Chapter 42: I'm Just a Hat

Dali settled his mind, putting himself into a deeper mode of thought to prevent the Sorting Hat from continuing to read his thoughts; this was not difficult for him.

"Did you discover my secret?"

Dali thought to himself.

"I dare say you are, in all the years I've lived, the most magically gifted child I've ever seen."

"With only simple training, you could become a great wizard."

"But, that would be hard to arrange."

"Which house should I sort you into?"

"Obviously, your courage and wisdom please Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Your ambition is what Slytherin cherishes, and as for Hufflepuff, trust me, if you went there, Hufflepuff would happily jump for joy."

"What a dilemma."

The Sorting Hat fell into a state of indecision.

"I can't tell, this hat is actually a chatterbox," Dali said helplessly.

He could feel that his sorting was taking far longer than everyone else's.

In the Great Hall, a murmur of whispers arose as everyone wondered why the Sorting Hat was taking so long to sort Dali.

"Could it be that Hogwarts' Admission Book malfunctioned and let a non‑magically‑gifted Muggle in?"

Malfoy's voice came through; it was soft, yet in the quiet hall many could hear it.

"How amusing, the famous Harry Potter's cousin—could he be a dud? Oh, wait, I was wrong; he's not a dud because his parents are both Muggles, haha."

Malfoy's sarcastic voice rang out, causing quite a stir.

"What? He's Harry Potter's cousin?"

"Wait, Harry Potter couldn't have come too, could he?"

"Which one is Harry Potter? Let me see."

…

The whispers in the Great Hall grew louder, even becoming noisy.

"Silence."

Professor McGonagall frowned and said.

In an instant, the hall fell quiet again, but their expressions showed they were all impatient.

Professor McGonagall glanced at Dali, who wore the Sorting Hat.

Honestly, Dali was taking far too long.

"Alright, alright, let me look at your traits one last time and decide which house to sort you into."

After the Sorting Hat babbled on at length, it finally prepared to decide.

"Hurry up."

Dali couldn't help but urge.

"Ah…"

Suddenly, the Sorting Hat let out a startled cry and fell off Dali's head, silent thereafter.

"What happened?"

Everyone stared in shocked disbelief at the scene before them.

Even Professor McGonagall, standing nearby, was stunned.

Dali frowned; he hadn't done anything—what was wrong with the hat?

Professor Dengbulido saw this, rose immediately, stepped forward, and picked up the hat from the floor.

He looked at the Sorting Hat, was silent for a moment, then said.

"There was a little mishap."

Professor Dengbulido said.

"Professor McGonagall, let the new students eat first; the Sorting Ceremony can continue after dinner."

Professor Dengbulido said.

"But…"

Professor McGonagall's face showed hesitation.

The sorting wasn't finished; which table should these new students sit at for dinner?

"Everyone may choose any table they like."

After speaking, Dengbulido ignored McGonagall's expression, gave Dali a deep glance, took the Sorting Hat, and left the hall.

"Professor, I…"

Dali stood up; he truly hadn't done anything.

"Alright, the hat probably had a problem; you can go back and have dinner with everyone."

Professor McGonagall said.

She also didn't understand what had happened.

"Alright."

Dali returned to the group; faced with Ron and Harry's puzzled looks, he could only shake his head.

Since Ron's brothers were in Gryffindor, Harry, Dali, Hermione and the others all sat at the Gryffindor table for dinner.

In Dumbledore's office.

"What happened, my dear friend?"

Dengbulido looked at the Sorting Hat and asked.

The Sorting Hat seemed to shake its head, then slowly said, "I don't know what happened either; I just wanted to see which house Dali fit best, to… uh… get a deeper understanding of him, and then I knew nothing more."

Dengbulido pondered for a moment, then asked, "What did you discover?"

"Oh, speaking of discoveries, I really discovered that this child's magical talent is very high—higher than yours, Dengbulido, and even higher than that previous child's; you know who I mean."

"Then what?"

Dengbulido asked.

"There's no afterwards; I wanted to look into the essence deep inside his heart, and then I didn't know anything." the Sorting Hat continued.

"But to be honest, I felt Fear, and I don't know why."

"You know, I'm left over from Gryffindor, and I Fear, it means that Gryffindor facing such a situation would also have similar emotions."

"In short, I can't say what his situation is."

"After all, I'm just a hat, Dengbulido."

The Sorting Hat lacks hands; otherwise, at this moment he would definitely spread his hands, looking innocent.

"Alright, you're just a hat."

Dengbulido nodded.

"So, which house do you want to sort him into?"

Dengbulido asked.

"If it were just my own judgment, I would choose Slytherin; this kid in Slytherin would definitely achieve great things."

"Of Course, with his talent, he wouldn't be much worse in any other house."

Dengbulido fell into silence, lacking further speech.

In the hall.

After about ten or so minutes, Dengbulido returned to his seat with the Sorting Hat.

Many teachers asked Dengbulido what had happened, curious about the earlier events.

The students also looked over, and many gazes fell on Dali.

"This meal really lacks any flavor."

Dali felt somewhat helpless.

Because of the previous incident, his attention even surpassed that of the famous boy Harry Potter, drawing countless gazes, which is not what he wanted.

After dinner, the Sorting Hat was placed back on the chair.

Dengbulido stood up, and in an instant, the noise below vanished; everyone stared at him.

"There was a slight mishap earlier; the Sorting Hat might have been too excited, just like you little guys."

"Next, the Sorting Ceremony continues."

"As for Dali De Si Li, his house is—"

"Gryffindor!"

As Dengbulido's voice fell, the Gryffindor table instantly burst into thunderous applause.