-blocking.

Angela - Queen of Helheim - Unique Synergy

Champions can, with a 20% chance, instantly regain 20% of their health before being knocked out. The chance increases by 20% for each team champion currently being knocked out.

Dormammu or Mephisto - Lords of Hell - Unique Synergy

Hela: Starts combat with 1 Energy Cell.

Dormammu: Increases the amount of health restored when the dimension link is active by 25%.

Mephisto: Restores the first soul spent to activate Soul Enslavement each battle.

Recommended Skill Types:

Enhanced Fury

Hela is constantly accumulating rage enhancements, so increasing their effectiveness won't hurt her!

Assassin

Hela's special third attack is a great way to end a battle. The assassin will increase her effectiveness for the final strike.

Glass Cannon

This skill gives an attack boost, while Hela is as resilient as Hela herself, and when she takes damage to a certain percentage of her health in a single hit she activates physical damage resistance, so the extra damage might even be useful.

Strong Matchups:

Star Lord

On attack, Hela gets a class advantage, so she can easily give Star Lord a sweet life. On defence, however, it's useful that Star Lord's damage is constantly increasing, with Hela's physical damage resistance being triggered over and over again.

Black Panther (Civil War).

Virtually guaranteed armour piercing special attack 2 gives Hela an advantage against the famous reflect stun!

Spider-Man (Stark Amplifications).

As a space champion, Hela will disable Stark's AI with simple strikes. If Spider-Man receives balance charges, Hela will activate physical damage resistance, which he will only be able to remove with a heavy attack.

Weak Matchups

Dr Strange

Dr Strange is a near-perfect opponent for Hela. His counterspell will work perfectly, and his basic and special attacks deal energy damage, so physical damage resistance won't count.

Helma

Shelma's special attack 1 will simply work wonders. She will almost always get rage, while Hela won't be able to activate new ones of the same boost.

Ronan

The awakened Ronan will be Hela's real nightmare. She will accumulate rage boosts that will only increase Ronan's attack (and even more effectively his special attack 2), as well as increase the duration of the stun. Ronan's special attacks will turn rage boosts into weakening.

Just as Harry finished reading the text, something happened that the boy had not expected at all. The screen began to glow more and more and to avoid going blind, Potter quickly turned away. As soon as the light disappeared, Harry turned around and saw that the girl was standing opposite him and looking around carefully. Silence reigned for a few moments. Finished studying the room, Hela stared at the boy.

- Summoner, I'm ready to do whatever you want," the black haired girl said. Harry had no way of knowing that all the champions he could summon thanks to this notebook would obey him without question, and they would all be girls. Hela had barely finished speaking when she sat down on her knees in front of the surprised boy. Not knowing what to say Harry stared silently at the champion he had summoned.

*****

Harry stared wide-eyed at the girl leaning in front of him. This was a turn of events the boy had not expected at all.

- A summoner? - The Asgardian said worriedly, looking at the boy who still couldn't utter a single word.

- Perhaps it's all in my imagination and there is no notebook - tried to convince himself in the unreality of what happened, Harry.

- Don't kid yourself, boy," suddenly came a voice from the void, and a few moments later a middle-aged man in strange clothes appeared in front of Potter.

- Who are you? - Harry asked worriedly.

- You can call me the Collector. This notebook you found is my masterpiece in the field of artefacting. And it was fate that you, Harry Potter, should be its new owner. And the fact that you got a six-star character at once is my gift to you. It will help you in the future, but in the meantime, here's a document for you to read," the man said, holding out a folder in the boy's hands.

-This document will allow you to stop being in the dark about who you are. But this is the last bonus received for free, the rest you can get only if you pass a number of missions. And the more dangerous they will be, the more valuable will be the reward. Goodbye and good luck to you, Harry Potter - said the man disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. Sitting down in the chair, the boy opened the folder and began to read the written text carefully. And the further Harry read, the more he hated his aunt and her husband. It turned out that the boy's parents were not alcoholics and drug addicts, but were mages, like the boy himself. And they had died not in a car crash, as the Dursleys had lied to him, but had been killed by the Dark Lord. Reading on, Harry learnt that he had a pretty good inheritance and when he reached the age of 17, he could become Lord Potter. As Harry read the document, Hela continued to sit on her knees in front of her summoner and waited silently for him to finish reading. After reading the first few pages, the boy put the document aside and stared off into the distance for a few moments. There was silence for a while, until Harry made up his mind.

- Hela?

- Yes, my summoner?

- Would you mind starting to teach me magic?

- Of course, a summoner's orders must always be obeyed. I will teach you everything I know. But first, will you let me take revenge on your detractors? - said the black-haired Asgardian.

It was worth noting that when Harry had managed to summon her, a strong magical bond had been established between the boy and Hela, so it was no secret to the Goddess of Death how Potter felt about his Muggle relatives. Harry pondered for a few moments before allowing the girl to do so. Leaving the boy in the house, which had become covered by a magical protective dome after Potter had summoned her so that one old manipulative couldn't detect Harry, Hela set off in the direction of the Dursley house, the location of which she had learnt through her connection with the boy.

Seated in the dining room, Vernon, Marge, Petunia and Dudley were having a leisurely conversation over tea, unaware that these minutes would be the last of their lives. Soon a bright green archway appeared in the centre of the room from which Hela emerged. Upon noticing the girl, the fat burly man known as Vernon Dursle jumped up sharply from his seat and, sputtering, urged the "abnormal" to get out.

- Shut your fucking mouth, you miserable twit," Hela said, and then all the Dursleys were enveloped in green magical ropes that cut deep into their skin. Hela swept them to the centre of the living room and walked past them, playing with the dead green magical fire in her right hand.

- Should we just roast you? No, that's too easy. You don't deserve an easy death. I'll send you to Helheim, and then I'll decide what to do with you." Hela snapped her fingers and the bound Dursleys disappeared from their house, which was soon destroyed in a dark green magical fire. After Hela left the place, the aurors, some of whom were members of the Order of the Phoenix, came to visit. After inspecting the remains of the Muggle house, who arrived as soon as he could free himself, Dumbledore ordered to conceal the fact of Harry Potter's disappearance, because otherwise the magical world of England would be greatly shocked by the news of the disappearance of the "boy who survived and won".

*********

Meanwhile, while he was being searched for by members of the Order of the Phoenix, who scoured every corner of England, Harry was living peacefully in the house where he had found the summoning notebook. After he "fell" Hela, the boy had not conscripted anyone else, as the conscription of new champions had been temporarily blocked until Potter finished his first year at Hogwarts.

While Harry was learning the basics of magic under Hela's guidance, the black-haired Asgardian was using her folios that she had summoned from Helheim as teaching aids. The boy grasped everything on the fly. Only Potter didn't particularly like potions, but otherwise the boy was interested in studying magical disciplines, though mostly in theory, as Harry's magical core was not yet fully stabilised for practice. This process was to be completed only at the age of 11. But not only studying was busy with the boy, together with dark-haired asgadka, he travelled the world. They visited many countries of the world, most of all Harry liked it in Egypt. The boy had seen all the magical and Muggle sights of this North African country. And on the day the boy turned 11, Harry received a letter from Hogwarts. Sitting on the porch of the house and admiring the beauty of the park, the boy saw an owl swooping down to him with an envelope in its paws. After untying the message and releasing the bird, Harry opened the envelope and began to read the text of the message carefully:

 HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Commander of the Order of Merlin I degree, Grand Wizard, Supreme Wizard, President of the International Confederation of Wizards)

Dear Mr Potter!

We are pleased to inform you that you have been granted a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please see the attached list of required books and items.

Classes begin on the 1st of September. We look forward to receiving your owl no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall, Vice Principal!

Form

Freshman students are required to wear:

Three simple working robes (black).

One simple pointed hat (black) for each day.

One pair of protective gloves (dragon skin or similar material).

One winter cloak (black, silver clasps).

Please remember that the clothing must be labelled with the student's first and last name.

Books

Each student is expected to have the following books:

"The Cursive Book of Conspiracies and Spells" (first year). Miranda Hussockle

"History of Magic." Bathilda Bagshot

"Theory of Magic". Adalbert Woffling

"A transfiguration manual for beginners". Emeric Switch

"A Thousand Magical Plants and Mushrooms". Philly da Spore

"Magical potions and potions". Gig Myshiakoff

"Fantastic beasts: habitats". Newt Salamander

"Dark forces: a guide to self-defence". Quentin Trimble

Also supposed to have:

1 magic wand, 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size #2), 1 set of glass or crystal vials, 1 telescope, 1 copper scale.

Students may also bring an owl or cat or NEWT.

REMIND PARENTS THAT FRESHMEN ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR OWN BROOMS.

Finished reading the letter, Harry hurried inside the house to discuss with Hela, this message from the magic school. In addition to the message itself, the letter came with a ticket for the Hogwarts Express. Of course, after the beginning of his studies under the guidance of the black-haired Asgardian woman he had summoned, Harry was no longer an ignoramus in the field of magic and stood on the same level of magical training as most pure-blooded children - mages, only the knowledge that he was given by the goddess of death could horrify all the zealots of light among the followers of Albus Dumbledore. For the boy with Hela studied the basics of such magical subjects as: runic magic, combat and defence magic, death magic. The basics of the last branch of magic were especially easy for the boy. Watching Harry's theoretical success in mastering death magic, Hela mentally thanked Fate that she had this young mage as her summoner. And despite the fact that he was mortal, the Asgardian decided to ignore that fact. The boy had great potential in death magic and could become the greatest master in this field of magical knowledge on Earth. Hela had missed the moment when Harry had asked her about the letter from Hogwarts. Once in this world, the goddess of death, after dealing with the Dursleys, had sent her magical copy to the magical enclave of England to study the local mages closely and while the original Hela had travelled with Harry, the copy of the goddess had studied the whole of magical England, giving the information to the Asgardian before disappearing.

Apologising to the boy for her long brooding, Hela scrutinised the letter from Hogwarts.

- The answer I don't think it's worth writing. I've already figured out where the main magical street is, so tomorrow we'll go there and buy everything we need for Hogwarts - returning the letter and ticket to the boy's hands, the goddess of death replied.

None of the magicians of England did not know yet that their "Saviour", whose appearance they had been waiting for 11 years, would be far from what they would like to see - a naive boy, who could be manipulated the easiest.

******

As always, on the eve of the new school year, Kosaya Alley was quite crowded. Parents with their children were rushing to buy all the necessary supplies for Hogwarts. Pure-blooded wizards tried to stay on the right side of the street while buying school supplies for their children, as the left side was always occupied by muggleborns and half-bloods with their parents and chaperones from the Education Department of the Ministry of Magic. Already from this picture one could conclude that the magical community was divided into three categories - purebloods, half-bloods and muggleborns. True, there was one more category, the so-called blood traitors. This title was borne by those of pureblood mages who threw away all traditions and stopped honouring magic itself. One red-haired family was a prime example of this. Before the middle of the 20th century, the Weasleys were no different from other pureblood families, though they were not rich like the Blacks, Malfoys and so on, but they could live comfortably. But when the redheads began to support Dumbledore's excessive liberalism, their fanaticism reaching its limits, everything changed dramatically. Abandoning their own tribal magic and ceasing to observe most traditions, the Weasleys quickly began to sink. Without a nourishment, the red-haired family's family hearth quickly withered, and the money that had been used to fund the Headmaster's projects at Hogwarts quickly ran out. The Weasley books, which had been in their family for generations, were given to Dumbledore, and those that were deemed too dark were burned by the redheads. After that, Magic itself awarded this family with the unremovable seal of "Blood Traitors", which was visible in the auras of the redheads. But they were clearly not going to stop, accumulating more and more misdemeanours every year.

And when the red-haired family once again came out to Slanting Alley, many purebloods tried to leave as soon as possible, as no one wanted to be near the Weasleys. The more well-mannered half-bloods and Muggleborns, however, tried to stay away from the noisy family as well. Once on the magical street, the Weasleys made a lot of noise and confusion as usual. The twins and Ronald, the youngest of Arthur and Molly's sons, were especially industrious. Spotting a Quidditch shop window, Sixth unceremoniously shoved everyone gathered there, shoving hard. The red-haired man responded to all the comments from outside, only to be rudely snide. His parents did the same. So as not to mess with the redhead, the children and their parents, who were standing outside the Quidditch shop, soon dispersed. The Weasleys soon left, too, as the redheads couldn't buy supplies for this magical game, and the budget didn't allow for it.

It seemed that this day would be just as ordinary for the visitors to Slanting Alley, until the following happened. Suddenly, in the centre of the stone pavement, a dark green portal arch appeared, and two figures emerged from it - a boy of about 11 with bright green eyes (Hela had spared the boy both his eyesight and his scar on one of the first days of Harry's schooling), accompanied by a tall, slender girl in a dark green robe, so as not to stand out too much against the local mages, Hela had created an exact copy of the usual clothes of English wizards.

Ignoring the surprised and admiring whispers directed at Harry Potter, the boy and his escort headed towards Gringotts Bank, he needed to sort out his inheritance before he started shopping.

Walking up the stone steps, Harry and Hela stopped near the wide doors, next to which a plaque with the following text was nailed on the wall:

Come in, stranger, but don't forget,

That greed has a sinful nature,

Who doesn't like to work, but likes to take,

It pays dearly, and that's what you should know.

If you've come here for what's not yours

You'll never leave this place.

Quickly reading the inscription, Harry and Hela went inside the bank. Walking through the entire lobby, the boy and girl reached the vacant goblin of a teller.

The bank teller was about to look disdainfully at the next mage, but when he saw the black-haired girl's eyes burning with green flames, he changed his mind. Suppressing his fright and giving himself a more confident look, the goblin said:

- What can I do for you?

- Good afternoon, I would like to deal with the inheritance left to me by my parents - took the word of the boy.

- Very well. Your name.

- Harry Potter.

- I need to make sure you're who you say you are, mister. We'll run a quick blood test. You need to cut your palm, a few drops of your blood will be enough. Drip it on this parchment," the goblin said, holding out a knife and a sheet of paper. As soon as the boy had done so, the goblin took the sheet and waited for the result. In the meantime Hela had time to heal the boy's cut. After a few moments, the parchment glowed with a bright green light, indicating that the boy's identity was authentic.

- Well your identity has been confirmed Mr Potter. You have access to the Potter family's school safe, number 1735. The rest of your inheritance will be available to you when you reach the age of 17. I take it you don't have a key to the safe?

- I do.

- Well, in that case, wait here while a new key is made and the locks to your safe are changed. In the meantime you can read the information about your relatives - said the goblin left his seat and went deep into the corridor. Taking a sheet of parchment Harry and Hela began to scrutinise what was written on it. And the text was as follows:

NAME - Harry Potter (11 years old)

Status: pureblood mage with renewed blood (alive).

Parents: James Carlus Potter, 38th generation pureblood mage (dead). Lily Rosalia Potter (maiden name Evans), an acquired wizard (dead)

Godfather - Absent. Sirius Black (stripped of this title by magic itself, for not honouring his duties).

Godmother - Absent

Magic Status - Not blocked. Has a predisposition to Death magic.

After reading this text, Harry waited silently for the goblin to appear with the new key to the student safe. And after a few minutes, the bank teller did appear and handed the boy a new golden key to his student safe.

- It says here that I have no godparents. Is that possible? - the boy asked.

- It is rare, but it does happen Mr Potter,' the goblin replied

<... >

After finding out everything he needed, Harry and his escort went to his safe and took three hundred Galleons to buy for the school. Having finished all their business at the bank, the boy and the black-haired Asgardian went shopping at last. And at first things were pretty good. The first thing Harry did was to buy himself a backpack with enchantments of expanded space, where he then began to put further purchases. The boy decided to buy a magic wand on Hela's advice, as the shop that sold these magical guides did not like the black-haired Asgardian. Not only was it not well-maintained, but also a strange energy was felt in it. Harry had successfully bought all the other things he needed for school, and then he just walked around the magical street accompanied by Hela.

But all good things have a tendency to end quickly. And when the boy and the Asgardian were approaching a small restaurant, as from a neighbouring shop, came out galloping all over the street, red-haired wizards. Harry was quite unpleasant to watch these bickering, completely uncultured people and the boy was about to get away from them, as a full-figured red-haired woman noticed him.

- Harry, darling. I'm so glad to see you at last," the woman exclaimed shrilly, followed by her children and her mammy husband. But as soon as the sorceress turned her gaze to the boy's companion, she shrieked even more.

- Now get away from Harry Potter quickly. Nasty dark-magic trash and... - what Mrs Weasley wanted to say next remained unknown, as Hela resolutely suppressed the verbal diarrhea from the matriarch of the red-haired family. As much as the goddess of death would have liked to get rid of those redheads immediately, it wasn't worth it to do so right in the middle of a magical street. However, in the future Hela did not exclude the possibility of interrupting these redheads, as the mark of blood traitors, on their magical auras, the black-haired Asgardian saw perfectly well. Quickly immobilising the redheads, Hela walked past the Weasleys lying on the ground.

Once inside the restaurant, Harry and his escort sat down at the furthest table and placed their order and waited for it to arrive. After the waiter brought the order, three blond-haired mages entered the restaurant with a confident gait - a man, a woman and a boy of the same age as Harry. Noticing Harry Potter sitting at the far table, Narcissa instantly recognised him and quietly whispered something in her husband's ear. With a quick glance in Narcissa's direction, Lucius only nodded at his wife's statement and led his family in the direction of Harry and Hela's table.

- Do you mind if we join you? - The man addressed the boy and the black-haired Asgardian in a polite tone.

- Of course, join us," Harry said after a short silence. As the Malfoys settled into the empty seats, the boy and his escort watched them silently. Soon the waiter came over and Lord Malfoy placed an order for his entire family.

Having a leisurely conversation with the Malfoys, Harry soon saw through the window as a certain group of red-haired wizards began to stagger down the main magical street again. The disgusting behaviour of these redheads did not go unnoticed to all the diners.

- The Weasleys are the most worthless and destitute pureblood family in magical England, ardent supporters of Dumbledore. It's best not to mess with them at all," Lord Malfoy said with a distinct disdain, glancing in the direction of the red-haired wizards who were chattering like magpies.

In the course of the conversation, the boy was also advised not to join Gryffindor, Dumbledore's forge. The faculty of ardent light fanatics. After talking some more Harry said goodbye to the Malfoys.

**********

On the day he left for Hogwarts, Harry was quite excited. Arriving at platform 9 and ¾ with Hela's help, half an hour before the train was due to leave, the boy headed for the first carriage he could find. Back when Harry had been packing, he had put the summoning notebook with him. After studying it, the boy discovered the ability to hide the chosen champion inside the notebook so that no outsider could see her. Once on the magical platform, the boy and his escort quickly stepped aside and making sure no one was looking at them, Harry opened the notebook and Hela disappeared in a bluish haze. Slamming the notebook shut, Potter stashed it in his rucksack and hurried towards the carriage. Finding the first available compartment, Harry closed himself in it, setting locking spells just in case, as he wanted to get to the magic school quietly without too much attention. Sitting down near the window and retrieving a book on charms from his rucksack, the boy began to indulge in reading. Although there were a few knocks on his compartment during the journey, and quite a few hard ones at that, but Harry wasn't going to open the door. Ten minutes before arriving at Hogsmeade station, the boy had time to change into his school uniform. As soon as the train stopped, Harry waited until the bulk of the students had gone and then went outside, leaving his luggage in the carriage as instructed.

Standing in a group of first year students, the boy hurried with them to the boats. The new Hogwarts students were accompanied by a bearded half-giant. Once everyone was settled into the boats, the flotilla began to cross the Black Lake. Upon reaching the castle gates, the half-giant led the freshmen to the main gate and handed them over to Professor McGonagall.

The first-years followed Professor McGonagall along the cobblestone floor. As they passed the closed door on the right, Harry heard the sound of hundreds of voices - the whole school must have gathered there by now. But Professor McGonagall was not leading them there at all, but into a small, empty hall. The crowd of first-years was crowded in here, and they huddled together, breathing down each other's necks and looking around anxiously.

- Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall finally greeted them. - The banquet for the start of the school year will begin soon, but before you sit down at your tables, you will be divided into departments. Selection is a very serious procedure, because from now until graduation, your faculty will be your second family. You will study together, sleep in the same bedroom and spend your free time in a room specially allocated to your faculty. There are four faculties in the school - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each of them has its own ancient history, and outstanding wizards and sorceresses have come out of each of them. While you are at Hogwarts, your successes will earn your faculty prize points, and points will be deducted for each breach of routine. At the end of the year, the faculty with the most points wins a competition between the faculties - a great honour. I hope each of you will be a worthy member of your family. The selection ceremony will begin in a few minutes in the presence of the entire school. In the meantime, I suggest you gather your thoughts. I'll be back here when everyone is ready to meet you," Professor McGonagall announced and walked towards the door. Before she walked out, she turned around. - Please be quiet.

As soon as the woman left, the first year students split into several groups. Harry wasn't going to join one of them, however, choosing to think alone about which faculty he should go to.

- Line up," the professor, who had returned shortly afterwards, commanded the freshmen, "and follow me.

Standing behind the blonde-haired boy, Harry, along with the other freshmen, hurried after the professor. Bringing the new students to the professor's desk, the woman placed a three-legged stool on which rested a slightly worn Distributing Hat. There was complete silence in the hall for a few seconds. And then the Hat moved. In the next instant, a hole resembling a mouth appeared in it, and it sang:

I may not be pretty to look at,

But don't judge me too harshly.

For I'm the cleverest hat in the world,

# No matter what you say

♪ Hats, hats, hats, hats, hats, hats, hats ♪

I'm prettier than I am

But if they were smarter than me

I'd eat myself for lunch.

I can see right through your thoughts,

You can't hide anything from me.

Put me on and I'll tell you,

# Who you're destined to study with

Gryffindor may be waiting for you,

for the brave men who study there.

Their hearts are full of courage and strength,

They're noble, too.

Or perhaps Hufflepuff is your destiny,

Where no man fears labour,

Where loyalty and faithfulness are all,

And patience and perseverance and persistence.

And if your brains are in order,

You've long been drawn to knowledge

If you've got the humour and the strength to chew the granite of science,

Then Ravenclaw is the place for you.

Maybe in Slytherin you'll find your best friends.

To find your best friends.

Where cunning men go about their business,

No shyness in their ways.

Don't be afraid of me, put it on,

And I'll tell you your fate more surely

Than anyone else can.

You're in safe hands

I may be armless, alas,

But I'm proud of myself.

As soon as the song was over, the whole hall gave a unanimous applause. The hat bowed to all four tables. Her mouth disappeared, she fell silent and froze. Then the distribution ceremony began. Engrossed in thinking about his choice of faculty, Harry skipped past the main part of the ceremony until he finally heard his name called.

- Potter, Harry!

Harry took a step forward and lights of surprise flashed across the hall, accompanied by loud whispers.

- Did she say Potter?

- The same Harry Potter? The winner of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the Hogwarts students whispered.

The last thing Harry saw before the Hat fell over his eyes was a huge hall filled with people, all of whom leaned forward to get a better look at him. And then a black wall rose before his eyes.

- Um," a quiet voice said thoughtfully, right in his ear. - A tricky question. Very tricky. A lot of courage, I can see that. And a good mind, too. And talent - oh, yes, my God, it is - and a very commendable desire to prove yourself, that's curious, too. So where do I put you? I think I know what to do with you, though. I see in you a strong thirst for knowledge. So the choice is clear," said the Hat, and then she shouted across the room:

- RAVENCLAW!!!!

The Gryffindors and the Headmaster were dumbfounded by this decision and did not hide their displeasure, especially on the faces of the red-haired students of the Scarlet Faculty. Ignoring the applause from his faculty, Harry silently made his way to the correct table and sat down on an empty seat, continuing to watch the distribution ceremony. As soon as the last freshman was allocated to their faculty, the feast began. Harry, like most of the Claw and Slytherins, ate neatly, which was not the case with the Gryffindors, especially the redhead, who ate like he'd been starving for a month. Weasley's fellow faculty members were not far behind, either. Harry tried not to look in the direction of those pigs, so as not to spoil his appetite.

When everyone had had enough of dessert, the sweets disappeared from their plates and Professor Dumbledore rose from his throne. Everyone fell silent.

- Hmmm! - Dumbledore coughed loudly. - Now that we've all had enough, I'd like to say a few more words. Before the term begins, there are a few things you must learn. Freshers must remember that all students are forbidden to go into the forest on school grounds. Some upperclassmen, for their own good, should also remember this...

Dumbledore's shining eyes paused for a moment on the Weasley twins' red heads.

- 'At the request of Mr Filch, our school caretaker, I remind you not to perform miracles at recess. And now for Quidditch training - it starts in a week. Anyone who would like to play for their faculty teams should contact Madame Trick.

-And now, before we go to bed, let's sing the school anthem! - shouted Dumbledore. Harry noticed that all the teachers had incomprehensible smiles frozen on their faces. Dumbledore shook his wand as if chasing away a fly that had landed on the end of it. A long golden ribbon emerged from his wand and began to rise above the tables, then scattered into words hanging in the air.

- Everyone sings to their favourite tune," Dumbledore announced. - So, here we go! And the whole hall erupted into chanting:

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, our beloved Hogwarts,

Teach us something.

Young and old, bald and shaggy,

Age is not important, but the essence.

Our heads are in the wind right now

They're empty and dull and full of dead flies,

♪ But there's always room for knowledge ♪

So teach us something

If we forget something, you remind us,

¶ And if we don't know, you can explain ¶

Do your best, our beloved Hogwarts,

And we'll try not to let you down.

Everyone sang as they wished - some quietly, some loudly, some cheerfully, some sadly, some slowly, some quickly. And naturally, everyone finished singing at different times. Everyone had gone silent by now, but the Weasley twins were still singing the school anthem - slowly and solemnly, like a funeral march. Dumbledore began to conduct, waving his wand, and when they finally finished singing, he was the one who clapped the loudest.

- Oh, the music! - he exclaimed, wiping his eyes: it looked like Dumbledore had wept with emotion. - Its magic outshines what we do here. Now to bed. Trot off!

The Ravenclaws, as well as the Slytherins, left the Great Hall in a steady line, which was not the case with the Gryffindors and the Puffends. Climbing up the stairs, Harry and his co-faculty members soon missed the students of the Lion Faculty. Twenty minutes later, the young clawmen reached the doors leading to the faculty lounge, which opened after the Headmaster answered a riddle. Standing in a semi-circle in the centre of the room, the new students prepared to listen to the welcome speech of the head of their faculty. A guy from the fifth year came forward and looked around at the freshmen and began to speak:

- Congratulations! I'm Headmaster Robert Hilliard, and I'm pleased to welcome you to the Ravenclaw Faculty. Our crest is a raven that soars where others cannot go. The colours of our faculty are blue and bronze. Our living room is located at the top of the Ravenclaw tower behind the door with the enchanted hammer. From the arched windows of our living room you can see the lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch and the greenhouses.

Without any bragging, I want to say that our faculty is home to intelligent wizards and wizards. Unlike other faculties that have hidden entrances to their living rooms, we don't need them.

Another interesting feature of Ravenclaw is that our students are real individuals. Some of them could even be called cranks. But often Geniuses do not go along with ordinary people, and unlike some other faculties we could say that in our opinion you have the right to wear what you like, believe what you want and say what you feel.

As for our relationship with other faculties: you've probably heard of Slytherin. They're not all bad, but it's best to be on your guard until you know a Slytherin student well enough. According to their long tradition, they do everything they can to win. So be careful, especially at Quidditch matches and exams. Ah, yes, the ghost of our faculty is the Grey Lady. The rest of the students think she never talks, but she doesn't mind talking to the Clawmen. Her help is especially useful when you've lost something or are lost yourself. I'm sure you'll sleep well. Our dormitories are in the turrets off the main tower.

Each of you will have your own room. The name tags are already nailed to the doors. Boys will live on the right and girls on the left. Don't forget you'll be given your schedules tomorrow before breakfast at 8 o'clock. Good night!

After the Headmaster finished his speech, Harry hurried to his room like the rest of the freshmen. After changing into his pyjamas, the boy got into bed and covered himself with a warm blanket and soon fell asleep.

******

- There he is, look!

- Where?

- There he is, he's walking a little ahead.

- Did you see his face?

- Are we really going to study with the Dark Lord's victor?

It was a whisper Harry had heard from every direction since he had left his bedroom the next morning. Outside the doors of the classrooms where Harry had classes, crowds of school children were gathering, eager to get a glimpse of him. The same people would purposely pass by several times each time he found himself in the corridor and stare intently at his face. Harry would rather they didn't because they were distracting him and he needed to concentrate on getting to the next office. So by the very last class, the boy's patience was on the edge.

"They don't have anything better to do than whisper and point fingers at me all the time," Harry mentally exclaimed as he left the classroom with the rest of the Claw students. It was a good thing that the students in his department valued personal freedom and tried not to impose like the Gryffindors did, especially the redhead. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor pairs were always paired together, though it had never happened before. And during all classes, the Sixth began to sit next to Harry all the time. The claw was tolerant at first, but when the redhead started talking about Quidditch and saying that the Slytherin faculty should be disbanded and its students should not be allowed to study at Hogwarts, he began to advise his "friend" to stay away from the library. When Harry reasonably pointed out that he had come here to study, not to mess around, the redhead continued to bend his line. Eventually, the clawed man got fed up and Potter arranged for one of his fellow faculty members to sit with him in class. Of course Weasley tried to lash out at the Claw, but after the professors had taken points off the redhead several times for trying to cause conflict, so the Gryffindor soon found himself only glaring angrily in the direction of the Claw. But outside of the classrooms, it was Harry who continued to impose his society. It was only in the Ravenclaw faculty lounge and the school library that the redhead could be kept away. It was only in the second place that Harry encountered a brown-haired Gryffindor girl who was as annoying as the redhead. In her first few days of school, she had made a name for herself not only as an insufferable crammer, but also as a rather hard-headed individual. Potter could see from the sidelines how this Gryffindor was eager to tutor her fellow students and overly display her knowledge. Sitting in the library, Granger read everything, clearly striving to memorise everything. However, like all Gryffindors, the girl overly idealised the Headmaster. And when Harry, as well as most Slytherins and Claw students, showed success in practical classes, Granger looked at her classmates wolfishly. The girl clearly didn't like those who were better than her.

When Professor Flitwick spoke about spells of various kinds, the Gryffindor girl had to be aware of them as part of her general erudition, and after the lesson she had long resented the fact that they didn't even need theoretical knowledge of these spells. The pinnacle of Harry's dislike for the girl was when she tried to advise him on what books to read in the library, and Granger's arrogant and superior tone as she spoke made the situation even worse. Eventually, during one of the sit-downs in the school library, Harry couldn't stand it.

- Look, Granger, who gave you the right to tell me what books I should read?

- But we're only supposed to study what the professors tell us," the Gryffindor said stubbornly. Realising that arguing with Granger was a costly exercise, Harry stood up silently and looked at the girl unpleasantly and left silently. After a while, the Gryffindor became known as a snitch, and many first year students fell victim to the Gryffindor's behaviour. Seeing that many of her fellow students (mostly purebloods and more or less adequate half-bloods) were engaged in self-education outside of the school curriculum, with the help of books sent from home, Granger began to actively snitch on the freshmen, and some of the books were confiscated by Professor McGonagall. Watching the Dean of their faculty take away books from purebloods and half-bloods, the muggle-born Gryffindor was triumphant. Of course all of this had further embittered the freshers against her. So it was no surprise that some of the pureblood clawbacks, along with the Slytherins, began to call Granger a mudblood. Besides her, however, there were two individuals in the school with a distinct lack of brakes and any sort of internal control. The red-haired twins, covered by the headmaster, were completely out of control. While the Weasleys didn't mess with the older students, realising that they would be quickly retaliated against, the red-haired Gryffindors were particularly fond of the younger students. Many had fallen victim to their jokes and experimental potions, as well as numerous traps. Most often the Weasleys tried to use their "masterpieces" against the Slytherins and Claws, and Harry was not spared from being a victim of Weasley jokes. It was after class, when the clawed freshmen, accompanied by the Heads, were returning to their tower, when suddenly, from a small hiding place, someone's satisfied laugh sounded, and a few moments later, potion jars held by levitation charms fell from the ceiling onto Rowena's students. Before anyone could react, most of the Ravenclaw students looked like huge canaries, but Harry's situation was different. One of the components of the potion turned out to be allergic to the boy and he got red spots all over his body, the temperature jumped to forty degrees and Potter fell to the floor unconscious. Calling Professor Flitwick, the Heads helped all the injured to the Hospital Wing, and Harry was carried separately. Realising that the boy needed to be treated carefully, the school nurse put Harry into an induced coma, as Potter's allergies were quite serious.

The hitherto calm Dean of Ravenclaw did not hide his emotions.

- Albus. What do you mean?! I've told Severus, you and Minerva to calm your red-haired brats down. And as the Muggles say, it's still the same.

- Filius, it's only a joke..." Albus, in his usual way, began to cover for his sons' supporters.

- A joke? You think it's a joke! A student of my faculty is in an induced coma, because of a 'joke' by two brainless cretins with one twist in their heads! - shrieked the professor of charm.

- Yes, Fred and George were a little overreacting....

- Overreacting? Those two are always feeding the underclassmen crap, and I've had to remove their traps from the entrance to my faculty lounge many times. I won't tolerate it any longer. If the twins do something like that, you mark my word, I won't let it go. And now I'll do what you two and Minerva should have done a long time ago," said the professor of spells and left the Headmaster's office. However, the Dean of Ravenclaw was too late. Retribution had caught up with the two Gryffindors.

Quite pleased with their joke and the fact that they had punished Potter for daring to ignore their younger brother, Fred and George fled the scene, using their secret passageways learnt during their two years at Hogwarts. Sensing from her connection with the Summoner that the boy was in an induced coma, Hela became furious. Lying on the surface of the desk in Harry's room, a notebook glowed sharply green and opened quickly. And a few moments later, a slender black-haired girl in dark green robes appeared in the room. Casting a stealth spell on herself, Hela headed out to look for those who had hurt her Caller. And after a few moments, the goddess of death found these red-haired degenerates, who continued to merrily discuss their "prank"

- Well done, Forge, we taught Potter a lesson.

- Yeah, Dread. He'll know how to reject our brother's friendship," the Weasley twins were not yet aware that they were passing a harsher sentence on themselves. When the Gryffindor Tower was a few dozen metres away, just down a long corridor on the seventh floor, a green flash suddenly appeared in front of the twins and a few moments later the two Gryffindors were paralysed and staring in horror at a black-haired girl in dark green robes whose eyes burned with a bright dead green flame.