By the time Marius Cloud and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall, the Sorting Ceremony was just about to begin.
All the upper-year students were already seated at the long house tables toward the back. The ceiling above reflected the sky outside through an enchantment, and countless floating candles flickered above their heads. Marius couldn't help but wonder if these things ever randomly dripped hot wax down on the students—a surprise SM-style wax-play banquet courtesy of Hogwarts.
This year's batch of new students was gathered at the front of the hall, standing in line and waiting for their turn to be sorted.
Marius silently slipped into the queue. Hermione looked a little anxious.
"What house do you think I'll be in?" she asked.
"No idea," Marius answered casually. "Given how smart you are and how much you love learning, probably Ravenclaw, I'd say."
"Really? But the book I read said Gryffindor is the best house…"
"Then just tell the old hat you want to go to Gryffindor. It'll take your opinion into consideration—I promise." Marius tapped her nose with a grin. "That's a top-secret insider tip. Don't go spreading it around."
Hermione fidgeted with her robes, her voice suddenly going shy. "But… but I don't really want to go to Gryffindor."
"Huh? Didn't you just say it was the best house?"
Marius was genuinely surprised. As far as he remembered, Hermione both admired and ultimately ended up in Gryffindor. That had never changed in any timeline.
"Because…" Hermione's voice was barely above a whisper. "You said you'd probably be in Slytherin. I don't want to be in a house that you're not in…"
For a moment, Marius was both amused and touched.
"Oh, come on. Whatever book you read that said Gryffindor was the best house probably also said Slytherin was the worst, right?"
That much was a given. Marius silently added another mental note: the author of that book was definitely a Gryffindor graduate. Gryffindor and Slytherin had always been bitter rivals, so naturally, any source that sang Gryffindor's praises would take every chance to trash Slytherin.
"Yeah… It said a lot of infamous Death Eaters, dark wizards, and criminals all came from Slytherin…"
Hermione nodded reluctantly. But then she looked up into Marius's eyes and said with firm conviction, "But you're not like them, Marius. You're different. As long as you're in Slytherin, I don't care if I go there too."
"You silly girl," Marius said with a chuckle, affectionately ruffling her hair. "Don't worry about stuff like that. No matter what house we're in, we're still in the same school. We'll see each other every day."
Still, Marius knew this probably wouldn't go her way.
While it was true that the Sorting Hat took a student's personal preference into account, it only did so when the student was suitable for multiple houses. If the student was clearly best suited to one, the Hat wouldn't change its decision just because the student asked nicely.
Hermione was a textbook fit for both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Slytherin, on the other hand, didn't suit her at all. Even if she begged, the Sorting Hat would never go along with it.
"…Okay," Hermione pouted, finally accepting his reasoning. She slipped toward the front of the line, trying to sneak a look at the Sorting Hat.
Marius, however, had zero interest in that grimy old thing. Instead, his eyes found a different target: a girl with sleek black hair who was also pretending not to be curious.
"Hey, Pansy. I didn't see you on the Hogwarts Express," he said, strolling up to her.
Pansy nearly jumped out of her skin. But when she saw it was Marius, a smile bloomed instantly across her face.
"My father thought it would be better if I arrived at Hogwarts earlier," she replied. "He said it was important to meet the professors and make an impression ahead of time."
She frowned slightly. "I wanted to ask you to come along too. It would've been good for us both. But ever since your birthday party, you vanished. I couldn't find you anywhere."
"Oh, I was off traveling in the Muggle world for a bit. Just some light tourism."
Marius was perfectly aware of what she meant. Many of the old pure-blood families had close ties to Hogwarts. Sending their children early to build connections was nothing unusual. The Parkinsons were hardly the first to pull that move.
Draco, for instance, only took the train with the other students because Lucius wanted him to get close to Harry Potter. Too bad his idiot son couldn't live up to his expectations.
The Nott family, on the other hand, had long since declined in influence. So Marius, being from a currently powerful house and still choosing to enter Hogwarts the "normal" way, was more the exception than the rule.
Pansy was about to respond when Professor McGonagall's voice rang out across the hall:
"Before we begin, Professor Dumbledore has a few words."
At once, the hall fell silent. All eyes turned to the front of the Great Hall where Dumbledore stood, and you could hear a pin drop.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said warmly. "As you've likely heard, this is the safest place in all of Britain. No danger will ever threaten your learning and growth here."
Marius nearly snorted aloud.
Sure, Hogwarts was technically the safest school—if you ignored the murderous Whomping Willow, the gigantic three-headed dog on the third floor, the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, or the giant man-eating spiders in the Forbidden Forest…
Dumbledore might be the greatest white wizard of the century, but he also seemed to be a master of jinxing things with ominous speeches.
Finally, McGonagall stepped forward again.
"Now then," she said, "I'll call out your names one by one. When I do, come forward and put on the Sorting Hat… and it will decide your house."
"The first name—Marius Cloud!"
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