Sorting Ceremony

Sorting Ceremony

In front of the long table on the dais stood a four-legged stool, and on the stool sat a patched Pointed Wizard Hat that looked ancient at a glance.

The Pointed Wizard Hat was singing to itself, only stopping when Professor McGonagall stepped forward.

"Whoever's name I call will put on the hat, sit on the stool, and await sorting."

Professor McGonagall took out a roll of parchment.

"Colin Creevey!"

Colin jolted, then immediately trotted up, sat down a little nervously, and put on the hat.

There was almost no pause before the hat gave its answer.

"Gryffindor!"

All the wizards at the Gryffindor long table burst into thunderous applause, celebrating the addition of a new student to their house.

"Astoria Greengrass!"

"Slytherin!"

"Luna Lovegood!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Ginny Weasley!"

"Gryffindor!"

As one young wizard after another was called up, it was soon George's turn.

"George!"

The instant George put on the Sorting Hat, just like the other young wizards, he heard no hesitation or questioning from it at all. The answer came directly.

"Slytherin!"

"It's actually Slytherin?"

A somewhat surprised look appeared on George's face, but he quickly collected himself, set down the Sorting Hat, and walked unhurriedly to the Slytherin long table to sit.

To be honest, he had thought he was most likely Gryffindor, with a small chance of Ravenclaw, but he had not expected Slytherin.

But after thinking about it, he did prefer to do things with a plan, had clear goals, and was sometimes rather realistic, which did fit some of Slytherin's traits.

Perhaps, deep down, his personality really did lean more toward Slytherin's characteristics.

Slytherin did not mean bad. Among the four houses, none represented absolute good, and none represented absolute evil.

Gryffindor had also produced wizards like Pettigrew, while Slytherin had wizards like Regulus, who had not hesitated to sacrifice himself to resist Voldemort, and had even preferred to die himself rather than let a House-elf take his place.

The traits of the four houses were, in fact, largely positive.

Gryffindor was brave, Ravenclaw was learned, Hufflepuff was upright, and Slytherin was clever, ambitious, and goal-oriented.

"Slytherin is fine too. Snape protects his own, and he's proficient in dark magic. If I can win honor for Slytherin, I should gain quite a bit."

When he came back to himself, the Sorting Ceremony had already ended.

In truth, before this, he had analyzed the personality of each head of house for every house he might be sorted into and had made the corresponding plans.

So even if it was Slytherin, it was not much of a problem.

Dumbledore said a few simple words, introduced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, and then announced the start of the feast.

In the next moment, countless delicacies made by House-elves appeared on the four long tables, and the starving young wizards immediately started digging in.

George also began eating the food on the table, but he still kept a little of his attention on the long table at the front.

Sure enough, before long, a gaunt wizard with sallow skin, a hooked nose, greasy black hair hanging to his shoulders, black robes and a cloak, and an aura of cold gloom appeared at the entrance to the Great Hall.

He strode toward the long table like a huge bat. Every young wizard he passed, no matter which house or year they were in, could not help holding their breath.

This person was none other than the head of Slytherin, Severus Snape.

He was the very top Potion master, and also a Magic Expert second only to the level of Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Grindelwald.

Snape exchanged a few words with Dumbledore and McGonagall. Professor McGonagall's expression quickly turned ugly, and then the three of them left the Great Hall together.

"My dad got promoted again at the Ministry of Magic."

"When I was seven, my mother bought me one worth twenty Kanons."

"Hmph, what's that compared to you lot? I..."

At the Slytherin table, the First Year young wizards ate while beginning to show off their families and wealth.

The young wizards sorted into Slytherin were basically all descendants of pure-blood families. A very small number might be half-bloods, but it was basically impossible for there to be a young wizard born to an entirely Muggle family.

So some of them had known one another since childhood.

And even if they did not know one another, they would deliberately display their family backgrounds and wealth at this moment to secure their status going forward.

George did not get involved. This body of his was most likely half-blood. A Muggle mother had relations with a wizard father, then unexpectedly became pregnant. Unable to find the father, and unwilling to burden herself, it was only normal for her to give birth to the child and abandon him.

So when it came to things like family status, he was definitely at the bottom of Slytherin. There was no need to ask for trouble.

As a half-blood, as long as he displayed absolute strength like Snape and Voldemort, he naturally would not lack status or followers.

Slytherin valued bloodlines, but it valued strength even more—of course, you had to at least be a half-blood.

"Oh, Merlin's beard, it's the Bloody Baron! He looks terrifying!"

Just then, the young wizards shuddered, because a dreadful ghost with a gaunt face, hollow eyes, and blood all over him suddenly arrived at the Slytherin long table and sat down.

And the seat he chose was right beside George.

George looked up and sized up the Bloody Baron, a faint smile appearing on his face. He nodded elegantly to the Bloody Baron in greeting, then continued eating his dinner at an unhurried pace.

What did being covered in blood amount to? What hadn't he seen in the laboratory? He had killed dozens of people—how could he possibly be frightened by this bit of blood?

The Bloody Baron was clearly somewhat surprised that, among the first-year young wizards, there was actually someone who could remain so calm upon seeing him for the first time.

However, as Slytherin's ghost, he was quite satisfied that Slytherin had such a courageous young wizard, so he likewise nodded in response.

"What family is he from? He actually dared to greet the Bloody Baron?"

"No idea. Never heard of him. He's probably a half-blood."

"A half-blood? But he doesn't look like one. I think he seems more like a wizard from the Twenty-Eight Families. He looks very refined."

George's behavior toward the Bloody Baron naturally fell into the eyes of all the Slytherin wizards, and they grew somewhat curious about this elegant and bold young wizard.

But they quickly determined that George was a half-blood, because if he were pure-blood, it would be impossible for them not to have even heard of him. Besides, the name George was strange too.

Even so, some young wizards still developed a bit of goodwill toward George.