Chapter 13: “The Sorting Hat”

Hagrid raised his fist and knocked three times on the castle gate. The door opened, and Sean saw a tall witch in an emerald green robe. Just as he imagined, she was a serious and very temperamental person.

“Professor McGonagall, the students are here.” Hagrid said.

“Thank you, Hagrid. Leave it to me here.”

Professor McGonagall led the students to an empty room. After introducing the four houses of Hogwarts, she glanced sternly at the students present.

“The sorting ceremony will be held in a moment. I suggest you take care of yourself and stay calm.”

Whether it was Harry, Neville, or Malfoy, they unconsciously lowered their heads under her gaze and were all looking to see if there was anything inappropriate about them. Hermione tried her best to meet Professor McGonagall’s eyes to show she was ready.

When Professor McGonagall walked out of the room, she immediately turned her head to face Sean beside her and asked nervously, “Hurry up and take a look. I always feel that there’s something wrong with my robe.”

Sean looked at her carefully, then smiled, “You look great, Hermione.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

“George and Fred said we need to fight a troll.” Ron’s face turned pale.

Harry pulled down his collar and said, “Sirius said that the sorting ceremony requires three complete spells to be cast. Find the treasure hidden in the castle’s secret location, and they will sort you according to your performance…”

This time, the crowd became even more noisy, and many students were already praying for what was about to come. Malfoy snorted proudly as he led his group on a small step. However, just as he was about to speak, he happened to meet Sean.

Sean smiled and waved his hand as if to say hello to a friend. Malfoy’s face turned pale, and he forcibly held back what he was about to say.

“Sean, are you not worried about the sorting ceremony? If I don’t pass, will they expel me?” Hermione’s face also turned pale.

“Of course not,” Sean comforted in a low voice. “Before we came, we were approached by two wizarding schools. How could Hogwarts easily expel a wizard?”

When the students were worried, suddenly, several people screamed loudly.

Suddenly, twenty or so ghosts jumped out from the wall behind them. These pearly white, translucent ghosts, whispering as they slid across the room, paid little attention to these first-year students.

Only a chubby ghost greeted them, “Freshman? I hope you can get a Hufflepuff!”

When the ghosts crossed the wall again, Malfoy muttered angrily.

“Damn, are there like no rules at all?” He had just bumped into a ghost, and his face was pale.

“Nurmengard will not let these things run through the castle. I should’ve gone to Nurmengard if my Dad hadn’t told me to go to Hogwarts.”

“No ghost exists in Nurmengard because the first headmaster is still alive.” Harry’s voice came from the side.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, “I know you. You’re a Potter, right? You’re probably just jealous because you didn’t get an invitation to Nurmengard.”

“At least I won’t stand on Hogwarts territory and talk bad about my own school.” Harry retorted.

Both of them took a step forward. Neville and Ron glanced at Crabbe and Goyle, who had fierce expressions. Although their faces were pale, they still stood behind their friends.

“Don’t fight. We’re going to be classmates for seven years. Come on, Draco. Apologize first. We’ll be friends in the future.” Sean stood up and said with a smile. The Malfoy group couldn’t bear to see him take a step between the two of them.

Professor McGonagall pushed open the door and walked in, “I won’t let any student pack their bags and go home after the ceremony is over.”

The scene suddenly fell silent. Professor McGonagall glanced at the audience and gave some glances when he saw Sean.

“Now, form a line and follow me.”

Sean laughed secretly. Teachers always liked students like him, no matter where he was, while it was only a small matter.

After following Professor McGonagall through the luxurious and elegant hall, they stepped into the luxurious Great Hall of Hogwarts.

“Wow…” The students exclaimed in unison.

The students of other grades in the school sat around four long tables, and the two-color flags representing the various houses were hung high in the air. At the same time, thousands of floating candles illuminated the auditorium, and the golden plates and goblets on the table also shone in the fire.

The most striking thing was the dome of the auditorium, the black velvet ceiling dotted with starlight among the soaring marble that stretched on all sides, just like the starry night they had seen when they landed.

Sean heard Hermione whisper, “It’s been enchanted here. It looks like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A School History.”

Professor McGonagall led them to the teacher’s long table in front of them and asked them to stand in a row facing the senior students.

She looked at a stool with a tattered pointed wizard hat on it. The hat was patched several times and looked dirty.

“The Sorting Hat hasn’t been washed for thousands of years…” Sean said.

Everyone stared at the hat, and then it opened its mouth wide and sang in a strange tone.

“You may think that I am not good-looking,

But don’t judge people by their appearance,

Because I am the Sorting hat!”

After the Sorting Hat finished singing, there was thunderous applause in the hall, and Sean even saw a pair of red-haired twins stand up and whistle a few times.

Hermione let out a long breath next to him and whispered to him, “It turns out that you only need to wear this hat. It scares me to death…”

Professor McGonagall stood by the stool, holding a stack of parchment.

“Whoever’s name I call will sit on the stool, put on the sorting hat, and you will be sorted to your houses.” She pushed on her glasses and called out the first name.

“Hannah Abbott.”