July 1991, in front of the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the new students gathered in a crowd as vast as a mountain.
It was the annual Sorting Ceremony.
Compared to the Halloween feast, this was more like a grand carnival.
All the new students would line up and wait for the Sorting Hat to assign them to the appropriate house.
For most new students, the day of the Sorting Ceremony was a celebration even more important than their birthdays.
Anton, an Asian boy with black hair and dark eyes, stood at the end of the line, surveying the world before him with a scrutinizing gaze.
Candles floating in the air without the aid of anything, a ceiling adorned with the Milky Way, and ghosts frolicking and playing all around them.
To any ordinary person, these were astonishing wonders that might not be seen even after several lifetimes.
But in Anton’s eyes, they were nothing out of the ordinary.
Those flying ghosts were merely a simple application of soul-binding magic.
The Milky Way in the sky was nothing more than a simple projection spell.
As for the candles floating in the air, they could be easily achieved with Levitation Stones or the Levitation Charm.
In short, all these spells that made the Muggle-born students gasp in amazement were completely ordinary in his eyes.
He did not even need incantations.
With nothing more than a thought, he could accomplish them.
Anton was curious about why such thoughts had appeared in his mind.
He felt somewhat helpless about it all.
Several months ago, he had transmigrated into the magical world.
By coincidence, he had appeared in Hermione’s home just as she was returning from spring break.
Kind-hearted Hermione had taken great care of the Asian boy who had suddenly appeared and had taken him in.
Thus, he had been staying at Hermione’s house ever since.
It was not until two owls delivered two letters of admission that he followed Hermione to this magical academy.
However, Hermione did not know that this was not Anton’s first transmigration.
In his previous life, he had been the Supreme Sorcerer of the Nine Realms.
Although his memories were still hazy, Anton could nevertheless clearly remember that in that life, he had already stood at the pinnacle of magic.
With a single whisper, he could incinerate all living beings.
With a single thought, he could extinguish the stars.
Time itself had already lost its effect on him.
Toward the end of his life, he had pursued true magic and arrived in this world.
Amid the chaotic currents of space and time, an accident had caused him to lose his memories, along with most of his spells and magical power.
But the small amount of experience he retained as a mage was already enough for him to understand every spell in this magical world.
As he pondered, the line had already moved forward until it was his turn.
At the very front of the line, a singing hat was loudly chanting.
“You may belong in Gryffindor, where courage lies buried deep within the heart.”
“You may belong in Hufflepuff, where the people are upright and loyal.”
“Perhaps you will enter wise old Ravenclaw, where those who are wise and learned will always find their kindred spirits.”
“Perhaps you will enter Slytherin, where you may make sincere friends.”
With a single glance, Anton could see that the hat had four layers of magic attached to it.
Four layers of mental restrictions, each placed by one of the four great wizards, along with the ability to read minds.
Anton gave a slight nod.
Interesting.
“Harry Potter! Gryffindor!”
The entire Gryffindor house erupted into cheers!
It was as though the whole room was about to explode!
The students of Gryffindor were pounding on the tables, welcoming the arrival of the Boy Who Lived.
And next was Anton.
An elderly, kindly-looking man with a white beard and robes stood up and gestured for Anton to come forward.
It was the headmaster, Dumbledore.
“New student Anton, please step forward.”
“Anton, good luck. Don’t be afraid. We’ll see you in Gryffindor.”
Hermione winked at Anton.
Anton walked forward with firm, steady steps.
A teacher gently placed the hat on his head.
Anton calmly accepted the hat’s mind-reading.
He waited for the result.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty minutes passed.
The Sorting Hat seemed to have been placed under a Silencing Charm.
It did not utter a single clever remark.
The entire hall fell into deathly silence.
At the teachers’ table, the Gryffindor Head of House, McGonagall, stood up.
Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
“Headmaster Dumbledore, why has the Sorting Hat remained silent?”
“With so many new students, after all these years, such a phenomenon has never occurred.”
“Never has a person caused the Sorting Hat to remain silent.”
Professor McGonagall lowered her voice.
“Not even that person.”
Dumbledore pushed up his glasses and said solemnly, “Calm down, Minerva.”
“Give our student a little more time.”
“Perhaps we are witnessing the birth of an extraordinary wizard.”
The moment Dumbledore finished speaking, a wave of hushed whispers spread throughout the hall.
“How could this happen?”
“This foreign wizard actually made the Sorting Hat fall silent?”
“Today is truly strange. First the Boy Who Lived, and now this wizard. Nothing like this has happened in the hundreds of years of Hogwarts’ history!”
At the Gryffindor table, Hermione clenched both fists and gazed at Anton worriedly.
After a long silence, the Sorting Hat suddenly let out a piercing shriek.
Then, two streams of blue-green tears flowed down from it.
“Such vast and profound magical energy! Such deep and powerful magical essence!”
“Lord Merlin!”
“After countless years, you have finally returned!”
The entire Hogwarts erupted into an uproar in an instant!
ENJOYING THE STORY?
DROP A REVIEW, SEND SOME POWER STONES, AND ADD IT TO YOUR LIBRARY!
YOUR SUPPORT KEEPS THE UPDATES COMING!