How Could a Mudblood Possibly Enter Slytherin?

At the Sorting Ceremony, Xiwen successfully experienced the feelings of the senior students who sat in the Great Hall in advance when they enrolled last year.

He now seriously doubts that the first-year students' journey along the dirt path to the boat, and then up from the boathouse to the Entrance Courtyard, was not merely a retracing of the Founders's path. Such a journey would have taken quite a while, just enough time for the upperclassmen to leisurely stroll from the castle's main gate to the Great Hall and then find their seats.

By the time Professor Merrythought went to greet the new students, the senior students who were already in the Great Hall had tidied their clothes and faces, ready to show the most glamorous side of Hogwarts teachers and students to the new young wizards.

While the Young Wizard Xiwen sat properly at the Slytherin table, the Ghost Xiwen was also tricked by a group of mischievous ghosts into scaring the newly enrolled wizard.

Swayed by their words, Ghost Xiwen's interest was piqued. Under Helena's seemingly naive gaze, he followed a group of ghosts from the Ghost Meeting Room toward the Great Hall.

"As far as I know, for the past five hundred years, young wizards about to be sorted at Hogwarts have been placed in that small room outside the Great Hall." The Fat Friar led the way to Xiwen with practiced ease, explaining the Hogwarts tradition of scaring new young wizards.

"To be honest, it's better for them if we scare them," Sir Nicholas said to Xiwen in a serious tone.

Xiwen raised an eyebrow and looked at Nicholas with an expression of disbelief.

"You just don't understand!" Nicholas said smugly, as if to say, "You're still too young." "When the freshmen gather together, give them all a surprise, let them know that we ghosts exist at Hogwarts."

"Then when they're strolling around the castle with their friends and run into us, they won't make such a fuss, and they won't embarrass themselves in front of their friends. Isn't that good for them?"

"That seems to make a lot of sense..."

After listening to Nicholas's words, Xiwen felt something was wrong, but he wasn't sure what it was.

Fortunately, the Fat Friar interrupted their conversation at that moment.

"We're almost there," he said.

Because they could ignore the obstacles of the terrain, Xiwen and the other ghosts arrived near the Great Hall in a very short time.

The Fat Friar and Nicholas tacitly circled around to the side of the room where the new students were, and even organized the ghosts into a formation.

"Wait, do we really need to do this queuing thing..." Xiwen's lips twitched as he asked Nicholas, who was queuing for the ghosts.

"This is an annual grand event! Even if we're ghosts, we still need a sense of ritual!" Nicholas exclaimed dramatically. "Besides, lining up and sneaking into the room through the side wall isn't as conventional and unimpressive as entering from the front, nor as easy to be overlooked as entering from the back—it's just right!"

"Strange, this is a legacy of hundreds of years of experience. You still have a lot to learn!" An old ghost standing next to Xiwen stroked his goatee and said to Xiwen earnestly, as if a senior were instructing a junior.

Xiwen nodded resignedly, letting Nicholas arrange a relatively secluded spot for him.

"Your appearance is quite good, not scary at all, so I've put you in a position towards the back of the line." That's how Nicholas explained Xiwen's placement.

Before entering the room, the Fat Friar reminded Xiwen, "Remember, we're not going to scare them on purpose; we just happened to be passing by, understand?"

Xiwen nodded, his lips twitching.

Finally, after all the instructions were explained, the ghosts rushed into the room where the young wizards were.

Hearing the screams of the newborns in the room, the ghosts who "happened to pass by" couldn't help but secretly raise the corners of their mouths.

Upon entering the room, Xiwen first saw Lestrange, who had a distinctively rugged appearance. He was chatting animatedly with a group of well-dressed young wizards, boasting about his family's power and his own confident and courageous spirit.

However, upon seeing the ghosts, his screams were the loudest...

Besides him, Xiwen also saw the very talented and handsome young wizard Tom Riddle.

Xiwen had initially thought that, given his personality, he might be isolated by the other young wizards, just like Moody's roommate had done to Moody.

But Xiwen guessed wrong.

Instead of being isolated, Riddle mingled with many of the young wizards, often eliciting knowing smiles from the new students around him.

His handsome appearance, elegant speech, and extraordinary temperament attracted other naive young wizards. Or rather, even those who had seen the world were drawn to him and developed a liking for him.

It's fair to say that, apart from the Pure-blood clique that Lestrange belonged to, Riddle got along very well with all the freshmen.

When Riddle saw the ghosts "passing by," he didn't scream or show fear like the other young wizards. He just paused slightly, then raised an eyebrow, showing interest.

Xiwen nodded slightly, secretly admiring Riddle's courage, and then followed these "passing-by" ghosts out of the room where new students waited for their sorting.

Thousands of burning candles floated above the Great Hall, illuminating the entire Great Hall. Through the transparent Great Hall, one could see the beautiful night sky, where the stars twinkled alongside the candles, creating a mesmerizing scene.

Just like last year, Professor Merrythought led the new students to the stage in front of the Great Hall and had them stand facing the senior students below.

She then picked up a topped wizard's hat from the end of the long table at the professors' seat and placed it on the four corner stools at the front of the Great Hall.

The Sorting Hat was still tattered and dirty, just like last year, except the song being sung was different from last year.

Of course, nobody really cares what it sang, which is still pretty much the same as last year...

After the Sorting Hat performance, Professor Merrythought took out a piece of parchment and read out the name of the first freshman—

"Pablo Avery!"

Slytherin!

Xiwen listened listlessly as Professor Merrythought read out each name, watching as the young wizards were sorted into their respective houses by the Sorting Hat.

During this time, Lestrange was also assigned to Slytherin and sat near Xiwen.

"Tom Riddle!"

Just then, Professor Merrythought's next name caught Xiwen's attention.

Besides Xiwen, Lestrange also looked indignantly towards the front of the Great Hall, muttering, "I want to see which house this Mudblood will be assigned to."

At the front of the Great Hall, the handsome, dark-haired young wizard maintained his elegant posture, sitting on one of the four stools in the Great Hall. But from his tightly clenched hands, one could vaguely see that he was also somewhat nervous.

The Sorting Hat seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, then shouted:

Slytherin!

Hearing the Sorting Hat's decision, Xiwen was taken aback.

At the same time, a gruff, booming voice rang out from the Slytherin table—

"That's impossible! How could a Mudblood him be assigned to Slytherin?!"