"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you can take your seats in the Great Hall, you must first be sorted into your houses.
The Sorting Ceremony is a very important event because, during your time here, your house will be like your family at Hogwarts."
Professor McGonagall explained about the four houses and the House Cup. Before she left, she reminded the young witches and wizards:
"In a few minutes, the Sorting Ceremony will take place in front of the entire school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Her gaze lingered on Sean for a moment, and the sternness in her eyes vanished for a brief instant.
'It suits him very well...'
"The Sorting Ceremony! Oh no, I heard it involves fighting a dragon!" a black-haired young wizard said, trembling slightly as he shared this with the companion beside him.
"What?! Us, fighting a dragon?!" The golden-haired young witch next to him looked like she was about to cry. "No way! I've only learned Lumos."
This remark quickly caused a commotion among the first-years.
"A dragon?! Adult or juvenile?!"
"Anthony, does it even matter? I'm telling you, even a baby dragon could roast us all with one breath!"
"We're doomed!"
The young witches and wizards naturally accepted such rumors; it seemed their families had laid quite a bit of groundwork for this.
Amidst the general sighing and lamenting, Sean was still intently reading Magical Theory.
It was the only book he carried with him.
Although magic was unreasonable and didn't follow rules like the conservation of mass, it had existed for so long that even if wizards were utter blockheads, they should have managed to summarize some patterns by now.
Among all the books that cost 2 Galleons each, this one had left the deepest impression on Sean. The various branches of magic—whether Charms, Transfiguration, or Potions—could all find some explanation within this book. Sean believed it was probably the most underestimated book on the first-year reading list.
He was now on his third read-through, and each time, he gained new insights.
[Magic is the wizard himself.]
The strength of one's magic depends on their emotions or mental power. However, most wizards cannot consciously control their magical power on their own, hence the need for spells and wands to guide it, allowing magic to be consciously manipulated to achieve a purpose.
Sean could understand this point.
Harry was a perfect example.
Before learning magic, he could teleport himself from the ground to a chimney and make glass disappear. But firstly, this only happened when he was highly emotional, and secondly, he didn't know how to control the magic.
But with a wand and mastered spells, wizards could gain a great degree of control over their magic.
After two months of investigation, Sean somewhat agreed with a viewpoint from his previous life: that the wizards in Harry Potter were actually bloodline wizards, their power originating from a certain bloodline capable of performing magic.
Sean continued reading:
[One reality of learning magic is to master as many spells as possible, including many ancient ones. The more spells you know, the more things you can do.
Another reality is that after learning a spell, you must practice it constantly to become proficient. The difference between a skilled and an unskilled casting is obviously vast.
However, when you have mastered a spell, to truly unleash its maximum potential, you still need sufficient mental power.]
What a concise and succinct description.
No wonder the author, Adalbert Waffling, dared to name his book Magical Theory. Just hearing the name, you knew its status was similar to things like Theoretical Mathematics or Fundamental Physics from his previous life.
Of course, those books had robbed Sean of much joy, rather like Dementors in the magical world.
Devour a chapter, and joy would disappear.
"I'm starting to believe you," Hermione said, her face somewhat pale. The topics discussed by the other young witches and wizards were too frightening, and their back-and-forth made it seem very real, which made Hermione, new to the wizarding world, feel uneasy.
She looked at Sean beside her, who seemed completely oblivious, still reading his book seriously.
"Maybe we should ask Sean; he doesn't seem scared at all."
The trembling Justin, reminded of the equestrian tests they had at Eton, wondered if perhaps wizards were meant to defeat dragons. Was it some kind of glorious tradition? Wizards were terrifying.
"Sean, sorry to bother you, but..." Before Justin could finish his plea for help, the doors to the Great Hall swung open with a boom.
The Sorting Ceremony had begun.
Sean pulled himself away from Magical Theory. While the hat was still on its throne, Sean began to consider his target House. After all, the Sorting Hat seemed to take the wearer's choice into account.
Gryffindor?
No, that wouldn't do.
His primary mission was to secure a scholarship. To get top marks, his benchmarks would be figures like Hermione and Percy. And in the original story, both of them faced resistance from within Gryffindor itself.
Hermione, in her first year, was just good in class and pointed out where others went wrong, and she was ostracized to the point of crying in the bathroom. Most Gryffindors seemed to have a "no matter my skill level, I won't be content living under someone else's shadow for long" mentality. They were brave adventurers, but they often ended up hurting others. Just like during the Chamber of Secrets incident, they were swayed by rumors to isolate and ostracize Harry.
Then there was Slytherin.
Sean had no interest in political scheming. In the time it would take for that, he could probably grind the Levitation Charm to a non-verbal level.
That left Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, both of which seemed decent.
But Sean leaned more towards Hufflepuff.
The common room is just a few steps away from the kitchen for free snacks? Super cool.
Hufflepuff was harmonious, never turning their fists inward, always presenting a united front to the outside world. Even J.K. Rowling had said she hoped all children would be Hufflepuffs.
Just think about it: warm fireplaces, the kitchen right by the common room, and a Head of House who might scold you if you got into a fight but would still sneak you a box of coconut ice cream afterward.
Sean felt like shouting:
'We come from the forest, we hold great love in our hearts, we are loyal to nature, we are upright and loyal, we are resilient and honest, we fear no hardship! —We are Hufflepuffs!'
"Harry Potter!"
In the center of the Great Hall, as Professor McGonagall called the name, the noisy atmosphere quieted considerably. Sean heard the young witches and wizards around him murmuring things like, "It's him," "It really is him," "Harry Potter."
Harry ran up and put on the crumpled Sorting Hat. The entire hall fell silent, waiting for the result.
This wait lasted four or five minutes.
By then, Sean had mentally sung the Sorting Hat's song twice over.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Finally, the result was announced.
The Gryffindors went wild with joy.
"Potter!"
"We've got Potter!"
Sean could hear the cheers even from a distance.
Soon—
"Sean Green!"