"Susan Bones...Hufflepuff!"
"Justin Finch-Fletchley...Hufflepuff!"
In the beautifully decorated exhibition hall, a wrinkled hat with a big mouth that was split at the edge was rapping and twisting restlessly. Occasionally, a few fearless little wizards would pinch the brim of the hat, causing bursts of weird laughter.
As the Sorting Hat announced the names of the students and the houses they were assigned to, the young wizards in the seats below clapped their hands, either enthusiastically or perfunctorily.
At least at this welcome party, even Gryffindor and Slytherin, who dislike each other, can maintain a relatively harmonious scene.
The young wizards waiting to be assigned to their houses in the audience watched others put on the Sorting Hat with either nervousness or anticipation, and then walked towards their seats in the corresponding houses amid the funny comments made by the hat.
However, among the freshmen, there was a skinny boy who didn't fit in. He was looking blankly at the gorgeous and retro decorations around him, as well as the candles strangely suspended in the air. The bright flames like stars illuminated the auditorium, and translucent ghosts could be seen flying in the air all around. Everything made the boy unable to adapt for a while, and he muttered to himself after a long while.
"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"
"Strange, wasn't I dying on a hospital bed?" Just as the boy felt both familiar and unfamiliar with everything around him, a loud female voice rang out in the exhibition hall.
"Ivan Hals!"
Professor Minerva McGonagall stood in front of the square table where the Sorting Hat was placed, looking at the parchment roll in her hand, but she waited for a long time and no new students came up, so she could only frown and read aloud again.
"Ivan Hals!"
There had been no movement among the freshmen for a long time. Even Dumbledore cast a puzzled look at them, and the old students from various colleges began to talk about it in private.
"Who? Who is Ivan? How dare you be so bold?"
"Could it be that he took the wrong road and missed the Sorting Ceremony?"
"This is getting interesting..."
…
At this time, the remaining freshmen, under the gaze of many professors and seniors, moved a few steps backwards, leaving only the boy with blond hair and black eyes who had not yet figured out the situation still standing there, looking extremely conspicuous.
"Mr. Ivan Hals, please come to the stage!" Professor McGonagall repeated again.
"Me?" Ivan pointed at himself in confusion. He suddenly felt that this scene was a little strange yet unexpectedly familiar.
"Yes, please come up as soon as possible, just like everyone else did...there are other children who need to be sorted next." Perhaps because Ivan was a freshman, although Professor McGonagall asked for the fourth time, she did not seem angry at all. She just felt that the freshman might be a little nervous.
Before Ivan could react, he felt someone push him gently, and then the freshmen in the front row unexpectedly tacitly pushed Ivan onto the stage one by one.
"Okay, kid, come here..." Professor McGonagall walked forward, put her arm around Ivan's shoulders and pressed him into the chair, then picked up the Sorting Hat and put it on Ivan's head.
The Sorting Hat twisted restlessly on Ivan's head and spoke in a rather funny way.
"Hey, kid, don't be shy. You're not the first person to feel nervous in a place like this... Trust me, just close your eyes and it will pass... It won't hurt at all!"
Ivan rolled his eyes. He had just stayed in the freshman office for some time and had some guesses about the current situation, but he still found it a little hard to believe.
But is this really Hogwarts? The magical place where magic is taught? But that's not...
Ivan couldn't help but want to continue thinking, but the voice of the Sorting Hat rang in his ears at the right time.
"Yes... of course, this is Hogwarts! You are not dreaming, I am 100% sure!"
"I guess you must be from a Muggle family, right? Every few years there are always a few new little wizards who don't believe that magic is real. They say it's all tricks and always want to take a long-eared rabbit out of my body... I told them there was nothing in the hat, but they just didn't believe it..."
The Sorting Hat kept telling jokes, its mouth almost extending to the brim.
The Sorting Hat's ability to read memories made Ivan dare not think too much and he quickly calmed his mind.
But perhaps because of the influence of the Sorting Hat, Ivan's mind was like a slide show, with unfamiliar memories flashing through his mind. Ivan himself couldn't piece them together. It seemed that a witch was teaching him magic...
The witch in his memory was about 30 years old, with beautiful long golden hair, and her mouth was open, saying something. Then Ivan felt a wave of fear coming over him...
The Sorting Hat also complained that it was the first time it saw a little wizard with such messy thoughts, but it was also surprised that Ivan was not from a Muggle family. How could a child from a wizard family not know about Hogwarts?
A cold sweat broke out on Ivan's forehead. Although the various thoughts and memories read by the Sorting Hat belonged to the original owner, he didn't know if the hat would read any important secrets. Ivan could only try his best to force himself to think about irrelevant things.
"Ahem..." Seeing that the Sorting Hat seemed to be endless, Professor McGonagall could only cough twice to remind the Sorting Hat on the stage to get back to work.
The Sorting Hat finally stopped talking, and Ivan finally breathed a sigh of relief, but he was also a little curious about which house he would be sorted into.
"Well... let me see, optimistic... smart and fanciful..." The Sorting Hat dragged out a long tone, and suddenly lowered his voice and spoke. "And he knows a little bit of dark magic..."
"I know black magic?" Ivan vaguely recalled what he had just remembered.
"Oh, yes, an ancient and rare...dark magic." The Sorting Hat chatted with Ivan in a low voice, as if telling a secret.
"Of course, in my opinion, this is also an interesting black magic that can always make people see things they don't want to see... Someone once used it to play a prank, maybe you can try it too..."
"Although Dumbledore would certainly not want anyone to do this again..." the Sorting Hat complained to itself.
"Then where should I go? Slytherin?" Ivan was a little curious about the fact that he knew dark magic, but the most crucial issue now was the issue of sorting.
After the division of the colleges, he could finally take off this damn hat that could read memories.
Among the four major colleges of Hogwarts, to enter Gryffindor you need to be brave enough (or reckless?), while to enter Ravenclaw you need wisdom or a desire for knowledge.
Slytherin corresponds to a cunning and sinister character and outstanding magical talent.
As for Hufflepuff...it is the kindest and most tolerant house, especially good at food-related spells, making it the best choice for foodies.
The Sorting Hat said that studying the dark arts was in line with the standards of Slytherin House. Of course, it is also possible that he was sorted into Ravenclaw because he was both optimistic and smart.
Ivan thought narcissistically...
"No, no, no, neither." The Sorting Hat's tone suddenly became humorous. "Although it may make you sad to say this, Slytherin usually only selects talented young wizards, so..."
"Gryffindor!" The Sorting Hat changed its soft whispering tone with Ivan and its loud voice resounded throughout the hall.
"Gryffindor?" Ivan took the Sorting Hat off his head, somewhat surprised. He didn't even have time to complain about the Sorting Hat's evaluation of his talent.
"Yes... yes, you should go there!" the Sorting Hat said confidently. "I have never made a mistake before. You have the corresponding qualities!"