Of course, the unpleasant little incident at the Slytherin table did not interfere with the normal proceedings of the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, nothing like a violent clash had taken place.
It was merely that Slytherin's male Prefect, Ailifen, had tried to shake Malfoy's hand and received a tongue-lashing from the spoiled, nasty young lady.
Crabbe and Goyle had only blocked his way, not hit anyone. That was hardly going to cause any trouble.
Besides, everyone knew she was spoiled and unreasonable, so wasn't getting a tongue-lashing from her perfectly normal?
Even Harry Potter had received threats from Malfoy!
Apart from the Slytherin students around the Slytherin table, the other young students had not actually noticed the commotion there.
It had been resolved quickly and with a fair amount of dignity.
At the very least, the young Slytherins all shared an unspoken understanding.
Whatever happened, they should try to settle it privately within their own house. There was no need to blow it up and let everyone know. That would be rather undignified.
The other young students continued making their way to the Sorting Hat, one by one, as Professor McGonagall called their names for the Sorting Ceremony.
Dean Thomas...
Seamus Finnigan...
Ernie Macmillan...
Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw...
One after another, the young students went to the houses where they belonged, and Harry's mood kept improving.
He did not know about the other young students.
But the houses assigned to the named students from the original story were all very much in line with it.
Those who were supposed to go to Gryffindor went to Gryffindor, and those who were supposed to go to Hufflepuff went to Hufflepuff.
Those meant for Ravenclaw had not been assigned to Slytherin either.
Now that was great!
Nothing had gone wrong. Harry could keep fitting himself into the framework of the original story!
If things could carry on this steadily, Harry felt that Ron and Malfoy being gender-swapped was fine.
It was not as though it was unacceptable. They were about the same age as him, anyway...
Ahem, what was that supposed to mean? Nothing of the sort.
As the number of young students gradually dwindled, at last it was time for...
"Ron Weasley!"
"I'll be waiting for you in Gryffindor, Harry."
Ron released Harry's arm, tilted her head at him, and winked.
"Of course, it's fine if you don't get into Gryffindor. We can still hang out together, right?"
"Ah, uh-huh."
While Harry was still staring in astonishment, unable to react, Ron walked straight toward Professor McGonagall.
How strange.
Why did Ron seem so much cuter than in the original story?
Was it because of the gender swap?
This Ron didn't seem to have all those troublesome flaws from the original...
For some reason, even with the prejudices he had brought from reading the books and watching the films...
Harry really found it difficult to feel any strong dislike when he looked at Ron now...
Of course, while Harry's thoughts were wandering, Ron was actually rather angry.
Those rotten Fred and George had actually lied to her back at the Burrow, saying she had to pass a test to enter Hogwarts, and that the test was to take down a Troll!
Who would have thought she only had to put on a hat? Those idiotic Fred and George...
All they ever did was burn newspapers at graves-trying to fool ghosts!
She'd thought as much. Hogwarts wasn't some unreliable place. How could it possibly make first-years who didn't know any magic fight a dangerous duel against a Troll?
A little apprehensive yet very confident, Ron put on the Sorting Hat.
There were no surprises.
After a brief pause, the Sorting Hat swiftly and directly announced a wonderful result from atop Ron's head-
"Gryffindor!"
"Whoo!"
Cheers rang out from the Gryffindor table.
Just as expected, Ron had joined Gryffindor House, like the other Weasleys...
Now, apart from Ginny, the entire Weasley family had gone into Gryffindor.
Barring any surprises, Ginny would also be joining Gryffindor House next year...
Whatever people outside said, and whatever others thought of the houses at Hogwarts...
As far as Ron was concerned, getting into Gryffindor could not have been better!
After all, the whole Weasley family had graduated from Gryffindor House...
Headmaster Dumbledore, whom Ron admired, was also an outstanding Gryffindor graduate.
If she could not get into Gryffindor, Ron would actually have accepted Hufflepuff too.
Ravenclaw was out. The academic pressure was too high; she'd be completely done for.
Just seeing the Ravenclaws' homework and academic pressure gave Ron a visceral sense of dread, so joining them was out of the question.
Slytherin...
Ravenclaw merely had too much academic pressure. Slytherin made Ron feel sick.
She certainly did not want to sleep in that foul-smelling dungeon!
They were just a bunch of people basking in their parents' glory, yet they really thought they were something.
Of course, the other Gryffindors were all warmly welcoming Ron.
Only Ron's three brothers who were still at school-Fred, George, and Percy-now wore strange expressions.
Wait, how had they not known Ron was as charming as a Veela?
The school year had barely begun, and Ron had already hooked up with the famous Harry Potter?
And Ron seemed to be on very good terms with him, too...
So good that even when Ron held his arm that affectionately, he showed not the slightest resistance or dislike!
Not bad, their little sister...
They couldn't tell at home, but she really knew how to handle herself out in the world!
Percy, in particular, now looked at Ron with a hint of eagerness.
The Boy Who Lived...
If he could come to Gryffindor and continue maintaining such a good friendship with Ron, or even have a relationship that went beyond friendship...
Ahem, that could wait. That could wait.
Harry was still young, and so was Ron. How things developed in the future was their own business.
Attention returned to the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony.
Now that Ron had been sorted, naturally, next up was...
The Boy Who Lived, the one who had ended the wizarding war, the fellow who had defeated Voldemort, the Potter Family's sole surviving child-
The famous Harry Potter!
Who knew whether it was deliberate or accidental?
In any case, Hogwarts certainly had a way of arranging the Sorting.
Before you continue