The Sorting Hat's Difficult Choice

Luan had never worn a hat this dirty or this tattered. Even when he had slept beneath bridges, he had felt that the hats of those street wanderers were probably much cleaner than the one on his head.

As he endured the stale, decaying smell wafting from the hat, a voice suddenly sounded beside Luan's ear.

"Hmm, you really are strange~"

Luan glanced to either side. Everyone was staring intently at him, and he realized that he seemed to be the only one who could hear the voice.

"That last one only had to choose between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but what about you?"

"I can see that you have plenty of courage. You've ventured out on your own and even mooched meals—quite impressive."

"You're also very capable with your hands. You watched over such a large forest, and you're very honest."

"You're quite ambitious too, wanting to learn every kind of magic."

"Well then, child, it seems any House except Ravenclaw would suit you. What a difficult choice."

Luan felt that the hat on his head was judging his House based on the things he had done before. But his little ambition had been buried deep in his heart—how had it discovered that too?

Luan did not keep the Sorting Hat waiting long. Once he knew he was suited to three Houses, he made his choice without hesitation.

"Then... Gryffindor."

Luan did not know what the other Houses were like, but at the Gryffindor table, he had already received several concerned looks—along with glances at his hands, where the knife wounds had already vanished.

"That's right. Sometimes, choices outweigh everything else, child!"

The Sorting Hat gave Luan what sounded like an encouraging reply, then announced loudly to the Great Hall.

"Then... GRYFFINDOR!"

Luan received cheers and applause as well. Though he did not know most of the people at the long table, he felt as if he had found his own kind.

"Come sit here! I knew you'd be with me."

Harry waved at him. Luan smiled his thanks and sat down beside him.

"Where did you go just now? We couldn't find you on the boat, so we had to..."

As Harry spoke, he looked at Hermione sitting across from them. To be honest, he did not have much of a favorable impression of that arrogant little girl either.

"Hagrid talked with me for a while, then I got on Malfoy's boat."

Upon hearing that, Harry turned to look at Malfoy, seated at the Slytherin table.

"You didn't have a conflict, did you? I mean, Ron's rat really scared them earlier."

After Harry finished speaking, Luan finally understood why Malfoy had misunderstood him. So the ones fighting in the compartment had been them.

"A conflict? Of course not."

While Luan and Harry were talking, the Sorting Hat had already sorted Ron into Gryffindor as well. He sat down on Harry's other side.

The last student was sorted into Slytherin, and then Professor McGonagall took the Sorting Hat away.

At that moment, Dumbledore stood up. The joyful smile on his wrinkled face made it clear just how happy he was.

"Welcome, everyone, to Hogwarts for the start of a new school year. Before the feast begins, I would like to say a few words."

Luan kept Bouncing under control at all times, because the silverware on the dining table was simply too shiny. To Bouncing, it was practically an invitation to commit a crime.

Hearing that Dumbledore still had a speech to make, Luan hoped it would not be too long. Once the feast began, Bouncing would be less conspicuous amid the chaos.

"Namely: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you, everyone!"

Those were the most beautiful words Luan had heard all night, but he had no way to applaud.

No one noticed him, though, because all kinds of food had already appeared on the tables.

Luan had never seen so much food before. Even the zoo staff cafeteria would not prepare this much all at once. Some of the meat dishes in particular looked incredibly appetizing.

While Luan was distracted, Bouncing had already crawled out of his pocket. It first hopped onto the table and set its sights on a silver fork beside Luan's hand.

It quickly scampered over and stuffed the silver fork into the pouch on its little belly, but before long, the fork reappeared on the table.

Bouncing opened its little pouch and peered inside curiously, then looked up at the silver fork. It looked back and forth several times before confirming that it was the very same fork.

Unable to believe it, it tried several more times, including with the gleaming golden plates, but none of them worked.

"The tableware here has been enchanted, so it can't be taken away. But as a prefect, I still have to remind you that keeping a Niffler as a pet isn't exactly a good choice."

The young red-haired wizard seated across from Luan had watched every one of Bouncing's little antics with Hermione beside him.

"I didn't know it was a Niffler at first. Hagrid even reminded me that I needed to get a certificate from the Head of House," Luan hurriedly explained.

"Of course, that's necessary. Professor McGonagall cares a great deal about school rules, but don't worry—she is still very concerned for the students in her own House."

The self-proclaimed prefect then began discussing the study of Transfiguration with Hermione. Luan could not get a word in, since he had only bought those textbooks yesterday.

After trying more than a dozen times, Bouncing finally accepted reality and sat listlessly at the edge of the table.

Luan carefully lifted it onto his lap, then speared a small piece of steak for it. Watching Bouncing begin to eat, Luan relaxed and listened to the conversations around the table.

A ghost who called himself Sir Nicholas happened to float over to their table. Many people greeted him, and he even lifted off his own head.

Luan rather liked the ghostly knight, because his clothes looked exactly like the noble attire the old people in Xilin Town often spoke of.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Nicholas."

Luan looked at the ghost with only his head showing above the dinner plate and politely greeted him.

"Look, this is the etiquette a noble should have. You should all learn from him. Stop calling me that witless Nick."

After saying that, the ghost stretched out his hand and shook Luan's.

But the moment Luan touched him, he immediately pulled his hand back.

He had never felt anything so cold. It was even colder than wading into the river to catch fish in winter.

"Oh, perhaps it didn't feel very pleasant, but never mind. Great Sir Nicholas offers you his respects."

As he spoke, the ghost bent at the waist and bowed to Luan. Then his head drooped down again, startling Luan.

The people around them burst into laughter. Sir Nicholas happily drifted away, and Luan's gaze followed him toward the professors.

At the long table, Professor McGonagall was talking with Dumbledore. They occasionally glanced this way as well. Luan thought they were probably looking at Harry; after all, that boy seemed to be the center of attention everywhere.

Luan withdrew his gaze and focused on the food before him, while also giving Bouncing a small piece of lamb chop.

Just then, Harry suddenly clutched his head and let out a scream, then began asking for a certain professor's name.

Luan listened carefully as the prefect explained that they were Professor Quirrell and Professor Snape, who taught Potions.

Luan noticed that the Professor Snape Harry was focused on was the one with the longest Wizard Bar. It was more than half a segment longer than Professor McGonagall's.

Seeing that this professor was still quite young, Luan realized that a wizard's strength did not necessarily depend on age.

When the feast ended and all the food vanished, Dumbledore stood up again and announced several matters.

The Forbidden Forest was off-limits.

Magic could not be used in the corridors.

Applications for Quidditch tryouts were open.

The corridor on the right side of the fourth floor was also off-limits.

Luan firmly committed all the prohibitions to memory. He knew that the most important thing for him now was to learn magic, not explore the castle.