Hogwarts: Please, Just Graduate Already! Chapter 11

But not this detailed!

After listening to Wayne, the group of children could practically feel the brutality of the Sorting Ceremony.

Ron muttered, "It's over, it's over. I remember now. When Fred and George came back during the summer after their first year, they were both limping."

"They must have still been recovering from injuries they got during the Sorting Ceremony."

In reality, the twins had merely wanted to sneak into the Forbidden Forest one last time and had been chased all the way back by Hagrid's Fang.

No one responded to Ron. Harry had already fallen into deep despair. What should he do?

If he failed the test, would he have to go back to the cupboard at the Dursleys' house

again?

Having seen the wonders of the magical world, he truly did not want to go back.

Wayne finally sighed as if by accident. "If it's too dangerous, I'm planning to give up on the test and go back to Harrow School."

That gave several little wizards from Muggle families an idea. If things really came to it, should they just give up?

"Y-you're telling the truth?" Hermione had been badly frightened as well and desperately hoped Wayne was lying to her.

"It wasn't me who said it. Cedric, and Ron's two brothers, said it," Wayne corrected her.

"You might not know who Cedric is. He's been first in his year for two years running. He's the model student parents always talk about." Hermione looked ready to cry and completely gave up hope. Creak!

The room's door was pushed open, and Professor McGonagall froze the moment she entered. What was going on?

Little wizards in previous years had been nervous, but never like this. They looked less like they were heading to the Sorting Ceremony and more like they were about to be sent to Louis XVI's happy platform.

Before she could speak, a little witch ran over first and asked in a trembling voice:

"Professor McGonagall, can I choose to withdraw from school?"

"What did you say?" McGonagall could scarcely believe her ears. What had she just heard?

A little wizard actually wanted to withdraw from Hogwarts? "Me too!"

"Waaah! Mum, where are you? I want to go home!"

Four more little wizards spoke through tears. McGonagall's head spun, and panic rose in her heart.

Since Hogwarts had been founded, there had been students expelled, students who transferred in midway through the year, and even students who had been murdered.

But there had never been a student who wanted to withdraw voluntarily. Yet today, she had encountered one—and five at once! If word got out, what would the other magical schools think of Hogwarts?

They would mock them over this one thing for a hundred years!

"Why do you want to withdraw? Did someone bully you on the train? I'll stand up for you."

McGonagall tried her best to appear gentler as she asked the little wizards softly.

As the school's deputy headmistress, she absolutely could not allow such a disgraceful incident to happen. She had to calm these little wizards down. The children all spoke at once.

Their explanations were a complete mess, and it took McGonagall a long time to sort through them before she understood.

"So, you want to withdraw because the Sorting Ceremony might be dangerous, and you don't know any Charms?"

All the little wizards nodded vigorously.

McGonagall's face instantly turned red. "Who has been spreading such ridiculous rumors, saying the Sorting Ceremony is dangerous? What utter nonsense!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Everyone immediately turned to look at Wayne, who stood in the middle. Naturally, McGonagall noticed as well and said angrily, "Mr. Lawrence, are you the one frightening the other students?"

"Professor McGonagall, I wasn't frightening them." Wayne put on an innocent, even slightly aggrieved expression.

"I only wanted to tell everyone what they might encounter during the Sorting Ceremony so they could prepare in advance. What's wrong with that?"

"Even so, you can't just make things up. Trolls and Ghouls, really?" "If the Sorting hadn't yet taken place, I would definitely deduct twenty points from your House!"

Wayne became even more displeased. "I didn't make those things up. Senior students told me."

"Which senior students?" Professor McGonagall pressed.

Wayne answered without hesitation, "George Weasley, Fred Weasley, and Cedric Diggory."

Professor McGonagall was completely numb. Twins, you really deserve to die!

Chapter 21: Sorting Ceremony

The boomerang they had thrown had finally struck them.

McGonagall had never imagined that the people who nearly caused Hogwarts' first-ever incident of new students withdrawing from school were the two crouching dragons and hidden tigers from her own House. "What exactly happened?"

No longer in a hurry to begin the Sorting Ceremony, McGonagall squeezed through the crowd, came to Wayne's side, and questioned him sternly.

She had to understand the whole story before deciding whether the twins should receive a week of detention or a month of detention.

Wayne repeated everything again without embellishment. He was simply such an honest person.

Once he finished, it was Professor McGonagall's turn to feel troubled.

If one said they had gone too far, the twins and Cedric had merely followed tradition. At most, they had described it in a little too much detail.

There was nothing particularly wrong with that.

But if she did nothing and simply let the twins off, McGonagall would feel extremely uncomfortable.

They had nearly scared several new students away. She absolutely could not let them off.

"All right, I can guarantee that the Sorting Ceremony is completely safe. There is nothing for anyone to worry about."

"Now line up in two rows, stay quiet, and follow me."

The twins' matter could wait until after the Sorting. Despite McGonagall's assurance, most of the new students remained terribly nervous as they followed behind her numbly.

Hermione had not recovered yet. To make sure she would not fall, Wayne could only hold the little witch's soft hand and lead her forward like a doll.

The group left the room, crossed the entrance hall, passed through the doors on the other side, and finally entered Hogwarts' Great Hall.

The Great Hall was magnificent. Thousands upon thousands of candles floated in the air. It was not environmentally friendly at all, but they lit the place as brightly as day.

Four long tables stood side by side. On a slightly raised platform was the High Table, where only one seat was currently empty.

"The ceiling here has been enchanted. It looks just like the real night sky."

The beautiful, magnificent sight helped Hermione recover somewhat, and she instinctively began explaining.

Only after speaking did she realize Wayne was still holding her hand. Her little face reddened. Seeing that Wayne had no intention of letting go, she became even more anxious, yet was too shy to say anything. She could only let the boy lead her around.

Professor McGonagall placed a stool in the center of the raised platform in the Great Hall. A hat rested on it.

The hat's original color could no longer be seen, but it definitely had not been the grayish brown it was now.

After finishing all that, McGonagall first glared fiercely at the twins from her own House,

leaving them thoroughly confused, before descending the steps and returning to the new students. Then the hat suddenly jumped, split open along a seam, and began to sing like a human mouth.

The older students were used to it, but the new students found it novel.

A singing hat. As expected of Hogwarts—there was every sort of strange thing here.

Wayne listened for a while too, but quickly lost interest.

It was said that the Sorting Hat sang a different song every year. It was used once a year, and spent the rest of its time writing lyrics.

But trash was trash. Even after agonizing over it for a whole year, the lyrics still were not much good.

When the song ended, everyone cooperatively applauded.

"Whenever I call a name, that person will put on the hat, sit down, and wait for the Sorting result," McGonagall said.

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was only putting on a hat—anyone could do that. Though the hat was so dirty that many cleanliness-loving little witches looked disgusted, compared to the tests Wayne had described,

this was far too easy. "Hannah Abbott!"

A girl with twin braids hurried over. Wayne's gaze also fell upon this Iron Hat King.

The little girl put the hat on her head, and in less than a moment, the Sorting Hat made its decision. "Hufflepuff!"

The people at the table on the right applauded Hannah and welcomed her.

"Susan Bones!"

Susan, who had shared a boat with Wayne and Hermione earlier, took her turn. "Hufflepuff!"

Two students in a row had been sorted into Hufflepuff, undoubtedly making the Little Badgers very happy. Cedric clapped excitedly in the crowd.

Suddenly, he felt someone staring at him. Turning his head, he found Wayne looking at him with a half-smile.

Remembering how he had fooled Wayne on the train, honest Cedric awkwardly waved at him.

Wayne did not mind. Go ahead, laugh.

Soon, you won't be able to laugh anymore.

Professor McGonagall's anger had been thoroughly ignited.

"Terry Boot!" "Ravenclaw."

The line steadily grew shorter. Hermione found time to ask Wayne which House he wanted to join.

When she heard Hufflepuff, the little witch's face filled with disbelief. The books said Hufflepuff was supposedly Hogwarts' most "ordinary" House. Why did Wayne want to go there?

But there was no time left. In alphabetical order, Hermione's name was called very soon.

She practically ran to the stool and hurriedly put on the hat. Her head was so small that it nearly swallowed her whole.

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted. Wayne was not surprised. Without any outside influence, it was perfectly normal for Hermione to go to Gryffindor. Several more little wizards stepped forward.

Wayne observed that Ravenclaw and Slytherin had received the fewest students. Slytherin in particular had only two so far. Ravenclaw had only four.

Hufflepuff had the most. That was indeed how it was. The other House tables still had plenty of empty seats, but Hufflepuff alone looked particularly crowded.

"Neville Longbottom!" McGonagall called again.

After Neville put on the hat, the Sorting Hat took a long time before finally shouting Gryffindor. Neville excitedly ran off while still wearing the hat, drawing a burst of laughter.

Blushing, he jogged back to put the hat away. Wayne was certain that at this moment, Neville desperately wanted to turn into Trevor and hide somewhere no one could find him.

"Wayne Lawrence!" McGonagall finally called Wayne's name.

All the new students looked toward Wayne. His earlier tale had frightened them badly, and Malfoy was gritting his teeth.

Quite a few older girls' eyes lit up as well.

What an adorable little wizard. Come into big sister's arms so she can shower you with affection and inspect your wand.

At the High Table, Dumbledore raised his head. Light reflected from his glasses, and curiosity rose in his heart.

Which House would this young genius, who had spontaneously cast the Patronus Charm as soon as he received a wand, be sorted into?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Wayne unhurriedly picked up the hat and placed it on his head. Soon, a voice sounded in his mind. "Oh, what an interesting little wizard."

Chapter 22: Sorting Hat: What About You Has Anything to Do with Hufflepuff?

Actually, during the summer after receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter, Wayne had been somewhat wary of the Sorting Hat.

He had too many secrets: his cheat, his identity as a transmigrator, and memories of the plot.

Every one of them was a shocking secret.

If anyone found out, they would probably want to dissect him for research. But as he learned and mastered more magic, and after further analysis, Wayne discovered that the Sorting Hat was not as frightening as he had imagined. The hat contained the wisdom of the four Founders and had the ability to send little wizards to the House best suited to them.

But that did not mean the Sorting Hat could see through a person's memories.

It could only see some of the most superficial thoughts. Like Legilimency, it could sense a little wizard's strengths and distinguish their House accordingly.

So Wayne merely did some simple thought-shifting training a few times and stopped worrying about it.

Old Dumbledore was the one he truly needed to watch out for.

If he ever made eye contact with the Old Bee while thinking about anything related to the plot or the system, that would be serious trouble.

"You don't feel nervous at all?"

His attention returned to Litang. The Sorting Hat and Wayne were communicating mentally.

Over nearly a thousand years, the Sorting Hat had seen all kinds of little wizards, but there had not been many as relaxed as Wayne.

"Why should I be nervous?" Wayne asked. "There are only four Houses, after all. What, are you going to expel me?"

"Of course not, boy."