Beginning the Sorting

Hagrid raised a massive fist and knocked three times on the castle doors.

The doors opened at once. Sean saw a tall witch in emerald-green robes. Just as he had imagined, she was stern-looking and carried herself with great poise.

"Professor McGonagall, the new students have arrived," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here."

Professor McGonagall led the young wizards into an empty room. After introducing Hogwarts' Four Houses, she swept her stern gaze over all the young wizards present.

"The Sorting Ceremony will be held shortly. I suggest you tidy yourselves up and look alert."

Harry, Neville, and Malfoy all lowered their heads unconsciously beneath her gaze, checking themselves for anything inappropriate.

Hermione tried her best to meet Professor McGonagall's gaze, as if showing that she was ready.

The moment Professor McGonagall left the room, she turned to Sean beside her and asked nervously, "Quick, help me look. I keep feeling like I put my robe on backwards."

Sean examined the girl carefully, then smiled. "You look great, Hermione."

As the girl let out a sigh of relief, the young wizards began whispering among themselves.

"George and Fred said we'll have to fight a Troll." Ron's face had already gone pale.

Harry did not look much better. Tugging at his collar, he said, "My godfather said the Sorting Ceremony requires us to cast three complete spells and find treasures hidden in secret places throughout the castle. They'll score us based on our performance..."

The crowd became even noisier, and quite a few new students had already turned pale as they began to pray.

Malfoy stood atop a small step with his lackeys, letting out a proud snort.

What a bunch of ignorant fools.

But just as he was about to speak, his eyes met Sean's smiling gaze.

Sean smiled and waved, as though greeting an old friend. Malfoy's face went white, and he forcibly swallowed the words he had been about to say.

"Sean, will the Sorting Ceremony be terrifying? If I fail, will they expel me? Oh no..." Hermione's face had gone pale as well.

"Of course not," Sean reassured her quietly. "Didn't two Schools of Magic compete over us before we came here? How could Hogwarts possibly expel a wizard so easily?"

As the new students fretted anxiously, several people suddenly screamed loudly.

More than twenty ghosts abruptly burst out from the wall behind them. Pearl-white and translucent, they drifted through the room while whispering to one another, paying little attention to the first-years.

Only the Fat Friar greeted them. "New students? I hope you're sorted into Hufflepuff!"

Once the ghosts passed through the walls again, Malfoy began grumbling furiously.

"Damn it, do they have no rules at all?!" He had just collided head-on with a ghost, and his face was deathly pale. "Newmontgard would never allow these things to roam freely through its castle. Damn it, I should have insisted to my father that I wanted to go to Newmontgard!"

"Newmontgard certainly has no ghosts, because its first headmaster is still alive," Harry said sarcastically from beside him.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "I've seen you before. The shampoo-selling family... Potter? Someone who couldn't even get an admission letter from Newmontgard must be thrilled just to find somewhere to learn magic, huh?"

"At least I wouldn't stand on Hogwarts grounds while kicking my own school," Harry shot back.

Both of them stepped forward. Neville and Ron glanced at the fierce-looking Crabbe and Goyle. Though their faces were pale, they still stepped behind their friend.

"Don't get worked up. We'll be classmates for seven years, after all. Come on, Draco, apologize first. You can still be friends afterward," Sean said with a smile. The Malfoy trio could not help taking a step back when they saw him.

Of course, that was not Sean's main purpose. His hearing was fairly good, and if he had not guessed wrong...

Professor McGonagall pushed open the door and walked in, her voice severe. "I would rather not see anyone packing their bags and going home before they've even been sorted."

The room fell silent at once.

Professor McGonagall swept her gaze across the room and gave Sean an approving look when she saw him.

"Now, form a single line and follow me."

Sean laughed inwardly. No matter where he was, teachers always liked students like him. It might have been a small thing, but didn't small gains add up?

He had never forgotten his Transfiguration Talent, which was as high as 8 points.

After following Professor McGonagall through the luxurious, elegant entrance hall, they stepped into Hogwarts' magnificent Great Hall.

"Wow..." The new students gasped in unison.

Students from the other years sat around four long tables, while two-colored banners representing each House hung high in the air. Thousands of floating candles illuminated the Great Hall, and the golden plates and goblets on the tables gleamed in the firelight.

The most eye-catching feature was the Great Hall's vaulted ceiling. Between the soaring marble walls stretching upward on all sides, the velvet-black ceiling was dotted with starlight, just like the starry night they had seen when they came ashore.

Sean heard Hermione whisper, "This place has been enchanted. It looks just like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

Professor McGonagall led them before the teachers' long table and had them stand in a line facing the older students.

She brought over a tall, four-legged stool. Resting on it was a battered pointed Wizard Hat. It had several patches and looked grimy.

Has the Sorting Hat really not been washed in thousands of years...? Sean wondered.

Everyone stared at the hat. Then it split open a mouth and began to sing in an odd tone:

You may think I'm not very pretty, but never judge by appearances, ... because I am a magical hat that can think!

When the Sorting Hat finished singing, thunderous applause erupted throughout the Great Hall. Sean even saw a pair of red-haired twins stand up and whistle several times.

Hermione let out a long breath beside him and muttered quietly, "So all we have to do is wear the hat. That scared me to death..."

Professor McGonagall stood beside the stool, holding a stack of parchment.

"Next, when I call your name, sit on the stool, put on the Sorting Hat, and wait to be sorted." She pushed up her Glasses and called out the first name.

"Hannah Abbott."

Sean: That was a relief...

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone~ヽ(°▽°)ノ