Hogwarts

Lynn pinched his smooth chin. Before he had time to carefully examine the changes in his mind and his newly acquired title, he heard Hagrid shout.

"Only four people per boat!"

Pointing at the row of boats moored along the Black Lake, he repeated, "Attention! No more than four people in each boat!"

With that, he took the lead and jumped into one of the boats.

Lynn boarded a boat with three young wizards he did not know.

Soon, Hagrid looked around. Once he saw that all the new students had boarded, he gave orders to the boats like a general.

"Alright, we're setting off now."

The boats began moving without wind, carrying the new students swiftly across the Black Lake.

There were two boys and a girl in Lynn's boat. Their brows were furrowed, their lips pressed tightly together, and their faces pale. They looked extremely nervous.

Only Lynn was completely relaxed, even idly trailing his fingers through the lake water.

The effect of his newly acquired title seemed quite good. Though it had some side effects, they could be completely avoided. At the very least, it was far better than that previous title that insulted his character.

Its only flaw was that the name sounded a little awful.

Scooping up a handful of lake water and bringing it before his eyes, Lynn realized that the Black Lake was not truly black. It was dark green.

"Aren't you worried at all?" the girl with two braids and a few freckles asked him in confusion.

Lynn blinked. "Worried about what?"

"The Sorting Ceremony," one of the boys said. "They'll use some special method to determine which House each student belongs to. According to people who have gone through it, the experience was so terrible that they never wanted to remember it for the rest of their lives."

Only then did Lynn remember that Hogwarts had such a tradition.

It was not really his fault. After all, it had been nearly twenty years, counting this lifetime, since he had read the Harry Potter books. There were details he genuinely might not remember.

Lynn looked at them innocently.

"I've always lived in ordinary society. I hardly know anything about the wizarding world."

Seeing how calm Lynn was, the other three young wizards in the boat had initially hoped he was someone with insider knowledge who could secretly share some useful information with them. When they discovered that he knew even less than they did, they were immediately disappointed.

"Are both your parents Muggles?" another boy asked suspiciously.

Lynn nodded calmly. "If by Muggles, you mean ordinary people who can't use magic, then I suppose they are."

The boy straightened his back, as though he were kindly explaining Hogwarts to Lynn, but there was a faint trace of contempt in his tone.

"Then it's impossible for you to be sorted into Slytherin. Hogwarts has four Houses. Slytherin only accepts those with pure-blood wizarding heritage and exceptional magical talent, like me.

"The other three Houses are different. Ravenclaw values intelligence, Gryffindor values courage, and Hufflepuff values loyalty. Hmm, my parents told me that House has very relaxed standards for selecting students. They say most wizards from Muggle families with little talent come from there. You'll probably be sorted into that House."

Lynn had seen plenty of unlikeable little brats like this in the orphanage. He was long used to them.

He shrugged indifferently. "I'm fine with going anywhere. But I heard wizards in Diagon Alley say that Gryffindor is the best House at Hogwarts now, isn't it?

"They say our Headmaster came from that House, while Slytherin doesn't have a very good reputation. Everyone says it produces Dark wizards."

The boy clearly came from a pure-blood family with blood-status prejudice. Stung by Lynn's small jab, his face turned red as he tried to argue.

But after mumbling softly for ages, he could not think of a single retort.

Lynn did not take that little incident to heart, because they soon crossed the Black Lake and arrived on the opposite shore.

Hagrid led them off the boats and to the oak doors at the front of the castle. Then, with a fist twice the size of an ordinary person's, he pounded heavily on the doors three times.

The doors immediately opened from within.

Professor McGonagall, whose expression was always stern, stood straight before the new students.

The moment he saw Professor McGonagall, Lynn could not help remembering his bold cat-petting stunt. Though he knew she did not mind, he still guiltily shrank his neck.

"I've brought the first-years, Professor McGonagall."

Professor McGonagall nodded and swept her gaze across the young wizards. Her stern eyes made many new students who were seeing her for the first time fearful.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here."

The young wizards followed the Deputy Headmistress, famous for her severity, into a small chamber inside the castle. After giving them the usual annual lecture, Professor McGonagall left to prepare for the Sorting Ceremony.

The new students, who had been holding themselves back for so long, immediately erupted into chatter.

Some of them had already gotten to know one another on the train. Now that no professor was watching them, they began talking over each other.

At first, Lynn listened in on what they were saying, but once he realized it was mostly baseless speculation about the Sorting Ceremony, he lost interest.

Meanwhile, after the system completed the Main Quest of arriving at Hogwarts, it issued him a new task.

Main Quest: Receive praise from the professor of the corresponding subject.

Reward: Appropriate magical talent and effect +1

Lynn lowered his head and considered the new task the system had given him. The system's definition of praise was rather broad. Just as before, Professor McGonagall's casual compliment had increased his talent for Transfiguration.

So completing this task did not seem difficult. As long as he was a little more active in class after term began, he should be able to do it.

What concerned Lynn was whether he could repeatedly farm points this way.

It did sound rather wishful, but it was worth trying.

Professor McGonagall soon returned. She had the new students form a line, then led them out of the chamber and into the Great Hall of Hogwarts, which also served as the dining hall.

The hall was exceptionally lively. Students from the four Houses sat at four long tables, while the professors were seated at a long table on the raised platform. Among them, Lynn spotted Professor Foxx at once.

He was still wearing that long coat utterly unsuited to his identity as a wizard, with a tie underneath.

Professor Foxx also noticed Lynn's gaze and smiled as he waved at him.

After looking away from Professor Foxx, what drew Lynn's attention most was the Hogwarts Headmaster seated in the middle of the professors' table: Albus Dumbledore, with his enormous white beard, strange half-moon spectacles, and a constant smile that made him look like a kindly old neighbor.

Before Lynn could observe the greatest Headmaster in Hogwarts history any further, Professor McGonagall led them onto the platform, brought out a stool, and placed a filthy, tattered hat on top of it.

After the famous Sorting Hat cheerfully finished its song, enthusiastic applause erupted from all five long tables, among both students and professors.

For a school like Hogwarts, the beginning of term was indeed something that made every young wizard happy. Of everyone present, only the new students were not in particularly good spirits.

After being nervous for so long about the Sorting Ceremony, it turned out all they had to do was put on a hat. No one would be too pleased by that.

Still, it let them breathe a sigh of relief. After all, putting on a hat could not be that difficult.

Though this particular hat looked very dirty, and its singing had been rather strange.

"Mien Agnes!"

Professor McGonagall called the first young wizard's name.

A black-haired boy stumbled into a run and, under the eyes of every Hogwarts student and professor, sat down on the four-legged stool and put on the hat.

With everyone watching, the Sorting Hat quickly shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

Cheers immediately erupted from the Ravenclaw table.

A light sweat broke out in Lynn's palms.

It would have been a lie to say he was not nervous in such an environment. He was close to the Gryffindor table and could even hear an older Gryffindor student muttering in frustration. He had lost a bet on the first new student's House assignment.

"Lynn Belloc."

Lynn's name was third. He took a deep breath, then jogged over to Professor McGonagall.

He had not lied before. Lynn truly did not care which House he was sorted into. He had no prejudice against Slytherin, nor was he particularly devoted to Gryffindor. He admired Ravenclaw's wisdom and agreed with Hufflepuff's loyalty and low-key nature.

What made him nervous was only the Sorting Hat itself.

Lynn could not control the Legilimency granted by the system, so he had no idea whether it would work.

But there was no use thinking so much now. All he could do was put the hat on his head.

I really didn't mean to cut it off here, but when I got to this point, I realized this chapter was already nearly three thousand words long! (smug face)

No asking for votes, no asking for votes. If I still asked for votes after this, I'd probably get beaten...