What do you mean the child's name isn't on the parchment?
Professor McGonagall's words instantly silenced the Great Hall. Lei, standing alone in the middle of the aisle, suddenly found himself the center of attention, just like Harry Potter's grand entrance.
Lei and Professor McGonagall weren't the only ones puzzled. The older students began to murmur amongst themselves.
"How can his name not be there?"
"Is he a Muggle who snuck in?"
"Damn Muggle spy."
"I heard that in all the years Hogwarts has been around, the quill and parchment have never missed a single name."
Slytherin was truly the most detestable house. Among those self-righteous students who considered themselves of pure blood, someone had actually started to suspect whether Lei was a Muggle who had snuck in.
Lei was a little flustered. Honestly, he'd considered the possibility of being sorted into any house and had prepared himself to accept it. But he had never imagined that Professor McGonagall's list of new students would not include his name.
How many years had Hogwarts been open? This was the first time such a problem had occurred.
"Professor McGonagall, I have my acceptance letter here."
Sensing something amiss, Lei immediately produced his acceptance letter and train ticket. Professor McGonagall took both items and handed them to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore examined the acceptance letter in his hand, his face betraying no suspicion. He looked at the nervous Lei for a long moment before finally nodding to Professor McGonagall.
"Alright, everyone, please be quiet," Professor McGonagall said, quieting the discussions in the hall. She continued, "Lei Fasty, please come and sit here for the Sorting."
Hearing this, Lei breathed a sigh of relief. He had been so nervous; it had truly felt like he might be sent back to the Muggle world.
Nervously, Lei sat on the tall stool as Professor McGonagall placed the old, dirty Sorting Hat on his head. The enormous hat nearly swallowed his entire head.
"Oh, you're a very special young man."
"You feel so familiar to me, as if I've met you somewhere before."
"Special young man, you have courage, a clever mind, and very high talent. And, what's rare, your heart is also good. It's so hard to make the best choice, so where do you want me to put you?"
"Hmm, which house do you want to study in, child?"
"Don't pick Slytherin!"
Lei whispered to the Sorting Hat. He had clearly heard the discussion about Slytherin earlier. He hadn't cared which house he went to originally, but now, after thinking about it, he realized he really didn't like Slytherin.
"Alright, I respect your opinion. But I suddenly remembered, this scar on my right cheek seems to be related to you..."
The Sorting Hat chattered incessantly, uttering some irrelevant words, but mostly it was struggling with where to place Lei.
It seemed Lei could fit into any house, that he could achieve amazing things in any of them.
Such a conflicted Sorting Hat was extremely rare, far exceeding five minutes.
"It's a Hatstall!" A student, who seemed very familiar with the Sorting Hat, shouted. The students then erupted in an uproar.
Some asked what a Hatstall was, while others expressed disbelief and amazement.
"A Hatstall is when the Sorting Hat can't correctly assign someone to a house after more than five minutes."
Whispered discussions quickly filled the entire hall. Professor McGonagall had to speak up again, reminding the students to be quiet.
Soon, the history of Hatstalls, such as the ones with Professor McGonagall and Peter Pettigrew, was brought up by a student.
A Hatstall undoubtedly piqued the interest of all the students. They all wondered who the Sorting Hat would praise and struggle over, and which house the student would end up in. They all hoped it would be their own house.
Of course, this didn't apply to Slytherin. They were pure-blood nobles and didn't need someone like Lei, whose background was unknown and who was a Muggle.
"Ravenclaw!"
Amidst everyone's anticipation, the Sorting Hat finally made a decision after much deliberation.
Ooh!
The Great Hall erupted in applause, and the excited children even whistled.
Lei was also excited; he was finally a student at Hogwarts. He hurried over to the Ravenclaw table and sat across from Agnes, and they exchanged smiles.
Both of them had expected to be sorted into Slytherin, but instead, they were both sorted into Ravenclaw, which neither of them had anticipated.
"Menxiao Gesifo, Ravenclaw's Head Boy, welcome to Ravenclaw."
"Hello, Lei Fasty, thank you for the welcome." The Head Boy's welcome made Lei realize something. Ravenclaw didn't reject oddballs; they preferred inquisitive, intelligent students.
This kind of house was undoubtedly a good fit for him.
Lei quickly integrated into Ravenclaw. The enthusiastic welcome from his classmates made him feel like he was home.
However, looking down the long table, Ravenclaw seemed to have more girls than boys, with the male students only making up a third of the total.
After everyone finished welcoming them, the sound of clinking filled the hall.
The sound of spoons tapping against glass caught the attention of all the students. Dumbledore stood up, "Everyone, please pay attention, I have three announcements to make. First, please allow me to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor: Cabot Dorrick."
Following Dumbledore's explanation, a middle-aged man in his forties with graying hair stood up. He had a gaunt face and pale complexion, but his smile was very friendly. When he stood up and waved, it made one wonder if his body could hold up.
Cabot Dorrick. Lei had seen him in the Daily Prophet. He was the Auror who'd been besieged by vampires. He hadn't expected him to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. However, his appearance had changed quite a bit. He wasn't this thin in the newspaper.
At this moment, Lei felt a surge of joy. He could legitimately ask this professor for advice on how to deal with vampires.
"I know him. He's a powerful Auror. He killed several vampires not long ago." Chatter erupted immediately along the long table.
"What's an Auror?"
"An Auror is a wizard who specializes in capturing dark wizards and eliminating dark creatures."
After Cabot Dorrick sat down, Dumbledore continued, "Secondly, first-year students, please pay attention: students are not permitted to enter the Forbidden Forest outside the school, unless you want to be torn apart and eaten by the beasts within."
"Thirdly, Quidditch team tryouts will be held on Monday of the second week of the term. Please have the captains of each house submit their team rosters at that time."
After announcing the important notices, Dumbledore waved his hands, "Now, let the feast begin."
In an instant, the empty plates on the long tables were suddenly laden with all sorts of food imaginable.
At that moment, everyone, whether they were hungry or not, found their appetites whetted by the delicious aromas.
The feast began, and the ghosts of Hogwarts seemed to be unleashed, flitting about everywhere.
This was their feast too, and scaring the new students was a rare source of amusement for them.
The young wizards and witches had all encountered something magical to some extent, and although they were frightened, they quickly got used to it.
Among the many ghosts, the most frightening was the one sitting at the Slytherin table.
Hollow eyes, a gaunt face, and silver bloodstains on his robe, he also wore a pair of shackles on his hands.
He was like a malevolent ghost, but with a proud heart, and a place at the Slytherin table was reserved for him.
He didn't scare the new students like the other ghosts, but even without doing anything, just sitting there was enough to make people afraid.
Lei glanced at him a few times. His vacant eyes looked off into the distance, as if he didn't care about anything happening in the hall.
Among the many ghosts, only he was like a real ghost, and a terrifying one at that.
Ding, ding, ding. After everyone had eaten their fill, the sound of a spoon tapping a glass rang out again.
This small sound, as if possessing magic, once again successfully attracted the attention of the students.
"Now, after we've eaten, before we go to bed, let's all sing our school song, each person choosing their own favorite tune."
Dumbledore waved his wand gently, and golden streamers flew onto the long tables, displaying the lyrics of the school song: "Ready, sing!"
With his voice, the school song in various tones mixed together, like high-decibel noise, sweeping across the entire Hogwarts castle.
Lei also joined in, launching into a rendition of "Borrow Another Five Hundred Years," only adapting the lyrics to fit the Hogwarts school song.
Amidst the cacophony, Dumbledore somehow distinguished the various tunes. When Lei sang "Borrow Another Five Hundred Years," he actually smiled, nodding in apparent appreciation and even conducting along with him.
The boisterous singing finally ended, and the students began to leave their seats.
The Head Boy and Head Girl led the first-years towards the Ravenclaw dorms. However, just then, the Bloody Baron, who had been in a daze, suddenly awoke.
He abruptly turned and fixed his gaze on the newly-risen Lei. His sharp eyes were like knives, making Lei's heart leap with fear, as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar.
Fortunately, the Bloody Baron's clarity was fleeting. His piercing gaze quickly clouded over again.
While Lei was still stunned, the Bloody Baron stood up and then drifted away.
"Hey, are you alright?" Lei was genuinely startled. Agnes, as she was leaving, noticed Lei's dazed expression and asked with surprise.
"Oh, it's nothing."
"Really? You don't look so good."
"Yeah, it's fine. I just ate too much and choked a little."
Lei found a lame excuse. Agnes didn't comment, then motioned for him to follow the prefect leading the group.
"Everyone, pay attention. Ghosts are actually quite friendly, but you need to watch out for Peeves."
"Who's Peeves?"
"A ghost who loves to play pranks. No, he's not a ghost, he should be a poltergeist, and he really loves to tease the first-year students."
"Who's the ghost sitting at the Slytherin table, the one wearing handcuffs?"
Regarding the prefect's lecture, Lei voiced the question that had been on his mind, the question about the Bloody Baron. The impression the ghost had made on him was just too strong, so much so that it felt frightening, like when he was a child in his previous life and first watched Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and was terrified.
"Oh, that's the Bloody Baron. He's Peeves' nemesis, so you just need to avoid him."
"Why is he called the Bloody Baron? Why is his blood silver?"
Lei threw out a question, and naturally, a new student immediately followed up with a question of their own. There were too many curious things in Hogwarts, and Ravenclaw had the most curious students.
In his memories of his previous life, Lei didn't seem to remember seeing the Bloody Baron in the movies. You could say that he only knew of him by name, never having seen him in person.
Perhaps he had seen him, but it had been too long, and there was no impression in his mind.
"This... no one knows. And no one dares to ask, including the students of Slytherin."
Menxiao Gesifo seemed helpless when it came to this question.
....
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