Hufflepuff

Was that girl from the Celestial Dynasty too? Was there even a surname like Hinata in the Celestial Dynasty? The name felt somewhat familiar...

Li Mu watched Hinata's petite figure slowly descend from the platform and could not help spacing out. Then...

"Li Mu!" Professor McGonagall's roar was like that of an enraged lioness. She glared fiercely at the last new student, her brows tightly furrowed.

That name was even more tongue-twisting than the previous "Hinata."

But that was not the main reason Professor McGonagall was frowning so deeply. "I called you three times. Didn't you hear me?"

The Great Hall erupted in laughter again, and quite a few people turned their attention toward Li Mu.

Only then did Li Mu come to his senses. He walked forward gloomily, sat in the chair, and put on the Sorting Hat.

His vision immediately went dark. Li Mu keenly sensed a discomfort, as though someone hidden in the darkness beyond was freely peering into every part of him. He guessed this was the powerful spell of Legilimency. The Celestial Dynasty had similar arts for reading minds and seizing consciousness, but nearly all of them were classified as forbidden techniques, unusable except at critical moments.

A harsh voice began whispering in his ear. "Hmm... oh... a young man from the Celestial Dynasty. Not bad... Hufflepuff!"

"Huh?!"

Li Mu had originally been thinking that he had to go to Gryffindor. The friends he knew, the companions who had shared a train compartment with him, had all been assigned to Gryffindor according to "history." Besides, from a practical standpoint, only by going there could he stick close to the protagonist, Harry Potter, follow the story's development, and reap the greatest rewards...

But he had not even had time to finish that thought. After letting out a few meaningless grunts that sounded like it was straining on the toilet, the Sorting Hat immediately shouted at the entire Great Hall and loudly announced the result. The sudden booming sound left him dazed for a long time.

Hufflepuff?!

Hufflepuff House represented righteousness, loyalty, honesty, and fearlessness in the face of hardship... Well, that was merely the grand public appraisal from outsiders. In reality, in many people's eyes, Hufflepuff represented mediocrity, incompetence, and being easy to bully. Many even said, "Look, that's the House that takes all the mediocre students the other three Houses passed over!"

Legend had it that the kind Helga Hufflepuff did not value bloodline, talent, or anything at all, instead treating every student equally. Hufflepuff did indeed have the largest number of students among Hogwarts' four Houses, and most of them were indeed obscure and seemed quite ordinary.

Li Mu even thought he had misheard. He sat stiffly on the stool without moving for a long while. Perhaps he was not smart enough, perhaps he was not particularly ambitious, but he had traveled all the way from the Celestial Dynasty to study here despite the hardships. Was that not tremendous courage...?

Yet reality did not change just because one wished it to. The Sorting Hat's shout had been unmistakable, and he could already hear a burst of enthusiastic applause. He tried calling out to the Sorting Hat twice, but it had already fallen silent.

That was right, Hogwarts: A History had written that the Sorting Hat had always been notorious for refusing to admit that it had "made a mistake when choosing students." It seemed unrealistic to hope that this stubborn hat would "change its ruling"... Li Mu sighed helplessly and pulled the hat from his head.

Having lived two lives, he would not blindly discriminate against Hufflepuff like everyone else. It was just that... he had already decided to stick with Harry's trio! Even if he did not follow those protagonists, going to Slytherin and tagging along with the more frequently appearing antagonists would have been fine too...

He walked down from the platform with a bitter smile, while the applause beside Hufflepuff's long table remained enthusiastic. Most of the children in this House were kind and warmhearted. Seeing Li Mu stand there in a daze for so long, they thought he was simply too nervous. They tried to encourage him with applause.

What surprised the Hufflepuffs was that loud applause also rang out from the Gryffindor table to their left. Though scattered, it was very loud.

Li Mu's gaze was drawn to the sound as well. He turned and saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville... These four friends who had squeezed into the same train compartment were applauding for him. Clearly, despite the brief time they had spent together, they already considered him a friend.

A trace of warmth flowed through his heart. Halfway there, Li Mu nodded at them and heard Hermione Granger's somewhat disappointed complaint amid the applause. "Oh, what a shame. If Li Mu had come too, we would all have ended up in Gryffindor."

Li Mu could only smile helplessly and continued to the Hufflepuff table, where he found an empty seat. Hogwarts' rules stated that House assignments decided by the Sorting Ceremony could not be changed.

"Hello, I'm Ernie Macmillan. Nice to meet you." Before Li Mu had fully taken his seat, a short boy beside him had already extended his right hand in greeting. He was also a first-year student, with neatly combed short ash-blond hair.

Looking at the boy, Li Mu inexplicably thought of a character called "Hanawa-kun." He extended his hand as well. "Hello, I'm Li Mu, from the Celestial Dynasty."

The two shook hands in midair, and only then did Li Mu properly sit down. Then a milky-white person... no, a ghost floated over from above the table and said to him, "Hey, little one, I remember you. Not bad, not bad... Hufflepuff welcomes you."

It was the Fat Friar, who had spoken to Li Mu in the small room earlier. He was Hufflepuff's ghost.

The applause finally began to fade, and the Great Hall grew quieter, leaving only the soft murmurs of students whispering among themselves. Li Mu was the last new student today, and everyone was waiting for Dumbledore to deliver the start-of-term speech.

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. Li Mu exchanged a few words with the Fat Friar and Macmillan, then chatted briefly with several other students from his House seated nearby before raising his eyes to look around.

Most of the faces around him were unfamiliar. Even though he remembered that Badger House had a famous figure named Cedric Diggory, he could not match any name to any face right now... His gaze continued to wander, only to collide directly with another's.

That gaze came from the right side of the Hufflepuff table, across an aisle from the Ravenclaw table. It belonged to the girl named Hinata. Her gaze was passionate, yet the light in her eyes always made Li Mu feel that something was slightly strange.

But when Li Mu looked more closely, Hinata had already turned away, her cheeks seeming a little flushed.

Li Mu wondered whether his eyes had been playing tricks on him. Before he could think further, Hogwarts' Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up. He spread his arms, and without needing to make a sound, the remaining whispers vanished at once.

The Great Hall fell completely silent.

(End of Chapter)