The first-year students followed Hagrid into the castle. Hagrid handed them over to Professor McGonagall, who was wearing emerald green robes, and she led them to a small room at the other end of the Great Hall.
With a serious expression, she informed the first-years about the upcoming Sorting Ceremony and introduced them to the four Hogwarts houses.
"Finally, I suggest you take this time to tidy yourselves up and look presentable; you're about to appear before the entire school."
Professor McGonagall's gaze lingered on Neville's cloak, the dirt on Ron's nose, and Allen's mask, while Harry nervously tried to smooth down his hair.
Allen looked at the nervous young wizards around him and couldn't help but feel a little anxious himself.
Soon after, Professor McGonagall returned.
"Now, form a single line and follow me," Professor McGonagall told the first-year students.
Allen followed the line closely, noticing that Harry's nervous walking had become somewhat distorted. They walked out of the room, through the antechamber, and into the magnificent Great Hall.
Although he had seen it in short videos before, Allen was still astonished by the grand, magical, and beautiful Great Hall.
Students from other years of the houses were already seated around four long tables. Professor McGonagall led them to a four-legged stool at the end of the long tables, on which rested a tattered, pointed wizard's hat.
Allen noticed that everyone in the Great Hall was staring at the wizard's hat. The hall was silent. Then, a wide slit opened in the hat, like a mouth, and it began to sing...
After the song finished, Professor McGonagall stepped forward a few paces, holding a piece of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat, sit on the stool, and await your sorting," Professor McGonagall said.
"Hannah Abbott!"
A rosy-faced girl with two blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line, put on the hat, which just covered her eyes. She sat down, and after a brief pause—
"Hufflepuff!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right applauded and cheered for Hannah, welcoming her to their table.
"Terry Boot!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Justin Finch-Fletchley!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Allen Finnes!"
Allen's heart tightened. He quickly walked forward, put the hat on his head, and sat on the stool. As the hat covered his eyes, Allen inexplicably calmed down, leaving only a world of darkness and anticipation.
At that moment, a faint voice came to his ears, sounding somewhat surprised.
"Why can't I see your thoughts? This is the first time I've encountered this situation. Let me try a few more times!"
Minutes passed, one after another, until five minutes later, the hat remained silent. The Great Hall began to buzz with whispers, and Allen started to get nervous again.
"Have they discovered that I'm a transmigrator?" he thought nervously.
Then the faint voice reappeared.
"Impossible! This is impossible! This is the first time in over a thousand years that I've encountered something like this. The Legilimency spell granted to me by the four founders of Hogwarts can't see your thoughts! Something must be wrong! Let me think!" The voice sounded a bit frantic.
"What is Legilimency?" Allen asked softly, his voice trembling slightly.
"Legilimency is a spell that allows one to see what's in other people's minds. I can't see your thoughts right now. Have you studied Occlumency? No, no! Even the most powerful Occlumency can't block this spell of mine!" The voice sounded exasperated.
Allen immediately calmed down. As long as his identity as a transmigrator wasn't discovered, any other situation was acceptable. But why couldn't it see his thoughts? Was it because of his strange talent? If so, that would be wonderful. As long as he didn't say anything, no one would know he was a transmigrator. Allen felt a little secretly pleased.
"I have a sick brain!" Allen said, then instantly realized the ambiguity in his words. "Uh… I mean, my head suffered very severe magical damage before, and there are still after-effects. Perhaps it's due to that." Allen quickly whispered to the hat, explaining.
"Hmm? That explanation is indeed possible. It seems your brain has undergone some magical changes due to the magical damage, making it immune to my Legilimency spell! Magic truly is amazing! Oh~ that's a good line, I should add it to next year's song lyrics…" The voice was rambling.
The murmuring in the Great Hall grew louder. No one had ever seen someone wear the Sorting Hat for so long without being sorted. Professor McGonagall looked at Allen, sitting on the four-legged stool, with a hint of concern.
The hushed conversation under the hat continued. "What do we do now? I feel like I've been sitting here for ten minutes, and everyone in the hall seems to be getting impatient!" Allen asked anxiously. He didn't want to draw so much attention to himself right at the beginning of his schooling.
"If I can't see your thoughts, I can't sort you based on your characteristics! This is also the first time I've encountered such a situation. It seems I'll have to sort you by other means. Let me think carefully about where to put you! How about Hufflepuff? You look so frail; you need to eat more to grow stronger! Oh~ and you have a pig nose; do you like to eat a lot? The Hufflepuff common room is right next to the Hogwarts kitchens; it would be good for you to go there! Wow~ what a great decision!" The voice continued to ramble.
Allen rolled his eyes and said, "I came here to learn magic!"
"Not Hufflepuff? Then let's consider the others. Your surname isn't from a pure-blood family, so you'd be bullied in Slytherin; you can't go there! Which is better between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor? What a difficult choice! It's too hard! Emmm… Do you have any thoughts yourself?"
Allen thought about his purpose in coming to Hogwarts and whispered, "Professor Dumbledore told me before that the after-effects of my magical injury might be treatable by studying Transfiguration. Which house would be better for studying Transfiguration?"
"If you're studying magic, Ravenclaw suits you. It's full of smart people, and you'll find many like-minded individuals there. However, Gryffindor has produced many masters of Transfiguration, like Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, who both graduated from Gryffindor. These two are truly difficult to choose between…" The voice was still hesitant.
Allen heard the increasing murmuring in the Great Hall from the darkness and felt a bit anxious, so he quickly made a decision: "Then let me go to Gryffindor! I want to become a new Transfiguration Master!"
"Then I shall follow your will! I believe you will achieve great things in Gryffindor too! Good luck! Little wizard with a sick brain!" The voice became lighter.
Then Allen heard the hat shout loudly: "GRYFFINDOR!"
He quickly took off the hat, returning from darkness to the bright Great Hall. The light stimulated his eyes, causing him to squint. He took off the hat, jumped off the four-legged stool, placed the hat back on the stool, and whispered a thank you that only he could hear. He then somewhat awkwardly ran towards the Gryffindor table.
A strong burst of applause erupted around the Gryffindor table. A pair of red-haired twins grabbed Allen and pulled him to sit between them, asking eagerly, "What were you two mumbling about with the Sorting Hat for over ten minutes?"
Allen pointed to Professor McGonagall, who was continuing the sorting, indicating that he wanted to watch. The two brothers had no choice but to give up.
"Hermione Granger!" Professor McGonagall continued to read names from the parchment.
Hermione practically ran to the stool, quickly putting the hat on her head.
"Gryffindor!" shouted the hat.
Allen, who was engrossed in watching the ceremony, was startled: "The trio is in Gryffindor! I wanted to stay away from the protagonists before to avoid affecting the plot, but now what? I'm in the same house as them! I should have chosen Ravenclaw earlier!"
Immediately after, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were indeed sorted into Gryffindor. Allen felt like dying, but he had to see his chosen house through, even with tears in his eyes. He continuously comforted himself internally. Even if we're in the same house, can't I just keep my distance? From now on, I'll avoid interacting with them unless absolutely necessary, and I won't get involved in their affairs, he secretly resolved.
After the last first-year was sorted, Professor McGonagall picked up the Sorting Hat and left.
Professor Dumbledore stood up, smiling broadly at the students, spreading his arms as if nothing made him happier than seeing them all gathered together. "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts for a new school year! Before the feast begins, I'd like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. Everyone applauded and cheered.
Then Allen's plate was suddenly piled high with food. Allen felt his mouth watering uncontrollably. Seeing everyone else start to eat, he also picked up the food from his plate and began to chew heartily...
While eating, Allen listened to the conversations of the young wizards around him and observed the professors sitting at the staff table, hoping to recall more of the plot through these observations, but ultimately found it futile.
What Allen didn't know was that Dumbledore's gaze lingered on him for a moment as he scanned the hall…
After singing the school song under Dumbledore's direction, Allen, full and satisfied, felt a little sleepy.
The first-years, led by Prefect Percy, arrived at Gryffindor Tower. Percy guided the girls to a door leading to their dormitory, then led the boys to find their beds: five four-poster beds with deep crimson velvet hangings. Their trunks had already been brought up. They were exhausted and didn't want to talk much, so one by one, they changed into their pajamas and collapsed into bed...
The next morning, Allen was still in a daze when he heard voices nearby.
"Ron, let's get up for breakfast!"
"Harry, just a little more sleep…"
Allen woke up abruptly, instantly understanding something, and felt like crying without tears. He wished he could slap himself for his big mouth, for saying he'd keep his distance, only to end up in the same dormitory as them.
All his plans were ruined!
Note: The sorting list is ordered alphabetically by surname. The protagonist's surname starts with 'F', so he will be listed before Hermione Granger.