Slytherin? Gryffindor!

Hermione: ???

Bush Gorman?

Hermione's expression froze, and she managed a stiff smile in return.

Compared with Marvel's bizarre superpowered people and organizations, she wanted even less to deal with the Hogwarts professors, who seemed safe but were dangerous in reality.

Although she didn't think they would do anything to a twelve-year-old girl, her transmigration and the spellbook were her deepest secrets.

Secrets she wanted no one to know.

And Hogwarts was full of experts in Legilimency.

Especially Dumbledore.

They wouldn't normally use it on a first-year, but it was still a risk.

There was no helping it, though. If she wanted to study magic systematically, Hogwarts was the simplest and most convenient option. She had to come.

A second later, Dumbledore looked away, as though his glance just now had been pure coincidence.

"Was I overthinking it...?"

Motherfucker, that scared the hell out of me.

Perhaps she was imagining things, but Hermione felt there had been something strange about his final look.

She shook her head, dismissing those useless thoughts.

Focus on what's in front of you first.

Following procedure, Dumbledore recommended Hogwarts's must-visit attraction to the new students-the Forbidden Forest-then announced the start of the Sorting.

Professor McGonagall held the list and called out their names one by one, subjecting them to public humiliation.

"Hannah Abbott!"

Hannah, the one constant.

"Draco Malfoy!"

"Susan Bones!"

"Ron Weasley!"

"Harry Potter!"

As his name rang out, the Great Hall grew noisy again.

As the celebrity who had taken down Old Voldy, his name was already widely known.

After a showdown with the Sorting Hat, Harry Potter was finally placed in Gryffindor.

The Gryffindor students erupted in cheers. "Ha! Harry Potter is in Gryffindor with us!"

"Hermione Granger!"

At last, it was her turn.

For some reason, though, she had been called last, when she should have come before Harry.

She instinctively glanced at the head seat.

Dumbledore was looking down, fiddling with his dinner knife, as if he knew nothing at all.

Hermione strode forward, and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head.

Already putting a label on me when I've only just arrived... Hermione grumbled inwardly.

The Sorting Hat seemed torn.

For the second time, after Harry Potter, it remained silent for a long while.

"Hmm... courage, perseverance, intelligence, ambition... you seem to have them all, though your ambition is a little stronger..." After a long pause, the Sorting Hat murmured in a voice only Hermione could hear, "Then it'll be Sly-"

Shut up. Gryffindor!

Hermione cut it off in her mind.

First choice only. No reassignment.

Good grief. One transmigration, and I nearly got dumped straight into Slytherin.

Luckily, she had reacted quickly.

Do I really look that much like a potential dark wizard? Hermione was speechless.

Although Slytherin seemed to suit her personality, it really wasn't right for her.

Hermione knew perfectly well how much those little brats in Slytherin discriminated against Muggle-born wizards.

If she actually went there, she would definitely end up fighting most of them by the next day.

It wasn't that she couldn't beat them. There were simply too many ways it would be inconvenient.

Besides, there was another important reason to choose Gryffindor: she could keep Harry Potter under constant watch. Familiar with the original plot, she knew that once he started stirring up trouble, she could take advantage of the chaos.

That was an advantage none of the other three houses offered.

"All right, all right..." The Sorting Hat sounded rather resigned. Although it could discern intelligence and personality, it ultimately had to respect the wearer's wishes.

Then it shouted, "Gryffindor!"

With another new student joining them, Gryffindor naturally burst into cheers.

Ron nudged Harry beside him.

"Hey, look! That aloof girl from our compartment is in Gryffindor too. She could already use spells so well before starting school, I thought a genius like her would end up in Ravenclaw."

Harry held his forehead and managed a faint smile, his gaze repeatedly drifting toward the staff table.

Hermione knew that the scar Voldemort had left him must have reacted to Quirrell, but Harry was looking at Snape beside him instead.

Taking the blame on the very first day of school. That's our Snape.

Ron patted the empty seat beside him and kept waving at Hermione, acting as though they were already old friends.

Hermione didn't reject his kindness. She sat down beside the two boys without fuss, finally finding time to study the people up front.

Dressed in black robes, Snape really did look like a giant bat.

The shortest one must be Flitwick...

Dumbledore... holy crap, how did you go from Jude Law to looking like this? What on earth have you been through all these years?

The one beside him teaches broomstick flying. What was her name again...? I've forgotten.

And...

Hermione's gaze settled on the last person.

He was dressed like Chief Qiao, except there was no sound system inside his hat-just one Voldemort.

Quirinus Quirrell, the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts who had willingly let Voldemort possess him.

Voldy Quirrell.

The troublemaking villain of the first school year.

Reborn as a Professor at Hogwarts.

He wanted to steal the Philosopher's Stone, only to meet his downfall at the hands of a first-year wizard.

He lost both his life and his reputation.

Tragic, Quirrell. Tragic.

Looking forward to your performance.

Hermione withdrew her gaze.

The Sorting ended, and amid laughter and chatter, the feast began.

Dumbledore raised his goblet and smiled in Harry's direction, his gaze occasionally sweeping over her. Harry nodded slightly in response.

Hermione pretended not to notice and simply kept her head down, eating her dinner.

The next day.

Hermione woke early, borrowed a few books from the library, and headed straight to the classroom.

The transmigration function had finished recharging the night before, but she hadn't chosen to return to Marvel. Instead, she had stayed dutifully in her dormitory, or she would have missed her first class at Hogwarts.

That morning's first lesson was Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class.

Hermione was the first to arrive. Following her classroom routine from her previous life, she headed straight for the last row-a privilege reserved for early risers-and sat down, opening the copy of "Hogwarts: A History" in her hands.

As its title suggested, the book covered the history of Hogwarts's founding, including the Founders of its four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.

Besides wanting to learn more about this world, Hermione had a personal reason for choosing this book.

Although the original novels contained material related to the spellbook's [ancient magic] category, the first thing that came to her mind was the game "Hogwarts Legacy."

Perhaps she could find clues in this book as to whether this world contained any elements from "Hogwarts Legacy."

While she focused on reading, the new students began entering the classroom in twos and threes.

It seemed that after a single night, the students had already begun finding their own little groups.

A few wanted to approach Hermione when they saw her, but sensing the unapproachable air she radiated, they ultimately gave up.

Just then, a gray-and-white cat jumped onto the desk and padded gracefully over to Hermione.