After the unexpected situation, the Sorting Hat no longer hesitates, it can complete the sorting as soon as it touches the new students' hair.
At this rate, only the last two new students remained.
"Conna Prince!"
Hearing this familiar name, Kael and Cedric looked over simultaneously.
"That's the little girl from the train, right?" Cedric asked curiously, "Where do you think she'll be sorted, Slytherin?"
"Probably." Kael scratched his back instinctively, "Since she's wearing Twilfitt and Tattings, she's most likely a pure-blood, should be Slytherin... hmm?"
At that moment, Kael was suddenly stunned. Unsure if he was imagining things, after Professor McGonagall called Conna's name, Snape, who had been indifferent and seemed uninterested in the sorting, suddenly shifted slightly forward, his attention fixed entirely on the Sorting Hat for the first time.
"Could they know each other?" Kael wondered.
Though Snape's unique status kept him from participating in many social activities, he's one of Hogwarts' four Heads of House and a renowned Potion Master; he couldn't possibly have no acquaintances in the Magic Realm.
Among these acquaintances, one might be Conna's family.
With this thought, Kael felt a chill down his back, a bad premonition emerged.
If that's true, with Snape's personality, if he knew Kael had ever wronged Conna, Kael might have to start enduring the protagonist's fate prematurely.
"Can't be such a coincidence..." Kael's scalp tingled.
What misfortune. Just after mocking the Weasley twins for their bad karma, the consequences had come back so quickly, striking him the next moment.
Kael anxiously looked up at the stage.
For some reason, when it was Conna's turn, the Sorting Hat's efficiency seemed to revert back to the beginning.
It took more than a minute before the Sorting Hat spoke:
"Hufflepuff!"
Hmm??
The Hufflepuff table erupted in enthusiastic applause, as the prefects rose again, welcoming Conna's joining.
Only Kael, watching Conna walk past him, had a head full of question marks.
What's going on, aside from Scamander, there's another pure-blood family coming to Hufflepuff? That's indeed rare.
Not that this doesn't happen, all four houses have pure-bloods, just fewer in Hufflepuff.
As for Conna coming because she's chasing after him... that's simply impossible.
Sorting isn't a game; in the grand scheme, it can even influence a wizard's future path.
So even if Conna is young and naive, the Sorting Hat wouldn't let her mess around. Otherwise, Conna's family wouldn't let it go.
Kael remembered Chris once told him, when Sirius Black was sorted into Gryffindor, a lady from the Black family caused a commotion at Hogwarts.
Had Dumbledore not intervened forcefully, the Sorting Hat might have been burned by her with a fiery curse.
This incident stirred quite a fuss back then, though Dumbledore subdued it at Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic held several meetings discussing whether to abolish the Sorting Hat and adopt other methods of sorting.
And the proposal had considerable support, because most pure-blood families didn't want their children going to houses other than Slytherin, particularly the stubborn conservatives.
Having a Gryffindor child was seen as disgraceful to them.
Of course, the proposal was eventually unsuccessful.
After all, Dumbledore back then wasn't as accommodating as he is now. When he explicitly opposed the idea, those pure-blood families dared not disrespect him.
The matter was shelved and never revisited.
Since then, the pure-blood family members supporting the proposal have never gone to other houses.
Kael glanced toward the teacher's table.
Confirming whether this sorting was normal is easy; just observe Snape's reaction. If Conna's family had a good relationship with Snape, surely he wouldn't remain calm when she's sorted into Hufflepuff...
Uh...
Fine, Kael was wrong.
At the teacher's table, Snape's face was so dark with anger, it could almost drip water. He was continuously speaking with Dumbledore, occasionally glancing toward Hufflepuff.
Kael quickly lowered his head, trying hard to minimize his presence.
Could it be such a coincidence, is the Sorting Hat really that brave? Kael felt a bit apprehensive inside.
Meanwhile, the final new student just completed their sorting, joining the Gryffindor table.
Dumbledore then stood up, smiling broadly as he looked at the students below, spreading his arms: "Welcome, welcome to Hogwarts. Another new school year, there's nothing more delightful than seeing all of you here.
What are we waiting for, let's eat!"
The originally empty tables instantly piled high with steaming food.
Beef, roast chicken, pork chops, sausages, and stakes formed little mountains, tempting appetites.
If those seem too greasy, there were also fragrant boiled potatoes, pea shoots, and potato chips on the side to enjoy together.
The entire auditorium was filled with the aroma of food.
Kael shook his head, trying hard not to dwell on those chaotic thoughts.
Anyway, things have turned out this way, what's the point in overthinking, let's take one step at a time.
No matter what, he won't be the first to suffer, the Sorting Hat is ahead to take the brunt.
Moreover, even if Snape does want to cause trouble for him, it won't last long. As long as he endures until next year when Harry Potter enrolls, Snape will be occupied enough to leave him be.
Kael steadied himself, reached out, and grabbed a fried chicken leg, stuffing it into his mouth.
After bumping around on the train, he hadn't had much of an appetite, only snacking a little, now he's truly hungry.
The little elves' culinary skills were quite impressive.
The fried chicken leg was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and every bite oozed with juices, filling the mouth with savory flavor.
The baked potatoes were also good, with the perfect level of doneness and without any excess seasoning, completely preserving the potato's original fragrance. If the taste seemed mild to some, there were separate servings of tomato ketchup and black pepper.
Kael found this combination unexpectedly delightful, so he took another.
But just as he sliced his potato, about to grab the black pepper, Cedric suddenly came over, whispering: "Did you notice she's been staring at you."
"Staring at me? Who?" Kael replied without looking up.
"The new student we met on the train, named Conna Prince." Cedric raised his eyebrows, eyes filled with teasing, pointing to the opposite direction: "Look, she's looking at you again."