The dessert came right after, Rigel got a pudding and a piece of brownie with ice cream. Everything was very good. He took a blueberry muffin for Jack and put it in his pocket.
He was sitting with the third-year students, so he overheard their conversation, especially Fred and George talking.
Finally, Dumbledore stood up, making the desserts disappear from the table.
"... Just a few more words now that we've eaten and drunk. I have some beginning-of-the-year announcements for you. First-year students should note that walking in the forest on the property is prohibited, and some of our older students would do well to remember this prohibition." Dumbledore's sparkling eyes flickered towards the Weasley twins, causing the pair not only to not hide, but to break into bright smiles.
Rigel could almost see the amusement in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to remind everyone not to perform magic in the corridors during breaks between classes. Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of classes. Anyone interested in joining their house team should contact Madam Hooch. And lastly, it must be noted that this year, the corridor on the third floor, right-hand side, is off-limits to anyone who doesn't want a very painful death."
Rigel paid particular attention to the Quidditch tryouts, he never mentioned that first-year students couldn't play, so as long as he participates in the tryouts and performs as well as possible, there's a good chance he'll qualify.
Rigel wasn't the best flyer, but he didn't want to be a seeker, instead, he preferred to be a chaser or beater.
The twins were already beaters, so he needed to be a chaser. He might not be tall, but he was strong due to the physique of the King's Triton. In addition, he possessed the Pirate Eyepatch, giving him agile hands. If he could project the eyepatch without being seen, he could even use Plunder.
Of course, he would only stay on the Quidditch team if there were real rewards for staying, otherwise, he would find a reason to leave.
He turned to George and said. "Can I join the team?"
"You?" George was surprised. "In your first year? I highly doubt it."
"Although you can try, we've already warned you that we're beaters, so you don't stand a chance." Fred said proudly.
"I wanted to be a chaser." Rigel shrugged.
The two looked at him strangely, if he wanted to be a serker, that would make sense, after all, it's the position that requires less physical strength and more perception and speed.
For the first time, the twins fell silent, and in a synchronized movement, they patted Rigel on the shoulder, pity evident in their eyes.
Rigel openly rolled his eyes at them, flipping each of them the middle finger, which elicited a laugh from the twins.
//-//
"And now, before we go to bed, let's sing the school anthem!" exclaimed Dumbledore. Rigel noticed that the smiles on the other professors' faces had faded.
Rigel heard the music at first, seeing the twins singing a funeral march. He stifled a laugh, it was truly awful hearing everyone singing together, but since you can't fight, join them. Rigel began to sing the funeral march along with the twins.
In truth, he wasn't actually singing, knowing the nature of his ability, which was entirely passive, he had practiced a spell that had once seemed useless but was now proving highly beneficial.
Since even wizards could be born mute, spells had been developed for those unable to speak, such as the one Rigel was currently using.
He didn't even need a wand, thanks to the crown's passive effect, this spell, which utilized the air as a medium, was perfect for him, and he had mastered it with ease.
The spell's function was simple, it used magic to simulate a human voice. He didn't strictly need to open his mouth, but doing so would have looked odd, instead, he moved his lips while the spell 'sang' in his place.
Controlling the spell for speech was already difficult, especially since it was designed for wizards unable to vocalize spells, but with the power of the crown, any wind-related magic was very easy for Rigel to learn.
The twins perked up, putting their arms around Rigel's shoulders, one on each side, while Rigel joined them in singing. They quickly attracted attention, and McGonagall almost smiled, not because of the twins' silliness, but because seeing Rigel like this made her much less worried.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something, please.
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
with some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgotten,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
After the song, with Rigel and the Twins singing the final verses alone, Dumbledore even waved his wand while they sang, savoring the moment. though his eyes gleamed slightly as he watched Rigel 'singing,' having clearly realized something.
Rigel did not realize that his trick had been seen by Dumbledore; instead he felt deeply ashamed, but as the saying goes, what's a fart to someone who's already shat themselves?
Soon Rigel was following Percy, Ron's brother, also a fifth-year Gryffindor prefect, up the stairs.
Now, among the students in the same year, most looked at him normally, although he noticed that Ron looked at him with evident displeasure, but other than that, nothing.
Not even Neville looked at him any differently.
To be fair, he thought that Neville's family would have warned him about Rigel, but apparently not, or they did and he completely forgot.
Rigel was relieved, Neville was the biggest problem for him in Gryffindor. He doubted the others knew what Neville had been through, the boy hadn't spoken about it until the day Bellatrix escaped from prison.
This meant that Neville was probably trying not to think about it, or that he didn't want to place his burden on other people, either way, it was for Rigel's best.
His biggest problem now was with Ron, he didn't know why the boy didn't like him, but if he had to guess, it would be because of Draco or Rigel's closeness to his older brothers.
However, Ron was never very close to the twins, at least not in a jealous way, because the twins needed targets for their pranks when they weren't at Hogwarts. Ginny was taboo for their mother, so Ron was the only younger brother left.
In the end, Ron suffered more.
This also ensured that Ron wanted the twins to focus on anything except him.
In other words, the reason is most likely Draco, it didn't help that Draco openly mocked him and his family on the train.
In the end, Rigel felt he needed to find a way to get Ron to lower his guard, or joining future plots would be much more difficult.
He thought about buying a new wand for him, but despite his poverty, Ron was very proud, he wouldn't be grateful at all, but could use it to attack him.
Ron only liked wizard's chess, but Rigel figured that playing against him would only make him happy if he won, if Rigel wins, it might deepen the antipathy.
Difficult, very difficult, if Ron were like Draco... wait! He is like Draco!
Ron is just as talkative as Draco, the problem is that he has nothing to be proud of, but once his ego soars, he's on cloud nine.
Rigel just needed to find something that this brat could be proud of and praise him for a little, and that was it!
A bundle of canes floated in the air ahead of them, and when Percy took a step toward it, they began to assault him.
"Peeves." Percy whispered to the first-year students. "A poltergeist." And he spoke aloud. "Peeves, calm down."
A loud, coarse sound, like air escaping from a balloon, responded.
"Do you want me to go find the Bloody Baron?" They heard a crack, and a little man with dark, evil eyes and a gaping mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, holding the canes.
"Oooooooooh!" He said with a wicked laugh. "Freshmen! How fun!" And he suddenly dove towards them. They all ducked.
"Go away, Peeves, or I'll tell the baron, and I mean it!" Percy threatened.
Peeves stuck out his tongue and disappeared, dropping his canes on Neville's head. They heard him whizzing away, Rigel took the opportunity to step closer to Neville, he drew his wand and made the canes float just above Neville's head, keeping them from falling on him.
He had already used this spell enough to be able to cast it without an incantation, which helped a great deal at that moment. Although not very strong, it was enough.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, sounding casual rather than overly familiar.
Neville, still clutching Trevor, had already squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the pain, but upon hearing Rigel's question, he opened them in confusion. Seeing the canes hovering over his head, he was stunned for a moment before quickly turning toward Rigel.
"I'm fine, t-thank you."
Percy looked at it and gave a brief nod, satisfied with Rigel's performance. The other first-year wizards also looked at Rigel with curiosity, especially Hermione, who noticed that Rigel had managed to cast the spell without the incantation, she was the only one in the first year to realize this, as the others were still more concerned with Peeves.
Hermione felt she needed to push herself harder! She didn't want to fall behind the others, so she had already marked Rigel as a potential opponent, she decided to practice this spell a few more times before bed, even though she was exhausted, she felt a sudden surge of energy.
"Be careful of Peeves." Percy advised as they resumed their walk. "The Bloody Baron is the only one who can control him, he doesn't trust the prefects."
Rigel found Peeves incredibly interesting, a jumble of magic and emotions? What on earth was he? It might be interesting to research him in the future, but for now, they entered a long, dark corridor.
"We're here." Percy said. They walked a little further, reaching the very end of the corridor, where they saw a huge portrait of a very fat woman dressed in pink.
"Dragon's Head." Rigel heard Percy say. He finally realized they had arrived. The first-year students seemed tired from climbing so many stairs, but Rigel didn't even notice. When he realized what was happening, he was already standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.
With Percy saying the password, the door finally opened.