"Good. Very good. You're all here. Then let's end everything right here!"
No sooner had Tom spoken than clear, ringing music drifted in from the entrance to the hall. It cut through the eerie shadows overhead.
Tom tensed. As an evil Dark Wizard, he hated everything beautiful and sacred.
Harry and Ron were thrilled. They guessed Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had arrived. Who else could make such a sacred, otherworldly entrance?
The music swelled until it seemed to resonate in their chests. At last, its source entered the hall ahead of the Snake King.
A bird as large as a crane, with long, deep-red tail feathers, flew up to Luo Bin, Harry, and Ron.
Its golden talons opened, dropping a large, tattered bundle onto the floor. Then it stopped singing, flapped its wings, and flew away... Flew away?!
"Hah! What a loyal Phoenix. Albus Dumbledore has left Hogwarts, yet it still risked flying here to bring you... a battered old hat!"
"Oh, Sear, Potter, Weasley. How lovely to see you. Could you tell me what's going on?"
The Sorting Hat asked, its creased mouth opening and closing.
"Uh, that's a long story. We're beneath Hogwarts, inside the Chamber of Secrets that Salazar Slytherin built over a thousand years ago. Sixteen-year-old Tom Marvolo Riddle, otherwise known as a young Voldemort, has declared war on us, and the Chamber Monster, the Snake King, is rushing this way."
Luo Bin kept it brief.
"Oh, this is the first time I've learned a hat can dream. Robin Sear, please take your friends out of my dream. Snore... snore..."
Luo Bin shook the Sorting Hat hard, but it refused to wake. He'd seen unreliable before, but never anything this unreliable!
"Hah! A cowardly Phoenix brings you a battered hat. Is this how Albus Dumbledore, whom you