Back during the summer holidays, when he had just received his Hogwarts acceptance letter—
Wayne had been a little apprehensive about the Sorting Hat.
He carried too many secrets: his cheat-like abilities, his identity as a transmigrator, and his detailed knowledge of the plot.
Each of these was earth-shattering if discovered.
If anyone found out, they'd probably want to slice him open for research.
But as he grew more familiar with magic, and his understanding deepened—
Wayne realized that the Sorting Hat wasn't as terrifying as he'd initially imagined.
This hat, a product of the combined wisdom of the four founders, did possess the ability to place young witches and wizards into the most suitable house.
But that didn't mean it could see through a person's memories.
It could only perceive surface-level thoughts, much like Legilimency, and sense the traits a student most strongly exhibited to help determine their house.
So, after doing some basic mental shielding exercises, Wayne stopped worrying.
Instead, it was Dumbledore he had to be more careful around.
If one day their eyes met and Wayne happened to be thinking about some plot point or system-related detail—that would be a real disaster.
"You're not the least bit nervous?"
Back to present-day Hogwarts—the Sorting Hat was now engaged in a telepathic conversation with Wayne.
In nearly a thousand years, it had seen all kinds of students, but few as relaxed as this one.
"Why should I be nervous?" Wayne countered. "It's just one of four houses. What—are you going to expel me?"
"Of course not, kid,"the Sorting Hat responded cheerfully. "But I could shout 'Azkaban!'—I bet that would get a reaction."
"I've heard Dumbledore complain that Azkaban's practically become Hogwarts' graduate program. With talent like yours, going straight there wouldn't be much of an issue."
Wayne remained calm. "That's the Ministry's territory. You don't have that kind of power."
Come on, if he had SS-tier Dark Magic talent, maybe he'd have panicked for a second.
But now?
An A-tier Dark Magic talent was decent—but everything's relative.
Compared to the rest of his SS-tier abilities, Wayne's skill in Dark Magic was almost laughably poor.
"Hmph."
Seeing that Wayne wasn't rattled at all, the Sorting Hat gave a disgruntled snort and finally began doing its job, murmuring in Wayne's mind.
"Brimming with potential... this pleasant sensation reminds me of young Dumbledore. How about Gryffindor?"
"No? You're not fond of Gryffindor?"
"Hey now, show some respect to the house founded by my creator, kid. Though I'll admit, I'm not too fond of those little lions either—they're always trying to wash me."
"Well then, Slytherin. You'd absolutely reach the top there... but your ambition—Merlin's bitter tealeaves, that ambition of yours..."
"If I put you in Slytherin, they'd probably hate me forever."
Wayne blushed for once.
His ambition... cough, better left unsaid.
To restore House Lawrence to glory—it's a mission of honor!
"How about Ravenclaw then? That sharp mind of yours would be right at home there. You could still achieve your ambitions, and Ravenclaw has the most girls..."
Wayne finally cut in, unable to take it anymore. "Oi, old hat—why haven't you mentioned Hufflepuff?"
The Sorting Hat fell silent.
Perhaps it was because of Wayne's unusual request, but more likely, it was because… the Sorting Hat was shocked by Wayne's utter lack of self-awareness.
"Wait a minute…" the Sorting Hat asked, a little bewildered. "What makes you think you possess the qualities Hufflepuff values?"
"What do you mean by that?" Wayne was clearly offended. "Which part of me doesn't?"
"Loyalty?"
"My underlings were all super loyal to me. Back in primary school, no one dared betray me."
The Sorting Hat fell silent. "....."
Is that how he understands loyalty?
"Kindness?"
"I can't even be bothered to squash ants on the roadside."
"....."
"You really want to be in Hufflepuff?" the Sorting Hat was thoroughly confused now. Nothing Wayne said sounded completely wrong… but it was definitely not right either.
Still, a student's personal wish holds considerable weight in the Sorting process, so the hat asked once more.
"Absolutely. Hurry up, will you? When I get time, I'll bring you a full set of Muggle hat and coat care tools."
"…It's a deal!" The Sorting Hat perked up.
A shady deal was struck.
The Sorting Hat shouted at the top of its voice: "HUFFLEPUFF!"
And it was settled. The Great Hall erupted in thunderous applause, full of heartfelt blessings.
All except Hermione. The little witch seemed a bit disappointed — she had really hoped Wayne would be sorted into Gryffindor, so she'd have someone to partner up with in classes.
That took forever!
Fifteen whole minutes — Hogwarts had just witnessed another Hatstall (a student for whom the Sorting Hat takes longer than five minutes to decide a house).
Every student and teacher remembered the name: Wayne Lawrence.
Looking back in Hogwarts history, only two Hatstalls had occurred in the past century besides Wayne.
One was Peter Pettigrew, the deceased Order of Merlin, First Class recipient.
The other... was standing right next to Wayne — Professor Minerva McGonagall.
Watching Wayne take off the hat, give her a courteous nod, and then dash off to the Hufflepuff table, she found herself surprised.
She had imagined many possible outcomes — Wayne might end up in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, maybe even Slytherin.
But Hufflepuff?
That hadn't crossed her mind.
As she called out the next young wizard's name, she stole a discreet glance at the Sorting Hat.
Had it been working too long and finally gone senile?
"Over here!"
Cedric Diggory stood up and waved enthusiastically. A classmate scooted aside to make room. Once Wayne sat down, Cedric leaned over and whispered:
"You're amazing. Fifteen minutes? I thought I wasn't going to make it."
Wayne blinked in alarm as Cedric clutched his stomach.
"I'm starving, man. Your year's sorting is dragging so long."
…Oh. So that's what he meant.
Gave him quite a scare there.
"How long did yours take?"
"Me? Three seconds, tops. Fast, huh?"
"Super fast." Wayne gave him a thumbs-up. Cedric beamed with pride.
The rest of the Sorting went smoothly — that is, until Harry Potter stepped forward. His arrival caused another wave of excitement in the hall.
And when he was sorted into Gryffindor, the Weasley twins and a few others at the table nearly flipped it over in celebration.