Hogwarts truly was a magical place!
Lusa gazed at the starry sky formed by thousands of candles, listening to the legendary Sorting Hat rambling on as it sang the school song. The lyrics roughly went: cunning Slytherin, brave Gryffindor, wise Ravenclaw, and loyal Hufflepuff.
Professor McGonagall called out names with a stern expression, somewhat reminiscent of the strict principal from her previous life’s high school. Her tall stature and solemn face made people too intimidated to look directly at her.
The first named blonde sweetheart was sorted into Hufflepuff—Hannah Abbott, who later married Neville Longbottom, the new owner of the Leaky Cauldron. That sounded pretty cool.
“Hermione Granger!”
Lusa paid special attention—the legendary female protagonist! Hermione was a little girl with long, bushy brown hair. When she scurried forward, her movements were a bit comically uncoordinated, probably due to nerves, but it was rather endearing.
Although her face wasn’t as exquisitely striking as Emma Watson’s in the movies, she was still quite pretty. If her hair were properly groomed and her prominent front teeth fixed up a bit, she’d be a little beauty.
“Gryffindor!”
The sorting continued…
Lusa listened to familiar and unfamiliar names, with waves of applause erupting after each successful sorting. Amid the enthusiastic cheers, there was even more anticipation and excitement for the seven years ahead.
“Lusa Riddle!”
Wow, it was finally her turn. Lusa patted her chest lightly and stepped out of the line under the encouraging gazes of the Parvati sisters.
Lusa saw Harry smile at her—probably greeting her. His soft, adorable face seemed a bit nervous; he didn’t even react when Ron tugged at him a few times. The poor kid was probably panicking about whether he’d be judged not a wizard and thrown out of Hogwarts the next moment.
What a little cutie! Lusa sent an encouraging look in Harry’s direction. Dear Harry, you’re the famous savior—be more confident!
“Harry, do you know that Riddle girl? She’s really pretty, isn’t she? Even cuter than Ginny. I wonder which house she’ll be sorted into. I hope it’s Gryffindor—I’m definitely going to be in Gryffindor. My whole family is.”
Ron whispered into Harry’s ear, unaware that even though he’d lowered his voice, the Twin Brothers, who had appeared out of nowhere, had already grabbed his shoulders. They flanked him, left and right, teasing him with playful grins.
“Ooh~ What do we have here, little Ronnie? Did you fall in love at first sight with that sweetheart named Riddle? Saying she’s even cuter than Ginny? Merlin, George, has our little brother finally awakened?”
“No! No! I… I didn’t… George, Fred, stop talking nonsense!” Ron’s face flushed bright red. Adolescent boys tended to shy away from such teasing, and he looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.
“I think so, Fred. Little Ronnie’s embarrassed—just look at his face… haha…”
George and Fred bantered back and forth, their coordination seamless.
Seeing Ron on the verge of tears from embarrassment, Harry secretly shed a tear of sympathy for him. Having such overly lively and mischievous twin brothers could be really trying at times.
But Lucius really is beautiful! She had even enthusiastically given him directions before.
Harry unconsciously puffed out his little chest, forgetting to comfort his friend Ron who was being teased by the Twin Brothers. He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the black-haired girl wearing the Sorting Hat.
Lucius, with half her face covered by the Sorting Hat, felt uneasy. It wasn’t fear of being sorted into Slytherin—while the snake house wasn’t her first choice, it certainly wasn’t a den of monsters. She was just worried her identity as a transmigrator would be exposed.
It shouldn’t happen, right? Lucius’s heart raced like a startled deer as she tried to calm herself down and stop overthinking.
If the Sorting Hat were really that powerful, able to see through everything, then Tom Riddle, that malignant tumor, should have been sent back to the orphanage immediately back then, and the Death Eaters would never have appeared in the British wizarding world.
Lucius silently comforted herself. Relax. She felt her body loosen up a lot.
“Wow~ It’s been many years since I’ve encountered such a fascinating little mind… Without a doubt, you are very clever, know how to assess situations and protect yourself. Your curiosity seems a bit strong, a bit gossipy… There’s a hidden, forward-looking courage in your heart. Slytherin suits you, Gryffindor isn’t bad either. Of course, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff welcome you too… It’s really a difficult choice… And you have that person’s blood… So…”
“Slytherin!” Before Lucius could even try to bargain, the Sorting Hat suddenly abandoned its usual chattiness and declared decisively.
Damn! Why didn’t you even ask me which house I wanted? Lucius felt a bit sulky. She remembered in the movie, Harry had bargained with this hat, saying he didn’t want Slytherin, and the Sorting Hat had respected his choice.
Why couldn’t it have waited for her to say one word? So unfair! But at least her transmigrator identity wasn’t seen through. Close call! Wearing an expression of someone who had narrowly escaped disaster, Lucius cheerfully stepped off the platform and winked in the direction of Professor Snape at the teachers’ table: My ultimate male idol, please guide me well from now on.
What she got in return was Professor Snape’s fierce glare. Haha, the professor is always so unique, Lucius chuckled inwardly.
The Slytherin table wasn’t crowded. A sparse, somewhat lonely smattering of applause greeted her—the expected coldness. Lucius didn’t mind, finding a moderately empty seat and sitting down.
Harry Potter, true to his role as the male lead, argued his case with the Sorting Hat and, as always, ended up in Gryffindor, together with his good friend. Parvati also became a Gryffindor, while Padma went to Ravenclaw.
Everything matched the original story. Good.
After the sorting was complete, the headmaster gave a speech—a stream of Dumbledore’s gibberish dialect. No one really understood the profound meaning anyway. Then came the time to feast.
Lucius rubbed her stomach, which had started to growl. She was genuinely hungry. Thank you, Grandpa Dumbledore, for being wonderfully brief. If it had been like the endless, foot-binding-cloth-long speeches from her previous life’s headmasters, the food would have gone cold long ago.
Looking at the plates before her, she thought, ‘As expected of Hogwarts’ diligent house-elves, the dishes really were plentiful.’
Perhaps due to her previous life as a Chinese person’s dietary habits, Lucius found the food somewhat greasy—mostly roasted or fried, with creamy dishes filling every corner. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, she saw Ron the food enthusiast biting into a fragrant roasted chicken leg, devouring it with gusto, which made one’s appetite soar.
Lucius didn’t put on airs either. Compared to the orphanage, this food was dozens of times better. After three years of oatmeal porridge, black bread, occasional white bread, and thin pumpkin porridge, she now felt as if she were in a five-star hotel, free to eat her fill without even having to pay for meals.
Simply wonderful! Lucius thought delightedly.
Soft, elongated bread slathered with sweet and tangy tomato sauce, layered with a few slices of vegetable salad and slightly salty smoked bacon, folded together like a hamburger. Two golden fried chicken pieces, a cup of lightly flavored Pumpkin Juice, and a mango-flavored pudding for dessert—her little stomach was comfortably full.
“Riddle, are you a Mudblood?” Lucius, who had just finished eating contentedly and was wiping the sweet residue from the corner of her mouth, froze slightly. Following the voice, she looked at the little girl sitting diagonally across from her, who had posed such a sharp question. The girl looked quite Western, with golden hair and blue eyes, doll-like and pleasing to the eye—a beauty, but clearly not a friend.
Before the words had fully settled, a chair creaked sharply, accompanied by a shrill boy’s voice: “Riddle, you can’t possibly be a Mud… Mudblood, this is simply… The Sorting Hat must be senile! How could it sort a Mudblood into Slytherin? This is utterly absurd!”
Platinum-blond hair, pale and sickly skin, delicate and handsome features, and that loud, impulsive manner—on the verge of shouting the insulting term “Mudblood”—arrogant and haughty. Who else could it be but Draco Malfoy?
But who was that malicious little girl who had stirred up Slytherin’s pride and prejudiced sensitivities?
Lucius narrowed her eyes, feeling provoked!