Hogwarts

Linley pinched his smooth chin, and before he could properly savor the changes in his mind or his newly acquired title, he heard Hagrid shout.

"Only four people per boat!"

He pointed to the row of small boats docked by the Black Lake and repeated, "Attention! No more than four per boat!"

With that, he led the way, jumping into a small boat.

Linley and three other young wizards he didn't know got into a small boat.

Soon, Hagrid looked around, and seeing that all the new students were in the boats, he commanded all the boats like a general:

"Alright, we're departing now."

The boats moved without wind, carrying the group of new students swiftly across the Black Lake.

In Linley's boat, there were two boys and one girl. Their brows were furrowed, their lips pressed together, and their faces were pale, looking very nervous.

Only Linley was relaxed, even having the leisure to stir the lake water.

The effects of his new title seemed quite good. Although there were some side effects, they were completely avoidable, and at least much better than the previous title that insulted his character.

The only drawback was that the name was a bit unpleasant.

He scooped up a handful of lake water and brought it closer. Only then did he realize that the water of the Black Lake wasn't truly black, but rather dark green.

"Aren't you worried at all?" asked the girl with two small braids and a few freckles on her face, looking at him with confusion.

Linley blinked. "Worried about what?"

"The Sorting Ceremony," said one of the boys. "They'll have some special way to distinguish which students belong to which house. Those who have gone through it say the process is something they never want to recall."

It was only then that Linley remembered Hogwarts had such a tradition.

But he couldn't be blamed. It had been nearly twenty years since he last read the Harry Potter series, including his current life. He really couldn't recall some of the details.

Linley looked at them with an innocent expression.

"I've always lived in normal society and know almost nothing about the wizarding world."

Seeing Linley so composed, the three young wizards in the boat, who had initially hoped he was an insider with some knowledge and could privately share rumors, were disappointed to find he knew less than they did.

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

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

The boy straightened his back, as if kindly enlightening him about Hogwarts, but his tone carried a hint of disdain.

"Then you definitely won't be sorted into Slytherin. Hogwarts has four houses. Slytherin only accepts those with pure-blood wizard ancestry and excellent magical talent, like me.

The other three houses: Ravenclaw values intelligence, Gryffindor values courage, and Hufflepuff values loyalty. Well, my parents told me this house has very lenient standards for selecting students. It's said that most wizards from Muggle families with little talent come from here, so you'll most likely be sorted into this house."

Linley had seen plenty of unlikable brats like this in the orphanage and was used to it.

He shrugged indifferently. "I can go anywhere. But I heard wizards in Diagon Alley say that Gryffindor is the best house at Hogwarts now, right?

They say our Headmaster came from that house, while Slytherin has a bad reputation. They all say it produces a lot of dark wizards."

The boy, clearly from a pure-blood family with blood purity prejudices, was slightly stung by Linley's words. His face flushed as he tried to retort, but after muttering for a long time, he couldn't think of a single counter-argument.

Linley didn't pay attention to this small interlude, as they had soon passed the Black Lake and arrived at the opposite shore.

Hagrid led them off the boats and together they walked to the oak door at the front of the castle. Then, with his fist, which was twice the size of an ordinary person's, he knocked heavily on the wooden door three times.

The large door was immediately opened from the inside.

Professor McGonagall, her expression always serious, stood directly in front of the new students.

The moment he saw Professor McGonagall, Linley couldn't help but recall his audacious act of petting a cat. Although he knew Professor McGonagall didn't mind, he still nervously shrunk his neck.

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

Professor McGonagall nodded, scanned the young wizards, and her stern gaze made many first-timers feel intimidated.

"Thank you, Hagrid. They're in my care now."

The young wizards followed the Deputy Headmistress, known for her seriousness, into a small compartment within the castle. After Professor McGonagall gave them her annual customary speech, she left to prepare for the Sorting Ceremony.

The group of students, who had been holding back their excitement for a long time, immediately erupted.

Some of them had already met each other on the train, and now, without the professors watching, they started discussing animatedly.

Linley initially listened in on some of their conversations, but after realizing they were mostly baseless speculations about the Sorting Ceremony, he lost interest.

However, the system in his mind, after completing the main quest of arriving at Hogwarts, had issued a new one.

[Main Quest: Obtain commendation from the relevant course professor.

Reward: Corresponding magical talent and effect +1]

Linley lowered his head, contemplating the new task given by the system. The system was quite broad in its definition of praise. For example, Professor McGonagall's casual compliment before had been enough to improve his Transfiguration talent.

So, it seemed that completing this task wouldn't be difficult. As long as he was a bit more active in class after school started, it should be fine.

What concerned Linley was whether he could repeatedly farm this way.

Although it felt a bit like wishful thinking, it was still worth trying.

Professor McGonagall quickly returned. She lined up the first-years and led them out of the compartments, into Hogwarts' Great Hall, which also served as the dining hall.

The hall was very lively, with students from the four different houses seated at four long tables. The professors were all seated at a long table on a raised platform. Linley spotted Professor Foxx among the professors.

He was still wearing that long trench coat, which was quite out of place for a wizard, and a tie underneath.

Foxx also noticed Linley's gaze and waved at him with a smile.

After his gaze shifted away from Professor Foxx, the person who most caught Linley's attention was seated in the center of the professors' long table. He had a long white beard, wore strange half-moon spectacles, and looked like a kind old man who was smiling all the time. This was the Headmaster of Hogwarts: Albus Dumbledore.

Before Linley could observe this most distinguished Headmaster in Hogwarts history any further, Professor McGonagall led them to the raised platform. She then brought out a stool and placed a dirty, tattered hat on it.

After the famous Sorting Hat finished its cheerful song, thunderous applause erupted from both students and professors at the five long tables.

For a school like Hogwarts, the start of term was indeed a joyous occasion for all young wizards. Among the many people present, only the first-years were not feeling particularly happy.

After being nervous for so long about the Sorting Ceremony, the result was simply putting on a hat. It was hard for anyone to feel good about that.

However, it also brought them some relief, as wearing a hat was not a difficult task after all.

Even though the hat looked dirty and sang a rather strange song.

"Mien Agnes!"

Professor McGonagall called out the name of the first young wizard.

A black-haired boy stumbled and trotted over. Under the watchful eyes of all the Hogwarts students and professors, he sat on the stool and put on the hat.

In full view of everyone, the Sorting Hat quickly shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

Immediately, cheers erupted from the Ravenclaw table.

Linley's palms began to sweat slightly.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous in this environment. He was close to the Gryffindor table and could even hear a senior Gryffindor wizard grumbling in annoyance. He had lost a bet on the first first-year's house assignment.

"Linley Belloc."

Linley's name was called third. He took a deep breath and then jogged over to Professor McGonagall.

He hadn't lied earlier. Linley was genuinely indifferent about which house he was sorted into. He held no prejudice against Slytherin, nor did he have an excessive fondness for Gryffindor. He yearned for Ravenclaw's wisdom and identified with Hufflepuff's loyalty and discretion.

His nervousness stemmed solely from the Sorting Hat itself.

Linley couldn't control the Legilimency that was a system reward, so he had no idea if it would work.

However, there was no point in thinking about it now. All he could do was put the hat on his head.

I'm really not trying to cut off the chapter, but when I got to this point, I realized this chapter was already almost three thousand words! (Manual emoji)

I'm not asking for votes anymore. If I asked for votes now, I'd probably get beaten