"Allen Wake!"
Phew—
It seemed the alphabetical order wasn't absolute.
Right, Hogwarts only admitted some Muggle-born young wizards with exceptional magical talent.
In other words, those previously arranged alphabetically were all young wizards from magical families.
"Hufflepuff!"
Generally speaking, only the tolerant Hufflepuff would take in seemingly unremarkable Muggle-born young wizards.
Tom Riddle, who came from a Muggle orphanage but was actually connected to Slytherin, ought to have been one of a kind.
"Yuffie Hikarou!"
"Ravenclaw!"
Hmm... if you were pretty, Ravenclaw would open its doors too!
"Gryffindor!" "Hufflepuff!"...
There weren't many—only ten Muggle-born young wizards.
There were no awkward Hat situations. Basically, one person was sorted every few minutes.
In less than half an hour, Cypher was the only one left standing alone by the doors.
It was finally my turn...
But...
Cypher had already raised one foot, yet Deputy Headmaster Brandt Fergus still hadn't called his name.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?!"
The Great Hall was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard. Even without an Amplifying Charm, the Deputy Headmaster's voice was enough to carry through the entire hall.
Thus, after the Deputy Headmaster's deafening question rang out, every young wizard turned to look at Cypher.
There was no helping it. Cypher was the only one standing alone among the new students, and the Deputy Headmaster was staring right at him.
It was hard to find anyone else who could have been the one questioned...
"Me?" Unable to believe it, Cypher looked stunned and pointed at his own nose with a finger of his right hand.
"That's right! You! Confess, and we'll be lenient... considering that you're still a child, we'll only erase your memory and send you out of Hogwarts!"
This was Hogwarts' Great Hall, and today was the Sorting Ceremony.