Slytherin?

Anduin stepped forward, sat down on the chair, and let Professor McGonagall place the hat on his head, but at this moment, Anduin's mind was filled entirely with curiosity about the Sorting Hat.

"Hmm, serious and meticulous, with a sense of honor, and brimming with nearly boundless curiosity, strong-willed and resolute, yet disciplined and disdainful of certain unreasonable rules—why are your thoughts so mature? You hardly seem like a young child. It's truly difficult; it seems you could excel in any house. Is it Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, or..." the Sorting Hat murmured on Anduin's head.

"It can actually see into people's minds? I wonder what this hat is made of and what principle it operates on. I've never seen an alchemical tool with such strong personification. I really want to take it apart and have a look." Anduin stared curiously at the hat on his head, his thoughts consumed by academic questions about it.

"Hey, kid, put away those filthy ideas." As Anduin continued to daydream, the Sorting Hat on his head began to warn him.

Unfortunately, when you tell someone not to think of an elephant, that person will think of an elephant first. So the Sorting Hat's warning only made Anduin's imagination run wilder.

"Oh, it can even react to my thoughts? Are you a soul stuffed into a hat? Or can someone really create such a lifelike artifact?" Anduin, realizing the Sorting Hat was conversing with him, grew even more excited. He couldn't help reaching up to touch the hat, curious about what material it was made of.

"Good heavens, take your disgusting hand away, and those vile thoughts in your head!" The Sorting Hat sensed the danger in Anduin's mind but still dutifully pondered where to place him.

Which house should he go to? This terrifyingly strong will reminded the Sorting Hat of a wizard from a thousand years ago who had left a deep impression on it. That was...

Merlin!

"Slytherin!!" The Sorting Hat clearly didn't want to waste words with Anduin and shouted loudly, afraid that if it hesitated, it might regret it. With this kid's potential, and now entering that house, may it never fall into his hands.

Professor McGonagall on the stage was visibly stunned. Charles and Vivian below the stage were also taken aback when they heard Anduin's sorting.

Though they hadn't known him long, based on their understanding of Anduin, they had never imagined he might be sorted into Slytherin.

But the decision was final. Anduin's robes began to change as soon as the Sorting Hat announced the house name, the edges transforming into emerald green and silver trims, and the Slytherin crest appearing on his chest.

Anduin was slightly startled after hearing the Sorting Hat's decision, but his expression quickly calmed. "Tch, this shabby hat holds grudges, does it? Interesting." Anduin curled his lip, glancing back at the Sorting Hat as he walked down the steps, and the hat's personified expression glared back at him fiercely.

As for which house he was sorted into, Anduin didn't really care, though subconsciously, he had least wanted to be in Slytherin. Before enrolling, he had heard from Sirius that many Death Eaters came from Slytherin, and the ideology of pure-blood supremacy was very popular there.

"Could it be that the Sorting Hat caught my subconscious thoughts and vengefully put me in Slytherin? That seems unlikely." Anduin thought as he walked toward the Slytherin table, where the older students stood to welcome the new student, though he wondered how they'd react when they learned he came from a Muggle family.

"Welcome, Anduin Wilson. I'm Vanessa Greengrass, the Slytherin prefect." Vanessa Greengrass was a girl with long, dark brown hair and brown eyes, currently in her sixth year. She gave off an overall impression of politeness and proper demeanor.

"Hello, Prefect Greengrass. You can just call me Anduin." Anduin smiled slightly, shook hands with the female prefect, and then sat down next to Vivian.

"Goodness, I never thought you'd be sorted into Slytherin. I thought you'd go to Ravenclaw," Vivian said, unable to resist exclaiming as soon as Anduin sat down.

"It doesn't matter to me which house I'm in, but I didn't expect to get on the bad side of a shabby hat on my first day of school," Anduin replied indifferently.

"What shabby hat? What do you mean? Are you talking about the Sorting Hat?" Vivian asked, puzzled.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Let's wait until the sorting is over." Anduin didn't continue the conversation and instead cut it short.

But while Anduin and Vivian were chatting, not far from the same table, Travers shot a cold glance toward Anduin, then turned to talk with a few people nearby.

What Travers didn't notice was that Anduin had also noticed him from a distance. Anduin squinted at Travers, then began observing the other students in his house. Entering a new environment, he first needed to get a preliminary understanding—not just of names, but more importantly, of their stances, since the magical world was currently in a time of war.

Anduin then asked Vanessa, who was sitting across from him, "Prefect Greengrass, do you know if there's anyone in our house named Avery or Snape?"

"There are no current students with those names, but I have some recollection of the two you mentioned. They seem to have graduated several years ago. Why do you ask about them?" Vanessa looked at Anduin with confusion.

"Oh, nothing. I just heard their names before and thought I'd ask." It seemed the two Death Eaters he had fought earlier had no relatives attending school. Anduin breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the Sorting Ceremony finally came to an end. After the Sorting Hat and chair were removed, an old man with a white beard walked out from the front row of the staff table.

"Look, that's Dumbledore, known as the greatest wizard in the magical world today," Vivian said excitedly, introducing him to Anduin.

Anduin finally had a chance to seriously observe this old man, the great wizard who had been leading the British magical world in its fight against Voldemort.

But after watching for a while, Anduin didn't find him particularly special. He seemed like an ordinary old man next door. Dumbledore's speech on stage was very brief—just a few words and a simple greeting before he returned to his seat.

"Alright, let the feast begin." Dumbledore returned to his seat, lightly tapped his cup with a spoon, and food suddenly appeared on the plates, piled high.

All the young wizards cheered, ignoring etiquette as they grabbed the food in front of them and began eating ravenously.

The Slytherin new students were amazed by the magical display and excitedly grabbed food as well, but Anduin noticed that the older students nearby were much more restrained, using utensils to pick up their food and savor it slowly.