However, the more perceptive young witches and wizards had already noticed a chair placed intentionally between the house tables and the staff table—right in the center of the Great Hall.
Resting upon it was a rather old, dirty, pointed wizard’s hat.
Once Professor McGonagall led the first-years over to the hat, it began its performance.
Just as Professor McGonagall had described, the hat began to sing in an eccentric cadence, describing the traits of the four houses and its own purpose.
When the song ended, thunderous applause erupted all around.
The hat bowed by bending its pointed tip, then fell silent once more.
It was hard to imagine a hat mimicking human facial features and even singing; at the very least, many of the Muggle-born students were utterly captivated by it.
“When I call your name, please step forward, take a seat, and put on the hat,” Professor McGonagall announced.
She produced a roll of parchment, cleared her throat, and read the first name: “Hannah Abbott!” Sure enough, the blonde girl who had shared a boat with Leon timidly stepped out of the crowd.
She walked up to the chair, picked up the hat, and sat down.
Her face, flushed red with nerves, was mostly hidden once the hat dropped over her head.
Only a few seconds after the hat was placed on Hannah’s head, it shouted a sharp cry.
“HUFFLEPUFF!” Enthusiastic applause erupted from the Hufflepuff table once again.
A visibly relieved Hannah took off the hat and immediately hurried over to join them, taking a seat under the guidance of an older student.
Professor McGonagall wasted no time in calling the next name.
With Hannah breaking the ice, the other young wizards relaxed considerably.
One by one, under the Sorting Hat’s direction, they found their future houses.
The sorting proceeded quickly.
The Sorting Hat barely took any time to decide where each first-year belonged.
The fastest of all was Draco Malfoy; he picked up the hat, and before it even fully touched his head, it barked out its judgment: “Slytherin!” The one who took the longest was Harry.
The Sorting Hat seemed to agonize over the decision for quite a while before finally sending him to Gryffindor.
Already the center of attention, Harry received the loudest cheers of the night as he made his way to the Gryffindor table.
What surprised Leon the most was that even though Hermione hadn’t interacted with Harry and the others beforehand, she was still sent to Gryffindor by the Sorting Hat.
However, looking at the indignant expression on her face as she took off the hat, she had clearly had an unpleasant disagreement with it.
This made Leon hesitate.
It seemed the Sorting Hat wasn’t as respectful of a young wizard’s personal choice as he had thought.
“Leon John!” At that moment, Professor McGonagall called out Leon’s name.
Surprisingly, she omitted his middle name, Laevateinn.
Leon didn’t hesitate, however.
He strode forward to Professor McGonagall, sat down under her encouraging gaze, and picked up the Sorting Hat, placing it on his head with a look of mild disgust.
“You’re definitely looking down on me, aren’t you?” The moment the hat settled onto his head, Leon heard the Sorting Hat muttering a complaint in his ear.
“Yes, Mr.
Hat.
You really are a bit too dirty,” Leon chatted back casually.
“This is the accumulation of history and time!
What do you know?
I am Gryffindor’s hat!
Do you know how long I’ve been at this school?” the Sorting Hat ranted back indignantly.
“Alright, can you tell me which house I belong to now?” Leon didn’t want to chat much longer with the hat.
After all, he could hear the distinct sound of something crawling right next to his ear.
That was definitely not good news.
He desperately needed to get away from this filthy hat as soon as possible.
“Not only are you disgusted by me, but you’re also disgusted by Richard the Ninety-Fourth!” Having read Leon’s thoughts, the Sorting Hat’s voice grew even shriller.
“He is a dear friend of mine, and a very gentle little fellow!” “So, his family has lived inside your hat for generations?” Hearing the name and the numeral, Leon didn’t know whether to marvel or to scoff.
“Of course!
The inside of my hat is highly comfortable.
Not only can it house a spider, but it can even hide a sword!” the Sorting Hat replied proudly.
“A sword?” Leon already knew about it, but he played along and asked anyway.
“Yes, the Sword of Gryffindor!
Only a true Gryffindor can draw it.
I think you have that potential.
You possess great courage, and your mettle and spirit are more than sufficient.
You are absolutely a textbook Gryffindor,” the Sorting Hat immediately urged Leon.
“Is that all?” Leon didn’t buy the Sorting Hat’s words.
After all, if he truly only belonged in Gryffindor, the hat wouldn’t be dragging its feet chatting with him like this; it would have blurted out the answer immediately.
Sure enough, hearing Leon’s skepticism, the Sorting Hat grumbled helplessly, “Of course, you also possess the wisdom of a Ravenclaw.
Your little mind is incredibly sharp.
Furthermore, you have the perseverance and honesty required by Hufflepuff.
You are the third student I’ve encountered today who is quite difficult to place.” “What about the ambition and glory of Slytherin?” Seeing that the Sorting Hat had omitted the snake house entirely, Leon grew intrigued.
“Of course you have them, but I don’t think you suit that place.
Your situation is a bit complicated.
Going to a dreadful place like Slytherin could easily stir up big trouble.” The Sorting Hat explained, then shifted tactics to persuade him.
“Are you really not going to Gryffindor?
Your little girlfriend was willing to defy my decision just to go to Hufflepuff with you.
Now that she’s in Gryffindor, why don’t you join her?” “Correction: Hermione is not my girlfriend, just a friend.
Secondly, I do not want to go to Gryffindor.” Gryffindor and Slytherin were the two outcomes Leon resisted the most.
The Sorting Hat’s teasing failed to sway his thoughts; he had his own plans.
“Not going to Gryffindor?
That might be the biggest mistake of your life.
Are you absolutely sure?” The Sorting Hat still didn’t give up trying to persuade him.
But Leon’s mind was made up.
He shook his head.
Sensing Leon’s resolve, the Sorting Hat could only sigh helplessly.
Finally, it shouted at the top of its voice: “SLYTHERIN!” Hearing this result, Leon froze for a moment.
He was about to ask the Sorting Hat if it could change its mind, but the hat had already lifted itself off his head.
Seeing the thunderous applause coming from the Slytherin table and the astonished look on Professor McGonagall’s face, Leon knew the matter was set in stone.
He could only sigh helplessly.
He felt like the Sorting Hat was deliberately taking revenge on him, but he had no proof.
However, that didn’t stop him from venting his frustration a little.
So, swift and decisive, Leon drew his wand and pointed it at the Sorting Hat under the startled gazes of everyone present.
“Scourgify!” The Sorting Hat, intending to resist the spell, had just begun to activate the magical runes engraved upon itself when it found its power completely restricted in the very next second.
In the end, it could only watch in bitter resentment as the “history” accumulated from the passage of time was swept clean by the Scouring Charm.
The entire hat felt utterly miserable.
What disappointed it wasn’t Leon’s charm, but rather the betrayal from one of its own!
The only person it could think of who was capable of suppressing its power was a certain old man with a white beard sitting up at the staff table.