The Sorting Hat Must Be Broken

Finding books on Legilimency with the note, Tom sat in a corner and began to flip through them. 'To master this profound magic, one must cast aside all emotions and empty the mind to restrain oneself...'

Muttering the words from the book softly, Tom raised his left eyebrow. This seemed very simple to him. After all, he didn't have many emotions, or rather, he didn't have superfluous emotions. Friendship, family, love—he didn't have any of those, did he?

Lost in thought for a moment, the disappointment on Tom's face quickly faded. He closed the book with a touch of coldness and put it back in its place. His mind inexplicably recalled last night's conversation. 'Transcending death... following instinct... what is it that I truly desire...'

Memories churned in his mind. Tom thought of the Old Headmaster sitting in his chair, of the small dirt mound where he buried his first 'friend,' of his mother who no longer appeared in his dreams. All these people he had once liked had left him, leaving him alone.

"Someone who transcends death..."

"Hey~ Tom! What are you muttering about by yourself?" Ian slung an arm around his friend's neck, flashed a fawning smile at the librarian, and pulled Tom out.

Silently extricating himself, Tom pursed his lips. He disliked such physical contact. It was already remarkable that he managed to suppress the urge to pull out his wand and fling Ian away. "Ian, what's up? The exams are only a few months away... how are you preparing?"

With a pained groan, Ian's small face contorted. Damn exams! Couldn't they just implement a happy education system? Seven whole years of pure happiness, and then education... they could put that off a bit! "Why are there exams? I hate exams!"

Smiling politely, Tom shook his head, not entirely agreeing with that sentiment. The courses weren't difficult to learn. In fact, he had already begun to delve into higher-level material, especially with spells and Transfiguration spells. These unknown spells fascinated him. "Exams aren't that hard, you just need to approach them with a calm mind..."

Clenching his slightly itching fists, Ian rolled his eyes fiercely. He was quite sure his buddy was showing off! So what if he was a top student! Wuwu... In his next life, he wanted to be a top student too. He really wished he had a smart brain. "It's like that for you, but exams are just torture for me... Don't talk about such sad topics, Tom~ Are you planning to stay at Hogwarts for the Easter holiday?"

Thinking of the upcoming two-week holiday, Tom nodded as a matter of course. He certainly wasn't going back to the cold orphanage. In fact, he didn't even want to go back during the summer holidays. "What about you? Are you going home or staying?"

Ian chuckled a few times, rubbing his hands together with a sly look. He sidled up to his friend and whispered, "Of course, I'm staying. How about we go exploring then? I heard Hogwarts has quite a few secret passages. Let's go find them~"

Blinking his eyes, Tom felt a twinge of doubt. How did the Sorting Hat put this extremely curious fellow into Hufflepuff? Shouldn't he have been thrown into the lion's den... However, while researching Salazar, he had seen mention of a secret chamber belonging to Slytherin. "Alright, we'll go together then..."

"That's great!" Ian cheered, hopping a few times with delight. "Let's go! We're heading to the Black Lake, Mickey is waiting for us there~"

Surprised by the lack of refusal, Tom sighed and slowly followed behind, his mind still occupied with how to achieve his own goals.