Amid the applause of the Slytherin upperclassmen, Sean awkwardly became the first to take a seat at the Slytherin table.
"Marcus Flint," a strong, dark-haired upperclassman with slightly protruding teeth greeted Sean.
Marcus, huh? A brute with well-developed limbs and a simple mind, Sean thought.
Still, the guy played Quidditch quite well. In the future he would even become the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team—though he had a reputation for playing dirty.
"Cedric Diggory," Professor McGonagall called out as the second name.
Cedric stepped forward under everyone's gaze and sat on the stool.
At that moment, Sean suddenly had an idea. He decided to tease the Weasley twins.
"Hey, Fred," Sean called toward them.
He couldn't actually tell which one was Fred, so he just guessed.
"Are you calling me?" one of the twins replied.
"Yes."
"Then you're mistaken. I'm George."
"No, you're Fred," Sean said confidently.
Fred looked surprised. He hadn't expected Sean to actually tell them apart.
"Well then, you guessed right. I'm Fred. How did you figure it out?"
Sean said seriously, "Because the third strand of hair in your left fringe is split."
Fred actually believed him. He turned to George and asked him to check.
In truth, Sean simply remembered that their personalities were slightly different.
Usually, when they were together, the one who spoke first was Fred. He was more lively, while George tended to be a bit quieter.
"Fred, want to make a bet?" Sean said. "I bet Cedric will be sorted into Hufflepuff. One Sickle."
"George, what do you think?" Fred asked.
"Gryffindor. Cedric will definitely go to Gryffindor," George replied.
Meanwhile, the Sorting Hat was analyzing Cedric.
"Honest, loyal, hardworking, unafraid of hardship… I'm not describing Hufflepuff's values—I'm describing Cedric himself. Without a doubt, he belongs in Hufflepuff."
The handsome boy walked over to the Hufflepuff table as enthusiastic applause erupted from the older Hufflepuff students.
"Well, looks like you won, genius," Fred said unwillingly.
"Troublemaker Number One seems unconvinced," Sean said confidently. "Let's bet again."
"Angelina Johnson," McGonagall called.
"Gryffindor," Sean said immediately.
The twins discussed briefly.
"Hufflepuff. This time we choose Hufflepuff."
The Sorting Hat announced the result moments later.
"Gryffindor!"
Sean was right again.
The twins immediately started arguing with each other, blaming the other for not choosing Gryffindor.
"Want to bet again?" Sean asked with a grin.
Perhaps Sean's luck was simply too good. The next two students who went up were names he recognized.
Naturally, he guessed both correctly.
After losing four bets in a row, even the mischievous twins began to feel impressed.
"Christina crouch," McGonagall called.
Chris stepped forward.
Before the Sorting Hat even touched her hair, it shouted out her House.
"Slytherin!"
Chris walked over to the Slytherin table.
"Sean, we're classmates now," she said with a smile.
"Yeah… yeah," Sean replied casually.
Ten more minutes passed before all the first-years had been sorted.
At Dumbledore's command, the feast finally began.
Sean bit into an apple while observing the professors' table.
He closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them again—
his Magic vision activated.
"Whoa… that's blinding."
The apple slipped from Sean's hand, rolling across the table and stopping beside Chris's plate.
"Don't like apples?" Chris asked.
"A bit sour," Sean said casually.
Dumbledore's magical power was simply overwhelming.
In Sean's vision, the headmaster looked like a glowing light bulb wrapped in brilliant white magic.
Sean rubbed his eyes and quickly looked away.
Among the other professors, Professor McGonagall and Snape emitted the strongest magical glow.
The others were noticeably weaker.
After the feast, the prefects led the new students to their respective dormitories.
This year, Slytherin had fewer new students than the other Houses—five boys and five girls.
The dormitory arrangements seemed slightly unusual.
Two boys per room, with one extra student receiving a private room.
The girls' side was arranged the same way.
The question was: who would get the single room?
Sean quickly came up with a plan.
He turned to the other four boys.
"You all know I survived the Killing Curse, right?"
They all nodded immediately.
"Even though I survived… I was left with some serious side effects."
"What kind of side effects?" asked a boy named Cassius Warrington.
"When I sleep, I talk in my sleep," Sean said seriously. "Sometimes I even hit people. I hit hard. Really hard."
He clenched his fists, deliberately showing his strength.
The four eleven-year-old boys were far too innocent to question the truth of it.
They simply felt that Sean was both pitiful—and terrifying.
"Prefect, I think Sean should have his own room," Cassius quickly said to Theo Wald.
Theo nodded.
"Then Sean will have a single room. Chris will also have one. The rest of you can choose your roommates."
Chris came from a prestigious family, so Theo's special treatment of her didn't surprise Sean at all.
Having his own space was extremely important to Sean.
With his Magic vision, his level was far beyond that of ordinary first-year students.
Even if he were suddenly placed into third-year classes, he could probably handle them easily.
He needed a private space to research more advanced magic and knowledge.
Sean entered his new room.
Living alone in a room designed for two people made it feel even more spacious.
Lying on the bed, he pulled out the first-year class schedule Theo had given them.
There were eight compulsory subjects:
Astronomy
Herbology
History of Magic
Charms
Transfiguration
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Potions
Flying
"Besides Potions and Flying, I've already had some exposure to the others… I'll need to find a way to turn those class hours into self-study time."
Hogwarts professors often granted certain privileges to exceptionally talented students.
For example, Professor McGonagall later borrowed a Time-Turner from the Ministry of Magic for Hermione so she could attend multiple elective classes.
Sean didn't need a Time-Turner.
All he needed was to perform exceptionally well in class and then request permission for independent study.
That would give him plenty of time to research advanced magic.
"Potions…" Sean murmured.
"I'd really like to see what makes the Half-Blood Prince's textbook so special."
He had already made up his mind.
Soon he would sneak into the advanced Potions classroom and see whether Snape's old textbook was still there.
During the day it would be impossible.
That classroom was reserved for older students studying N.E.W.T.-level Potions.
Sean would have to sneak in at night when no one was around.