Sorting Ceremony (Part Two)

There was none of the imagined sensation of being seen through, nor any crushing pressure. The old man's gaze was kind and wise, and the smile at the corners of his mouth looked exceptionally gentle.

He noticed Luke's gaze and smiled as he nodded to him. Luke returned the gesture. After all, this was not the time for them to exchange formal greetings.

Under the eager yet nervous gazes of the Young Wizards, Professor McGonagall brought out a four-legged stool and placed a filthy, tattered pointed wizard's hat on top of it.

The Great Hall fell silent. The older students waited in anticipation, while the new students were filled with unease.

In that atmosphere, the hat twitched, splitting open along a wide seam like a mouth.

Then it began to sing...

"You may think I'm not very pretty, But never judge by appearances, For if you can find a hat more handsome than me, I'll eat myself.

Perhaps you belong in Gryffindor, Where courage lies buried deep within the heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

Perhaps you belong in Hufflepuff, Where the people are just and loyal, Hufflepuff students are patient and true, And never fear hard work;

If you have a clever mind, Perhaps you'll enter wise old Ravenclaw, Those who are wise and learned

Will always find their kindred spirits there;

Perhaps you'll enter Slytherin, Perhaps you'll make true friends there, But those cunning and sinister sorts will stop at nothing

To achieve their ends.

Come and put me on! Don't be afraid!

Don't panic!

In my hands—though I haven't got any—you'll be perfectly safe, For I am a thinking magical hat!"

To be honest, the instant the hat finished singing, Luke and Hermione beside him almost instinctively frowned. At the same time, thunderous applause erupted throughout the Great Hall.

This hat really feels like Slytherin's biggest anti-fan.

Luke could not help thinking to himself. What did it mean by "those cunning and sinister sorts will stop at nothing"?

What made Luke even more helpless was that the Slytherin House students seemed to have no reaction after hearing those words. They even looked somewhat proud of them. Only a handful of people, consciously or unconsciously, frowned at the lyrics, appearing rather dissatisfied.

While feeling that he still had a long road ahead of him, Luke also reflected that he could still find a few normal people in Slytherin to help him...

He gave the hat, which was bowing one by one to the four house tables, a deep look, as though considering something very impolite.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a roll of Parchment as she looked at everyone.

"When I call your name, put on the hat, sit on the stool, and await your Sorting."

She swept the new students with a sharp gaze, then unrolled the Parchment and called out.

"Hannah Abbott!"

A rosy-cheeked little girl with two golden braids stumbled out of the line and put on the hat.

A moment later, the Sorting Hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Applause broke out at the Hufflepuff table, and the Fat Friar among the Ghosts waved to her in greeting.

"Taylor Barbara!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, a plainly dressed girl with long, brilliant golden hair stepped up to the stool. Her head was lowered, and her face was obscured by her hair, making her features difficult to see. She put on the Sorting Hat.

To everyone's confusion, the hat fell silent, seemingly caught in indecision.

After roughly two or three minutes, just as everyone was beginning to grow impatient, the hat finally spoke.

"Slytherin..."

Luke felt that the Sorting Hat's tone could now be described as uncertain, even confused. Its voice had grown much quieter than before.

The girl named Taylor removed the hat as soon as it spoke, then walked toward the Slytherin table, still looking utterly listless.

The Slytherin students gave her warm yet restrained applause. Hogwarts never lacked oddballs. Forget keeping her head down and saying nothing—even students who barely spoke to anyone for seven years had existed before.

Luke, however, watched the girl with some suspicion. As far as he remembered, she had never appeared in the original story. Yet he could vaguely sense that she might not be simple.

"Luke Gaunt!"

Professor McGonagall called his name, and Luke came back to his senses and walked toward the stool. The atmosphere in the hall seemed to grow even more solemn. The surname Gaunt carried many meanings: nobility, wealth, ferocity, fear...

Not just the students who knew something about it—even the professors' eyes held a little more scrutiny as they watched Luke.

Snape in particular. Anyone with eyes could see that the most likely destination for the child before them was Slytherin. That was the Gaunt Family's usual path. But Professor McGonagall had said that this child seemed somewhat different, and no one knew whether that would affect the Hat's choice.

At the Slytherin table, the students looked at Luke with eyes that were practically burning. They all knew that Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin Academy, was an ancestor of the Gaunt Family.

So naturally, they were filled with anticipation at the arrival of a Gaunt—though there was no lack of scrutiny as well.

Everyone could feel the strange atmosphere permeating the Great Hall. It made Ron, Harry, and even Malfoy reveal looks of envy.

Being watched by everyone, becoming the center of attention—wasn't that what children their age desired most?

And Luke had already achieved that desire.

Luke picked up the hat and placed it on his head.

A faint voice sounded beside his ear.

"You are a very unusual child. You have the ambition to change this world, and the courage to protect all that is good. You possess wisdom beyond ordinary people, as well as an unyielding heart. I am quite torn, child."

Luke replied directly in his mind, "I want to go to Slytherin."

"Do not make your decision so quickly, child. Think calmly. I know Slytherin blood flows through your veins. But I can also sense an aura and talent in you that resemble my master's. You are very alike. You are much like both of them."

Luke fell silent for a moment. Honestly, he was stunned. He had thought that both his ambition and his bloodline essentially proved that he was naturally bound to Slytherin.

But the Hat had suddenly said he was like its master, and it had based that judgment on his aura and talent. The Hat's master was Godric Gryffindor...

Yet after only a moment, Luke said firmly again, "Slytherin!"

The Hat fell silent for a long while. "That only makes me feel that you are even more alike."

"But since you insist..."

"SLYTHERIN!"

As the Hat shouted, enormous cheers and thunderous applause erupted from the Slytherin table. Even Snape, the Head of House, clapped lightly, though a trace of wariness flashed through his eyes.

Just as Luke was about to remove the hat, its voice sounded in his ear once more.

"I can sense your dissatisfaction with me, child. But in my understanding, Slytherin Academy is simply the way it is now. If you do not like it, then try to change it."

Luke's hand paused. He smiled and spoke in his mind.

"That is exactly what I intend to do."