The ceiling of the Hogwarts Great Hall was adorned with magical stars, and the long tables of the four houses stretched out in the candlelight.
Harley and the other first-years lined up to enter the Great Hall. At a glance, she saw her old father, Severus, sitting somewhat restlessly at the High Table. Beside him, Quirrell's entire head was almost wrapped in a giant purple turban, revealing only his somewhat pale features.
The first-years lined up with their backs to the Professors, facing the gazes of those below the stage.
Most of the eyes from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were drawn to the chosen one, Neville Longbottom. Most of the gazes from Slytherin were wandering over Alexandra. Only a few upper-year students from Ravenclaw and Slytherin stared at Harley with scrutinizing eyes, as if evaluating something.
McGonagall placed a somewhat old Wizard's hat on a four-legged stool. As soon as the hat left Professor McGonagall's fingers, it opened its mouth and began to sing loudly.
Harley's face looked like the 'old man on a subway looking at his phone' meme throughout the hat's solo. The thought that the hat would release a new song every year made her feel quite unwell.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a roll of parchment and said, "The Sorting Ceremony will now begin. When I call your name, please put on the hat and sit to wait for your house assignment."
"Hannah Abbott!"
The Iron Hat King ran toward her throne and donned her crown.
"Hufflepuff!"
...The sorting order followed the alphabetical order of surnames, and it wasn't long before it was Hermione Granger's turn.
Hermione gave Harley a deep look and stepped forward with a determined gaze.
Success or failure depended on this one move!
The Sorting Hat remained silent for a long time before shouting "Gryffindor." Harley sighed; it seemed Cho Chang's advice had failed. Hermione still chose Gryffindor, the house of the world's strongest White Wizard.
The sorting continued. After a few more people, Professor McGonagall called Neville Longbottom.
When Neville stepped forward and put on the Sorting Hat, the attention of all the students below was captivated.
Everyone craned their necks to see more clearly. The Gryffindor students even became uncharacteristically nervous, holding their breath as they waited for the Sorting Hat's verdict.
The Sorting Hat and the chosen one did not disappoint the lions. With a loud "Gryffindor!", the atmosphere in the Great Hall instantly reached its peak!
"We have Longbottom! We have the chosen one!"
"Merlin bless the chosen one! Long live Gryffindor!"
A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall had to step in to restrain the emotions of her little lions so the Sorting Ceremony could continue.
Interestingly, right after Longbottom came Malfoy.
Hadi watched as the Sorting Hat was placed on Alexandra's head. The ragged hat stayed on her shiny hair for only a second before shouting in a resonant voice: "Slytherin!"
Unprecedentedly warm applause and cheers erupted from the long table of green and silver snakes, sounding even louder than the Gryffindors earlier. This made the little lions of Gryffindor a bit unhappy.
Alexandra raised her chin and walked gracefully toward her seat.
The glory of the House of Malfoy spread invisible wings behind her. Every student from a wizarding family knew that this surname meant an ancient pure-blood heritage and unquestionable superiority.
Standing at the front, Harley was essentially watching the drama from the sidelines. The atmosphere between Gryffindor, led by Longbottom, and Slytherin, led by Malfoy, had become subtle. She could foresee many good shows playing out between the two houses over the next seven years.
Well, as long as she wasn't dragged into it.
Harley naively wanted to stay out of it, but unfortunately, her last name was Snape.
"Harley Snape!"
When her name was called, Harley stepped forward, and the students below instantly erupted again.
"Did Professor McGonagall just say Snape?"
"Is it that Snape, as in Severus Snape?"
Harley's vision was obscured by the wide brim of the hat. She thought to herself that things were looking bad; she hadn't expected her surname to attract such a level of attention.
A sense of foreboding welled up in her heart, but before she could think further, a voice spoke in her ear:
"Wisdom hides beneath caution, and ambition wears a cloak of docility. Your courage has claws, and your loyalty is hidden deep—Gryffindor can give you the courage to succeed, Slytherin can provide a stage to play to your heart's content, Ravenclaw can bring you wings of imagination, and Hufflepuff... is very close to the kitchens. Where do you want to go?"
Hadi hesitated for a moment. To be honest, both Slytherin and Gryffindor were main battlefields, and she didn't really want to go to either.
Going to Ravenclaw with Cho Chang would be nice, but it was too far from the kitchens. She would starve to death if she couldn't have a midnight snack.
She was quite interested in Hufflepuff, but she was afraid it would be difficult for her old father. After all, Severus was the Head of Slytherin House.
Hermione had been sorted into Gryffindor... Harley sighed. Considering her old father was currently sitting behind her, staring at her expectantly, and that the trouble-magnet savior had also been sorted into Gryffindor, the likelihood of being forced into adventures if she joined Gryffindor was very high (especially with the scheme-loving Dumbledore around). Weighing the pros and cons, Harley ultimately chose Slytherin.
"I want to go to Slytherin."
After Harley made her decision, the Sorting Hat's voice suddenly became deep, as if it had changed its core.
"Harley Snape, you are born with the ability to stir up storms. Don't worry about anything else, just be yourself—Slytherin!"
The hall fell silent for a few seconds before sparse applause broke out. Harley's sorting had taken so long that everyone hadn't reacted yet.
The Professors sitting in the front row also had strange expressions on their faces. They hadn't heard of anyone taking twenty minutes to be sorted before; it was too strange.
You should know that difficult sorting cases were usually called Hatstalls if they exceeded five minutes. What do you call someone who exceeds twenty minutes? A Super Hatstall?
At this moment, Harley hadn't realized how much time she had delayed. She stood up, handed the hat back to Professor McGonagall, glanced back at Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table, and walked toward the Slytherin table, which was cheering wildly at Severus's signal, taking a seat next to Alexandra.
Besides his joy, Severus's expression also became somewhat complex. He glanced at Hermione's bitter smile, then at Alexandra, Pansy, and Daphne sitting beside Harley. He suddenly felt this scene was somewhat familiar, except the victim had become a little lion of Gryffindor.
A strange sense of pleasure welled up from his heart. Severus showed a rare smile, which frightened the students below into silence.
Gosh, the King of Sarcasm, the most terrifying Professor in Hogwarts history, could actually smile—how terrifying!
---------------------------------------
50 chapters are already completed on Patreon and new chapters are released before Webnovel
Read it now without waiting for daily updates, even before Webnovel.
Don't miss out - go read it now
You can join at https://www.patreon.com/cw/catYT