Following Professor McGonagall, the group arrived at a small, empty room. They were packed shoulder to shoulder, anxiously observing their surroundings.
The Sorting Ceremony was about to begin, and most of them were feeling uneasy.
“Welcome to Hogwarts!” Professor McGonagall looked at everyone seriously and said, “The feast is about to begin, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, I must first make sure you each know which House you’ll be in…”
“In a few minutes, the Sorting Ceremony will take place in front of the entire school. Once things are ready, I’ll come to get you. In the meantime, please be quiet.”
With that, Professor McGonagall turned and walked towards the Great Hall.
Only after she left did everyone let out a breath of relief. Professor McGonagall’s stern face had put a lot of pressure on them.
“How can they possibly know which House to put us in?”
Ethan could tell that was Harry’s voice.
“Probably some kind of test. My brother said it hurts a lot.”
Ron was showing off again in front of Harry.
His memory wasn’t great, though, and the twins had tricked him countless times. Still, Ron believed their nonsense.
With Harry and Ron leading the way, the tension in the room escalated. Everyone started talking about the rumors they had heard. Some said they had to duel a giant, others said they had to perform magic on the spot, and a group of purebloods were adamant that their noble bloodlines and exceptional talents would guarantee them a place in Slytherin.
“What’s that?”
A terrified scream cut through the room, drawing everyone’s attention. The room fell silent, and everyone froze. More than twenty pearly white, translucent ghosts suddenly popped out of the walls.
Ethan watched the ghosts’ every move. He had been to Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley several times, but he had never seen a ghost. This was his chance to observe them closely.
He wondered what Voldemort’s current state was like, and if it was similar to these ghosts. Or perhaps the making of Horcruxes was based on the creation of ghosts.
The only thing he knew for sure was that these ghosts were incorporeal. He wondered if they could use magic.
He compared them to Dementors, which were also incorporeal creatures. Who would be stronger? Would normal spells or dark magic work on them?
The more he thought about it, the more Ethan wanted to experiment with a ghost.
“Now, move to the front!” a shrill voice rang out. “The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin.”
As Professor McGonagall arrived, the ghosts faded through the opposite wall and disappeared.
After organizing the line, the young wizards and witches followed Professor McGonagall out of the room, through the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the grand Great Hall.
Students from other years were already seated at four long tables according to their Houses. Above the tables were thousands of candles floating in the air, illuminating the entire hall.
At the top of the hall, on a raised platform, stood another long table. This was where the professors sat. Dumbledore sat in the center, wearing a luxurious, dark blue robe, with long, flowing silver hair, a small wizard’s hat, and a perfectly trimmed, long beard. Of course, he had his long, crooked nose as well.
Ethan and the others were led by Professor McGonagall to stand in a line in front of the four House tables.
Once they were in place, Professor McGonagall gently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-year students. On the stool was a pointed wizard’s hat, patched up, worn, and dusty. It was clearly ancient.
Suddenly, the hat twitched, and a wide slit appeared in the brim, like a gaping mouth. It began to sing in a strange melody, starting its annual self-indulgent performance: “You might think I’m not very pretty…”
It went on for seven or eight minutes, finally finishing its self-indulgent act and receiving applause from the audience. It wasn’t because it sang particularly well, but because everyone was cooperating.
“Now, when I call your name, you will come forward, put on the hat, sit on the stool, and wait to be Sorted,” said Professor McGonagall, taking out a sheet of parchment and looking at the young wizards and witches. The main event was finally here.
“Hannah Abbott!”
A rosy-cheeked young girl with two golden braids stumbled out of line. It was Hannah, who had been sitting with Ethan and the others on the boat. She was clearly very nervous.
She put on the hat, and the result came in an instant.
“Hufflepuff!”
Ethan could see that Hannah’s tense face relaxed. The people at the right-hand table cheered for her arrival.
“Susan Bones!”
The result came just as quickly.
“Hufflepuff!”
Susan, who didn’t seem disappointed, happily joined Hannah. The Hufflepuffs were even more excited, clapping wildly. With two new students already, their House was on track to be the largest among the first years, continuing the tradition of previous years.
As one new student after another stepped forward, the tables of the four Houses erupted in a frenzy of excitement.
“Hermione Granger!”
When she heard her name, Hermione practically ran to the stool, quickly putting the hat on her head.
This time, it took a little longer, but it wasn’t long enough to be considered “hat-stalled.”
“Gryffindor!”
She ended up in Gryffindor, just like Ethan remembered.
Next, as he recalled, Neville went to Gryffindor and Draco went to Slytherin.
The atmosphere reached a peak when Harry Potter was Sorted into Gryffindor. The little lions cheered so loudly that they almost shook the roof off the thousand-year-old castle.
“Cassandra Vare!”
A slender young woman with golden curls walked with graceful steps from the dwindling line.
As soon as the hat touched Cassandra’s head, it screamed, “Slytherin!”
Now it was the little snakes’ turn to cheer. This wasn’t just the perfunctory applause from before; they were really shouting.