A Fine Show at the Sorting Ceremony

Kane glanced at the wizard robes he was wearing and ignored Harry's embarrassment. After the group got off the train, they saw Hagrid holding up a lantern and calling out to the first-year students.

"Hey, Kane, Harry, and Ron, hurry over and get on those boats. We'll be setting off soon!" Hagrid called the three aboard before going back to gather the other young wizards.

On the boat, Kane watched as Harry and Ron stared at the brightly lit Hogwarts castle in the distance, unable to hide their amazement.

Then they looked at Kane, who remained as steady as ever. "Why aren't you surprised at all?"

"I was surprised too." Kane gave a simple explanation. How was he supposed to explain this? Tell them he had already taken a day trip around Hogwarts before school even started?

While he had been enjoying himself at Hogwarts, Harry had still been wasting away at his aunt's house. It probably would not make Harry turn against him if he found out, but Kane could forget about getting another penny from him afterward.

Before long, another young wizard climbed aboard. Overall, he gave off a dull, dazed impression, though he did not seem to have any ill intentions. The person who had arranged for him to be on this boat was an acquaintance.

"I think Neville gets bullied too easily. I still need to go over to the girls' boat, so I put him on yours." Hermione explained at top speed. "You won't bully him, will you?"

Kane shrugged. "What kind of beasts do you take us for?"

"That's good. Neville, get along well with your new friends." With that, Hermione headed off into the distance.

As a pure-blood, Ron naturally knew Neville. He looked at him teasingly. "How come I never knew you had an older sister in the Muggle world?"

Neville's little face turned red. "Hermione isn't my sister. She's just a friend, and she's really nice."

"Yeah, Neville... I remember you now. We heard she helped you look for your Toad. Did you find it in the end?" Harry asked as well.

"No." Neville looked a little dejected.

"Hmm... I understand how you feel. I have a new Owl pet now, but I still keep my old rat, Scabbers. I hope you find your little Toad soon."

Soon, Hagrid came over from a short distance away. He had arranged for all the new students to board the boats, and like the four founders of Hogwarts, they crossed the Black Lake by boat and arrived at Hogwarts.

In the entrance hall, Kane casually nudged a gap by the wall with the tip of his shoe. Soon, seats emerged from the wall.

"Whoa? How did you know Hogwarts could do that?" Ron looked at Kane lounging so comfortably. No matter how he looked at it, Kane did not seem like someone visiting Hogwarts for the first time.

"Read more books and newspapers. Every wall in Hogwarts can do this." Kane casually made up a lie.

The three of them sat on the little stone benches in the corner, all equally uneasy about how the upcoming Sorting Ceremony would assign them to Houses.

Compared with Harry and Ron, Kane also felt a trace of regret. He had even been Dumbledore's bunkmate for a while before. Why had he not thought to ask about it in passing?

Sitting on a mountain of treasure without realizing it... What a regret!

Suddenly, a commotion in the distance made them all jump.

"What happened?" Harry stood up and looked over. He quickly understood. "It seems Neville's Toad somehow jumped onto a strange young wizard's head. Now that wizard is making Neville choose between killing the Toad and getting beaten up."

"Ah, that must be a hard choice for him. Though maybe not that hard. Neville will definitely protect his Toad." Ron knew Neville well, and sure enough, Neville's final choice was exactly as Ron had predicted.

Kane caught the scent of excitement. No matter when or where, people beating each other up was always so fascinating.

He immediately dragged Harry and Ron over to watch the show.

"Kane, can you be a little more serious? Neville's an acquaintance of ours," Harry reminded him.

"I know. That's why I'm going to protect Neville. If it's just a couple of symbolic hits to vent some anger, fine. But what if that guy goes too far?" Kane said as he pulled Harry and Ron to a front-row spot for the spectacle.

Judging from the scene, Neville had probably been bullied plenty by other children before. Hearing that he could save his Toad by taking a beating, he naturally curled up on the ground and covered his head.

Meanwhile, a chestnut-haired young wizard with the Toad sitting on his face crouched beside Neville and began punching and kicking him.

"That chestnut-haired one is Bole Anrera, a promising pure-blood," Ron explained to Kane and Harry.

Nothing had gotten out of hand. After all, however hard eleven-year-olds hit, they could not do much damage. Besides, Neville maintained that professional defensive posture. At most, the corners of his clothes got a little dirty.

But Hermione, who had just squeezed into the crowd, could not stand the sight.

She quickly pulled out her wand and pointed it at Bole Anrera. "Stop, or don't blame me for being rude!"

Anrera slowly stopped and looked at Hermione. "And you are?"

"Hermione Granger, Neville's friend!" Hermione declared with a stern little face.

"Granger?" Bole Anrera looked upward, clearly searching his memory. He soon found the answer: there was no such surname among Britain's pure-bloods or half-bloods.

"You Mudblood, you can turn around and leave now. Otherwise, I can't promise I won't beat you up too."

The instant the word Mudblood was spoken, the entire entrance hall seemed to split into three groups: the shocked and furious lawful good side, the cheering and flattering lawful evil side, and people like Kane and Harry, who had absolutely no idea what it meant.

The two of them hurriedly held back Ron, who had rolled up his sleeves and raised his wand, ready to charge in. Before they could ask what it meant, Hermione, the other person at the heart of the storm, demonstrated the basic skills of the new generation of wizards. With an instant, nameless spell, she turned Bole Anrera's once-soft robes as hard as steel.

Ron, who had been about to avenge the friend he had only just met, suddenly calmed down. It seemed Hermione could handle the situation alone.

"By the way, you still haven't told us what Mudblood means," Harry asked.

"It's a derogatory term for wizards born entirely to Muggles. It's about a hundred times more insulting than 'son of the beach.'"

Kane scratched his head. "Me?"

"Your magic doesn't look like something a wizard of purely Muggle blood could possibly use, but wizards who insult people by calling them Mudbloods definitely can't understand such complicated logic. So... yes." Ron considered it for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Then he and Harry quietly positioned themselves on Kane's left and right. If Kane merely stuck the other guy to the ceiling, that would be one thing, but what if something else happened?

On the other side, the necklace around Bole Anrera's neck flashed. It contained a permanent Finite Incantatem that could shield him from some low-level hexes. As his wizard robes softened again, he raised his wand and began fighting Hermione.

With a bang, Maxwell suddenly appeared behind Kane and watched the farce unfold.

"I more or less know what this little show is about. It concerns that so-called Sorting Ceremony, Kane," Maxwell said gloomily.