"Hogwarts does not allow coercion of any kind. Every student has the right to decide who they walk with."
Malfoy's face instantly flushed red—a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and defiance.
He opened his mouth as if to argue, but under Professor McGonagall's intensely imposing gaze, he ultimately let go with ill grace.
He could even feel the looks from the other new students leaning toward Slytherin, which made him feel especially humiliated.
[Emotion Points +20] (From Malfoy's anger, embarrassment, and frustration) [Emotion Points: 450/100]
The moment his wrist was free, Skofot pulled his hand back in front of himself. With his other hand, he gently rubbed the wrist marked red by the grip. He lowered his head, his shoulders slightly hunched, looking shaken and wronged but too afraid to say anything.
When Professor McGonagall turned her gaze toward him, it visibly softened somewhat, though her tone remained stern.
"Mr. Leoqi, stay with the group. If anyone makes you uncomfortable, report it to me directly."
"Yes, Professor. Thank you." Skofot answered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, obediently nodding.
He no longer looked at Malfoy's livid face. Quietly following the larger group, he blended into the crowd of new students and put just the right amount of distance between himself and everyone else—neither staying by Malfoy's side nor immediately heading toward Harry and the others.
Professor McGonagall watched his retreating figure, shot Malfoy another harsh glare, then turned around and continued leading the group upstairs.
Malfoy stood where he was, glaring fiercely in the direction Skofot had vanished. Then he shot a venomous look at Ron, who was smirking at him triumphantly, before angrily leading Crabbe and Goyle after the group.
He felt that the frail-looking Leoqi had played him—or at least made him lose face in front of Professor McGonagall and everyone else.
Meanwhile, in a corner where no one noticed, Skofot gently flexed his wrist.
The red marks would soon fade, but the gains from that brief clash, as well as the misunderstandings and attention that might continue to ferment afterward, were what truly mattered to him.
The castle's gates stood before them, brightly lit.
Standing in the line waiting to be sorted, listening as names were called and watching new students run toward their respective House tables, Skofot's mind was mostly immersed in his own system.
A week had passed since his last Card Draw. The cooldown had long since ended, and this occasion might just call for something new.
"System, Card Draw."
[Emotion Points -100] [Emotion Points: 350/100]
A virtual panel appeared, and a new card settled into place as it spun.
[Scavenger—Class Description: A scavenger of the hidden world. Violent aesthetics. Buff: Killing Intent Description: You can freely control and possess killing intent Debuff: Something Is Off Description: Others find something off about you and instinctively fear you Debuff: Alcohol Prohibition Description: Drunken rampages Debuff: Killing Intent Visualization Description: Your eyes can see killing intent]
Skofot—no, at this moment, he more clearly realized that he was Fotkai—stared at the description of this new card, and his body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
The effects of this card were completely opposite to those of [Rabbit Rhymer]. They could even be called two extremes.
Even more troublesome was that once a card was equipped, it could not be removed during the first week of mandatory use.
He instinctively tried to cancel it, but it was already too late.
An icy, viscous aura that seemed to carry the scent of rust instantly seeped from his bones, replacing the fragile, easily shattered air he had possessed before.
The invisible air around him seemed to congeal, the temperature dropping slightly.
[The "Rabbit Rhymer" card has been forcibly replaced with the "Scavenger" card. First-use timer has begun.]
"..."
He could feel that the way he saw the world had changed slightly. There seemed to be faint, barely perceptible flowing traces in the air around him (Killing Intent Visualization?), but he had no time to study them.
"Hannah Abbott!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Terry Boot!"
"Ravenclaw!"
When the name "Harry Potter" was called, a buzzing murmur rose through the Great Hall.
The hat remained on Harry's head for quite some time before finally shouting, "Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table erupted in enthusiastic cheers, and the Weasley Twins shouted:
"We've got Potter! We've got Potter!"
Ron Weasley was also sorted into Gryffindor, unsurprisingly, and ran excitedly toward the seat beside Harry.
Finally—
"Skofot Leoqi."
Fotkai took a deep breath and stepped forward.
He could clearly feel that as he moved, the excited clamor around him unconsciously lowered considerably.
Many eyes fell upon him. They no longer held the curiosity or pity from before, but an inexplicable hesitation and... faint unease.
[Emotion Points +10] (From the slight fear and confusion of the surrounding students) [Emotion Points: 360/100]
He sat down on the three-legged stool, and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head.
The hat was huge, nearly blocking his vision.
"Hmm..." A faint voice sounded beside his ear.
"A very complex... deeply contradictory soul... A desire to survive, skilled at calculation, a longing for recognition, oh, and some sort of... cold undertone?"
Skofot did not respond. He merely tried his best to restrain the "Something Is Off" aura naturally emitted by the [Scavenger] card, as well as any killing intent that might leak out.
He could "see" faint, ominous auras seemingly winding around him (Killing Intent Visualization).
"Where could you achieve greatness? You undoubtedly possess Slytherin's ambition, you know how to use Ravenclaw's wisdom, and even Gryffindor's decisiveness when pursuing your goals... But wait, what is this?"
The Sorting Hat's voice seemed to stutter, as though it had encountered something that made its workings malfunction.
"This aura... so cold... so... not of this place! Something is off! Very off!"
The Sorting Hat's voice abruptly rose, turning shrill and terrified. No longer a whisper, it rang through the Great Hall, which had suddenly fallen silent.
"AZKABAN!!!"
The three words exploded through the deathly silent Great Hall like thunder.
Everyone froze, thinking they had misheard.
At the professors' table, Dumbledore's blue eyes narrowed sharply behind his half-moon spectacles.
Professor McGonagall's hand holding the list froze in midair, her face full of shock and disbelief.
Professor Snape's hollow black eyes locked tightly onto Fotkai, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Flitwick could not hold it together.
The students erupted into an uproar, staring at one another in disbelief.
Azkaban?
What kind of House was that?
Wasn't that a wizard prison?
Malfoy's mouth fell open. Crabbe and Goyle exchanged bewildered looks.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all stunned. Ron stammered, "H-he, what did he say? Azkaban?"
Skofot sat on the stool, wearing the Sorting Hat, which was still trembling slightly as though it had been frightened.
Under the influence of the [Scavenger] card's "Something Is Off" effect and the killing intent that might have leaked out, he seemed, in everyone's eyes, to be shrouded in an invisible, heart-chilling shadow.
He was drenched in sweat. Only he knew that inside, he was frantically cursing this damned card and this absurd turn of events.
A deathly silence filled the Great Hall, every gaze focused on the black-haired boy whom the Sorting Hat had assigned to "Azkaban."
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