Chapter 1: The Sorting Ceremony
"Susan Bones... Hufflepuff!"
"Justin Finch-Fletchley... Hufflepuff!"
In the beautifully decorated Great Hall, a battered, crinkled hat opened a wide slit at its brim like a mouth. It sang and wiggled restlessly, occasionally letting out strange bursts of laughter as a few bold young wizards squeezed its brim.
As the names of the students and their assigned houses were called out by the Sorting Hat, the young wizards seated below applauded, some enthusiastically, others perfunctorily.
At least during this welcoming ceremony, even Gryffindor and Slytherin, who usually couldn't stand the sight of each other, maintained a relatively harmonious atmosphere.
The young wizards waiting to be sorted beneath the stage watched with nervousness or anticipation as others put on the Sorting Hat, then walked to their respective house tables amidst the hat's comical commentary.
However, among the crowd of new students, there was a thin boy who looked completely out of place. He stared blankly at the gorgeous, retro decorations around him, the candles floating eerily in mid-air casting a bright light over the Great Hall, and the translucent ghosts flying overhead. Everything was so overwhelming that it took the boy quite a while to adapt, muttering to himself after a long pause.
"Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?"
"Strange, wasn't I dying on a hospital bed?" Just as the boy was feeling a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness about his surroundings, a high-pitched female voice rang out through the Great Hall.
"Ivan Hals!"
Professor Minerva McGonagall stood in front of the four-legged stool where the Sorting Hat rested, looking at the scroll of parchment in her hand. She waited for a good while but saw no new student come up, so she frowned and called out loudly again.
"Ivan Hals!"
Seeing no movement among the new students for a long time, even Dumbledore cast a puzzled look, and the older students from the various houses began to whisper among themselves.
"Who? Who is Ivan? Is he that bold?"
"Did he go the wrong way and miss the Sorting Ceremony?"
"Now this is getting interesting..."
...
At this point, the remaining new students, under the gaze of many professors and seniors, shuffled a few steps back, leaving the boy with blond hair and black eyes, who still hadn't figured out the situation, standing alone in place. He looked incredibly conspicuous.
"Mr. Ivan Hals, please come up to the stage!" Professor McGonagall repeated once more.
"Me?" Ivan pointed at himself in confusion, suddenly feeling that this scene was somewhat strange yet unexpectedly familiar.
"Yes, please come up quickly, alright? Just like the others did... there are other children waiting to be sorted." Perhaps because Ivan was a new student, even though it was the fourth time Professor McGonagall had asked, she didn't seem angry at all, merely thinking in her heart that this new student might be a little nervous.
Before Ivan could react, he felt himself being lightly pushed, and then the new students in the front row, with unexpected tacit understanding, pushed Ivan onto the stage one by one.
"Alright, child, come over here quickly..." Professor McGonagall stepped forward, placed a hand on Ivan's shoulder, pressed him onto the chair, and placed the Sorting Hat on Ivan's head.
The Sorting Hat twisted its body restlessly on Ivan's head and spoke in a rather comical tone.
"Hey, kid, don't be too shy. You're not the first person to feel nervous in a place like this... Trust me, just close your eyes and it will be over... It doesn't hurt a bit!"
Ivan rolled his eyes. Having stood in the area for new students for a while, he had formed some conjectures about the current situation, he just found it a bit hard to believe.
But, is this really Hogwarts? That magical place where magic is taught? But isn't that...
Ivan couldn't help but continue his train of thought, but the Sorting Hat's voice rang in his ear at just the right moment.
"Yes... Of course, this is Hogwarts! You are not dreaming, I am one hundred percent certain!"
"I guess you must be from a Muggle family, right? Every few years there are always a few new young wizards who don't believe magic is real. They say it's all tricks, always wanting to pull a long-eared rabbit out of my body... I tell them there's nothing inside the hat, but they just won't believe it..."
The Sorting Hat rambled on with dry jokes, its split mouth stretching almost to the brim.
The Sorting Hat's ability to read memories made Ivan instantly dare not think any further, and he hurriedly gathered his thoughts.
But perhaps due to the Sorting Hat's influence, Ivan's mind flashed like a slideshow with fragments of unfamiliar memories. They were so scattered that Ivan himself couldn't piece them together; it seemed to be a scene of a witch teaching him magic...
In the memory, the witch was about thirty years old, with beautiful long blonde hair, opening her mouth to say something. Subsequently, Ivan only felt a wave of fear strike his heart...
The Sorting Hat also grumbled that it was the first time it had seen a young wizard with such messy thoughts, but it was also quite surprised that Ivan was not from a Muggle family. How could a child from a wizarding family not know about Hogwarts?
A trace of cold sweat broke out on Ivan's forehead. Although the various thoughts and memories read by the Sorting Hat belonged to the original owner, if this continued, he didn't know if the hat would read any important secrets. Ivan could only force himself to think about some irrelevant things as much as possible.
"Ahem..." Seeing that the Sorting Hat seemed poised to go on forever, Professor McGonagall had to cough lightly twice to remind the Sorting Hat on stage to get down to business.
The Sorting Hat finally stopped talking. Ivan heaved a sigh of relief, though he was also a bit curious about which house he would be sorted into.
"Hmm... let me see. Optimistic... smart, and likes to let his imagination run wild..." The Sorting Hat dragged out its tone, then suddenly lowered its voice. "And knows a tiny bit of Dark Magic..."
"I know Dark Magic?" Ivan thought in confusion, recalling the memory from earlier.
"Oh, yes, an ancient and rare... Dark Magic." The Sorting Hat chatted with Ivan in a low voice, as if whispering secrets.
"Of course, in my opinion, it is also an interesting Dark Magic, always capable of making people see things they don't want to see... Someone once used it for pranks, maybe you could try that too..."
"Although Dumbledore certainly wouldn't want anyone to do that again..." The Sorting Hat muttered a complaint to itself.
"Then where should I go? Slytherin?" Ivan was curious about the fact that he knew Dark Magic, but the most critical issue right now was the sorting.
After the sorting, he could finally take off this damn hat that could read memories.
Among the four houses of Hogwarts, entering Gryffindor required sufficient bravery (or perhaps recklessness?), while Ravenclaw required wisdom or a thirst for knowledge.
Slytherin corresponded to a cunning and insidious nature and outstanding magical talent.
As for Hufflepuff... it was the kindest, most inclusive house, especially skilled in charms related to food, making it the best choice for foodies.
What the Sorting Hat said about learning Dark Magic fit the Slytherin house standards very well, though of course, it was also possible he'd be sorted into Ravenclaw for being optimistic and smart.
Ivan thought somewhat narcissistically...
"No, no, no, none of those." The Sorting Hat's tone suddenly became humorous. "Although saying this might make you a bit sad, Slytherin usually only chooses young wizards with talent, so..."
"Gryffindor!" The Sorting Hat changed from the soft whisper it used when conspiring with Ivan, and its high-pitched voice resounded through the entire hall.
"Gryffindor?" Ivan took the Sorting Hat off his head, somewhat surprised, not even having time to complain about the Sorting Hat's evaluation of his talent.
"Yes... yes, you should go there!" The Sorting Hat said vowingly. "I have never been wrong; you have the corresponding qualities!"