Prisoner of Azkaban

The moment the Sorting Hat touched Linley's hair.

The worn, dirty hat shrieked as if electrocuted:

"Slytherin!"

Linley was completely stunned.

His hands were still cupping the brim, he hadn't even fully placed it on his head.

He didn't have any prejudice against Slytherin, but wasn't that a bit too casual?

And could students from Muggle families be sorted into Slytherin?

Linley innocently turned his head to look at Professor McGonagall, who was standing nearby.

The professor didn't show much surprise, she urged Linley, "Your sorting is finished, Mr. Belloc. Please return the hat; it's time for the next person."

Linley had no choice but to place the Sorting Hat back on the stool and walk towards the cheering Slytherin table.

Even after sitting down, Linley still didn't understand how the Sorting Hat had made its decision.

It hadn't even spoken a word to him, nor had it understood his own thoughts.

So, it had seen his talent for dark magic?

Linley reasoned out a possibility in his mind.

But this guess didn't hold much water. After all, although Slytherin produced many dark wizards, it had never stated that talent for dark magic was a criterion for selecting students.

The Sorting Ceremony continued, and Linley's situation wasn't even a minor interruption in the eyes of the older students and professors.

Every year, there were students with very distinct personalities that allowed the Sorting Hat to make a quick judgment. While this phenomenon wasn't common, it wasn't rare either.

The most that could be said was that Professor McGonagall and Professor Foxx, who knew Linley was from a Muggle family, were a little surprised in their hearts.

It was indeed quite rare for a new student from a Muggle family to be sorted into Slytherin.

The senior students around him in Slytherin were all quite friendly. Adopting a mindset of accepting his situation, Linley stopped thinking about it and quietly watched the Sorting Ceremony continue.

"Ian Douglas Campbell!"

As Professor McGonagall's voice rang out, the silver-haired boy from Linley's carriage on the train, who carried an umbrella on a sunny day, quickly walked towards the high platform.

The Sorting Hat seemed to hesitate for a long time on his head, finally sorting him into Ravenclaw.

"Cho Chang!"

A young Asian girl scurried over to Professor McGonagall and hastily placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

This was the only young wizard Linley knew from his own year.

The first love of the Savior Harry Potter, and also of Chinese descent.

And that brat named Hubert Maclean, who was on the same boat as Linley when crossing the lake, had indeed been sorted into Slytherin as he had said.

When he strode proudly towards the Slytherin table, like a knight just knighted by the king, he saw Linley sitting there calmly and his whole demeanor collapsed.

It was as if the knight discovered that the knighthood was worthless, that anyone could have it.

His face flushed red, appearing somewhat flustered, but he still maintained basic etiquette.

"Why did you lie to me?"

He sat down opposite Linley and glared, questioning him.

Linley looked at him, utterly bewildered, "What did I lie to you about?"

"You told me your parents were both Muggles!"

"That's right. Although I'm an orphan and have never met them, they have identities and assets in normal society, so they should be Muggles."

"Then why were you sorted into Slytherin!"

"How should I know?" Linley shrugged his shoulders. "Is there a rule that Slytherin doesn't accept students from Muggle families?"

A senior student from Slytherin sitting nearby answered the question.

"No."

The senior student shook his head, but his gaze towards Linley was also filled with strangeness.

"Slytherin has had new students from Muggle families before, but very, very few. Maybe not even one in three years."

"So, I'm a once-in-three-years genius then?" Linley muttered to himself.

"In a sense, yes."

The speaker was the Slytherin prefect. When Linley had just sat down, she had introduced herself. Her name was Betty Delisle, and she looked like a capable young woman.

After the Sorting Ceremony, Headmaster Dumbledore's opening speech interrupted the conversation at the Slytherin table.

"...Due to the unfortunate misfortune of Professor Stoker last semester, I have accepted his resignation.

I would now like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Adrian Foxx. He is an expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts and will also be a competent professor."

Professor Foxx smiled and waved to the young wizards from the high platform.

But strangely, there was very little applause from the young wizards below.

It was almost silent even at the Slytherin table.

Just as Linley raised his hand to show some support for Foxx, he saw that almost everyone at the Slytherin table had a grim expression upon hearing Professor Foxx's name. Even the professors sitting on the high platform didn't seem to have pleasant expressions.

Professor Foxx's reputation didn't seem to be very good.

Linley frowned and hesitated for a moment, then lowered the hand that was ready to applaud.

He decided to probe the situation during the banquet.

Dumbledore didn't give a long speech, only made a few necessary announcements before declaring the banquet open.

As soon as he finished speaking, countless steaming hot dishes appeared out of nowhere on the empty plates in front of Linley. This immediately whetted the appetites of the new students who had traveled a long way, and they began to wave their cutlery to enjoy the delicious food before them.

The Slytherins ate at a leisurely pace, a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere of Gryffindor on the other side.

"I thought that news was fake, I didn't expect Professor Dumbledore to actually invite him."

An older male student sighed.

Prefect Betty was cutting a Munich sausage.

"Isn't it ironic? Having him teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Once the news gets out, it'll probably be on the front page of the Daily Prophet for a month."

"My father warned me. If he really came to Hogwarts, he told me to stay far away from him. Even if it meant pulling Professor Dumbledore's beard, I shouldn't provoke him."

"Excuse me..."

Linley carefully interjected into their conversation, "Are you referring to the new Professor Foxx? Does he... have any issues?"

Hubert, also a new student, looked at him disdainfully.

"You dare to interrupt our conversation when you know nothing."

Linley looked at him speechlessly, feeling that this brat really deserved a beating.

"Shut up! Is this how the Maclean family raises their children?"

Betty reprimanded Hubert with a stern face, then explained to Linley and other young wizards who didn't know the inside story:

"Although it's not good to gossip about professors behind their backs, I still advise you to stay away from the new Professor Foxx.

He was once sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for torturing and killing five wizards using the Unforgivable Curses.

Later, thanks to the strong vouching from our Headmaster Professor Dumbledore, and a turn of events concerning his past offenses, his previous sentence was overturned by the Wizengamot two years ago, and he was released early."

Cough, cough, cough... Well, you understand.