Is the Sorting Hat This Brave?

After this unexpected situation, the Sorting Hat stopped dawdling; it could basically complete the sorting the moment it touched a new student's hair.

With this kind of efficiency, there were soon only the last two new students left.

"Kanna Prince!"

Hearing this familiar name, Kyle and Cedric looked over in unison.

"That's the little girl from the train, right?" Cedric asked curiously. "Where do you think she'll be sorted? Slytherin?"

"Probably." Kyle subconsciously scratched his back. "Since she's wearing Tuofan robes, she's likely a pure-blood. It should be Slytherin, no doubt... hm?"

At that moment, Kyle suddenly froze. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but after Professor McGonagall called Kanna's name, Snape—who had been stone-faced and seemingly uninterested in the sorting—actually shifted his body forward, his attention focused entirely on the Sorting Hat for the first time.

They couldn't possibly know each other, could they? Kyle thought.

Although Snape rarely participated in social activities due to his unique status, he was, after all, one of the four Heads of House at Hogwarts and a renowned Potions Master; it was impossible for him to have no acquaintances in the wizarding world.

Kanna's family might just be among them.

Thinking of this, a chill ran down Kyle's back, and he suddenly had a bad premonition.

If that were the case, given Snape's personality, if he found out that Kyle had messed with Kanna, he would likely be enjoying the "protagonist treatment" ahead of schedule.

"It can't be that much of a coincidence..." Kyle felt his scalp tingle.

What a disaster.

He had just been mocking the Weasley twins for their bad karma, never expecting retribution to arrive so quickly; it had landed on him the very next second.

Kyle looked toward the stage with trepidation.

For some reason, when it was Kanna's turn, the Sorting Hat's efficiency seemed to revert to how it had been at the very beginning.

After everyone waited for over a minute, the Sorting Hat finally spoke:

"Hufflepuff!"

Hm??

A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the Hufflepuff table, and the prefects rose once again to welcome Kanna.

Only Kyle, watching Kanna walk past him, was filled with question marks.

What was going on? Aside from Scamander, there were actually pure-blood families coming to Hufflepuff? That was truly rare.

It wasn't that there were none—all four houses had pure-bloods—but there were simply very few in Hufflepuff.

As for whether Kanna had followed him here... that was simply impossible.

Sorting wasn't a game; on a larger scale, it could even influence a wizard's future path.

So, even if Kanna was young and ignorant, the Sorting Hat wouldn't let her mess around; otherwise, Kanna's family wouldn't let the matter rest.

Kyle remembered Chris once telling him that when Sirius Black was sorted into Gryffindor, the lady of the Black family had once caused a huge scene at Hogwarts.

If Dumbledore hadn't intervened forcefully, the Sorting Hat would have nearly been burned to a crisp by her using Fiendfyre.

That incident caused quite a stir at the time. Although Dumbledore suppressed it at Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic held several meetings to discuss whether to abolish the Sorting Hat and adopt other methods of sorting in the future.

Moreover, the proposal had quite high support because most pure-blood families were unwilling to let their children go to any house other than Slytherin, especially the stubborn, old-fashioned ones.

Having a Gryffindor in the family was, in their eyes, nothing short of a disgrace.

Of course, the final result was that it didn't pass.

After all, the Dumbledore of twenty-some years ago wasn't as easy to talk to as he was now. Once he clearly expressed his opposition, those pure-blood families didn't dare to deny him that respect.

The matter eventually fizzled out.

However, ever since then, those pure-blood family members who supported the proposal never sent their children to other houses again.

Kyle glanced at the staff table on the stage.

It was simple to confirm whether this sorting was normal: just look at Snape's reaction. If Kanna's family really had a good relationship with Snape, he certainly wouldn't continue to sit there calmly after she was sorted into Hufflepuff...

Uh...

Alright, Kyle was wrong.

At the staff table, Snape's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. He was whispering something to Dumbledore, glancing toward Hufflepuff from time to time.

Kyle hurriedly lowered his head, trying his best to minimize his presence.

It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it? Is the Sorting Hat really that brave? Kyle felt a bit uneasy.

At the same time, the very last new student finished their sorting and headed to the Gryffindor table.

Dumbledore then stood up, looking at the students below with a beaming smile, and spread his arms: "Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! There is nothing more delightful than seeing all of you here."

"What are you waiting for? Tuck in!"

The previously empty tables were instantly piled high with steaming food.

Beef, roast chicken, pork chops, sausages, and steaks were stacked into small mountains, making one's appetite grow just by looking at them.

If those felt too greasy, there were also fragrant boiled potatoes, pea shoots, and potato chips nearby, which were excellent when paired together.

The entire Great Hall was filled with the aroma of food.

Kyle shook his head, struggling to stop himself from thinking about such messy matters.

Forget it, things were already like this anyway; what was the point of overthinking? He would just take it one step at a time.

Regardless of what happened, he wouldn't be the first one to suffer, not with the Sorting Hat taking the heat ahead of him.

Besides, even if Snape really wanted to give him trouble, it wouldn't last long; as long as he could hold out until Harry Potter enrolled next year, Snape wouldn't have the mood to bother with him anymore.

Kyle steadied himself, reached out, grabbed a fried chicken leg from in front of him, and shoved it into his mouth.

He had been jostled the entire way on the train and hadn't had much of an appetite, eating only a few snacks, so he was truly hungry now.

The house-elves' craftsmanship was quite impressive.

The fried chicken leg was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside; with one bite, juices overflowed, and the aroma instantly filled his entire mouth.

The roasted potatoes were also excellent, cooked to perfection without any unnecessary seasonings, fully preserving the natural fragrance of the potato itself. If one felt the flavor was too bland, there was ketchup and black pepper on the side.

Kyle found this combination unexpectedly good, so he picked up another one.

However, just as he finished cutting the potato and reached for the black pepper, Cedric suddenly leaned in and whispered, "Have you noticed she's been staring at you?"

"Staring at me? Who?" Kyle replied without even lifting his head.

"That first-year named Kanna Prince we met on the train," Cedric raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of teasing as he pointed toward the opposite direction. "If you don't believe me, look, she's started watching you again."