Katie, whose name had been called, stumbled toward the Sorting Hat. Professor McGonagall could see the nervousness practically overflowing from Katie, the first student called up, and softly reassured her.
"Relax, Miss Bell."
Professor McGonagall gently placed the Sorting Hat from the stool onto Katie Bell's head. The moment it touched Katie's golden hair, the Sorting Hat loudly shouted its decision.
"Gryffindor!!"
The Gryffindor table erupted into applause. Katie Bell seemed very pleased; she took off the Sorting Hat and ran toward the Gryffindor table.
Professor McGonagall seemed pleased as well and continued reading out the next new student's name.
Seeing that they would not have to fight a troll, the Weasley Twins visibly relaxed quite a bit.
"Cedric Diggory."
Cedric was quickly called up for the Sorting. As he passed between the four House tables, his handsome appearance drew a faint rustle of whispers.
"Hufflepuff!"
The Sorting Hat hesitated slightly before loudly announcing Cedric's House.
The Hufflepuff table burst into enthusiastic cheers at the arrival of such a handsome young wizard. Cedric flashed a sunny smile and strode toward Hufflepuff.
"I'm telling you, whichever House you two get sorted into will kick you right back out."
Roy seemed to have gotten used to making all kinds of jokes about the Weasley Twins.
Fred refused to be outdone, smiling as he fired back at Roy's joke.
"Really? I think you'll definitely get sorted into Azkaban."
Professor McGonagall's stern gaze swept over the laughing, fooling-around twins and Roy. After being glared at, the three of them immediately behaved themselves much better.
"Aislin Grindelwald."
Expressionless, Aislin walked elegantly between the students' tables and stopped before Professor McGonagall. Some well-informed students recognized the special significance of the surname Grindelwald and began whispering among themselves.
Aislin bowed gracefully to Professor McGonagall, but when the dirty Sorting Hat was placed on her head, a look of distaste still appeared on her face.
"Hey, little witch, I only look dirty. I'm actually quite clean. When Gryffindor created me, he even cast a Scourgify Charm on me."
A voice only Aislin could hear sounded in her mind. She closed her eyes and silently replied in her heart.
"Then, Mr. Sorting Hat, which House do you intend to place me in?"
"Hmm—hard to say. I think every House except Hufflepuff would suit you very well. It depends on your own wishes."
Aislin lowered her eyes and gave the answer she had long decided upon.
"Is that so? As expected, you still want to go to Slytherin. Dumbledore thought you might go to Gryffindor. Slytherin will help you achieve your ambitions, but you must also be careful not to be consumed by them."
Everyone saw that a long time had passed since Aislin put on the Sorting Hat, yet no result had been announced. The Great Hall soon filled with discussion as everyone guessed which House this extraordinary-looking young witch would ultimately enter.
"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat loudly declared, and the Slytherin table broke into thunderous applause.
After taking off the Sorting Hat, Aislin gracefully bowed to Professor McGonagall. She turned to glance at Dumbledore in the center of the staff table, and Dumbledore merely gave her an encouraging smile.
The Sorting continued, and one after another, most of the young wizards were called up and sorted.
"Roger Davies."
"Ravenclaw!"
"Lee Jordan."
"Hufflepuff!"
Roy noticed that Marcus Flint, who was built as powerfully as a gorilla, had been sorted into Slytherin. At the Slytherin table, Marcus was relentlessly fawning over the aloof Aislin.
"Roy Smee."
"Finally my turn?" Roy felt a little nervous too as he stiffly walked forward.
Fred even gave Roy a shove from the line. Roy staggered up to Professor McGonagall and gave her a somewhat awkward smile.
Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Roy's head, and a strange voice sounded beside his ear.
"Hmm, is this the child Dumbledore has been paying special attention to? Such powerful magic at such a young age. There really are quite a few geniuses this year."
A smug, foolish grin appeared on Roy's face as he spoke to the Sorting Hat in a thoroughly unmodest tone.
"Nothing special. So, which House are you going to sort me into?"
"That depends on your wishes. Gryffindor values courage, Hufflepuff values loyalty, Ravenclaw respects knowledge, and Slytherin is full of ambition. You possess a little of all those qualities, but I think Gryffindor suits you best. So, would you like to go to Gryffindor?"
Since he could choose for himself, Roy did not answer right away. Instead, he asked the Sorting Hat a question.
"If a student is neither brave nor steadfast, isn't clever, and has no lofty ambitions, which House would you sort him into?"
The Sorting Hat thought for a moment before giving its answer.
"Probably Hufflepuff. Most ordinary young wizards go to Hufflepuff; it is more accepting there. But that does not mean Hufflepuff has never produced powerful wizards. Cedric, whom you just saw, is the third-best student in your year."
"I see..." After hearing the Sorting Hat's answer, Roy had his answer.
"Then I've decided to bring my talent to Hufflepuff and study Brotherhood Magic with my brother Cedric."
The Sorting Hat seemed somewhat puzzled by Roy's choice.
"Why choose Hufflepuff? I was even planning to let you play with Gryffindor's relic. After all, I rarely see a young wizard as brave as you."
"That's because I once made an oath—not to let anyone fall behind. Since all of you say I'm a genius, then going to Hufflepuff will let me help more young wizards with ordinary talent."
Roy spoke with great determination, completely abandoning his usual playful attitude.
The Sorting Hat seemed to fall silent in response to Roy's answer.
"Is that so? What a noble ideal, as noble as Lady Hufflepuff herself. Was I wrong about you? Very well, I respect your choice."
"By the way, what exactly is Gryffindor's relic? Didn't you say I was qualified to inherit it?"
Roy could not stay serious for even a minute before a greedy look appeared on his face as he asked the Sorting Hat about Gryffindor's relic it had just mentioned.
Faced with Roy's sudden change in attitude, the Sorting Hat found him rather amusing and asked him in a tempting tone.
"Do you really want it? Let me make this clear first: I can only let you play with it."
"Really, really!"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!"
The people in the Great Hall saw that nearly ten minutes had passed since Roy put on the hat, yet the Sorting Hat had not said a word. One moment Roy wore a foolish grin, the next his expression was grave, and now his face was full of greed. Everyone began whispering, while Dumbledore in the center of the staff table merely watched Roy with an interested look.
"Are you giving it to me or not? Are you messing with me?"
The Sorting Hat had kept Roy hanging for quite a while, and Roy was getting annoyed.
"Of course I'm giving it to you. You said it yourself, so catch!"
The Sorting Hat suddenly shouted.
"Hufflepuff!!"
However, Roy's next reaction left everyone present utterly shocked.
"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!"
Roy clutched his head in pain and crouched on the floor. A moment ago, something had struck him heavily on the head with a loud clang.
A sword with a pure silver blade, a hilt set with ruby-red gemstones, and Gryffindor's full name engraved near its base crashed heavily onto the floor with a tremendous noise.
Only then did Roy realize that the sword's hilt had struck him just now.
All the students began talking at once, and quite a few recognized the sword that had fallen from the Sorting Hat as the Sword of Gryffindor.
Professor McGonagall sternly silenced the noisy students, then turned to look at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore rose from his seat, walked over to Roy, picked up the sword from the floor, and loudly told everyone.
"This was merely a prank by the Sorting Hat on a young wizard. There is no need to worry. The Sorting will continue."
Dumbledore then smiled at Roy, who was still crouched on the floor clutching his head.
"This sword is school property. I'll keep it for you for now, and we can discuss it later. For the moment, you had better return to your table."
Roy did not object as he held his head. The blow had left him seeing stars, and now that he realized the Sorting Hat had played him, he limped over to the Hufflepuff table and dropped into the seat beside Cedric.
The Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers loud enough to lift the roof off.
The Sorting continued. Both twins were sorted into Gryffindor, and Bill, the Gryffindor student president, happily stood up and applauded when he saw his two younger brothers enter Gryffindor.
With the final young wizard sorted into Hufflepuff, Professor McGonagall put away the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore stood up, walked to the center of the Great Hall, and gave a speech to all the students.
"I am delighted to see so many new faces joining us, but before we begin the feast, I have one thing to say." Dumbledore wore a purple robe covered in stars and moons, and his voice rang out clearly.
"That is, enjoy the feast to your heart's content, children!"
All four Houses let out excited cheers at once, and the gleaming tableware immediately filled with all manner of delicious food.
Roy excitedly raised a glass of pumpkin juice, stood up, and toasted the Hufflepuff students around him.
"To being sorted into Hufflepuff!" Roy said excitedly to the nearby Hufflepuff students.
Cedric, seated beside Roy, was the first to raise his glass. The first-year Hufflepuff students all raised their pumpkin juice as well.
"To being sorted into Hufflepuff!"
Owen Caldwell, Hufflepuff's prefect, smiled at the enthusiastic new students. Hufflepuff students from every year raised their glasses together.
"To Hufflepuff!"
Before you continue