Why He Was Sorted into Gryffindor?

The moment he entered, Roger noticed the lingering trace of sorrow at the corner of Professor McGonagall's eyes.

"Professor, did something happen? Is there anything I can help with?" Roger asked warmly.

Although he had come to see Professor McGonagall about something this time, he was in no particular hurry. Having once been arrested by the Ministry of Magic, he knew exactly what the Ministry was like.

It was not completely corrupt, but it was riddled with bureaucracy as severe as that in Yes, Prime Minister... Or rather, the essence of most departments was that they served as representatives of various powerful wizards and families within the Ministry. He had little influence and no standing; if he wanted to get something done, there was no way he could avoid endless wrangling.

In 1689—roughly around the late Ming and early Qing dynasties—the International Statute of Secrecy was signed, and wizards thereafter divided their spheres of influence according to Muggle national borders.

In each region, several of the strongest local factions took the lead—for instance, in the United Kingdom, the Wizards' Council and the Department of Mysteries—and established Ministry-like organizations to govern the wizards within their territories.

But the wizards and factions that had originally monopolized all kinds of magical resources and knowledge could hardly be expected to willingly hand those resources and knowledge over to be managed by the Ministry of Magic.

Some smaller factions were crushed by the tide of the times, and what they possessed became the various magical books now openly sold to the public. The powerful and irreplaceable ones, however, could only be absorbed into the system.

It was like certain countries where a single family monopolized the water and electricity supply, while countless politicians in the government had political donations from that family tucked into their pockets. The government could do nothing about them and could even only create special positions specifically for those families.

Getting his hands on the Space Magic Undetectable Extension Charm and obtaining a certain degree of authority to use it was probably no simple matter. Even if Professor McGonagall was willing to help him, it would likely have to go through rounds of approval across every department that could get involved, dragging on for months.

Since he was not in a hurry, while Professor McGonagall was facing a problem, Roger naturally placed her concerns at a higher priority.

Professor McGonagall had not only been his first guide in the wizarding world, but had also helped him greatly in every respect. It would not be an exaggeration to say she had saved him years of detours.

Naturally, Roger cared deeply about her troubles.

Roger had never let anyone who had helped him suffer a loss.

"It's not really anything serious." Seeing Roger's solemn expression, Professor McGonagall gave a slight wave of her hand.

"It's just the Quidditch matter... sigh." A trace of embarrassment appeared on Professor McGonagall's face.

Quidditch was a popular sport unique to wizards, and also the only sport at Hogwarts with major competitions.

It was much like football or basketball: players put the ball through the goal to score, and the side with the higher score won.

However, Quidditch was played by wizards flying through the air on broomsticks, and the balls could fly on their own as well... It was said to have evolved from aerial magical combat between wizards.

At Hogwarts, the four Houses each fielded a representative team. Last year, Gryffindor had been beaten badly by Slytherin, and as Head of Gryffindor House, Minerva McGonagall had not dared face Slytherin's Head of House, Snape, for several weeks.

Snape was truly skilled at making venomous, sarcastic remarks. She had no desire to walk into that misfortune.

Hearing this, an awkward look flashed through Roger's eyes.

Professor McGonagall had only just begun explaining, but Roger already knew what had happened. Come to think of it, he bore a little responsibility for this.

Since the start of term, although he had devoted most of his energy to studying and magical experiments, it was not as if he had done nothing else.

For example, when classmates came to him with questions they did not understand, he would explain them whenever he had time. Reviewing old knowledge brought new insights, after all.

When students caused accidents during class, Roger would also help the teachers deal with the aftermath.

And whenever Gryffindor students clashed with their old rivals from Slytherin, if he saw it, he would step in as a mediator.

They were all classmates. Roger did not want to watch that sort of mutual bullying unfold before his eyes.

...Though both Gryffindor and Slytherin students had been chilled to the bone by Roger's brutally forceful methods of "mediation," so not many were grateful to him.

Under Roger's "deterrence," as long as he was present, Slytherin and Gryffindor students always behaved with restraint. Therefore...

During Flying class, the conflict between Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter never happened. Everyone attended class properly, and no one dared act up.

Harry never got the chance to display his extraordinary flying talent before everyone and Professor McGonagall... Flying was dangerous, and Madam Hooch, the Flying instructor, would not allow students to attempt dangerous maneuvers on their own.

As a result, even now, Professor McGonagall was still troubled by the fact that, after the team's previous Seeker, Charlie Weasley, had graduated and left, the Gryffindor Quidditch team had no new powerful Seeker.

The Seeker was the most crucial position in Quidditch. A Quidditch match had no time limit; it ended whenever a Seeker caught the Golden Snitch. If the Golden Snitch could not be caught, then theoretically, the match could continue until the end of time.

Having thought that far, Roger asked to confirm, "Is this about finding a Seeker?"

"Yes."

"Then let Harry give it a try. It would be a bit of an exception for a first-year to become a Seeker, but Headmaster Dumbledore will agree."

"...Will that work?" Professor McGonagall had never heard that Harry possessed such talent.

"Trust me. He'll be fine." Roger said as he tapped his eye.

Professor McGonagall understood. A seer's prophecy!

As a powerful seer, it was perfectly reasonable for him to see at a glance what she was troubled by and provide a solution.

Seeing Professor McGonagall nod, a smile curled Roger's lips.

Harry Potter had already inherited his father's terrifying talent for Quidditch. Not long ago, Roger had also optimized and modified his entire nervous system. At that moment, Harry's athletic talent seemed to shine as brilliantly as though it had been enhanced to +15.

In this Quidditch match, Harry Potter, armed with exceptional skills and possessing fighting spirit and endurance that would astonish everyone, would surely bring every opponent endless surprises!

"Come to think of it, Flying class is coming up shortly. You can test him then, Professor. Harry's abilities will satisfy you." Though he said that, Roger felt Harry still needed to show what he could do. Otherwise, if he suddenly joined the team and failed to win over the others, it would not be good if conflicts arose among the players.

After all, many deep grudges often began with tiny, seemingly insignificant matters.

Harry had helped him too, so Roger naturally wanted to eliminate a few potential risks for him.

With Professor McGonagall's concerns temporarily settled, Roger began discussing the actual reason for his visit.

"You want to magically modify your own brain?!" After Roger explained his general purpose, Professor McGonagall's eyes widened as she stared at him with an expression that clearly said, Have you lost your mind?

Magically modifying the brain—what kind of concept was that? It was as outrageous as a Muggle teaching himself from a few medical books before attempting to perform his own craniotomy, or directly linking a human brain to a machine! She seemed to understand a little why this boy, who did nothing every day but read and read, had been sorted into Gryffindor! No matter how "brave" other Gryffindors were, they merely caused mischief or, at most, played pranks on teachers.

But you—were you really daring to gamble with your life!