Unlike its dark, gloomy exterior, the interior of Hogwarts Castle was magnificent and splendid.
Intriguingly, the ceiling overhead appeared to be transparent, offering a clear view of the shimmering stars outside.
Noticing Sherlock’s upward glance, Hermione whispered beside him, “It’s bewitched to look like the sky outside.
I read about it in *Hogwarts: A History*.” Sherlock nodded.
Indeed, it was hard to believe there was an actual ceiling overhead, or that the Great Hall was not open to the elements.
When Sherlock had first seen the size of Hogwarts Castle from the outside, he had expected his seven years here to be rather cramped.
But now, the interior space was visibly far larger than the castle appeared from without.
All he could say was that it was entirely unscientific.
Where logic failed, magic filled the gap.
When Professor McGonagall returned, the ghosts floated through the walls and vanished.
By now, the entire school—both students and staff—was seated, every eye fixed on the first-years as they awaited the Sorting Ceremony.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the new students, then set a hat upon it.
Sherlock noticed that the pointed hat was patched, heavily worn, and visibly filthy even from a distance.
The next instant, the hat began to twitch.
A wide rip opened near the lower brim, stretching like a mouth.
Then, it burst into song.
“Oh, you may not think I’m pretty, but don’t judge by what you see, I’ll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me…” It droned out a ditty that struck Sherlock as rather grating.
The hat was no vocalist, and its song fell far short of his own violin playing.
Still, it managed to convey some useful information.
Primarily, it provided an introduction to the four Houses.
Its summary was quite objective and considerably more detailed than Professor McGonagall’s brief overview.
To put it simply: Gryffindor — Brave and daring, represented by the lion, symbolizing the element of fire.
Hufflepuff — Just and loyal, represented by the badger, symbolizing the element of earth.
Ravenclaw — Wise and learned, represented by the eagle, symbolizing the element of wind.
Slytherin — Cunning and ambitious, represented by the serpent, symbolizing the element of water.
By now, the first-years understood that all they needed to do was put on the hat.
“I’m going to kill Fred!” Ron muttered angrily to Sherlock and Harry.
“He made it sound like we had to wrestle a troll!” Harry and Hermione breathed quiet sighs of relief, having clearly been fraught with nerves just moments ago.
Sherlock, naturally, felt no anxiety at all; he simply found the situation increasingly intriguing.
The Sorting Ceremony began.
Holding a scroll of parchment, Professor McGonagall stepped forward and called out the first name: “Hannah Abbott!” A little girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line under the gaze of the entire school, nervously slipping the hat over her head.
Whatever transpired beneath it, after a brief pause, the hat shouted out, “Hufflepuff!” The table on the right erupted into applause and cheers for Hannah, welcoming her to sit with them.
The Fat Friar, who had greeted Sherlock earlier, waved happily in her direction.
One by one, the new students were called up by Professor McGonagall—putting on the hat, being sorted, taking off the hat.
A mechanical, repetitive routine devoid of novelty.
Before long, someone close to Sherlock was called.
“Hermione Granger!” Extremely nervous, Hermione forgot even to say goodbye to them, practically sprinting to the stool.
She hurriedly jammed the hat onto her head.
In the end, the hat shouted, “Gryffindor!” At that, Ron let out a quiet scoff, clearly displeased at the prospect of sharing a House with her.
Sherlock, meanwhile, watched the scene with keen interest.
He paid no mind to Ron’s petty grievances; what caught his attention was the amount of time the Sorting Hat took.
Sometimes it called out a House immediately, while other times it hesitated for a while before reaching a decision.
Hermione, for instance, had taken nearly four minutes—the longest of anyone sorted so far, giving the impression that the hat was genuinely deliberating.
Which raised the question: when his turn arrived, how long would it take, and which House would he be placed in?
In fact, Sherlock had already contemplated this while the hat was singing its little ditty.
The conclusion…
anything was possible.
Courage was something he had never lacked.
His primary motivation for coming to Hogwarts was an insatiable desire to explore the unknown.
When necessary, he could disregard life and death entirely; if anything, the thrill only heightened his excitement.
Integrity—one of his passions was combatting crime.
Granted, his methods were hardly lawful good, but he certainly did not belong to the evil camp, and his end results were invariably aligned with justice.
Wisdom went without saying—though due to his family, he had once believed himself an idiot until he met other children.
Cunning and ambition—he unquestionably possessed both.
And judging by the Sorting Hat’s song, his air of superiority and disdain for rules actually made him quite a fit for Slytherin.
Thus, even Sherlock, a master of deduction and analysis, found it difficult to predict which House he would end up in.
If only he could ask Hermione what actually happened once the hat was put on; he was certain Miss Granger would be more than happy to answer.
Regrettably, that was impossible.
Once assigned to a House, each new student left the line to join their respective table, where upperclassmen waited to welcome them.
Just then, Professor McGonagall saw Hermione take her seat amidst the welcoming cheers of the Gryffindor upperclassmen and turned her gaze back to the parchment.
Her eyes paused briefly before she called out the next name: “Sherlock Holmes!” At the sound of his name, before Sherlock could react, Harry and Ron both tensed up.
“Don’t go to Slytherin!” “You’ve got to be in Gryffindor!” Aside from his two friends, others were naturally paying attention to Sherlock as well.
Word of how he had dealt with Malfoy and his two companions on the train had already spread, so students in the know couldn’t help but look closer upon hearing his name.
Not to mention, Sherlock possessed a striking appearance that naturally drew attention at first glance.
Furthermore, Professor McGonagall had previously mentioned this keenly observant, analytical young wizard to Dumbledore.
However…
Reaching the stool, Sherlock did not immediately jam the hat onto his head as the others had done.
He held the hat in his hands, turning it around and examining it minutely.
The students and teachers were astounded.
Professor McGonagall, conducting the Sorting, wore a look of utter bewilderment.
*You’re not here to buy a hat—why are you inspecting it?* She couldn’t help glancing toward Headmaster Dumbledore, seated at the head table.