Prompted by Hagrid, “No more than four people per boat!”, Will, Sylvia, Hermione, and Neville climbed into the same boat.
No matter how many times one had seen it in movies or books, nothing compared to experiencing it in person.
All around them was pitch black, and the dark water of the Black Lake beneath them reflected the stars in the sky.
The towering Hogwarts Castle was also mirrored on the lake’s surface, with countless windows glowing with light, complementing the stars in the water.
This scene made Hogwarts appear exceptionally majestic and mysterious.
Twenty minutes later, in front of the huge oak doors, Hagrid handed the new students over to Professor McGonagall, who was dressed in emerald-green robes and wore a stern expression.
“Welcome to Hogwarts.”
…
The Sorting Ceremony was about to begin soon.
This made the surrounding Young Wizards somewhat nervous.
Hermione had already started reciting things from her books, but soon, she turned her head and stared at Will, “Have you ever seen a description of the Sorting Ceremony in any books?”
Sylvia and Neville also stared at him, pressing, “That’s right, you’ve obviously read a lot of books, haven’t you ever seen it?”
The few of them pestered Will with relentless questions.
Will thought for a moment and said, “Well, actually, we have to take turns fighting the animals representing the four houses. In the end, a Professor will determine which kind of animal we resemble the most, and based on that, we’ll enter the corresponding house.”
Will continued, “Although I don’t know why, books in recent years haven’t recorded these matters. However, there is a detailed description in the 19th-century book Guide to Hogwarts Dangers. You can go look for that book later.”
The surroundings fell silent.
…
A few minutes later, the Sorting Ceremony began.
As everyone knew, Hogwarts had four major houses, namely Azkaban, Nurmengard…
Ahem, as everyone knew, Hogwarts had four major houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff.
Students of the four houses were sorted by the Sorting Hat according to their traits.
Before this, Young Wizards had no idea how the sorting was done.
It was a topic kept secret by the entire Wizarding World, and it wasn’t even mentioned in books.
For instance, Hogwarts: A History glossed over the matter of sorting.
However, Will believed that such an approach was, to some extent, filled with interesting humanistic care.
The students began lining up, waiting for Professor McGonagall to call their names.
Hermione and Neville both heaved a sigh of relief.
Neville even patted his chest and let out a heavy breath.
Meanwhile, Sylvia, standing beside Will, glared fiercely at him.
The surrounding Young Wizards also stared at Will with either relaxed or resentful expressions.
“Hannah Abbott!”
Sure enough, Hogwarts flows like water, but Hannah “Iron Hat King” Abbott remains steadfast. Get faster updates on g.com.
“Hufflepuff!”
“Terry Boot!”
“Ravenclaw!”
Will’s surname was “Balance”, and the Hogwarts roster was sorted alphabetically by surname, so he was quite near the front.
“Will Behrens!”
Will walked slowly toward the Sorting Hat.
He didn’t notice that up at the staff table, Professor Flitwick was watching him, along with the white-bearded Dumbledore.
Will somewhat reluctantly placed the filthy Sorting Hat onto his head.
“Hmm, do you think I’m not very clean?” The Sorting Hat’s voice echoed in Will’s ear.
“I don’t just think so; you indeed aren’t clean.”
“Dumbledore never cleans me. You know, it’s been many years since I last enjoyed a cleaning service.”
Will could only feel his facial muscles twitch.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s talk about your sorting instead. Hmm, difficult, very difficult…” The Sorting Hat’s tone seemed thoughtful.
“I think Hufflepuff would be nice.” Will genuinely preferred dealing with the little badgers.
“Hufflepuff is certainly nice. They are righteous and loyal, resilient and honest. Oh, and they are quite accommodating, but you clearly don’t belong in Hufflepuff.”
“Are you rejecting a Young Wizard’s request?”
“Rejecting?
Of course not.
My task is to choose the most suitable house for you and send you to the place that best matches your traits.” The Sorting Hat’s voice rustled, “Gryffindor created me back then precisely to do this.”
“Child, you have talent, a lot of talent. You love knowledge, which makes you suited for Ravenclaw. No, no, no, that’s not right—you are chasing knowledge! Goodness, you must be extremely careful not to end up in Azkaban in the future. You Wizards who chase knowledge are extremely dangerous! Hmm, Slytherin suits you very well; your great cause will set sail from there. Oh, I’m somewhat torn. Ravenclaw suits you. No, no, no, Slytherin suits you even better.”
“Wait, I’m not going—” Before Will could finish speaking, the Sorting Hat shouted out loud.
“Slytherin!”
At the Slytherin long table, a scattering of sparse applause broke out.
This filthy, rigid hat!
“Are you cursing me?” The Sorting Hat, already halfway off Will’s head, suddenly reacted, but Will ignored it and simply placed it back in its original spot.
With a cold expression, Will walked toward the Slytherin long table, casually found a seat, and quietly watched the rest of the Sorting Ceremony.
Among the people he knew, Hermione Granger completed her sorting first.
Sure enough, she went to her longed-for Gryffindor.
Neville was next; surprisingly, this time the Sorting Hat stayed on Neville’s head for several minutes.
Neville was almost becoming a “Hat-stall”.
Neville certainly counted as remarkably courageous, upright, and resilient.
“Sylvia Lestrange!” Following right behind Neville was Sylvia.
In just over a dozen seconds, the Sorting Hat shouted out loud.
“Slytherin!”
Sylvia came to the Slytherin long table, raised an eyebrow at Will, and finally sat down beside him, with an expression that seemed to say, “How did a reserve Ravenclaw end up in Slytherin?”
Will spread his hands with a somewhat helpless expression.
However, as the sorting concluded and various delicacies were served, Will began to enjoy the various foods.
His gaze swept across the staff table, where the greatest Wizard of the century, with his white hair and beard and a kind smile on his face, was chatting happily with the Professors beside him.
The petite Professor Flitwick happened to be looking at him as well, waving a hand at him as a greeting.
Will waved back in response.
Professor McGonagall still wore a stern expression, appearing quite unapproachable.
Snape looked like a half-dead, gloomy, and terrifying old bat, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the Gryffindor long table.
Professor Sprout, with her grey curly hair, appeared very serene.
She was also the least noticeable Head of House—not to say she was inferior to the other Heads of House, but rather that the others were simply too memorable.
Will’s gaze continued sweeping across the staff table: the purple-turbaned weirdo Professor Quirrell, the keeper of the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid…
Over the coming years, Will would spend his time with these teachers; of course, except for that one course whose Professor changed every year.
Just as Will buried his head to eat, the Professors at the staff table also brought him up.
“Professor Snape, Professor Snape.”
“Hmm?” Called twice, Snape withdrew his gaze from the Gryffindor long table and looked perplexedly at Professor Flitwick, wondering what he wanted to say.
“I hope you can pay a bit more attention to that child named Will Behrens.” Professor Flitwick pointed at Will, “That child right there.”
“Will Behrens?” Snape was slightly taken aback, not understanding what it meant.
Could this child be related to Professor Flitwick?
Seeing Snape’s puzzled expression, Flitwick explained, “I hope you can keep a closer eye on him. This child comes from a Muggle family, yet several years ago, without any guidance, he managed to find Diagon Alley on his own and bought books to study magic by himself.”
“…Oh, don’t look at me with that gaze. This child has no parents to look after him. You know, for a child who knows nothing, the Wizarding World holds too many dangers and temptations. Without any supervision, he has already read a massive amount of books and even learned quite a bit of magic. At the time, I thought the records were mistaken; in all these years, I’ve never seen a child from a Muggle family enter the Wizarding World this way. I think that without proper guidance, this child might stray onto the wrong path.”
After Professor Flitwick finished speaking, all the Professors understood.
Even Dumbledore turned his head, the smile that had been hanging on his face all evening receding somewhat.
“With that child’s boldness, how did he not end up in Gryffindor?” Professor McGonagall took a sip of her eggnog.
“Not only that, his home is piled with hundreds of books.
For a child to explore knowledge to this extent at such age, it also surprised me greatly that he didn’t enter Ravenclaw.” Professor Flitwick’s tone carried a hint of regret, “Professor Dumbledore, you don’t know this, but he already has a certain understanding of spells and is delving deeper into them.”
The smile on Dumbledore’s face almost vanished.
He stared at the boy who was cutting his chop, and said thoughtfully, “A thirsty-for-knowledge… orphan, is he?”